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(Better than store-bought) Homemade Frosted Brown Sugar Cinnamon Pop Tarts. Easy homemade brown sugar cinnamon filling, stuffed between two layers of cinnamon dough, baked until toasted, and finished with a sweet vanilla and cinnamon frosting. These brown sugar cinnamon pop tarts are flaky, perfectly sweet, and heavy on the cinnamon. Finish each mini tart with a sprinkle of cinnamon sugar or pretzel salt for an added layer of deliciousness. Every bite is roll your eyes back good!
After sharing my homemade chocolate fudge pop tarts a couple of weeks ago, we received so many messages and comments. so many of them were requests for a homemade brown sugar cinnamon pop tarts. I had no idea that the cinnamon flavor is apparently everyone’s favorite. Growing up, I always ate the chocolate flavor. It just never occurred to me that you all might actually LOVE the brown sugar pop tarts more.
Well, I heard your requests loud and clear. Today we have homemade frosted brown sugar cinnamon pop tarts. And honestly? These really are SO GOOD. Yes, I will forever love the chocolate fudge pop tarts, but I have to admit, I think I missed out on these cinnamon tarts as a kid. The crust is flaky and buttery, the filling is sweet and heavy on the cinnamon…with just a hint of butter, and the frosting is that final layer that completes these little mini tarts.
Admittedly I hesitated to share this recipe so soon after the chocolate tarts. But with everyone baking up a storm right now I figured, why not? These are fun to bake if you’re home with your kids or just need a random Tuesday afternoon project. And most importantly? They’re delicious.
These pop tarts are simple. Even simpler than the chocolate fudge pop tarts because the filling is quicker to mix up. This filling doesn’t require any cooking or any time in the fridge to chill. It’s a very simple mix of brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, butter, and vanilla. That’s it, just mix and done.
Once the filling has been mixed, make the dough. I really wanted these pop tarts to be as authentic as possible to the ones from the box…but taste better (of course). But I also didn’t want to use just plain old dough. The boxed tarts have a crust that’s similar to a graham cracker, so I wanted to mimic that look and flavor. To do this use, I use a mix of all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, and cinnamon. The whole wheat flour adds a little more crumb and a little more color to the dough. The cinnamon adds flavor.
pop tarts before baking (above), pop tarts after baking (below)
The result? It took a few trials, but I think I got them pretty darn close to the classic look…but with a better taste, thanks to using real ingredients.
I like using the food processor to easily mix the dough, but you can simply use your hands as well.
Roll the dough out and cut into rectangles. Use the back of a spoon to spread the filling over half of the rectangles, leaving a small border around the edge of the dough. At this point, you’ll want to brush the borders of the rectangles with the egg. Using the beaten egg ensures that all of the filling stays inside of the pop tarts while they bake. Add the top piece of dough to enclose the filling. Then use the tines of a fork to crimp the edges around the tarts. This seals all that yummy filling inside.
Bake the pop tarts up, and twenty minutes later you’ll have the smell of warm cinnamon wafting in the air. You’ll also have the most delicious homemade frosted brown sugar cinnamon pop tarts!
Make the frosting, which is key. It’s a pretty quick mix up of powdered sugar, vanilla, and cinnamon. Nothing fancy, but it’s a mix of very delicious (sweet) things.
Spread the frosting over each tart. Then let the pop tarts hang out for a bit to give the frosting some time to harden. And that’s pretty much it. Could not be simpler, and the end result is roll your eyes back good.
Well, I don’t know for sure. It’s been a while since I had my last pop tart, but they do taste really, really good. You can really taste the real brown sugar and cinnamon with undertone flavors of vanilla and sweet butter. The crust is flaky and the center filling is soft and gooey.
And everyone’s second question…can you put these in the toaster? I wish I could say yes, but no, I would not recommend it. If you leave the frosting off of the pop tarts, then yes, you can easily toast these in the toaster and enjoy them warm, which I’m sure would be delicious.
And guys? That’s all I have for you. If you take away one thing from the blog post, let it be that these pop tarts are DELISH. So much better than the boxed stuff from the store.
Added bonus? Every single ingredient is a pantry staple. Meaning you have zero excuses to not bake these up today. Tuesday pop tarts anyone?
Looking for other homemade versions of childhood favorites? Try some of these.
Healthier Homemade Somoas Cookies
Homemade Chocolate Fudge Pop Tarts
Lastly, if you make these homemade frosted brown sugar cinnamon pop tarts, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!x
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
i just made these for my family and they were a hit! My boyfriend is a big cinnamon lover so he was in love! My dough ended up being a little too wet with the 1/2 cup of water. I shouldn’t have added it all but I fixed it by adding a little more whole wheat flour.
