Brown Sugar Pop Tart Bars
A classic breakfast treat redone as a decadent dessert.
Whether you ate them or not, nothing defines a late-20th-century breakfast quite like the Pop Tart. Foil-wrapped and colorful with a technicolor array of frostings and fillings, the Pop Tart targeted kids and teens and surpassed the adults in youth-focused advertisements. And while the Kellogg-made versions are nostalgic, a home-baked spin-off of the same treat is equally (if not more) delicious. Enter Brown Sugar Pop Tart Bars — all of the flavors of the classic Pop Tart but with a tender butter cookie crust and a cinnamon-packed brown sugar filling.
Who made the Pop Tart is a contentious piece of history, but this post-war breakfast food took breakfast out of the kitchen and into the hands of moving, on-the-go children. Whether a Pop Tart is really a breakfast food is still up for debate, but for this recipe, this treat is a hundred percent a dessert.
While the Pop Tart has a pie crust-like pastry, these bars have a buttery, cookie-like base that’s easy to prep, requires no rolling, and stays fresh for days. After prepping the filling, start making the butter-based cookie dough. Unlike your classic cookie dough, this dough is much softer and spreadable.
Once the dough is made, spread half of the dough into a parchment-lined baking pan.
Sprinkle on the brown sugar and butter mixture. And lastly, top with the remaining dough.
Let it bake until golden and cooled completely. Use the parchment paper to lift the cookie out of the pan.
Spread the cinnamon frosting on top of the bars and let the frosting set completely before serving and slicing.
Cut into long bars, these Brown Sugar Pop Tart Bars have all of the elements of the Pop Tart but in the form of a tender, buttery cookie.
The bar is still portable like a traditional Pop Tart, but it has a more moist and less crumbly texture. These bars are packed with more brown sugar cinnamon flavors, giving you the taste and feelings of a cinnamon bun in a cookie.
These Brown Sugar Pop Tart Bars hold up for several days or for transporting, making them great gifts or treats to share.
Brown Sugar Pop Tart Bars
Diet: Vegetarian
For the cinnamon sugar filling:
- 1 cup packed light brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
For the cookie bar base:
- 1 cup unsalted butter, very soft
- 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
- 3/4 cup powdered sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon fine salt
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
For the cinnamon glaze:
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon fine salt
- 3 to 4 tablespoons heavy cream
To make the cinnamon sugar filling:
- Preheat oven to 325°F and line an 8-x-8-inch baking pan with parchment paper that goes up the sides of the pan as well, and set aside.
- In a bowl, mix the brown sugar, cinnamon, and flour, whisking to combine. Add in butter mixing well to combine completely. Set aside.
To make the dough:
- In a large bowl beat butter, light brown sugar, powdered sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 to 3 minutes, scraping the bowl occasionally.
- Add in vanilla, salt, and egg, beating to combine.
- On a low speed, gradually add the flour, mixing until just incorporated.
- Divide the dough in half and press one half into the prepared pan.
- Spread the filling onto the dough. Carefully press the other remaining dough on top of the filling, pressing gently to secure the top of the dough to the filling.
- Bake for 30 to 35 minutes until the edges are golden and the dough is still slightly soft to the touch.
- Remove from the oven and cool completely.
To make the glaze:
- In a bowl whisk the powdered sugar, cinnamon, and salt.
- Add in heavy cream one tablespoon at a time until smooth, slightly thick, but still pourable. Add in vanilla.
To assemble the bars:
- Use the parchment paper to remove the cooked bars from the pan. Transfer to a wire rack or pan and then pour the glaze on top. Allow the glaze to set before cutting the bars into squares or rectangles.
Recipe adapted from Inspired By Charm.