If you like pop-tarts, you will love my Homemade Frosted Brown Sugar Cinnamon Pop-Tarts. 100% from scratch. The frosting “sets” after an hour making them identical to the originals.
Hi! (I’m currently wiping pop-tart crumbs off my keyboard.)
I made a homemade version of my all-time favorite high school snack food. My high school vending machines never had anything interesting (mixed nuts, stale granola bars) but it did supply pop-tarts. In only one flavor. The BEST flavor in the entire world.
Frosted Brown Sugar Cinnamon—the toaster pastry putting all other toaster pastries to shame. The food of which heaven is made. Although chocolate pop tarts are a close second! Unwrapping those silver wrappers is the sound of angels singing. Right?
It’s been way too long since I tasted one of life’s greatest pleasures, so I set out to make my own. None of the unrecognizable ingredients, all of the cinnamon goodness. And frosting. So much frosting. And brown sugar!!! Sweet, sweet brown sugar. (By the way…if you love brown sugar as much as I do, you must give these brown sugar cookies a try as well.)
Can ya tell I’m a little excited?!
I’m going to be honest. Making pop-tarts at home, 100% from scratch, isn’t the easiest. 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 be patient. There are lots of steps, but I have about 1 billion photos to walk you through it. I feel the same way about croissants… a labor of love, but totally worth it!
I highly suggest reading each step and viewing each photo before beginning.
Alright pop-tart lovers, here are my Homemade Brown Sugar Cinnamon Pop-Tarts. With pictures of the process and the full recipe written out towards the bottom.
(just keep scrolling, just keep scrolling…)
First step. Homemade pie crust is what you use as the pastry. My homemade pie crust is simple. Nothing fancy or intimidating. My buttery pie crust uses both shortening and butter to obtain optimum flakiness and tenderness. These fats must be COLD.
You also need very cold ice water.
Why the emphasis on temperature here? Keeping your pastry dough as cold as possible prevents the fat from melting. If the butter melts before baking, you lose the flakiness of the pie crust. When the lumps of fat melt in the oven as the pop-tarts bake, their steam helps to separate the crust into multiple flaky layers. Warm fats and water will lend a hard, crunchy crust instead of the nice flaky crust you want for the pop-tarts.
After the two discs of dough have chilled as described in the recipe below, remove one from the fridge and let it come to room temperature for about 15 minutes. This makes rolling out the dough much easier.
Roll disc into a rectangle about 1/8 of an inch thick—about 9×12 inches in total size. Trim off the sides of this rectangle as needed. Cut dough into three even sections, then cut each section into three sections. Does that make any sense?
Use a pizza cutter for ease; it’s the easiest tool to use in this process. You’ll end up with 9 rectangles, each 3×4 inches. These will be the bottoms of your homemade pop-tarts.
Place each rectangle onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Place the baking sheet in the fridge and repeat with the second half of dough.
Always keep the pastry dough chilled as you are working.
Roll 2nd disc out into a rectangle and cut into 9 even rectangles like you did with the first half of the dough. These nine rectangles will be the tops of your homemade pop-tarts. Place the baking sheet into the refrigerator as you make the brown sugar cinnamon filling.
The filling! This is the best little filling to ever come out of my kitchen. I say that because brown sugar is my favorite ingredient to use in baking.
The homemade brown sugar cinnamon pop-tart filling is made with lots of cinnamon, lots of brown sugar, a touch of flour. That’s all, just 3 ingredients.
Mix it up with a fork, or even better—your fingers. Messy recipes are the best recipes.
Before filling the homemade pop-tarts, you have to brush the bottoms with a little egg wash. This helps the filling “melt” down and stick to the bottom. We’ll also brush the tops of the pop-tarts with the egg wash.
My egg wash = 1 beaten egg, 2 teaspoons milk.
(Thanks for the new pastry brush, Jaclyn!)
A few more steps.
