Top 5 Childhood Favorites

1. Homemade "Pop Tarts"

Ingredients
for 1 tart

TARTS

1 box puff pastry, pie dough makes them more pop tart like, but we like the puff pastry better
strawberry jam
raspberry jam
blueberry jam
1 egg
milk, some
ICING

2 cups powdered sugar
¼ cup low fat milk
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
food coloring, of choice

Preparation

1. Cut puff pastry along fold lines and then in half, making 6 rectangular pieces.
2. Coat edges of one section of pastry with egg wash (egg and milk whisked).
3. Place desired amount of filling (we used equal parts of each jam) in the center and spread, leaving room on the edges.
4. Then place a second piece of puff pastry on top, Push the edges of the two pastry pieces together with your fingers and then press with a fork to seal.
5. Bake on wax paper at 190°C (375°F) for 20-30 minutes or until golden brown and puffy.
6. For icing, mix all ingredients together. Add additional milk or sugar to achieve desired consistency. Apply to slightly cooked pastries.
7. Enjoy!

2. Jam-stuffed Peanut Butter Balls

Ingredients
for 8 balls

1 cup peanut butter, creamy or chunky
1 cup quick-cook oats, plus more for coating
½ cup powdered sugar
1 strawberry jam, to taste, or whatever your favorite jam is

Preparation

1. Using a small spoon or a teaspoon measuring spoon, scoop out balls of jam and lay them on a sheet pan or plate lined with parchment paper. Pop the jam balls in the freezer for around a half hour, or until they’ve firmed up a bit.
2. In a mixing bowl, combine the peanut butter, one cup of oats, and powdered sugar, and mix them all together until they’re well combined.
3. Grab a palmful of the peanut butter mixture (around the size of a golf ball) and then, using your hand and fingers, shape it into a mini pancake.
4. Grab one of the firmed-up jam balls and twist it around until it’s even more of a sphere, then lay it in the middle of your mini peanut butter pancake.
5. Using your fingers, lift up and pinch the edges of the peanut butter so that they’re coming up around the jam ball. Continue this until the peanut butter mixture totally encloses the jam and you’ve created a ball. Roll each ball in your hands so that it’s nice a smooth.
6. Once you’ve created all of the balls, roll each one in oats and then pop in the refrigerator or freezer to chill. (If you’re freezing, make sure to bring the balls back to room temperature before serving).
7. Enjoy!

3. Puff Pockets 4 Ways

Ham Egg & Cheddar Pockets

Chicken Broccoli Cheddar Pockets

Spinach Tomato Pesto Pockets

Pepperoni Pizza Pockets

4. Pretzel Crusted Chicken Nuggets

Ingredients
for 15 nuggets

2 cups pretzels, salted
½ cup shredded parmesan cheese
½ cup flour
¼ teaspoon pepper, optional
2 eggs
1 lb chicken breast, boneless

Preparation

1. Cut chicken breasts into 2 inch (5 cm) pieces.
2. Mix pretzels and cheese in food processor.
3. Add pepper to flour and mix in a separate bowl. Whisk eggs in another bowl, and pour cheese/pretzel mix in a third.
4. Bread chicken by first covering in flour, then dipping in egg, and finally coating in pretzel/ cheese mix.
5. Fry in vegetable oil. Flip several times until fully cooked.
6. Serve with ketchup or your favorite dipping sauce!
7. Enjoy!

5. Homemade Oreos

Ingredients
for 40 cookies

COOKIE

1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup white sugar
2 teaspoons salt
2 large eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 ¼ cups dark cocoa powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
CREAM FILLING

½ cup butter, softened
2 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

Preparation

1. In a large bowl, cream together 1 cup (225 grams) of softened butter with the white sugar and salt, until light and fluffy.
2. Beat in eggs until fully incorporated.
3. Sieve together the flour, cocoa powder, and baking soda into the mix. Blend well.
4. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, and mix together until combined.
5. Turn the dough out onto your surface and push together into a flat square. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.
6. Preheat oven to 325˚F (160˚C).
7. Remove the dough from the fridge, and for ease of rolling out, divide the dough into 4 (this way the dough stays cool longer and prevents the need of re-chilling later on).
8. To roll out the dough, place a quarter of the dough between two sheets of parchment paper (alternatively the dough can be rolled out on a lightly floured surface - though the parchment is preferred as it prevents any additional flour from altering the color/appearance of the dark cookies). Roll the dough between the two sheets of parchment to ¼-inch (½ cm) thickness.
9. Using a small round cookie cutter (alternatively, we found the rim of a champagne glass to be a perfect size!) cut the dough into individual rounds and place on a large parchment-lined baking sheet, leaving at least ½-inch (1¼ cm) between each cookie.
10. Pack together and re-roll out any scraps to cut additional cookies. 11. Repeat with this process with each remaining ¼ of the dough.
12. Bake in a preheated oven for 15 minutes. If baking multiple trays at the same time, be sure to rotate the pans in the oven halfway through. Remove and transfer cookies to a cooling rack to cool completely.
13. To make the filling, combine ½ cup (115 grams) butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla in a medium mixing bowl. Beat together until light and fluffy.
14. Assemble the cookies by spreading a generous scoop of the icing onto one of the cookies and sandwiching it with another. Give it a light squeeze and scrape any excess off to clear and even out the sides.
15. Serve with a glass of milk. Enjoy!