Cowboy Kent Rollins' Homemade Pop Tarts

Homemade Pop Tarts

16/04/2025 | By Cowboy Kent Rollins

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You'll be surprised at how easy it is to make pop tarts and how different a homemade pop tart tastes from store bought. This recipe has two flavors - my two favorites - cherry and brown sugar cinnamon. This breakfast pastry is fun to make with kids, but it's also ok to make it and eat them all yourself like Shan and I did. ;)

Pop Tart Dough

Tip: You can make the dough overnight and chill until the morning.

Start by whisking all of the dry ingredients together. Grab two sticks (1 cup/8 oz) of chilled butter and grate into the flour, or cut in using a pastry cutter.

Tip: Chill butter in the freezer for 15 minutes before grating it into the flour.

Mix the butter into the dough until you've got a cracker crumb consistency.

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Pour the water over the dough and start to stir. Start with 2/3 of a cup of water and add a little more water if you need. Knead the dough until it holds together. You're trying to get a soft dough that is not sticky. If the dough is too wet, add a little flour and knead in until the consistency is right.


Wrap the dough in saran wrap and put in the ice box for at least an hour. Overnight is ok, too!

Cut the dough in half, working half at a time. Roll the dough out to 1/8" rectangle. Cut the dough into 3"x5" rectangles.

Use any Flavor Fruit Filling You Fancy!

To put the pop tarts together, lay out one of the dough rectangles. Spread fruit preserves (see below for the brown sugar cinnamon filling recipe) in the middle of the pop tart, leaving about an inch around the edges. Place another square on top and crimp the edges all around with a fork.

Poke holes all through the top of the dough to allow steam to escape during baking.

Brown Sugar Cinnamon Pop Tart Filling

Start by melting the butter over low heat. Mix in the brown sugar, flour, and cinnamon, and whisk. You want a thick consistency, where the sugar isn't really all the way melted.

Tip: If the filling is too thick, add cream or water. If too thin, add more brown sugar.

Homemade Pop Tart Icing

The frosting is similar to a glazed cookie icing. Start with powdered sugar and mix in the cream slowly, until the sugar melts into the cream. You can use different extracts depending on what filling you're using. Vanilla can be used for any flavor. Almond extract goes well with cherry, Orange extract goes well with Orange marmalade, and I'm sure there are about 100 other extracts out there that would taste great on a pop tart. Leave the combination you've used in the comments below, if you come up with a good one!

Baking the Pop Tarts

If you are baking these in the house, set the oven to 375 degrees. Lay parchment paper on a cookie sheet or casserole dish and place the pop tarts an inch or so apart. Bake for about 15 minutes, and then spread the icing over the top. Bake another five minutes or so, and then cool on a wire rack and serve warm.

Tip: Watch the video for this recipe for tips on how to cook these outdoors in a Dutch oven.

Cowboy Kent Rollins Homemade Cherry and Brown Sugar Cinnamon Pop Tarts on a wire rack

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Homemade Pop Tarts - Cowboy Kent Rollins

Servings 8 pop tarts
Prep Time 1 Hour
Total Time 1 Hour 20 Minutes
Author Cowboy Kent Rollins

Ingredients

  • 3 cups all-purpose flour

  • 1 teaspoon salt

  • 1 tablespoon sugar

  • 2 sticks butter

    chilled
  • ⅔ - 1 cup ice water

  • 3 teaspoons water

  • fruit preserves of your choice

  • 1 egg beaten

    • Brown Sugar Cinnamon Filling

  • 4 tablespoons butter

  • 1 cup light brown sugar

  • 1 tablespoon cinnamon

    • Icing

  • 3 Tablespoons powdered sugar

  • 4 teaspoons heavy cream

  • ½ teaspoon vanilla

Instructions

  1. In a large bowl, combine the flour, salt and sugar. Grate the sticks of butter into the mixture. Work the mixture with your hands to incorporate the butter until it’s a cracker crumb consistency.
  2. Slowly stir in the ice water a little bit at a time and stir. Use just enough water to create a soft dough that holds together, but isn’t too sticky.
  3. Form the dough into a ball and wrap in plastic. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour, or until ready to use.
  4. Meanwhile, heat the oven to 375 degrees F. and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  5. For the filling: You can use any fruit preserves you wish, or for the brown sugar filling: Melt the butter in a small stockpot over medium-low heat. Mix in the brown sugar and cinnamon. Increase the heat to medium and stir until the mixture is smooth. If you need to thin the mixture, add 1 tablespoon of heavy cream or water to the desired consistency.
  6. Remove the dough from the fridge and remove the plastic. Cut the dough in half and roll out half of the dough into a rectangle that is about ⅛-inch thick. Cut out approximately 8, 3x5-inch rectangles. Repeat with the remaining half of the dough.
  7. Place a layer of the cut out dough pieces onto the prepared baking sheet. Spoon about 1 to 2 tablespoons of the filling of your choice in the middle of each rectangle. Spread the filling out, leaving about ½ inch from the edges. Place the another cut dough rectangle on top and crimp the edges with a fork to seal. Repeat with the remaining dough.

  8. Brush the tops of the pop tarts with the beaten egg.

  9. In a small bowl, mix together the powdered sugar, heavy cream and vanilla.

  10. Bake for 15 minutes, then brush the icing on top of each pop tart and continue to bake another 2 to 5 minutes, or until set and lightly golden brown. Alternatively, you can top the pop tarts with frosting after they have baked.

  11. Remove from the oven and place on a wire rack to cool for about 2 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.
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