Today, I have one of those recipe that you come across online and think to yourself “why did they do that” and also “I bet that’s really good”. I never once thought that I needed a brown sugar cinnamon pop tart converted into a cookie but here I am with my curiosity piqued. This isn’t a simple or easy recipe but it drew my attention more than any box mix has so I knew we had to give it a try. The original recipe can be found here, be sure to check it out to see how Sam Merritt created this unique recipe.
After taking out what felt like every ingredient in my kitchen, I was ready to dive in. We start with the cookie dough which was just like a sugar cookie dough but with brown sugar. It includes pretty standard ingredients, butter, sugar, brown sugar, eggs, vanilla, flour, cornstarch, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. The flour in the recipe was listed as cake flour and despite the recipe author explaining how this ingredient improves the cookie, I did convert it to all purpose as I didn’t have cake flour on hand. The author listed a note at the bottom that instead of 4 cups of cake flour you can use 3 2/3 cups of all purpose flour. I used this conversion and still found the dough to be the perfect texture once mixed up. This cookie dough was extremely tasty and I wanted to eat it as is instead of baking it. I think this cookie dough alone would make a fantastic cookie. The author mentioned that this dough freezes well so this could be a good cookie dough to keep on hand for when you crave an elevated sugar cookie.
Once mixed, the cookie dough goes into the fridge for 30-60 minutes. While the dough chills, the next step is to make the cookie filling. You mix brown sugar, softened butter, vanilla, cinnamon, flour, and salt together. The filling mixture ends up being a creamier consistency than cookie dough. Almost like a creamed butter and sugar consistency. This was a tasty combination but it really is just a filling. The cinnamon was a nice flavor but this isn’t something you would eat on it’s own.
Once the cookie dough is chilled and the filling is prepared, you have to scoop out the cookie dough balls. I used a 3 tablespoon sized scoop as it was my largest but I believe this may be smaller than the intended scoop size which the author states is 1/4 cup or 3 oz. I ended up with 18 scooped cookie balls while the recipe expects 12. Next we get to fill the dough balls. You take each ball and split it in half and then roll each half into a ball and put an indent in the middle of the ball like making a nest shape. I used my knuckle in the middle, however you could use the back of a small scoop, a shot glass, etc. Then you fill one half of the dough with the filling. I used a 1 tablespoon sized scoop and only half filled it and it was perfect. Then you place the other half of the cookie dough ball on top of the filling and smoosh the sides together and roll it back into a ball. Don’t let any filling come out or show through the dough. The amount of filling was perfect for the amount of dough. This step was super time consuming but hopefully worth it.
These filled cookie dough balls then go into the freezer for 15-30 minutes. I gave them about 10-15 before my oven was preheated and I put them in to bake. My first pan had 6 cookies on it. Due to growth, the recipe recommended only putting 4-6 cookies on a sheet which sounds like I should be expecting huge cookies. But after the first pan baked and they didn’t spread much, I decided to risk it and put the remaining 12 in the oven on one pan. It worked perfectly just took 2 minutes longer to bake. I think as long as the dough is frozen enough, it shouldn’t spread much. The pan with 6 cookies baked for 16 minutes, even though the recipe called for 14 minutes. The pan with 12 cookies baked for 18 minutes.
I set the cookies aside to cool and started making the frosting. This frosting is almost identical to the recipe I use to decorate frosted sugar cookies. It’s powdered sugar, milk, corn syrup, vanilla, and this included brown sugar and cinnamon. It isn’t an exciting flavor but it solidifies nicely on the cookies and adds the sweetness. I did like the addition of brown sugar and cinnamon in the frosting and felt like this would help tie each element of the cookie together to the pop tart flavor.
Once the cookies are cooled, you can frost them. I just spooned the icing into the cookie and spread it out. This icing is thin enough that it floods the top of the cookie and looks good no matter what strategy you use. The amount of icing made was perfect for all 18 cookies to be covered. The author advised that you wait for the icing to solidify before eating otherwise they come across as too sweet. I did find this to be true, definitely have some patience and wait for the icing to be solid, you’ll enjoy it so much more.
The cookies were beyond words. I had high expectations and they were blown out of the water. The depth of the flavor is everything. The cookie, filling, and icing all flow together perfectly into one cohesive flavor and texture. The cookie is soft, the filling and icing even softer. These felt like they were created by a gourmet chef after you described the pop tart flavor to them and they took it and made it their own. These are so much better than pop tarts. This recipe showed me that brown sugar and cinnamon belong together in every dessert. These cookies are also really pretty and can be a nice fall themed dessert. If you find yourself going to any parties this fall, you have to bring these and impress everyone. You might even need to make a double batch because you’ll want to eat them all yourself, they are seriously that good.
Here are the links to products used today:
Rubber Spatulas – https://amzn.to/3JWDtAA
Other spatulas https://amzn.to/4dAelNI
Tablespoon set – https://amzn.to/4agFQsK
Oven Mitts – https://amzn.to/3JYq5Mg
Vanilla Bean Paste – https://amzn.to/3QGEsZB
Baking sheet – https://amzn.to/3UGKcDA
Cookie Scoop 1tbsp – https://amzn.to/3UFhuTz
Cookie scoop 3tbsp – https://amzn.to/3wwHRDj
Plastic Measuring Cup – https://amzn.to/4bDJIoV
Glass Measuring Cup – https://amzn.to/44IuX1B
KitchenAid Scraper Attachment – https://amzn.to/3WCPm67
*These are affiliate links meaning if you click on the link and buy the product, I will earn a small commission, but you will not be charged a penny more.
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