Brown Sugar Pop Tart Bars
Brown Sugar Pop Tarts Bars are inspired by the classic Pop Tart flavor. This version has two layers or shortbread stuffed with a brown sugar cinnamon mixture and topped with a cinnamon icing!
THE ULTIMATE POP TART DESSERT BAR
These insanely delicious Brown Sugar Pop Tart Bars are heavenly! Don’t let the list of ingredients stop you from making these dessert bars though. They are just like a Brown Sugar Pop Tart in a shortbread bar form. I promise everyone will go absolutely nuts for these and will want the recipe! So incredibly good and so worth it! Some may fight me on this but the Brown Sugar Pop Tart flavor is arguably the best flavor – ha!
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:
All purpose flour can be used instead of the almond flour but the almond flour is highly recommended for optimal flavor and texture. Almond flour does not absorb as much liquid as regular flour, so these bars are able to remain extra buttery but with more of a dense texture.
If the icing is too thick, add a Tablespoon of milk in at a time and stir until it reaches your desired consistency.
If the icing is too runny, add a Tablespoon of powdered sugar in and mix. Repeat using 1 Tablespoon at a time until the icing reaches the consistency you want.
Any leftovers bars should be stored in an airtight container and can be kept in the fridge for up to 3-4 days. You can freeze bars for up to 3 months. I recommend flash freezing them first, and then wrapping them with plastic wrap individually before putting them in a freezer safe container.
INGREDIENTS NEEDED: (SEE RECIPE CARD BELOW FOR THE FULL RECIPE)
- all purpose flour
- almond flour – see my Frequently Asked Questions above about this.
- kosher salt
- unsalted butter– room temperature to soften and some more for melting. If you need to soften your butter faster, check out my tips on how to soften butter quickly post.
- powdered sugar
- large egg
- vanilla extract
- light brown sugar
- ground cinnamon
- pure maple syrup -this is optional but I kept to the original recipe and used it. If you don’t enjoy the maple flavor with the cinnamon flavor, just leave it out. You may need to add a tad bit more milk.
- milk
HOW TO MAKE BROWN SUGAR POP TART BARS:
Preheat the oven to 325F. Spray an 8×8-inch baking dish with nonstick spray then line with parchment paper (the parchment paper should hang slightly over the edge of the pan to help you remove the bars after baking.) The nonstick spray will help the parchment stick to the baking dish. Get another piece of parchment paper and place the baking dish on top. Using a pencil, trace an outline of the bottom of the pan onto the parchment. Set aside.
In a medium bowl add the all purpose flour, almond flour and salt and stir to combine. Set aside.
In a large mixing bowl add the powdered sugar and butter and mix with an electric hand mixer (or stand mixer) until fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla extract and mix well. This next part is recommended to do by hand. To the bowl add in the dry ingredients and mix by hand until combined.
You are going to take half of that prepared dough and put it into the baking dish and spread it out evenly (I just used my clean hands). Then you are going to take the other half of that prepared dough and place it onto the parchment paper that we outlined earlier. Press the dough down evenly so it fits into that square as best as possible. Set all this aside while you make the filling.
For the brown sugar filling:
In a bowl, add light brown sugar, ground cinnamon, all purpose flour, melted butter and maple syrup and mix well. It will look a bit like wet sand. Crumble this mixture on top of the shortbread filling layer in the baking dish. Just lightly press it down.
Now you are going to take that other half of the shortbread dough on the parchment paper and gently flip it onto the brown sugar filling layer and then carefully peel back the parchment paper. If the dough sticks just take a spatula or butter knife and gently scrape it off the paper. If necessary, just take your fingers and make sure it’s evenly spread out and not crumbly. Bake the bars, uncovered, (on the middle rack) for about 40-45 minutes or until the edges are light golden brown in color.
When finished baking, let the bars sit at room temperature to cool for about 30 minutes then transfer to the refrigerator to cool for an additional hour (uncovered). I do like to put a dish towel under the baking dish before putting it into the fridge just to protect the glass shelf. Once the bars are chilled, you can work on the icing.
