Imagine a warm Pop Tart, just out of the toaster oven, with a dollop of soft butter slowly melting around the fudge or sprinkles on top. It sounds like a delicious idea as I think about devouring the whole snack in seconds, but I never thought of it. However, butter on poptarts has been trending for years. Just this year alone, there has been nearly one tweet mentioning Pop-Tarts and butter for every hour. Finally, Pop Tarts realized this potential and collabed with Banner Batter to create the ultimate butter and pop tart experience. We thought that the frosting that glazes each pop tart is already the perfect complement to the pastry crust, but just wait until you try the Pop Tarts butter– it adds the right amount of flavor to have an even greater satiating experience.
The limited edition Pop-Tarts x Butter Kit features three iconic Pop-Tarts flavors – Frosted Strawberry, Frosted Brown Sugar Cinnamon, and Frosted Chocolate Fudge – and six slow-cultured butters hand-selected by Banner Butter’s Head Churner: Honey Habanero (crafted exclusively for this collab), Cinnamon, Cardamom, & Ginger, Balsamic Fig & Caramelized Onion, Sea Salt, Strawberry, and Dark Chocolate.
How well did Pop Tarts butter “pop” off? We tried each Pop Tart with their respective butters and here’s what we thought!
Frosted Strawberry with Sea Salt and Balsamic Fig & Caramelized Onion
To kick things off, we tried the beloved, childhood favorite Frosted Strawberry paired with the Sea Salt and Balsamic Fig & Caramelized Onion butters. The Sea Salt butter is classic butter but the salt stands out in a decadent way. The strawberry jam stands out with the Sea Salt butter and elevates the experience as I took a bite out of the Pop Tart. It took my childhood snack and made it fit my now college-level palate. The Balsamic Fig & Caramelized Onion was surprisingly the stand out. Who would have thought onions could taste good with a Pop Tart? The distinct, rich flavor of the balsamic and the sweet syrupy taste of the onions was a complete game changer. The butter was not overwhelming in each extreme and mixed with the strawberry filling, this combination brought me back to the first time I tasted and loved strawberry and fig balsamic jam. As a plus, the butter also had bits and pieces of caramelized onions that added a nice crunch factor.
Frosted Brown Sugar Cinnamon with Strawberry and Dark Chocolate
Next, we went to town on the fan-favorite Frosted Brown Sugar Cinnamon matched with the Strawberry and Dark Chocolate butters. Unlike the stand-out options like Balsamic Fig & Caramelized Onion and Honey Haberno, Strawberry and Dark Chocolate provided a nostalgic taste that touched my inner child. The chocolate butter had a fun hint of coffee flavor, and as the chocolate and coffee lover that I am, dousing the warm Pop Tart with the Dark Chocolate butter created a decadent and slightly savory taste which balanced the richness and sweetness from the brown sugar frost. In addition, the Strawberry butter was delightful and was a sweet burst of flavor from the other butter creations. Although strawberry and cinnamon might not be your typical pick, the Strawberry butter was perfectly compatible with the Brown Sugar Cinnamon Pop Tart. It was beautifully smooth and creamy and the freshness made Strawberry one of my favorites!
Frosted Chocolate Fudge with Cinnamon, Cardamom, & Ginger and Honey Habanero
Lastly, we tried classic Frosted Chocolate Fudge with the Cinnamon, Cardamom, & Ginger and Honey Habanero butters. These two butters in combination with the Frosted Chocolate Fudge were definitely the most interesting. I was the most excited for the Honey Habanero. The heat from the habanero played with the dark fudge in the Pop Tart was an exciting sensation in my mouth. It reminded me of a Mexican Hot Chocolate, matching the Holiday vibes as I ate the snack right in front of my bright, colorful tree by the fire. Feel the vibes yet? The sweet and spicy creation added just that kick to the decadent and smooth Frosted Chocolate Fudge Pop Tart which adds to my excitement for the holidays (if you can not tell already). Last but not least, the Cinnamon, Cardamom, & Ginger was my favorite butter out of them all. Each flavor was executed to the T. The ginger was strong and was well balanced with the spice from cinnamon and cardamom. I felt that this was the perfect butter to curl up in a blanket with a nice cup of hot tea in your hands, watching the snow fall outside of your window.
Overall, the butter creations were unique and I enjoyed trying the different combinations of butters with Pop Tarts. Our official ranking of the butters are as follows: (1) Strawberry, (2) Dark Chocolate (3) Cinnamon, Cardamom, & Ginger (4) Balsamic Fig & Caramelized Onion (5) Sea Salt (6) Honey Habanero.
This was my first time trying butter on my pop tarts, and although I love Pop Tarts on their own, adding some butter on top is a nice way to elevate one of the best childhood snacks. The new Pop Tarts butter adds that sweet or savory blast of flavor that we never knew was missing on our Pop Tarts