Place 1 heaping Tablespoon of filling onto each rectangle. I used the back of my measuring spoon to spread it around. Leave about a 1/4 inch border around the rectangle. Brush the rectangle “tops” of the pop-tarts with egg wash. Place on top of the filled bottoms, egg wash side down. Poke holes in the tops of each pastry to allow the steam to escape. This helps get your pop-tart pasty nice and flaky. I used a toothpick to poke 8 holes in each.
Seal the edges by crimping with a fork.
Now, place the ready-to-bake pop-tarts in the refrigerator. Let the pop-tarts rest before baking. This firms up the pastry, since it has been out at room temperature for so long at this point. Chill for 20 minutes as your oven preheats. Once chilled, brush tops with egg wash. This egg wash will give your pastry that beautiful golden sheen.
Now it’s time to bake, then frost. A visual of these steps:
The frosting is so simple. It’s more of a glaze, less of a frosting.
Just a few ingredients including confectioners’ sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, and milk. Whisk until slightly thick, but still a little runny. Use a knife or the back of a spoon to spread on top of each homemade pop-tart.
The pop-tarts are finally ready to eat. 🙂
I told you, this isn’t the easiest of my recipes, but it sure as heck isn’t the most difficult. I really want you to try these! My homemade pop-tarts taste just like the original, but 10x better. I can’t believe I just typed that. But seriously! You don’t get a flaky, slightly crumbly crust with store-bought pop-tarts. You just get… crumbles. You know what I’m taking about? And you get about twice the amount of filling with my homemade version.
The frosting isn’t an exact copycat because there aren’t any preservatives, brown food dyes, or strange things, but it’s absolutely incredible paired with the warm homemade pastry and brown sugar cinnamon filling. The frosting takes about 1 hour to set. We actually loved these homemade pop-tarts the next day. The frosting slightly hardened, making them taste much more like the originals.
Did you make it down this far? Enjoy this recipe, everyone!
PrintHomemade Frosted Brown Sugar Cinnamon Pop Tarts
- Prep Time: 3 hours
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 3 hours, 30 minutes
- Yield: 9 pop-tarts
- Category: Pastries
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
If you like brown sugar cinnamon Pop-Tarts, you will love my homemade frosted brown sugar cinnamon pop-tarts recipe! They taste one million times better and are made completely from scratch with REAL ingredients. I encourage you to read this entire recipe before beginning, as well as viewing the step-by-step photos to help guide you. Plan ahead, the pastry must chill for some time.
Ingredients
Pastry*
- 2 and 1/2 cups (313g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 6 Tablespoons (85g) unsalted butter, chilled and cubed
- 2/3 cup (130g) vegetable shortening, chilled
- 1/2 cup (120ml) ice water
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: This is the same recipe as my homemade 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. First, mix the flour and salt together in a large bowl. Add cold unsalted butter and shortening. Using a pastry cutter or two forks, cut the butter and shortening until the mixture resembles coarse meal (pea-sized crumbles with a few larger bits of fat is OK). Measure 1/2 cup of water in a glass. Add ice. Stir it around. Slowly drizzle in the very cold water 1 Tablespoon at a time, stirring with a large spatula after every Tablespoon of water that you add. Do not add any more water than you need to. Stop adding water when the dough begins to clump.
- Roll out the dough on a floured work surface. The dough should come together easily and should not feel overly sticky. Form the dough into a ball. Divide in half. Flatten each half into 1-inch thick discs using your hands. Wrap each tightly in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours (or up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months).
- Assemble the pop-tarts: Remove 1 chilled dough disc from the refrigerator and allow it to sit at room temperature for 15 minutes. This will help make the dough easier to roll and work with. Keep the other disc in the refrigerator. After 15 minutes, place disc onto a lightly floured work surface, and roll it into a rectangle about 1/8 inch thick and 9×12-inches in size. Trim the sides as needed. Always be gentle with your pastry dough. You don’t want it to tear. Cut each piece of 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 process 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 in the oven much, so you may place them relatively near one another. Place the baking sheet in the fridge. Roll 2nd disc out into a rectangle and cut into 9 even rectangles like you did with the first half of the dough. These nine rectangles will be the tops of your homemade pop-tarts. Place the baking sheet into the refrigerator as you make the brown sugar cinnamon filling.
