If you enjoy making from-scratch versions of store-bought favorites, you will love these homemade frosted brown sugar cinnamon pop tarts. Like my chocolate pastry tarts recipe, this is a fun baking project you can absolutely handle if you follow my thorough step-by-step instructions. I have plenty of step photos for you, too.
I originally published this recipe in 2014 and have since added new photos and a few more success tips.
One reader, Tara, commented: “Such a fun project this week, thank you for sharing! We love this flavor pop tart but it’s so nice to make them at home. These were easier than I thought once we got going! ★★★★★”
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. (Although chocolate pop tarts are a close second!)
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, like these apple hand pies
- 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. (I feel the same way about homemade eclairs… a labor of love, but totally worth it!)
Here’s what you need:
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 my butter pie crust. This crust, while gloriously buttery and flaky, is sturdy enough to bake in different shapes and designs. I also have a shortening & butter pie crust recipe you could use instead; that one holds wonderful shape because shortening has a higher melting point than butter.
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.
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.
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; or try these homemade chocolate pop tarts.
More Homemade Versions of Favorite Childhood Treats
If you love a homemade taste of nostalgia, try these recipes next!
- Chocolate Cake Roll (Swiss Roll)
- Oatmeal Creme Pies
- Cream-Filled Chocolate Cupcakes
- Rice Krispie Treats
Homemade 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 this homemade version. They’re made completely from scratch with REAL ingredients and an all-butter pastry crust. Read through the recipe before beginning, and view the step-by-step photos and video tutorial to help guide you. Be sure to chill the pastry dough for at least 2 hours as instructed in step 2.
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: This is the same recipe as 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 1 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 1 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.
- 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.
Notes
- 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.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Glass Mixing Bowls | Pastry Cutter | Silicone Spatula | Rolling Pin | Pizza Cutter | Baking Sheet | Silicone Baking Mat or Parchment Paper | Pastry Brush | Whisk
- 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.
- Adapted from King Arthur Flour.
Reader Comments and Reviews
Can you prep these the day before?
Hi Sabrina, the best way to prep these ahead is at the end of step two, you can refrigerate the dough for or up to 5 days.
My kids want to know if they can toast these in a toaster? Thanks!
Hi Erin, we recommend heating them in the oven, or if you have a toaster oven where you can lay the pastries flat, you can use that. Enjoy!
This recipe is perfection, these delicious treats taste like a fresh poptarts but elevated. Keeping this in my recipe rotation for sure!
Is the pastry like a pie crust??
Hi Rose, correct! The pastry crust is just like a traditional pie crust.
Just wondering, could I substitute the vegetable shortening for more butter or would it turn out weird?
Hi Pen, you can skip the shortening and make this all butter pie crust for the pop tarts.
Why is there NO salt at all in the crust. The pastry is tasteless.
Hi Lynette, there is 1 teaspoon salt in the pastry (see ingredients list). Did you omit it by chance?
Is there a way to make the filling a bit more diabetic friendly?
Hi Wanda, we haven’t tested this recipe with any sugar substitutes.
This is my first time making these. I put the tops on upside down, so they don’t look that pretty. They are very yummy good and so fun for this special leap year!!
It a laborious process, but when done right feels quite special. I experimented with raspberry jam and nutella filling in addition to brown sugar. all were great. I reheated in toaster and worked beautifully.
Could I use a fruit filling in this recipe? I have some fresh cherries, not enough for a pie, but really want to use them in something and have been wanting to try making homemade pop tarts.
Hi Sarah, you could definitely give it a try! You might also like this recipe for cherry pastry pies.
This recipe was delicious! I made these as a Christmas surprise breakfast for my partner who loves pop tarts.
I used gluten free flour and dairy free butter/coconut based shortening and they were a hit!
Need a little practice on making the pastry but I’ll definitely be making them again so will have the pastry down in no time!
Thank you so much!
Is there something I can use in place of the egg wash that will have the same effect? Egg allergy is an issue and I plan on making these this weekend.
Hi Sarah, 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!
Can I substitute coconut oil for the shortening?
Hi Meagan, some readers have substituted solid and cold coconut oil. However, you may enjoy our all butter pie crust instead.
we like to be old-school around here, so i used my lard pie dough recipe instead. these turned out really really well, aside from presentation which takes practice. i iced one before even letting the tart cool, and its so good, wayyy better than kelloggs. i havent had poptarts in so many years because i cant stand anymore that they use such awful ingredients. im fine with (unbleached) sugar treats daily, but not the stuff in commercial treats! so i finally took the time to look up a poptart copycat recipe, found yours, and wow it is really good. now i have to look into the other flavors somewhere. thanks sooo much for getting me started!!!!
So glad you enjoyed them, Alison!
These are very similar to the “crust cookies” I’ve been making for decades with leftover pie crust, only much more labor intensive. That said, the recipe worked well, crust came out perfect and the tarts were delicious!
