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Homemade brown sugar pop tarts make the very best breakfast. A nod to the classic childhood favorite, these breakfast pastries are filled with brown sugar and cinnamon and topped with cinnamon glaze.

Homemade Brown Sugar Pop Tarts
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Flaky, buttery, and perfectly spiced, prepare to enjoy one or two of these from scratch pop tarts with your morning coffee. Pro tip: Make a batch ahead and stash in the freezer for whenever a craving strikes!

Homemade Brown Sugar Pop Tarts

How to Make Brown Sugar Pop Tarts

Pastry – The pastry for these pop tarts is also my go-to all-butter pastry that comes together in less than 5 minutes in the food processor. You can make the pastry up to 2 days in advance, and I always recommend making the dough ahead to give it time to chill for at least 1 hour before rolling out.

If your food processor is small, I recommend making one crust at a time to distribute the butter evenly. To make a single pie crust, use:

  • 1 1/4 cups flour
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • 1/2 cup cold unsalted butter, cubed
  • 2 to 4 Tbsp ice water

Once you’ve made the pie crust, wrap each disc in plastic wrap and chill for at least 1 hour before rolling out.

Roll Dough – Roll out dough to 1/8-inch thick and use a rectangular cookie cutter or sharp knife to cut out rectangles of dough. Chill the rectangles on parchment-lined baking sheets while preparing the filling.

Make Filling – Combine brown sugar, cornstarch, salt, and cinnamon in a medium bowl. Cut in softened butter with a fork until completely incorporated, then stir in heavy cream and vanilla extract.

Assemble Pop Tarts – Divide the filling evenly among 9 rectangles, leaving a 1/4-inch border. Brush the pastry edges lightly with egg wash and top with the remaining rectangles. Press edges firmly to seal and chill assembled pop tarts for 30 minutes.

Bake – Press the edges again to reinforce the seal and prick the tops with a fork or wooden skewer. Brush pop tarts with heavy cream and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until golden brown. Cool on baking sheets for 10 minutes, then remove from the pan and place on a wire rack to cool completely.

Glaze – For the glaze, whisk together melted butter, salt, cinnamon, powdered sugar, and heavy cream until smooth. The glaze should be thick enough to spoon or spread onto the pop tarts without running off the edges, so adjust the amount of powdered sugar accordingly.

Glaze Pop Tarts – Spoon or spread glaze over pop tarts and let set before serving. For extra spice, sprinkle pop tarts lightly with cinnamon.

Make Ahead – Freeze assembled pop tarts on a baking sheet, then transfer to a freezer bag for storage. When ready to bake, brush with heavy cream and bake directly from the freezer, adding 1-2 minutes to baking time.

Homemade Brown Sugar Pop Tarts
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Homemade Brown Sugar Pop Tarts

Homemade Brown Sugar Pop Tarts

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  • Author: Laura Kasavan
  • Prep Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
  • Cook Time: 30 minutes
  • Total Time: 1 hour 45 minutes
  • Yield: 9 pop tarts
  • Category: Breakfast
  • Method: Bake
  • Cuisine: American
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Description

Delicious homemade brown sugar pop tarts with a brown sugar-cinnamon filling and cinnamon glaze. Flaky, buttery, and perfectly spiced!


Ingredients

Pastry

  • 2 1/2 cups flour
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 2 tsp sugar
  • 1 cup cold unsalted butter, cubed
  • 1/4 to 1/2 cup ice water

Filling

  • 1 1/4 cups firmly packed light brown sugar
  • 1 Tbsp cornstarch
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp cinnamon
  • 3 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened
  • 1 Tbsp heavy cream
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Assembly

  • 1 large egg white
  • 1 tsp water

Topping

  • 2 Tbsp heavy cream

Glaze

  • 1 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
  • 1/8 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp cinnamon
  • 3/4 cup powdered sugar
  • 2 Tbsp heavy cream

Instructions

  1. Prepare dough: For the crust, combine flour, salt, and sugar in a food processor. Add cubed butter and process for 10 seconds, just until the mixture resembles coarse meal. With the food processor running, add 1/4 cup ice water in a steady stream through feed tube. If needed, add additional ice water 1 tablespoon at a time, and process just until dough holds together in large clumps (no more than 30 seconds). Divide dough into two equal portions. Wrap each portion in plastic and flatten slightly to form a disc. Chill in the refrigerator at least 1 hour (or up to 2 days, or place in a freezer bag and freeze up to 1 month).
  2. Roll dough: Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Place one disc of dough on a floured board and dust dough with flour. Roll out until dough is about 1/8″ thick (If dough starts to stick, use a floured bench scraper to gently lift dough from board).
  3. If dough is warm or very soft, chill for 10 minutes in the refrigerator. Use a 2 1/2 x 4-inch rectangular cookie cutter (or sharp knife) to cut out 9 rectangles of dough per disc (re-roll scraps once). Use a lightly floured thin spatula to transfer rectangles to prepared baking sheet and chill in the refrigerator for 15 minutes. Repeat with second disc of dough, for a total of 18 rectangles.
  4. Prepare filling: Combine brown sugar, cornstarch, salt, and cinnamon in a medium bowl. Add softened butter and cut in with a fork until completely incorporated. Stir in heavy cream and vanilla until combined.
  5. Assemble pop tarts: Divide the filling evenly among 9 rectangles. Use an offset spatula (or back of a spoon) to shape the filling into a rectangle, leaving a 1/4-inch border. Whisk egg white and water together in a small bowl. Lightly brush the edges of the pastry with egg white mixture and top with the remaining rectangles. Press edges firmly to seal, and chill assembled pop tarts for 30 minutes.
  6. Preheat oven to 400°F. Press the edges of the chilled pop tarts firmly again to reinforce the seal and use a fork or wooden skewer to prick the tops of the pop tarts for steam to escape. Brush tops with heavy cream.
  7. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until pop tarts are golden brown. Cool on baking sheet for 10 minutes, then use a thin spatula to carefully remove pop tarts from the pan and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
  8. For the glaze, whisk together melted butter, salt, cinnamon, powdered sugar, and heavy cream until smooth. Spoon or spread glaze over pop tarts and let set before serving. If desired, sprinkle pop tarts with cinnamon.

Notes

Make ahead: Freeze assembled pop tarts on a baking sheet, then transfer to a freezer bag for storage. When ready to bake, brush with heavy cream and bake directly from the freezer, adding 1-2 minutes to baking time.

Homemade Brown Sugar Pop Tarts

More breakfast ideas to try:

Snickerdoodle Crumb Muffins
Baked Apple Cider Doughnuts
Classic Sour Cream Coffee Cake

Meet Laura

Hi, I'm Laura and I'm so happy you're here! Welcome to Tutti Dolci Baking Recipes, a baking blog celebrating all things sweet! I share approachable baking recipes and elevated classic desserts for every home baker. My goal is to inspire you to bake from scratch with kitchen-tested recipes you can count on.

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