- Make the filling: Mix the brown sugar, cinnamon, and flour together in a small bowl. Set aside. Remove 1 baking sheet of rectangles from the refrigerator. Brush egg wash over the entire surface of each rectangle. These will be the bottoms of your pop-tarts and the egg wash will help glue the lid on. Place a heaping Tablespoon of the prepared brown sugar filling into the center of each rectangle, spread it around, leaving around 1/4 inch of space on the edges. Brush the second baking sheet of rectangles with egg wash, then place each rectangle on top of the filling-topped rectangles, egg wash side down. Use your fingertips to press firmly around the pocket of filling, sealing the dough well on all sides.
- Poke holes in the tops of each filled pastry to allow the steam to escape. This helps get your pop-tart pastry nice and flaky. I used a toothpick to poke 8 holes in each. Seal the edges by crimping with a fork, to prevent the sides from opening as the pop-tarts bake. Refrigerate the filled pop-tarts uncovered for at least 20 minutes and up to 1 hour. This chilling let the pop-tarts rest before baking. It also firms up the pastry, since it has been out at room temperature for so long at this point.
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Once unbaked pop-tarts have chilled for 20 minutes, remove from the refrigerator and brush the tops with the remaining egg wash. This egg wash will give your pastry that beautiful golden sheen. Bake for about 22-28 minutes or until they’re golden brown, rotating the pan halfway through baking. Let the baked pop-tarts cool on the pan for about 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before glazing.
- Make the glaze: Whisk all of the glaze ingredients together in a medium bowl until it reaches a spreading consistency. You want a thick glaze, but not too thick that it is hard to spread. Add another teaspoon or two of milk if needed. Use a spoon or knife to glaze each pop-tart. The glaze will slightly harden in about an hour, if you prefer to wait that long.
- Store pop-tarts in an airtight container at room temperature for 3 days or in the refrigerator for 6 days. To reheat, bake in a 350°F (177°C) oven for 10 minutes.
Notes
- Freezing Instructions: Baked and unglazed pop-tarts freeze well, up to 3 months. Thaw and reheat as directed in step 9. I am unsure about reheating in a toaster.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Glass Mixing Bowls | Pastry Cutter | Rubber Spatula | Rolling Pin | Pizza Cutter | Baking Sheet | Silicone Baking Mat or Parchment Paper | Pastry Brush | Whisk
- Pastry: I’m sure store-bought pastry would be fine, but this homemade version creates that unique flaky, slightly crunchy yet tender texture you know and love from regular pop-tarts. I prefer shortening in my pie crust and pastry dough recipe for the best texture. Feel free to use your own favorite pie crust recipe that uses all butter if you prefer. Butter can not be replaced for shortening in this particular pastry recipe.
- Filling: Get creative! Use your favorite fillings instead of brown sugar cinnamon. Like jam, Nutella, etc.
- Adapted from King Arthur Flour.
Filling setup rock hard after cooling. Any idea why?
Hi Chris, We’ve never had that happen as the butter in the dough usually keeps the filling very soft. Was your brown sugar fresh and soft? If it was toward the end of the bag and was hard and dry that certainly could have been the problem. If you try it again you can try to mix a little warm milk (just 1-2 TBS) to make it more of a paste. We haven’t tested it that way but it should help!
So delicious! A little fiddly to make but so delicious! I heated in the toaster on bagel setting so the glaze side wouldn’t melt and it was perfect. A few puffed up, so next time I’ll make bigger holes in the top crust, and I ended up with lots of extra filling. I did notice that the pop tart recipe says 3/4 cup shortening but your pie crust says 2/3. I used 3/4 and the dough was VERY soft so will use 2/3 next time. Thank you!