For the cinnamon icing:
In a bowl, add powdered sugar, ground cinnamon, melted butter, maple syrup and one tablespoon of the milk. Whisk together until combined well. If the icing is too thick add an additional Tablespoon of milk and continue to whisk. You can add a bit more milk at a time until it reaches your desired consistency.
Then spread onto the bars. Optional: sprinkle with a bit of flaky sea salt on top. You can enjoy the bars right away or allow the icing to set up a bit before slicing into 9 bars.
Note: You can also slice these into 12 smaller bars as they are pretty rich.
CRAVING MORE RECIPES?
Recipe credit: Butternut Bakery
Brown Sugar Pop Tart Bars
Ingredients
For the Shortbread:
- 1 ½ cups all purpose flour
- 1 cup almond flour
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 ½ cups powdered sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the Brown Sugar Filling:
- 1 cup light brown sugar, packed
- 1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 2 Tablespoons all purpose flour
- 2 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- 1 Tablespoon pure maple syrup
For the Cinnamon Icing:
- ¾ cup powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
- 1 Tablespoon pure maple syrup (optional)
- 1-2 Tablespoons milk
Instructions
For the shortbread:
- Preheat the oven to 325F. Spray an 8×8-inch baking dish with nonstick spray then line with parchment paper (the parchment paper should hang slightly over the edge of the pan to help you remove the bars after baking.) The nonstick spray will help the parchment stick to the baking dish.
- Get another piece of parchment paper and place the baking dish on top. Using a pencil, trace an outline of the bottom of the pan onto the parchment. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl add 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour, 1 cup almond flour, and 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt and stir to combine. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl add 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature and 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar and mix with an electric hand mixer (or stand mixer) until fluffy.
- Add 1 large egg and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract and mix well.
- This next part is recommended to do by hand. To the bowl add in the dry ingredients (the flour mixture) and mix by hand until combined.
- You are going to take half of that prepared dough and put it into the baking dish and spread it out evenly (I just used my clean hands).
- Then you are going to take the other half of that prepared dough and place it onto the parchment paper that we outlined earlier. Press the dough down evenly so it fits into that square as best as possible. Set all this aside while you make the filling.
For the brown sugar filling:
- In a bowl, add 1 cup light brown sugar, packed, 1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon, 2 Tablespoons all purpose flour, 2 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and 1 Tablespoon pure maple syrup and mix well. It will look a bit like wet sand.
- Crumble this mixture on top of the shortbread filling layer in the baking dish. Just lightly press it down.
- Now you are going to take that other half of the shortbread dough on the parchment paper with the square drawn on it and gently flip it onto the brown sugar filling layer and then carefully peel back the parchment paper. If the dough sticks just take a spatula or butter knife and gently scrape it off the paper.
- If necessary, just take your fingers and make sure it’s evenly spread out and not crumbly.
- Bake the bars, uncovered, (on the middle rack) for about 40-45 minutes or until the edges are light golden brown in color.
- When finished baking, let the bars sit at room temperature to cool for about 30 minutes then transfer to the refrigerator to cool for an additional hour (uncovered). I do like to put a thick dish towel under the baking dish before putting it into the fridge just to protect the glass shelf.
- Once the bars are chilled, you can work on the icing.
For the cinnamon icing:
- In a bowl, add 3/4 cup powdered sugar, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 2 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled, 1 Tablespoon pure maple syrup and 1 Tablespoon milk. Whisk together until combined well. If the icing is too thick add an additional Tablespoon of milk and continue to whisk. You can add a bit more milk at a time until it reaches your desired consistency.
- Then spread onto the bars. Optional: sprinkle with a bit of flaky sea salt on top.
- You can enjoy the bars right away or allow the icing to set up a bit before slicing into 9 bars. Note: You can slice these into 12 smaller bars as they are pretty rich.
Notes
- Please refer to my FAQ’s (Frequently Asked Questions) and ingredient list above for other substitutions or for the answers to the most common questions.
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
“The Country Cook” is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories and other nutritional values can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
Can I skip the shortbread crusts and use premade Pillsbury Pie Crust?
You may want to check out this recipe if you want to do that: https://www.thecountrycook.net/brown-sugar-pop-tarts/
These are very delicious. Will make again.
Thanks so very much Betsy! So happy you gave them a try!!