Oreo Pop-Tarts

This recipe was submitted by junior Thomas Gimeno, who said he tried out this recipe for the first time during one of his annual hiking trip in North Carolina for a part of the Appalachian Trail with his mother. He said now it’s a tradition for the two of them to eat these treats before the hikes.

Ingredients:

For pastry dough:

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2/3 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup cocoa powder
• 1.5 tsp salt
• 6 tbsp coconut oil
• 3/4 cup cold unsalted butter, cubed
• 2/3 cup ice-cold water

For filling/icing:

• 6 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
• 2 tbsp heavy whipping cream
• 4 tbsp 1% milk
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 3.5 cups powdered sugar
• 1/2 cup cornstarch

Step 1: Make dough

1. Combine flour, cocoa powder, sugar and salt in a food processor, pulse until well mixed

2. Add butter and coconut oil, pulse until well-mixed

3. Gradually add water for desired consistency 

4. Remove from food processor, put in a bowl covered in plastic wrap, set aside

Step 2: Make filling

1. Soften butter in microwave for 30 seconds

2. Mix heavy cream and milk and microwave until warm enough to mix well with butter

3. Pour cream and milk mixture into the bowl with butter, mix until combined and butter melts

4. Add salt, vanilla and cornstarch and mix until smooth

5. Add a cup of powdered sugar, use hand mixer on highest speed until smooth, repeat with remaining powder sugar

6. Whip mixture for about five minutes to make filling light and airy, set aside

Step 3: Assemble pop-tarts

1. Flatten a baseball-sized dough ball into a disc on a flat, floured surface

2. Roll out dough until it’s 1/8 inch thick and with a floured rolling pin

3. Using a rectangular cookie cutter, cut out a uniform cookie and repeat for rest of dough

4. Flour the top of half of the cookies

5. Pick up floured cookies with a spatula and place flour-side-down on a cookie tray lined with parchment paper

6. Add thick, even layer of icing on top of these rectangles 1/2 inch away from edges

7. Use water to wet the non-iced part of cookies

8. Place remaining rectangles on top of iced rectangles,  keeping them 1/2 inch away from each other

9. Press a fork into edges of cookie to create ridges 

10. Clean up edges of pastry using a fork

11. Repeat for rest of the cookies

12. Put into refrigerator and let sit for 30 minutes

13. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit

14. Remove from fridge and bake for 10-12 minutes 

15. Place remaining filling in a plastic bag to DIY piping bag

16. Once pastries finish baking, ice pastries using a piping bag, avoid being too close to edges to avoid icing running off the sides

17. If desired, garnish pastries with grated chocolate while icing is still hot

18. Let cool, then enjoy!