These Pop Tart-like pastries were really fun to make. A bit labor intensive, as far as steps and planning, but pretty easy to make overall. Plus, it’s nice you can customize the flavor profile with both the dough and the filling. I was distracted and ended up cutting the first disc of dough into sixteen pieces, so I ended up making eight mini-tarts. I then cut the second disc in to twelve pieces, making six larger ones. So it was a nice variety. I ended up finishing them with colored sprinkles, to make them extra festive! So far, they’ve been a HUGE hit. I sent some of them to work with my husband and everyone said they were great – warming them up to enhance the flavor. I’ll make these again, for sure.
So delicious! A little fiddly to make but so delicious! I heated in the toaster on bagel setting so the glaze side wouldn’t melt and it was perfect. A few puffed up, so next time I’ll make bigger holes in the top crust, and I ended up with lots of extra filling. I did notice that the pop tart recipe says 3/4 cup shortening but your pie crust says 2/3. I used 3/4 and the dough was VERY soft so will use 2/3 next time. Thank you!
This recipe was great! One question, with my second batch, the filling hardened up. Any idea as to what might have caused the brown sugar and cinnamon filling to become hard, like toffee hard? Thanks for everything!!!
Hi Sara, We’ve never had that happen as the butter in the dough usually keeps the filling very soft. Was your brown sugar fresh and soft? If it was toward the end of the bag and was hard and dry that certainly could have been the problem. If you try it again you can try to mix a little warm milk (just 1-2 TBS) to make it more of a paste. We haven’t tested it that way but it should help!
Could you sub a different filling? I’ve been dying to make pastries with some guava paste I have.
Hi Kate, Definitely!
I’m so excited to make these for my brother for Christmas. He loves PopTarts, esp the brown sugar cinnamon. Eats them all the time (we all wish he wouldn’t, as many of the ingredients are fake/weird). I’ll let you know how it goes. LOVE your recipes!
Hi Sally, I love all your recipes! I made these last night and all 9 were gone by school this morning! I wanted to ask you why my glaze turned out quite a few shades darker than yours? I followed the recipe exactly. It was delicious, just darker in color. Thanks for sharing this home run recipe!
Hi Elizabeth! It could be a few things. Icing darkens as it dries/hardens. Certain brands of ingredients could also play a part in the final colors. And, the vanilla extract, depending on how potent, could also darken the icing more. We’re so glad you enjoyed this recipe!
Hey Sally! I have a question will it can I fill the pop tarts with nutella
Hi Aria, we can’t see why not! Let us know how it goes for you.
Just made these according to the recipe–except I just used straight butter for the crust due to laziness (I didn’t feel like running to the store for shortening). OMG. Very good. Excellent warm with the glaze. Will definitely make again.
I made these months ago and they were so good! Today I’m making more, except I’m making half of them with pumpkin butter and I’ll add pumpkin spice to the glaze. I can’t wait to share with my parents, husband & son. I’m thinking raspberry may be next. And strawberry.
Sounds amazing, Summer — let us know how they turn out for you!
I’m making these right now and when making the dough I was looking at your recipe for the pie crust because I wanted the step by step photos–I did not realize until my dough was already chilling in the refrigerator that the pop tart dough uses 1/4 teaspoon more salt than the pie crust dough. Is there any way to adjust for the salt that will be missing in the dough or should I just give up and use this batch of dough for pies and start this recipe over?
Hi Robyn, You won’t notice much of a difference with the extra 1/4 tsp of salt so you can go ahead and use that crust for these. Enjoy!
These turned out great! They are just like the store bought, but so much better. I made them for my dad’s birthday and they were a hit! And they were not that hard to make either. I will be making more soon!
I put mine in a teflon toaster bag and it reheated perfectly. 🙂 So delicious.
Hey Sally!! Do you have any recommendations for an egg wash substitute? (We have egg allergies in our house) Love your recipes!!!
Hi Kayla, you can skip the egg wash on the outside, and use water or milk instead to adhere the top and bottom crusts. Hope they’re a hit!
