Homemade Brown Sugar Cinnamon Pop-Tarts
Pastry:
- 2½ cups all-purpose flour
- 3 Tbsp. confectioners’ sugar
- 1 tsp. salt
- 18 Tbsp. (2¼ sticks) butter, chilled and cubed
- 5 – 6 Tbsp. ice cold water
Filling:
- ½ cup brown sugar, packed
- 2 tsp. cinnamon
- 1 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
- 1 egg
- 2 tsp. milk
Glaze:
- 1¼ cup confectioners’ sugar
- 1 - 2 Tbsp. milk
- ¾ tsp. cinnamon
- ½ tsp. vanilla extract
Make the pastry: In a large bowl, combine the flour, confectioners’ sugar, salt. Add the butter in cubes and cut into the flour using a pastry cutter. Once the mixture resembles coarse crumbs, add the water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until it comes together in one uniform ball. Divide dough in half, wrap each in plastic wrap, and refrigerate while you make the filling.
Make the filling: In a small bowl, whisk together the brown sugar, cinnamon, and flour. Use the rounded side of a spoon to get rid of any clumps; set aside. In a measuring cup, beat together the egg and milk; set aside.
Assemble the pop tarts: Take one disk of dough out of the fridge and place on a lightly floured surface. Roll out until about 1/8” thick and about 9”x12” (mine was always less and I just used the scraps and re-rolled later, this is fine too). Cut into as many 3” by 4” rectangles as you can fit, then collect the scraps and place the rectangles on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Repeat with the other disk of dough. Take all the scraps and roll until you have a total of 18 rectangles on your baking sheets.
Brush one sheet of rectangles (9 rectangles) with egg wash. Place a heaping tablespoon of the filling on each rectangle. Spread out just slightly, leaving a generous border. Brush the other rectangles with the egg wash and place on top of the rectangles with filling on top. Press down the border with your fingers and then crimp using a fork. Poke the tops of the rectangles with a fork or toothpick to allow the air to escape. Chill rectangles for at least 20 minutes (I chilled overnight).
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Bake pop tarts for 24 to 28 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through, or until golden brown. Let cool completely before glazing.
Make the glaze: Whisk all of the glaze ingredients together in a small bowl until it reaches spreadable consistency. Use a spoon or knife (what I used) to glaze each cooled pop tart and let the glaze set for about 1 hour (one hour is ideal but I couldn’t wait either).