Brown Sugar Cinnamon Pop Tarts
Buttery pastry filled with a thick brown sugar cinnamon paste and finished with cinnamon icing. The best flavour from the box, made properly.
By Hanan · Salt & Hearth
Published August 18, 2026
Full quantities, times and temperatures · How we make this site
Prep
40 min
Cook
22 min
Total
62 min
Serves
9
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Brown sugar cinnamon was always the best flavour in the box, and it is also the easiest one to make properly at home, because the filling is four pantry ingredients stirred together. The important part is the tablespoon of flour: brown sugar and butter alone turn to liquid caramel in the oven and run straight out of the pastry, and the flour holds it as a thick paste instead. Everything else is a standard butter shortcrust, chilled well and baked until deep gold.
Why you'll love this recipe
- The filling is four store-cupboard ingredients and takes two minutes.
- Real butter pastry, flaky and layered, rather than the flat boxed version.
- The unbaked tarts freeze, so you can bake them one or two at a time.
- Cinnamon icing on top makes them look exactly like the originals.
- Nine substantial tarts from one batch of dough.
Ingredients
For the pastry
- 2 1/2 cups (315 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon fine salt
- 1 cup (225 g) cold unsalted butter, cubed
- 1 large egg
- 2 tablespoons cold milk
- 4-6 tablespoons ice water
For the filling
- 3/4 cup (150 g) dark brown sugar, packed
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon fine salt
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
To finish
- 1 large egg, beaten
- 1 cup (120 g) powdered sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2-3 tablespoons milk
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
Ingredient notes & substitutions
- Dark brown sugar:
- Dark rather than light — it has more molasses, which is where the caramel depth comes from.
- Flour in the filling:
- Two tablespoons. It is the difference between a thick paste that stays inside and a caramel that escapes through the seams.
- Cold butter:
- For the pastry, straight from the fridge and cubed. Warm butter blends into the flour and you lose the flakes.
- Cinnamon:
- Two teaspoons in the filling and half a teaspoon in the icing, so the flavour carries through both layers.
- Ice water:
- Added sparingly. The dough should just hold together when squeezed, not feel wet.
Method
- 1
Make the pastry: whisk the flour, sugar and salt, then cut in the cold butter until the pieces range from pea-sized to small flakes. Those visible butter pieces are what create the layers.
- 2
Whisk the egg with the milk, add to the flour and bring together with a fork, adding ice water a tablespoon at a time until the dough just holds. Stop the moment it does.
- 3
Divide into two discs, wrap and refrigerate at least 1 hour.
- 4
Make the filling: stir the brown sugar, flour, cinnamon and salt together, then mix in the melted butter until it forms a thick, spreadable paste. The flour is what stops it liquefying and running out in the oven — brown sugar and butter alone would.
- 5
Roll each disc to about 1/8 inch thick and cut into 3x4-inch rectangles, 18 in total.
- 6
Brush the edges of 9 rectangles with beaten egg and spread a heaped tablespoon of filling in the centre of each, leaving a clear 1/2-inch border.
- 7
Top with the remaining rectangles, press the edges firmly all round with a fork, and prick each top two or three times to vent the steam.
- 8
Chill the assembled tarts on a lined sheet for 30 minutes while the oven heats to 375F.
- 9
Brush with beaten egg and bake 20-24 minutes, until deep golden. Some filling may bubble at the seams — that is caramel, and it is the best part.
- 10
Cool completely, then whisk the powdered sugar, cinnamon, milk and vanilla into a thick icing and spread over the tops.
Tips
- Add the flour to the filling. Without it the brown sugar liquefies and pours straight out of the tarts.
- Keep the pastry cold at every stage, including the 30-minute chill before baking.
- Spread the filling rather than mounding it, so the two layers meet flat and seal properly.
- Prick the tops so steam escapes through the holes instead of forcing the seams apart.
- Let them cool fully before icing — cinnamon icing on a warm tart just slides off.
Variations to try
- Add 1/2 teaspoon of ground ginger and a pinch of cloves to the filling for a spiced version.
- Swap half the brown sugar for maple sugar, or add a teaspoon of maple extract to the icing.
- Add finely chopped toasted pecans to the filling.
- Skip the icing and dust with cinnamon sugar straight out of the oven instead.
Storage & make-ahead
Keep iced tarts in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. Assembled unbaked tarts freeze flat for up to 2 months and bake from frozen with 5 extra minutes. Baked un-iced tarts freeze for 2 months; refresh in a 350F oven and ice once cool. Avoid the refrigerator, which toughens the pastry.
Frequently asked questions
- My filling ran out during baking. Why?
- Either the flour was left out of the filling, or the tarts were overfilled. Both cause the same failure.
- Can I use light brown sugar?
- Yes, though the flavour is milder. Dark brown sugar gives the deeper caramel note that makes these taste right.
- Do they actually work in a toaster?
- They do, on a low setting, but they are considerably better warmed in an oven — a toaster tends to burn the icing.
- Can I halve the recipe?
- Yes, though the pastry is easier to handle at full size. Better to make the full batch and freeze half unbaked.
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