Homemade Frosted Brown Sugar Cinnamon Pop Tarts

My Homemade Brown Sugar Cinnamon Pop Tarts are the ultimate nostalgic breakfast treat, except this homemade version is even better than the originals! These are perfect for a grab-and-go breakfast for back to school or an easy sweet treat for weekend breakfasts!

There’s something so comforting about the classic flavor of a brown sugar cinnamon Pop Tart. It takes me straight back to childhood mornings—when you’d pop one in the toaster before school and feel like you were getting away with dessert for breakfast. These homemade pop tarts bring all that cozy childhood favorites nostalgia, but with a richer flavor, flakier pastry, and real ingredients you can feel good about. Plus, who doesn’t love a warm and gooey brown sugar cinnamon confection first thing in the morning?!

If you’re looking for more delicious homemade breakfast ideas, be sure to check out my Carrot Cake Muffins and Cap’n Crunch French Toast for more family-friendly favorites. We’re all about easy breakfasts for busy moms here on Supermom Shuffles Cooking. 

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• Simple ingredients, pantry staples – You probably already have everything you need on hand!
• Customizable and fun to make – Add your own twist with other fillings or shapes.
• Better than store-bought – Flaky, buttery crust and real brown sugar flavor—you’ll never go back!
• Make-ahead friendly – Prep ahead and bake fresh or freeze for later.
• Kid-approved – A huge hit with the little ones (and grown-ups too).

Equipment

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• Oven Mitts – This is a heavy and hot dish! Make sure you have good oven mitts to protect your hands!
• Baking Sheets – These Nordic Ware natural aluminum commercial baker’s half sheets are my absolute favorite baking sheets I’ve ever owned in my cooking days! They are super heavy-duty, have a great rim around them, and they stay in great shape no matter what you cook on them. And they clean up incredibly easily as well!
• Parchment Paper Sheets – This is parchment paper that’s already cut for you! And it is the size of a half baking sheet pan, which is absolutely perfect!
• Pizza Roller Cutter – I love my KitchenAid Classic Pizza Cutter. And it’s the best thing to cut a whole lot of food in addition to pizza! Use it for beef puff, quesadillas, garlic bread, and more!
• Glass Mixing Bowls – This is a nesting set of glass bowls. I find I can’t have enough glass bowls in my kitchen!
• Wooden cutting board (LARGE!) – I adore this cutting board. It’s really big and I use it any time I need to roll out dough or do large amounts of work! I keep it for only bread and sweets and generally don’t chop veggies or meats on it!
• Airtight Food Storage Containers – These are fantastic. They keep food air-tight and fresh so well!
• Rolling Pin – I love a wooden rolling pin.

Ingredients

For the Pastry:

• All-purpose flour – The base of your dough—make sure to spoon and level for accuracy.
• Butter – Use cold, cubed butter for a flaky, tender crust.
• White sugar – Just a touch to lightly sweeten the dough.
• Salt – Enhances flavor and balances the sweetness.
• Ice cold water – Helps the dough come together without melting the butter.
• Egg – Beaten and used for brushing to seal and give a golden finish.

Filling:

• Dark brown sugar – Rich molasses flavor that makes this filling irresistible.
• Cinnamon – Warm and cozy—classic pop tart flavor.
• Vanilla extract – Adds depth and rounds out the sweetness.
• All-purpose flour – Helps thicken the filling and prevent it from oozing.

For the Icing:

• Powdered sugar – The base of your sweet glaze.
• Cinnamon – Continues the warm spice into the icing.
• Vanilla extract – Boosts flavor just a bit more.
• Milk – Thins the icing to a pourable consistency.

Substitutions, Modifications, and Additions

Substitutions

• Prepared Pie Crust – You can totally take a shortcut and get pre-made pie crust dough and it’s delicious, too! Either way you are going to have flaky pastry dough for your pop tarts!
• Dark brown sugar – Light brown sugar will work too, just with a slightly milder taste.

Modifications

• Gluten-Free – Use a 1:1 gluten-free baking flour blend or purchase gluten-free pie crust dough. 
• Dairy-Free – Use plant-based butter and non-dairy milk for the icing.
• Strawberry Pop Tarts – Use the same crust recipe and change out the filling for whatever flavor suits you for your poptarts! I love homemade strawberry pop tarts! Use strawberry jam for the filling and mix some strawberry jam in place of the brown sugar and cinnamon in the icing! You can really have some fun with the filling flavor. 

