Homemade apple cinnamon pop tarts are a sophisticated take on a favorite childhood breakfast treat. This version is made with all natural, real ingredients!
Pop Tarts were such a convenient breakfast treat during my childhood days. I hardly ever buy them anymore. But, I’ll always have a soft spot for them in my heart.
Apple Pop Tarts
It is time to give this childhood favorite pastry a much needed makeover! These homemade apple cinnamon pop tarts are fresh spin on a classic. It has a much richer flavor and exciting texture compared to the store-bought version. Best of all, this recipe may be tailored and adjusted to your preferences with a variety of different fruit fillings and toppings!
These homemade pop tarts feature a sweet apple cinnamon filling. The combination of flakey golden crust with spiced apple filling tastes very similar to classic apple pie.
Apple Pie Filling
Granny Smith apples are great for cooking and baking. They are known for their strong tart flavor and bright tang. Granny Smith apple are juicy and firm. Best of all, they can withstand heat. The apple will not easily turn to mush, unlike other varieties.
The chopped apple are cooked with brown sugar, sugar, cinnamon, and lemon juice. The filling is delicious on it’s own! You’ll want to spread it on toast, mix it into yogurt, or eat it with oatmeal.
Be careful when filling the pop tarts with the apple cinnamon mixture. Don’t overfill it. A little goes a long way.
Hand Pie Pastry Dough
I set out to create a crumbly pastry dough. The dough is similar to the one I used for these cherry pop tarts.
The dough is super forgiving. It is nothing like puff pastry or pie dough. This means, you can bunch up scrape dough and re-roll it numerous times!
Reheating Tips
Do not reheat these in a standard toaster. The glaze will melt into a puddle and create a big mess!
These apple cinnamon pop tarts taste great at room temperature. But if you really must eat them warm, a couple seconds in the microwave should do the trick.
More Apple Cinnamon Desserts
Apple Cinnamon Pop Tarts
Ingredients
Dough:
- 3 ½ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ cup cake flour
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter, room temp
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup dark brown sugar, packed
- 1 large egg
- 6 Tablespoon heavy cream
Apple Cinnamon Filling:
- 4 ½ cup Granny Smith apple, peeled, cored, chopped
- 1 cup dark brown sugar, packed
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
Egg Wash:
- 1 large egg
- 1 Tablespoon water
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 Tablespoon heavy cream
Cinnamon Glaze:
- 1 ½ cups confections’ sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 3 Tablespoon whole milk
Instructions
- To make dough: whisk together flour, cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter, sugar, and brown sugar. Add the egg and mix until just combined. Scrape bowl as needed.
- Add half of dry mixture to creamed butter. With the mixer running, slowly add cream. Add the remaining dry mixture and mix until just incorporated.
- Turn dough out onto a clean working surface. Divide dough into two equal parts. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for at least 1 hour (up to overnight).
- Filling: While the dough is chilling, make apple cinnamon filling. Place chopped apples, brown sugar, sugar, ground cinnamon, and lemon juice in a medium sauce pot over medium heat. Stir to combine until sugar dissolves. Let simmer until apples are soft and tender, about 10-15 minutes. Strain apples, reserving liquids. Transfer apples to a food processor. Add 1 Tbsp of reserved liquids. Pulse until mixture resembles jam. Add additional reserved liquids (1/2 Tbsp at a time) until mixture resembles thick jam. let cool to room temperature before filling the pop tarts. Alternatively, transfer to an airtight container and let chill in the fridge until ready to use.
- Egg Wash: Whisk together egg, water, salt, and cream. Set aside.
- Once dough has chilled, remove one piece of dough from fridge. Roll to 1/4-inch thickness on a lightly floured surface. Cut dough into rectangles 3×5 inches in size. Repeat with second dough. Press and knead together scraps and roll dough out again, until you end up with 20 rectangles (10 tops and 10 bottoms).
- Spoon a rounded 1 ½ tablespoons of apple cinnamon filling into the center of 10 rectangles. Spread filling leaving a clean frame around the filling for sealing the edges of the pop tart. Lightly brush egg wash along the clean frame. Place the remaining rectangles over the filled rectangles. Line up the edges of the top and bottom piece, then press the edges to seal. Be careful not to overfill the pop tarts.
- Place pop tarts on a parchment lined baking sheet. Freeze pop tarts for at least 1 hour until solid.
- Preheat oven to 350℉. Lightly brush the tops of the pop tarts with egg wash. Bake for 10 minutes, rotate pan, and continue baking for another 10 minutes until pop tarts are golden brown in color. Let sit in baking sheet for 3-5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool to room temperature.
- To make cinnamon glaze: whisk together confectioners’ sugar, vanilla, ground cinnamon, and milk until smooth. Let glaze sit for 5 minutes to slightly thicken. Drizzle glaze over cooled pop tarts. Garnish with sprinkles, if desired. Serve at room temperature or microwave for a couple seconds to warm up.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like this recipe? Rate & comment below!
Hi again!
Just started the process and this dough is quite dry. Seems as if it will like crack or break apart while rolling out. I have formed (as best I could) two 500gr dough disks and placed them in the fridge. Praying I can actually roll this out properly. I’ve made a few doughs, mostly for galettes and it’s harder to work with than them. Any advice?
Doesn’t appear anyone has made these so far from the comments…
Can these be frozen overnight and baked the next day? You mention an hour for freezing after assembly…
Thanks!!
Yes, you can freeze it overnight and bake the following day. If freezing for more than one hour, be sure to cover the dough so it doesn’t take on any unwanted flavors from the freezer.