Amazing! Thank you so much Lexi! xTieghan
These were absolutely amazing. Definitely not hard to make, just time consuming. I can honestly say that I am happy anytime I make one of her recipes. Thank you for sharing all your amazing content.
Thank you Alexa! I hope you continue to enjoy my recipes! xTieghan
I just found out about you from a friend and I am LOVING ALL of your recipes!! I don’t know how you make fun but easy AND healthier but yummy dishes. Thank you SO much for all of your creativity and ideas!! Really enjoying them during this Quarantine ❤️?❤️
Aw you are too sweet! I am so happy to hear that, Carly! I hope you continue to enjoy all of the recipes you try! xTieghan
I made these today with my 3 year old daughter. SO GOOD!!
Aw so cute!! I am so glad you enjoyed these! xTieghan
These came out so amazing! I used the frozen butter and cheese grater because my food processor stopped working on me and they came out great! Big hit with everyone and the filling tasted so much like the original pop tarts. Will definitely be making them again.
Thank you so much Sarah! That is so amazing to hear! xTieghan
Fun recipe! I think I saw this in another review but I only ended up yielding ~9 pop-tarts – probably comes down to not rolling the dough thin enough (we’re just a two person household so 9 was more than enough!) Maybe listing the dimensions for rolling out the dough could help with that? That being said, I would cut and then re-roll, repeat – worked fine! These are fairly sweet so they’re also great as-is “naked”. I might even recommend a little bit more melted butter/water to the filling; mine came out fine just following the recipe but I feel like a little more moisture could help with spreading the filling more evenly and keeping it together as it is crumbly. Still really delicious and not something I ever thought to make at home -thanks for the recipe!
Hi! I am glad this recipe turned out really well for you! Thank you so much for giving it a try! Please let me know if there is anything I can help with! xTieghan
These were so flakey and delicious! Perfect amount of sweet, cinnamon, and salt on top!
Amazing!! Thank you so much Alexandra! xTieghan
Tieghan,
This recipe was such a joy to replicate and turned out WONDERFULLY–a big win for me considering that much of what I’ve baked since moving overseas has not turned out the way they did back home. I have to tell you that I have never returned so often to one source for recipes as much as I’ve returned to your site. Thank you! You have brought much delight to my kitchen! Now, off to eat more pop tarts and try to figure out how to get your cookbooks shipped to France 🙂
Haha aw I am really glad this recipe turned out so well for you and I hope yo continue to enjoy the ones I create! Have the most wonderful day! xTieghan
Your recipes are keeping me going during this quarantine. I thoroughly enjoyed making these pop tarts, and they are exceptionally good. Thank you so much for continuing to give us these wonderful recipes!
Thank you Kristin!! I hope you continue to enjoy them!! xTieghan
I am making these for my office’s first day back together next week, I happen to have two rolls of leftover pie crust. Would it be possible to use that dough for the crust?
Hi Molly,
Yes the pie crust will work! I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
Loved! Only thing I would want to work on is the filling- I think maybe I needed to add some butter or something? It felt a bit too grainy.
Hi Jocelyn,
Thanks for trying the recipe. There is butter in the filling, not sure if you missed that? Please let me know how I can help. xTieghan
These were so so yummy! Only got 8 out of them (vs the 16 in the recipe) but dont need much more than that!
Perfect! Thank you Laura! xTieghan
My daughter 12, gave this recipe a try. She loves to bake, and during our shelter in place, once or twice a week I leave a recipe on the kitchen island, and she goes at it with no guidance from me. This recipe was fantastic! The pop tarts are delicious and I loved that there was measuring, decision making (we didn’t have wheat flour) and she was able to use a different appliance (food processor). Thank you for the great recipe. It is making our shelter in place a little easier to have so new recipes and treats to look forward to!
Aw that is so awesome! I am really glad this recipe turned out so well for you guys! I hope you both continue to enjoy recipes of mine! xTieghan
Hello! I don’t have a food processor—is there an alternate approach on that step?
Hi Steffie,
I would recommend freezing the butter and then using a cheese grater to grate the butter. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
I just made these and they were delicious! Were there supposed to be 8 or 16 pop tarts? I ended up with 16 rectangles (8 pop tarts) with just enough filling. Thanks for all the great recipes and beautiful photos/videos!
Hi Amanda! I am really glad this recipe turned out so well for you!! Thank you! xTieghan