Additions

• ​Apples – Some apples in the filling mixture would be DELICIOUS!
• Coarse Sugar – Sprinkle the tops with a little coarse sugar or cinnamon sugar after you put the icing on for a little texture addition. 

Assembly and Baking Instructions

Dough

We are going to make a flour mixture in the food processor in a food processor by combining flour, butter, sugar, and salt. Pulse in ice water until dough forms a ball in the side of the processor.

Form Dough

Turn out the dough onto your floured board, then work it into a smooth ball of dough. But don’t overwork the dough, we want it to be light and flaky. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour (overnight works too!).

Filling Prep

Now let’s make the brown sugar cinnamon filling! In a small glass bowl, mix brown sugar, cinnamon, vanilla, and flour in a small bowl until fully combined.

Roll Dough

On a lightly floured surface, roll dough to about 1/8–1/4 inch thick. Cut into evenly-sized rectangles (re-roll scraps if needed). I like to use a pizza cutter or a pastry cutter for easy cutting of the dough. This recipe makes 8 pop tarts, so you need 16 rectangles of tart dough. Mine are usually about a 3×5 inch rectangle. These don’t have to be rectangles. YOu can make whatever shape you want! They could be square shape! Or round pop tarts! The sky is the limit here, folks! 

Assemble

Brush each base rectangle with a little egg wash. Spoon filling onto the center of each rectangle (half the rectangles), leaving a ½-inch border. Top with another rectangle and press the edges with a fork. Poke holes in the top to vent. Brush the top of the pie dough with an egg yolk wash as well. 

Arrange

Place pop tarts on a baking sheet lined with a sheet of parchment paper. 

​Bake

Bake the pop tarts at 375*F for about 15 minutes or until lightly golden brown.

Cool

Place the pastries on a cooling rack to slightly cool. 

Icing

When slightly cooled, ice the tops of your pop tarts. To make the icing, use whisk to combine powdered sugar, cinnamon, vanilla, and milk until smooth. Add your milk slowly; you might reach the desired consistency before you use the full amount. Drizzle a thin layer of icing over slightly cooled pastries and enjoy warm! You can be more precise than me with the icing if you want. But I like them a little rustic. The pastries are warm, the icing is runny. I just roll with it! It’s delicious no matter if they look absolutely perfect or not!

Tips and Notes

• Chill your dough! Cold dough = flakier crust. This is not the time for room temperature anything!
• Don’t overfill – too much filling can leak during baking.
• Use a fork to press down edges firmly so they seal well.
• Let pastries cool slightly before icing or the icing may melt right off.

Serving Suggestions

• With coffee or milk – Homemade pop-tarts are heavenly with a warm mug of coffee or cold glass of milk.
• As dessert – Warm one up and serve with vanilla ice cream!
• On-the-go snack – Wrap in parchment and take one with you!

Storage and Reheating Instructions

Storage

• Refrigerator – Store in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
• Freezer – Freeze individually wrapped pop tarts (without icing) for up to 2 months. If you prefer, you can freeze the pop tarts before you bake them, to bake fresh pastries when you want them. That’s my preference for my brown sugar pop tarts!

Reheating

• Toaster/Oven – Warm in a 300°F oven for 5–8 minutes.
• Microwave – 10–15 seconds for a quick reheat (be cautious with icing!).
• From Frozen – Bake at 350°F for about 15 minutes or until heated through.

Frequently Asked Questions

Wrap-Up – Homemade Brown Sugar Cinnamon Pop Tarts

Homemade Brown Sugar Cinnamon Pop-Tarts are everything you loved about the classic—but better! Warm, flaky, and filled with cozy cinnamon goodness, these are guaranteed to be a family favorite. Bake a batch this weekend and taste the difference homemade makes! I warn you, though – these will forever ruin store-bought pop tarts. They are so good and so easy, there’s no reason not to make them at home! I can’t wait to hear what you think about this recipe when you make it at home! Let me know! Happy Baking! And as always, Just Keep Shuffling!

Printable Recipe for Homemade Brown Sugar Cinnamon Pop Tarts

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