If you enjoy making from-scratch versions of store-bought favorites, you will love these homemade frosted brown sugar cinnamon pop tarts.
Allow me to introduce you to a homemade version of the all-time best pop tart flavor in the history of time. Frosted Brown Sugar Cinnamon—the toaster pastry that puts all other toaster pastries to shame.
These Brown Sugar Cinnamon Pop Tarts Are:
- Filled with brown sugar and cinnamon, and topped with a sweet cinnamon glaze
- Encased in buttery, flaky pie dough.
- Best after they have completely cooled
- An intermediate baking recipe and doable for most home bakers
- Definitely a dessert, but feel free to indulge as a special breakfast treat.
My homemade pop tarts taste just like the original, but better. You don’t get a flaky, slightly crumbly, all-butter-crust with store-bought pop tarts. You just get… crumbles.
And you get about twice the amount of filling with my homemade version. And none of the preservatives or mystery additives.
Making pop tarts at home, 100% from scratch, isn’t the quickest. It’s not impossible, nor should this recipe intimidate you… but you have to take your time, read all of the instructions before beginning, and practice patience. There are quite a few steps, but I have plenty of photos to walk you through it.
Start With the Pie Dough
Step 1 is to make the pie dough, which needs to chill for at least 2 hours before rolling out. I always make it a day (or even a couple days) ahead of time, so it’s ready to go on the day I want to make these pop tarts.
I recommend using the butter pie crust below. This crust, while gloriously buttery and flaky, is sturdy enough to bake in different shapes and designs. If you are short on time, or intimidated by pie crust recipes, you can use store-bought refrigerated rectangular pastry sheets.
Either one works for this recipe.
Both dough recipes yield 2 crusts, and you’ll use both crusts today to produce 9 pop tarts.
How to Assemble Homemade Pop Tarts
After the 2 discs of dough have chilled for at least 2 hours, remove one from the fridge. Roll the disc into a rectangle about 1/8th-inch thick—about 9×12 inches in total size. Trim off the sides of this rectangle as needed. A pizza cutter is really helpful here.
Cut dough into 3 even sections, then cut each section into 3 sections. You’ll end up with 9 rectangles, each about 3×4 inches. These will be the bottoms of your homemade pop tarts.
Place each rectangle onto a lined baking sheet. Place the baking sheet in the refrigerator and repeat this process with the second disc of dough. These 9 rectangles will be the tops of your pop tarts.
Brown Sugar Cinnamon Pop Tart Filling
The brown sugar cinnamon pop tart filling is made with—you guessed it—lots of cinnamon and brown sugar, plus a touch of flour. That’s it, just 3 ingredients.
Before filling the homemade pop tarts, brush the rectangle “bottoms” with a little egg wash. This helps the filling melt down and stick to the crust. It also serves as the “glue” to bind the top and bottom crusts together.
Egg wash = 1 egg beaten with a little milk.
Place 1 heaping Tablespoon of filling onto each rectangle and spread it around. Leave a 1/4-inch border around the rectangle, as pictured above. Brush the rectangle “tops” of the pop tarts with egg wash. Place on top of the filled bottoms, egg wash-side-down.
Use a toothpick to poke holes in the tops of each pastry, which allows steam to escape. This helps your pop tart crust get nice and flaky, too. Crimp the edges with a fork to seal.
Now, place the ready-to-bake pop tarts in the refrigerator. This helps the pie dough firm up, since it has been out at room temperature for so long. Chill for 20 minutes while your oven preheats. Once chilled, brush the tops with egg wash. This is what gives your pastry crust that beautiful golden sheen.
Pop Tart Frosting
The icing is so simple. It’s more of a glaze, less of a frosting. And it’s absolutely incredible paired with the homemade pastry and brown sugar cinnamon filling.
Just a few ingredients: confectioners’ sugar, milk, cinnamon, and vanilla. Whisk until slightly thick, but still a little runny—you want it to be spreadable. Use a knife, icing spatula, or the back of a spoon to spread on top of each homemade pop tart.
After completely cooling, the crust is deliciously flaky, the filling has thickened, and the icing has set. If you can manage the self control, wait to eat one until the icing has set (it takes about an hour)… yep, it’s practically impossible.
We actually love these homemade pop tarts even more the next day. The icing slightly hardens, making them taste much more like the originals.
FAQs:
Can you reheat homemade pop tarts in the toaster?
These brown sugar cinnamon pop tarts are really more like hand pies. They taste like the store-bought pop tarts (only 1000x better!), but I don’t suggest putting them in the toaster to reheat. If you want to enjoy them warm, I recommend warming them in the oven for about 10 minutes.
Do you have other pop tart filling suggestions?
Yes. Instead of brown sugar cinnamon filling, try spreading 1 Tablespoon of preserves or a thick jam in the center of the bottom crust. You can top the fruit pop tarts with vanilla icing. Or try a Tablespoon of Nutella, apple butter, or lemon curd.