Delicious! I actually used pre made gluten free pie crust for the dough, but used your filling and glaze and it was awesome! Just how I remember 🙂
Hi quick question! Have you tried freezing the pop tarts unbaked?
Hi Erica, we haven’t tried it, but it should work!
I haven’t tried this yet but I am SUPER EXCITED!! Your icing looks white in the pictures but brown in the video. I love drawing on my girls pop tarts and surprising her with a different picture when she snacks on them at school. Will it help if I use clear vanilla extract? Maybe less cinnamon?
Hi Savannah! Less cinnamon and clear vanilla extract will definitely yield a lighter icing. Happy baking!
Can’t wait to make these this weekend! Can I add dehydrated apple powder to the filling to make it apple cinnamon?
Hi Alli! Sounds delicious. We don’t have experience baking with dehydrated apple powder but let us know if you give it a try!
I actually made a bunch of mistakes (including not going heavy enough on the flour while rolling) so my pastries were too thick since it kept falling apart, but the taste was amazing and I definitely recommend to anyone. I think it might take a few more times to perfect – especially presentation – but I definitely plan on perfecting it!
How in the ever living heck do you keep the dough from sticking? When working with this recipe initially I thought wow this is great! The dough is so simple and honestly turned out great. Much better than other crusts I have worked with. I chilled the dough overnight and let it sit on the counter 15 mins this morning as instructed. When rolled out it sticks. I know this is a me problem as I have always had problems with pie crusts. Any recommendations would be great! I tried two ways. One directly onto floured counter, it stuck and I couldn’t get it up with my spatula or anything without it ripping. Second (new freshly chilled disc) I tried rolling it between parchment paper so I could just peel off the paper, it still stuck. I’m unsure of any other tricks. It’s in the fridge now chilling again.
I have always had excellent success with Sally’s recipes and hers are my go to for guests now! I don’t know why I struggle so much with pie dough.
Hi Nikki! Make sure to be generous with flour when rolling out the dough. And rotate the dough periodically to make sure it sin’t sticking. You can always add more flour during the rolling-out process!
I went heavy on the flour the next time as instructed and it went much better! I still have some practicing to make them more appealing on the eye but this recipe was DELICIOUS! Will be making it again and trying out different fillings!
Everything from the crust to the frosting is amazing! Best pop tart ever!
I love your scone recipe.. Its a staple in my home! In the scone recipe you use frozen butter that is grated. Can I grate the butter in the pop tart recipe or is better if I use refrigerated butter cut into cubes? When do i use grated butter versus cubed butter?
Hi Cyndi, for pie dough, I really like having those larger chunks of butter to create flaky layers. You could, but I usually don’t. I like using grated frozen butter in scones so the crumbles/flakes are smaller in the handheld treat. (And for scones, you can absolutely use cubed butter instead!)
New to baking. I followed the recipe to the letter but my dough falls apart when I try rolling it out. Can you help
Hi Rene, how did you measure your flour? Be sure to spoon and level (or use a kitchen scale) to ensure that the dough is not over measured. When there is too much flour in the dough, it can cause it to dry out and make it difficult to roll out without cracking.
This was amazing. My partner asked if I would make them once a week haha. How would you recommend making a s’mores version?
Would you use the filling from your salted caramel apple pie bars for these pop tarts? If so, how would you adjust the filling recipe?
Liz
Hi Liz, For an apple filling you can use the quantities we use for these apple hand pies. Let us know if you give it a try!
This looks really good. Can I make them mini? How would I adjust the baking time?
Hi A, it should work just fine to make mini versions — how fun! We’re unsure of the best bake time, but it will be less. Keep a close eye on them. You’ll want the finished pop tarts to look slightly browned around the edges like in these photos.
You have absolutely nailed it on the crust! Perfection!! This was the 2nd poptart recipe i tried and it will definitely be my go to from here out! Wow!! So delicious! I used a strawberry preserve for the filling.
Thank you for making a childhood memory- but making it better
Can I replace the shortening with something else?
Hi Shannon! You can use our all butter pie crust instead.
I made this for my family and they absolutely loved them! They won’t stop asking me to make them again. The only issue I had with the recipe was when I was done baking the pop tarts, the brown sugar filling ended up melting. It became more of a syrup than the original filling everyone knows and loves. I am not sure if it is because I egg washed the whole entire inside on both sides instead of just the edges to seal. I feel like this might be my mistake. I was just wondering if anyone has any recommendations to help me with this?
Hi Allison! The added moisture from the egg was is likely the culprit. Next time just egg wash the edges. So glad you enjoyed them!
I did this and the turned out perfect. Thanks for the advice! My family loves them.
I am confused. It looks like the recipe says to egg wash the whole thing, not just the edges.
same as laura…
Hi Alison! We do egg wash the insides of the pastry, but this reader wanted a more dry texture for the filling.