Cinnamon Roll Pop-Tarts have a flaky pie crust filled with a cream cheese, brown sugar, and cinnamon mixture and topped with sweet glaze. They make the most delicious breakfast treat or dessert!
Homemade Pop-Tarts might be my new jam. They are so good and fairly easy. If you didn't feel like making your pie dough from scratch, like I do in this recipe, you can buy pie dough from the store and make this recipe extremely easy. Either way, I can promise that you are going to be extremely satisfied with these Cinnamon Roll Pop-Tarts.
How to make Flaky Pie Crust:
I think that a lot of people are afraid of making your own pie dough. It can be intimidating, but it is so simple. There are a few things you can do to ensure you get a super flaky pie crust for your pop-tarts:
- Work the dough as little as possible. Don't knead the dough, just work it gently so that it comes together.
- Keep the dough cold. The butter in the dough needs to stay cold in order for the pie crust to be flaky. So rest the dough in the fridge as often as possible.
- Don't add too much water. Adding too much water to your dough will create a sticky and tough dough instead of a flaky one. Stop adding water as soon as the dough starts clumping up. Then add small amounts as necessary.
Ingredients for Cinnamon Roll Pop-Tarts:
Ingredients for Homemade Pie Crust:
- All-Purpose Flour. Measuring the flour correctly is very important. I suggest weighing your flour out (I use this scale). If you want to use a measuring cup, make sure you spoon the flour into the cup and level it off with a knife. Don’t use the cup to scoop directly from the flour.
- Salt. Salt is a must in baked goods. It will help to balance out the sweetness and improve the overall flavor.
- Unsalted Butter. I always make sure to use unsalted butter when baking because there is no “standard” for the amount of salt they can add to butter. So if you add salt to a recipe and then use salted butter you could end up with a very salty end product.
- Water. The water needs to be cold. Add ice cubes until you are ready to add the water to the dry ingredients.
Ingredients for Cinnamon Roll Filling:
- Cream Cheese. The cream cheese needs to be at room temperature for it to fully combine with the other ingredients.
- Brown Sugar. This will sweeten the cinnamon roll mixture.
- Ground Cinnamon. This will give the mixture the cinnamon roll flavor.
Ingredients for Vanilla Glaze:
- Powdered Sugar. This will give our glaze its creaminess and sweetness.
- Vanilla Extract. This will add flavor to the glaze.
- Heavy Cream. This will bring the glaze together and make it smooth.
How to make Cinnamon Roll Pop-Tarts:
Homemade Pie Crust
STEP 1: In a medium bowl combine the flour and salt.
STEP 2: Add the cold butter. Using clean hands work it into the flour until the texture is like breadcrumbs. There can be a few large chunks left.
STEP 3: Slowly drizzle the cold water in a little at a time, working it into the dough. When the dough begins to clump together stop adding water.
STEP 4: Turn the dough out onto a clean and floured surface and bring the dough together until the dry ingredients are fully incorporated.
STEP 5: Form the dough into a disc shape and cover. Chill for at least 2 hours.
STEP 6: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees (F). Flour a clean surface to roll your dough out on.
STEP 7: Roll the dough out to about ⅛ of an inch thick. Cut the dough into rectangles about 3 inches wide and 4 inches long. You should be able to cut at least 10 squares out of the dough, this includes rerolling the scraps. You can cut them smaller if you would like to get more pop-tarts out of this recipe.
STEP 8: You want the dough to stay cold, so place the rectangles on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat and place them in the fridge while you prepare the filling.
Cinnamon Roll Filling
STEP 1: In a small bowl combine the softened cream cheese, brown sugar, and cinnamon. You want the mixture to be as smooth as possible, but it's okay if there are some lumps of cream cheese.
How to Assemble Cinnamon Roll Pop-Tarts:
STEP 1: Spoon about 1 tablespoon of cream cheese into the center of one of the pieces of dough. Spread it out, leaving the edges of the rectangle empty.
STEP 2: Using your finger brush a small amount of water around the edges of the rectangle, this will help the other piece of dough seal together.
STEP 3: Using a clean fork dipped in flour, press the edges of the dough together. Be sure they are actually sealed together or the filling will leak out. Poke three holes in the center of the dough. This allows steam a way out without breaking the seal you just created.
