Brown Sugar Cinnamon Pop Tart Shortbread
Inspired by brown sugar cinnamon pop tarts, this super buttery shortbread is baked with a layer of cinnamon sugar in the middle. It’s basically a grown up version of a brown sugar cinnamon pop tart with elevated flavors and a delicious soft and tender texture.
How to make buttery shortbread
Taking direct inspiration from my strawberry pop tart shortbread recipe, I used the exact same shortbread recipe because it’s just too good!
When developing the recipe for the shortbread, I was very drawn to Scottish shortbread. It’s typically more rich, dense, and thick compared to regular shortbread due to its high fat content. In other words, it’s just better.
So for this pop tart shortbread, I made sure to up the butter and bake these bars low and slow. By doing so, you’re left with a dense but buttery tender shortbread bar that just melts in your mouth.
Another ingredient I used to boost the richness of these bars is almond flour. By swapping out some of the regular flour with almond flour, I’ve decreased the absorbency of the dry ingredients. Almond flour does not absorb as much liquid as regular flour, so these bars are able to remain extra buttery but with a dense and closed texture.
Layered brown sugar cinnamon shortbread
The one and only tricky part of this recipe is sandwiching the brown sugar cinnamon between two layers of shortbread dough, especially because the dough is soft and sticky. It requires some slight arts and crafts, but works like a charm!
First, take a sheet of parchment paper and place it under your baking dish. Trace the outline of the dish onto the paper using a marker. Then flip over the sheet (to conceal the marker) and set it aside.
Then, spread half of the shortbread dough into a prepped square baking dish. Spread the brown sugar cinnamon on top and press into an even layer.
Scoop the remaining shortbread dough into the center of the paper square and spread it even to fill that entire square. It can be a bit tricky, so I recommend holding the paper opposite the side you are spreading to prevent the sheet from moving around.
Once smooth, quickly flip the sheet of wax paper overtop the second half of the dough inside the pan. Peel back the paper and voila! Your brown sugar shortbread is now sandwiched. Gently smooth out the edges and it’s ready to bake.
Brown sugar shortbread baking tips
- Properly measure the flour – I say this in every post, and for good reason. It’s the number one reason why most recipes fail, especially for cookie dough. If there’s too much flour, this shortbread will turn out dry and crumbly. If you can, measure the flour with a food scale. Otherwise, to ensure you use the exact amount needed, gently spoon the flour into your measuring cup and level if off with a flat edge. If you scoop directly into the flour container, it packs it down into the cup which could leave you with 1/4 cup or more of added flour.
- Softened butter – Before you start, make sure your butter is softened to room temperature. This will create a smooth shortbread dough that bakes into a delicious melt-in-your-mouth texture. Alternatively, you can pop the butter bars in the microwave and heat in 5 second intervals, turning the bars between each time. Be careful not to overdo it as you don’t want MELTED butter. Then, place just the butter in the mixing bowl and mix on high speed until smooth.
- Powdered sugar – This is the secret to a buttery shortbread. Powdered sugar blends seamlessly into the dough, creating a soft texture. I don’t recommend replacing this with any other sugar as the outcome will be very different.
- Mixing – After adding the flour, gently mix together the dough. Over mixing will create a tough shortbread.
Chilling brown sugar shortbread bars
Once the bars are baked, it’s VERY important to let them chill for at least 1 hour. If you dig in right away, they’ll fall apart and turn into a buttery mess.
It’s the same reason why you must let brownies cool before slicing. When chilled, the butter will solidify giving you a dense but soft texture. So if your shortbread come out of the oven looking TOO buttery, don’t worry. Chilling will completely set these bars.
How to store brown sugar cinnamon shortbread
Keep the shortbread in the refrigerator in an air tight container. It will keep for up to 5 days.
For more shortbread recipes, check out my:
- Strawberry Pop Tart Shortbread
- Ruby Chocolate Shortbread
- Slice & Bake Cookies
- Snickers Tart
- Strawberry Pizza
- Brown Sugar Cinnamon Pop Tarts
Make sure to tag me @butternutbakery on Instagram and leave a review below if you make this brown sugar shortbread. To pin this recipe and save it for later, you can use the button on the recipe card, the buttons above or below this post, or on any of the photos above. Happy baking!
Watch how to make this brown sugar shortbread:
Brown Sugar Cinnamon Pop Tart Shortbread
- Total Time: 2 hours 30 minutes
- Yield: 16 bars
Description
My absolute favorite pop tart flavor reinvented in this delicious brown sugar shortbread! Buttery shortbread is baked with a layer of brown sugar cinnamon in the center. It smells just like a freshly toasted brown sugar cinnamon pop tart, but tastes ten times better!
