The Less-Popular Pastry That Should Have Beaten Pop-Tarts Is Still Hiding In Plain Sight

We may receive a commission on purchases made from links.

We've all seen the commercials with the little stick figures selling us the idea that Pop-Tarts are "crazy good," and considering how they're still at the forefront of the breakfast snack industry all these years later, the slogan might not be entirely wrong. Sure, some debate exactly which time of day Pop-Tarts are best served, but millions of people around the country can easily picture breaking open that silver foil for a bite of the frosted pastry. 

Despite its success, though, Pop-Tarts weren't the first toaster pastries on the block, with their longtime competitor, Toast'em Pop-Ups, beating them to the punch concept-wise. Toast'em Pop-Ups are the OGs of the toaster-pastry world. The concept was unveiled months before Pop-Tarts even made it to the drawing board, even if Pop-Tarts eventually became the more well-known product. Toast'em Pop-Ups hit the market at the peak of toaster-oven popularity in the 1960s and are still available at grocery stores today. 

Once called "Country Squares," these sweet treats can be found at Walmart, Dollar Tree, Family Dollar, Amazon, and other retailers in a variety of flavors, some of which date back over 60 years. Of course, you could always try using this store-bought pie crust to make your own homemade toaster pastries, but for about $1 to $5 per box, Toast'em Pop-Ups aren't a bad deal, either.

In 1963, Post — the same brand that celebrated Disney's 100th anniversary with retro cereals — announced its revolutionary idea, which it dubbed "Country Squares," an unfrosted pastry filled with fruit that wouldn't go bad if kept unrefrigerated. While the concept was brought to the public's attention before Pop-Tarts, Post flubbed the release by taking longer than anticipated to craft the recipe for the product. Plus, the name turned people away, as "squares" was then slang for, well, something less than cool. Rival brand Kellogg's seized the opportunity, releasing Pop-Tarts in 1964, which quickly overshadowed Country Squares. In 1965, Post tried to salvage things by renaming the product "Toast'em Pop-Ups," but this did little to improve sales.

Toast'em Pop-Ups was eventually purchased by Schulze and Burch Biscuit Co. in 1971, which continues to manufacture the product today. You may not be as familiar with this brand as you are with Pop-Tarts, but Toast'em Pop-Ups have done well enough to expand into the U.K. in 2023.

The pastries come in packs of six or 12 in one of eight sweet flavors: strawberry, blueberry, cherry, wild berry, cookies and creme, s'mores, brown sugar cinnamon, or chocolate fudge. Though we've yet to put these flavors to the test, we'd place our money on blueberry, since we already know that blueberry is the absolute best Pop-Tart flavor.