Apple Cinnamon Pop Tarts

These apple cinnamon pop tarts are made with a simple and flaky pastry crust, stuffed with an apple filling and topped with cinnamon icing.

Course Breakfast

Cuisine American

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 30

Resting Time 4

Total Time 4 45

Servings pop tarts

Calories 402kcal

Author Ryan Beck

Ingredients

Pop Tart Crust

2 cups all-purpose flour
½ cup whole wheat flour
¾ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup butter, chilled and diced
¼ cup ice water
¼ cup cold vodka

Egg Wash

1 egg
2 teaspoon milk or water

Apple Filling

2 tablespoon unsalted butter
2 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and diced into ¼" cubes
2 tablespoon light brown sugar
2 teaspoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
⅛ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon cornstarch

Cinnamon Icing

¾ cup confectioners sugar
1 tablespoon milk, plus more as needed
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

Using a food processor, pulse together the flours, salt and cinnamon until combined. Add butter and pulse until mixture becomes coarse meal, about 15 pulses.
Mix together the water and vodka. Add to the food processor and pulse until it starts to clump together. DO NOT pulse until ball is formed. It should be crumbly with large clumps of dough.
Turn dough only a lightly floured surface and form into a ball. Cut in half and then press each into a flat disk. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for an hour.
While dough is resting, make the apple filling. Heat butter in medium skillet over medium heat. Add apples, sugar, lemon juice, cinnamon and salt. Cook for about 10 minutes or until apples are soft. Add cornstarch to thicken. Remove from heat and let cool. Add to food processor and puree until smooth.
Once ready, lightly flour a clean surface. Take out ½ the dough and roll the crust down to ⅛" thick and 9x12" in size. Cut into 3x4" pieces so you'll end up with 9 rectangles. Using a spatula, transfer the rectangles to a parchment-lined baking sheet.
In a small bowl, whisk together the egg and milk. Brush the egg wash on each of the rectangles. Spoon a heaping tablespoon of filling into the center of each rectangle, leaving ½" of space around the edge.
Take out the second piece of dough and roll out to the same size as the first. One at a time, place a second rectangle on top of the 9 assembled ones. Use your fingers to press around the seems and then use a fork to form the edges. Poke holes in the tops of each filled pastry to allow steam to escape. Brush with egg wash. Place the pop tarts in the fridge for 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 400°F. Bake the pop tarts for 15-20 minutes or until lightly browned, rotating halfway through. Let the pop tarts cool on the pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely before glazing.
Whisk all of the ingredients in a medium bowl until it reaches spreading consistency. You want a thick glaze that is easy enough to spread. Spread over the top of each pop tart. Allow the icing to cool for 15 minutes so the frosting can set.

Notes

Cook the apples until they become soft which leads to the apple butter-like consistency.

If you want to save time, you can use apple butter for the filling.

Place the pop tarts in the fridge for at least 30 minutes before baking to keep the butter cold and create a flaky pastry crust. You can also put in the freezer for 15 minutes.

Make sure you seal the pop tarts well with your finger or fork, or the filling will leak out.

Do not skip poking the holes as it allows the steam to escape from the pop tarts.

Make sure the pop tarts are cool before adding the glaze, otherwise it will just drip off the sides.

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