Ingredients
Shortbread
- 1 1/2 cups (195g) all purpose flour
- 1 cup (100g) almond flour
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1 cup (220g) unsalted butter, room temp
- 1 1/2 cups (170g) powdered sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
Brown Sugar Cinnamon Filling
- 1 cup (205g) light brown sugar, packed
- 1 tbsp cinnamon
- 2 tbsp all purpose flour
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
- 1 tbsp pure maple syrup
Cinnamon Maple Icing
- 3/4 cup (75g) powdered sugar
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter, melted and cooled
- 1 tbsp pure maple syrup
- 1–2 tbsp milk, room temp
- Flaky sea salt, for sprinkling (optional)
Instructions
Shortbread
- Preheat the oven to 325F and coat a square 8×8 dish with nonstick spray and line all 4 sides with parchment paper, allowing it to hang over the edges of the pan for easy release.
- Trace a square outline of the pan on a separate sheet of parchment paper and set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the salt, almond flour, and flour. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, using a hand or stand mixer with the paddle attachment, mix together the butter and sugar. Start on a low speed then slowly work your way up to prevent the sugar from flying out of the bowl.
- Once smooth and fluffy, mix in the egg and vanilla.
- Switch to a rubber spatula, add in the dry ingredients and mix by hand until combined. The consistency should be similar to mashed potatoes.
- Scoop half of the dough into the prepared baking pan and spread it even. I recommend using a small offset spatula or the back of a spoon to get it as even as possible.
- With the other half of the dough, spread it onto the sheet of parchment paper that we outlined earlier. Spread it to fit the square as best as possible.
Brown Sugar Cinnamon Filling
- In bowl, combine all of the ingredients. It should resemble wet sand.
- Crumble and lightly press an even layer of the filling on top of the shortbread dough that’s inside the pan.
- Then carefully flip the parchment paper dough on top of the filling layer and peel back the paper. The dough my stick a bit, so use your offset spatula or a butter knife to scrape it away as you carefully peel the paper.
- Once all the paper is peeled back, the top layer of dough won’t be perfect so spread it as even as possible.
- Bake the shortbread for 40-45 minutes or until it’s evenly puffed and the edges are a light golden brown.
- Let the shortbread rest at room temperature for 30 minutes, then transfer to the refrigerator to chill uncovered for about an hour.
Cinnamon Maple Icing
- Once the bars have chilled, make the icing.
- Whisk together all of the ingredients, starting with just 1 tablespoon of milk.
- If the icing appears too thick, mix in the additional tablespoon.
- The icing will set up quickly, so spread it on top of the shortbread as soon as you’re done mixing it.
- Top with a light sprinkle of sea salt, slice, and enjoy!
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cooling Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
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Meet Jenna
I’m the creator, baker, and photographer behind Butternut Bakery. Here I share desserts for every diet because I believe everyone should have a chance to indulge!
WOW! This tastes amazing! I followed the recipe exactly and it came out so delicious! The filling is perfection. I can’t wait to have it in the morning with a cup of coffee. Everything about these pop tart bars is *chef’s kiss* Will definitely be making this one again!
This is one of the best recipes I have ever made! I shared some with friends and everyone absolutely loved them. Definitely will be making these again.
Holy crap this is SWEEEET! …but good
So easy and delicious! I will make these again and again and again!
OMG-these are insanely delicious! Swapped out all purpose flour for Bob’s Redmill GF 1:1 baking flour. Turned out PERFECT! 10/10!
Made these gluten free with 1:1 flour and had great results. They taste exactly like a brown sugar pop tart – a big win for GF people! They are super sweet, no surprise there. The dough is a sticky pain in the butt to work with so use the parchment to line/transfer as instructed, but they end result is worth it.
This was deemed one of the best desserts I’ve ever made by multiple people…so it’s now on my short list for repeat recipes
It also wasn’t as time consuming as I thought it was going to be with the multiple steps either! I have 2 8×8 Wilton pans so I measured the dough and split them between the two for easy shaping and transfer for the layers. Thank you for the great recipe as always!
Surprised how much it tastes like the pop tart. Just very sweet for me. Very simple to follow instructions.
Can I just omit some of the powdered sugar in the shortbread, or will this affect the texture of it? Wanting to lighten up the sugar in this if possible!
I have made this multiple times now, something about the multi step process is really satisfying! These bars are delicious, and have been added to my recipe book!