A toaster pastry is a type of
bakers' confection. They are thin rectangles often made of
rice bran,
molasses,
flour,
syrup, and
shortening, which on one side usually has a coating of
icing that has been dried with
starch. They contain sweet, syrupy fillings, often
fruit preserves or other flavoring ingredients such as
chocolate or
cinnamon. As the name suggests, toaster pastries are often heated in a
toaster or
oven. They are already fully cooked, however, and may be eaten unheated as well.
Brands
The following list includes some popular
brands of toaster pastries:
Pop-Tarts: the top selling brand of toaster pastry for many years, first introduced by
Kellogg's in 1964.[2]
Toast'em Pop Ups: Toast'ems began production in February 1964 as Post Country Squares. The name changed in 1965 to Toast'em Pop Ups. The brand was sold to Schulze and Burch in 1971.[3]
Toaster Strudels:
Pillsbury's Toaster Strudel[4] is a toaster pastry meant to taste like a traditional German
strudel with
icing. The icing comes in a removable plastic package, and the pastries must be frozen, unlike other toaster pastries.
Toastettes:
Nabisco (which is now owned by
Kraft Foods) created their toaster pastry in 1967 called "Toastettes", to compete with Kellogg's Pop-Tarts. The brand was discontinued in 2002 after a failed marketing effort to tie Toastettes in with Nabisco's children's brands. Nabisco also made toaster pastries with the name "Kool Stuf", which was also later discontinued.