I’m in love with these cherry Oreo hand pies. Oreo flavored pie crust surrounds tart cherry filling.  Top them with cherry glaze and sprinkles and you have a wonderful breakfast treat or snack.

I love fresh cherries. When they show up in the stores, I stock up. I always freeze enough for some cherry pies at Thanksgiving and Christmas.

And you know cherries and chocolate were just made for each other.

So when I saw sour cherries at the store, I just had to get some. I used Creative Culinary’s recipe for cherry pie filling to make my own. That recipe calls for cherry liquor which I don’t have so I just used cherry juice instead.

You only need half a cup so you’ll have left overs. Use left over pie filling as an ice-cream topping or make some tarts. I ate some of mine with a spoon. It’s that good.

Now on to the crust. These hand pies get their Oreo flavor from black cocoa. If you haven’t tried it, look for it in your grocery store. Then substitute it in your favorite chocolate baked goods for Oreo flavor.

My daughter has been trying out vegetarianism/vegan diets. It’s a bit crazy because she hates vegetables but you know what it’s like when teenagers make up their minds.

So I made my crust with coconut oil and water. This makes a really soft crust with a hint of coconut flavor. It’s probably better for you than using butter or Crisco but let me tell you. It’s a bear to work with in a hot kitchen.

I have no AC in my Cambodian kitchen and it was 90°F when I was baking so the coconut oil melted as I worked with the dough. I had to keep putting it into the refrigerator to make it manageable.

This is why the recipe includes substitutions. Butter and milk make a nice pliable pie dough that doesn’t melt in a hot kitchen. The things we do for our kids.

The cherry glaze is divine. I just used 2 tablespoons of the liquid from my pie filling to give it flavor and color (no food coloring).

Cherry Oreo hand pies take longer to make than I’ve got on a weekday morning. Fortunately, you can assemble them and store them in the refrigerator or freezer for baking later. You can also freeze the finished pies for later.

They are definitely worth the effort. Oreo crust with tart cherry filling and tart cherry glaze makes for an amazing treat. I’ll be making more types of hand pies with this crust (the butter version). It’s sooooo good.

Yield: 6 pop-tarts

Oreo Cherry Pop-tarts

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Tart cherry filling in an oreo-flavored crust.

Ingredients

Oreo Crust

• 1 cup flour
• 1/3 cup black cocoa
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 8 tablespoons cold butter or coconut oil
• 4 tablespoons cold milk or water

Filling

• 1/2 - 3/4 cup cherry pie filling

Cherry glaze

• 2 tablespoons cherry pie filling juice
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• sprinkles

Instructions

1. Mix flour, cocoa and sugar together in a bowl.
2. Cut in cold butter using a pastry blender or two knives (you can also use a food processor for this).
3. Add enough cold milk to form a dough. Mix this in by hand for a flakier, more tender crust. Refrigerate the dough 30 minutes.
4. Dust your work surface and rolling ping with cocoa powder. Roll out the dough to 1/8 inch thickness and cut into twelve 2.5" x 5" rectangles. (If you make the vegan pie dough see my notes below).
5. Place on rectangle on a parchment lined cookie sheet. Spread about 1/5 tablespoons cherry pie filling in the middle of the rectangle leaving about 1/2 inch around the sides. Place another rectangle on top and use a fork to pinch the edges together. Repeat with the remaining rectangles.
6. Bake at 400°F for 15 minutes. Cool on a rack.

Cherry Glaze

1. Mix cherry pie filling juice into powdered sugar. I set my bowl in another bowl of boiling water for 5 minutes to get the sugar to dissolve and make the glaze more spreadable.
2. Spread on pop-tarts.
3. Decorate with sprinkles if desired.

Notes

If you make the vegan version, use the solid form of coconut oil and work in a cool room. Refrigerate the dough 30 minutes before rolling out. Roll out the dough between two sheets of parchment paper and then refrigerate before cutting. You may also need to refrigerate one more time before baking.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

6

Serving Size:

1 pop tart
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 405 Total Fat: 19g Saturated Fat: 12g Trans Fat: 1g Unsaturated Fat: 5g Cholesterol: 42mg Sodium: 157mg Carbohydrates: 57g Fiber: 2g Sugar: 31g Protein: 4g

Nutrition information is provided as a guideline only. Please consult a dietitian if you have specific dietary requirements.