STEP 4: Place the pop-tarts back in the fridge for ten minutes before baking.
STEP 5: In a small bowl beat one egg to create an egg wash. Brush the egg wash over each pop-tart. This will ensure browning.
STEP 6: Bake the pop-tarts for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.
STEP 7: Remove from oven and allow to cool while you prepare the vanilla glaze for the pop-tarts.
Vanilla Glaze
STEP 1: Combine all of the ingredients in a small bowl and whisk until smooth.
STEP 2: Spread or pipe the glaze over the top of the cooled Cinnamon Roll Pop-Tarts. Sprinkle with cinnamon if desired.
More Pop-Tart Recipes
- Chocolate Pop-Tarts- Homemade chocolate pie dough with a fudge filling and a chocolate glaze.
- Nutella Pop-Tarts- A pie crust filled with Nutella and topped with sweet icing.
- Whiskey Peach Pop-Tarts- A flaky crust filled with homemade peach filling and topped with a whiskey glaze.
- Savory Breakfast Pop-Tarts- The flaky crust is filled with egg, sausage, and potatoes.
More Breakfast Recipes from Kitchen 335
- Cinnamon Roll Pancakes- Fluffy pancakes swirled with a cinnamon-sugar mixture and topped with cream cheese icing.
- Earl Grey Scones- Tender scones flavored with earl grey tea and drizzled with lemon glaze.
- Dutch Baby- A fluffy pancake-like treat baked in the oven.
- Caramel Cinnamon Rolls- A sticky caramel base topped with fluffy cinnamon rolls and slathered with brown butter icing.
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Originally posted May, 2020.
Recipe
Cinnamon Roll Pop-Tarts
Ingredients
For Pie Dough:
- 1 ¼ cup (158 grams) all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 9 tablespoons (127 grams) unsalted butter cold and cubed
- ¼ cup ice water
For Cinnamon Roll Filling:
- 4 ounces cream cheese softened
- ⅓ cup (71 grams) light brown sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
For Vanilla Glaze:
- ½ cup (106 grams) powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon milk
Instructions
For Pie Dough:
- In a medium bowl combine the flour and salt.
- Add the cold butter. Using clean hands work it into the flour until the texture is like breadcrumbs. There can be a few large chunks left.
- Slowly drizzle the cold water in a little at a time, working it into the dough. When the dough begins to clump together stop adding water.
- Turn the dough out onto a clean and floured surface and bring the dough together until the dry ingredients are fully incorporated.
- Form the dough into a disc shape and cover. Chill for at least 2 hours.
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees (F). Flour a clean surface to roll your dough out on.
- Roll the dough out to about ⅛ of an inch thick. Cut the dough into rectangles about 3 inches wide and 4 inches long. You should be able to cut at least 10 squares out of the dough.
- You want the dough to stay cold, so place the rectangles on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat and place them in the fridge while you prepare the filling.
For Cinnamon Roll Filling:
- In a small bowl combine the softened cream cheese, brown sugar, and cinnamon. You want the mixture to be as smooth as possible, but it's okay if there are some lumps of cream cheese.
Assemble Cinnamon Roll Pop-Tarts:
- Spoon about 1 tablespoon of cream cheese into the center of one of the pieces of dough and spread it out, leaving the edges of the rectangle empty.
- Using your finger brush a small amount of water around the edges of the rectangle, this will help the other piece of dough seal together.
- Using a clean fork dipped in flour, press the edges of the dough together. Be sure they are actually sealed together or the filling will leak out. Poke three holes in the center of the dough.
- Place the pop-tarts back in the fridge for ten minutes before baking.
- In a small bowl beat one egg to create an egg wash. Brush the egg wash over each pop-tart. This will ensure browning.
- Bake the pop-tarts for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.
- Remove from oven and allow to cool while you prepare the vanilla glaze for the pop-tarts.
For Vanilla Glaze:
- Combine all of the ingredients in a small bowl and whisk until smooth.
- Spread or pipe the glaze over the top of the cooled Cinnamon Roll Pop-Tarts. Sprinkle with cinnamon if desired.
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