I filled mine with marshmallows dipped in melted butter, then tossed in cinnamon sugar. AMAZING.
I made these with raspberry pie filling and the cinnamon filling. As an easy substitute I bought pillsbury pie crust sheets and made 2 dozen in about an hour. So good!!
Is it normal not to need any ice water? I used cubed, frozen butter and chilled shortening as called for, but I pulsed the mixture in a food processor for about 10 seconds. It clumped together without any water. Does that mean it was overworked?
Hi Rachel, unfortunately it sounds like the dough was overworked and that your butter and shortening were a bit too warm. When making pie crust, we recommend using a pastry cutter or fork to ensure the dough doesn’t get overworked. Cold ingredients are also key to producing a light and flaky pastry crust. Hope this helps for next time!
These were tricky to roll out, but turned out beautifully! I wish there had been a bit more dough to work with, because after trimming my tarts ended up being smaller than 3×4, which made them harder to fill, and I had lots of extra filling mix, but that’s likely my in-expertise in working with pastry.
I made this recipe twice and it is amazing! My family ate them ridiculously quick! The only problem I have is that mine were ugly. I had problem with uniformity. I didn’t use a straight edge so I’m sure that was the real issue. They might not have been pretty but they sure were good!
Question please!! Could I use a fruit flavored jam for these? Would you also use the egg wash inside? I have made these for myself (yummmmm) but I have friends who prefer the fruit flavors, like strawberry. I appreciate the help, thanks Sally!!!
Definitely! A fruit flavored jam would be delicious. Yes, still use the egg wash inside. Hope your friends enjoy these!
Hi Sally! I can’t buy shortening where I live. Would you recommend substituting with something else (lard maybe?) or just following an all-butter pie crust recipe?
Thanks!
Hi Taylor, you can use our all-butter pie crust recipe instead!
loved making these! my glaze was about 4 shades darker though- and I followed your recipe exactly. not sure what the difference could have been!
I tried this recipe last night. My family loves it! I didn’t have a ruler to measure rectangles so I used a large round biscuit cutter for my pop tarts. Last night they tasted good but were even better this morning. They are just like pop tarts but better-fresher, flakier, more buttery! Thanks so much Sally. I can always trust your recipes!!! 🙂
This dough was very difficult to work with. Mine came out solid as rocks after the first trip to the fridge, making this take forever to roll out. We got there in the end, but even after 30+ minutes to get to room temp, the dough was too cold/hard to work with.
Sally, could I use this Cinnamon filling for scones instead of the cinnamon chips?
Hi Teresa, I haven’t tested it, but I can’t see why not!
Can these be made a day ahead and popped into the oven the next morning?
Hi Jonelia, At the end of step two you can refrigerate the dough for or up to 5 days.
I halved the recipe. I forgot to chill again before baking and worried they wouldn’t flake up. They did! Super good. Will roll put a little thinner next time, and add more filling. Other than that (my fault- not the recipe), I’m super pleased. The hubby loved them too. He is pretty picky also! Thanks.
I made these this weekend and they’re absolutely fantastic! 100x better than the real ones. Added a dash of vanilla extract to the pie dough as another commenter said he did. Can’t wait to make them again. Because they are already all gone!
These were super fun and yummy! I made them with an all-purpose gluten free flour (cup for cup mix) and vegan butter. I filled them with homemade strawberry jam! Yum! My son has never had a pop tart because of allergies, and he was thrilled he could eat these. Thank you for all of your great recipes that are easily adapted!
I made these and there are to salty. I added the right amount of salt.
Hi Auggie, Any chance you used salted butter instead of unsalted?
OMG…I just made this recipe. I am gifting homemade pop tarts to my husbands boss who loves them. They are beautiful and tasty! I cannot wait to make another batch for myself. They are delicious!
May I ask what is the purpose of flour in the filling? and what would happen if I only made it with the sugar, cinnamon and egg wash?
thanks.
Hi A, It helps to give it a bit of structure so that the cinnamon and sugar do not simply melt into the crust when baked.