Additional Recipes:
Puff Pastry Fruit Tarts with Lemon Curd Whipped Cream
Lemon Curd and Blueberry Dutch Baby
Doughnut Stuffed with Raspberry Cream
Original recipe from: Sally’s Baking Addiction
Homemade Frosted Brown Sugar Cinnamon Pop Tarts
Equipment
Ingredients
Pastry:
- 2 and 1/2 cups 313g all-purpose flour, plus more as needed (spooned & leveled)
- 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup 16 Tbsp; 226g unsalted butter, chilled and cubed
- 1/2 cup 120ml ice water, plus more as needed
Filling:
- 1/2 cup 100g packed dark or light brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon 8g all-purpose flour
- egg wash: 1 large egg mixed with 2 teaspoons milk
Glaze:
- 3/4 cup confectioners’ sugar 90g, sifted
- 1 Tablespoon 15ml milk, plus more as needed
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions
For the pastry:
- All butter pie crust. See step-by-step photos in the pie crust post if you need visuals for making the pastry. I usually make the pastry the night before.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, and salt. Using a pastry cutter or two forks, cut the butter into the mixture until it resembles a coarse meal (pea-sized bits with a few larger bits of fat is okay). You can also use a food processor, and pulse the mixture together, but be careful not to overwork the ingredients.
- Drizzle the water over the flour mixture, 1 Tablespoon at a time, and stir with a spatula after every Tablespoon has been added until the dough begins to form large clumps. Do not add any more water than needed.
- Transfer the dough to a floured work surface. Using floured hands, gently bring the dough mixture together into a ball. Avoid overworking the dough. If it feels too dry or is too crumbly to form a ball, dip your fingers in cold water and then continue bringing dough together. If it feels too sticky, sprinkle more flour on the dough and then continue bringing it together.
- Using a sharp knife or bench scraper, cut the dough in half. Gently flatten each half into 1-inch-thick discs. Wrap each tightly in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours and up to 5 days (or in the freezer for up to 3 months).
Roll out the dough:
- Remove one chilled dough disc from the refrigerator and allow it to sit at room temperature for 5 minutes. Keep the other disc in the refrigerator. After 5 minutes, place disc onto a lightly floured work surface, and roll it into a 9×12-inch rectangle, about 1/8 inch thick. Trim the sides as needed. With a pizza cutter or sharp knife, cut the dough into thirds and each third into thirds again. You will end up with 9 rectangles, each measuring 3×4 inches. Use a ruler to help make this easier and more accurate.
- Place each of the 9 rectangles onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. The pop tarts will not spread much in the oven, so you may place them near one another. Place the baking sheet in the refrigerator.
- Repeat step 3 with the 2nd disc of dough to make 9 more rectangles. Place each of the 9 rectangles onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Place the baking sheet in the refrigerator.
Make the filling:
- Mix the brown sugar, cinnamon, and flour together in a small bowl.
Assemble the pop tarts:
- Remove one baking sheet of pastry rectangles from the refrigerator. These will be the bottoms of your pop tarts. Brush egg wash over the entire surface of each rectangle. Place a heaping Tablespoon of the filling into the center of each rectangle and spread it around with the back of a spoon, leaving a 1/4-inch border around the edges.
- Remove the 2nd baking sheet of pastry rectangles from the refrigerator. These will be the tops of your pop tarts. Brush egg wash over the entire surface of each top rectangle, then place each top rectangle, egg-wash-side-down, on the filling-topped bottoms. Use your fingertips to press firmly around the pocket of filling, sealing the dough well on all sides. Reserve remaining egg wash.
- Using a toothpick, poke 6 to 8 holes in the tops of each filled pastry to allow the steam to escape. You can, instead, use a knife to make a few small slits. Seal the edges tightly by crimping with a fork. Refrigerate the filled pop tarts, uncovered, for at least 20 minutes and up to 1 hour.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C). Once the unbaked pop tarts have chilled for 20 minutes, remove from the refrigerator and brush the tops with the remaining egg wash.
- Bake for 25–30 minutes or until golden brown, rotating the pan halfway through baking. Let the pop tarts cool on the pan for about 5 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely before icing.
Make the icing:
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the confectioners’ sugar, milk, cinnamon, and vanilla. You want a thick glaze, but not too thick that it is hard to spread. If it’s too thick, add more milk, 1 teaspoon at a time, until it reaches a spreadable consistency.
- Spoon the icing on top of each cooled pop tart and use the back of the spoon or an icing spatula to spread. The icing will set in about 1 hour.
Storage:
- Store pop tarts in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days or in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. To reheat, bake in a 350°F (177°C) oven for 10 minutes.
Freezing Instructions:
- Baked and unfrosted pop tarts freeze well, up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator or at room temperature. To reheat, bake in a 350°F (177°C) oven for 10 minutes.
Pastry:
- Store-bought pie dough works here, but this homemade version creates that unique flaky, slightly crunchy yet tender texture you know and love from classic pop tarts. You could also use my shortening and butter pie crust if desired. Or feel free to use your own favorite pie crust recipe.
Filling:
- Get creative! Use your favorite fillings instead of brown sugar cinnamon. You can use a thick fruit preserves or jam, Nutella, raspberry cake filling, lemon curd, or make chocolate pop tarts instead.
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