Except for oatmeal cream pies. Those are a different story. For some reason I was never able to resist those plastic wrapped oatmeal cookies smooshed around mysterious creamy white filling. There's just something nostalgic, something homey and comforting, about a good old fashioned oatmeal cream pie.
It's probably been close to a year since I've had my last packaged cookie. A few weeks ago I was trying to decide what to make for a church gathering, and my mind just got stuck on oatmeal cream pies. The idea was planted, and there was no getting around it. I had to make them.
Oh man. I usually have a decent amount of self control around desserts I've made. By the time I've licked fingers, taste tested, and eaten the ugly cookies (please tell me you do this too!), I'm kind of sugared out. Even if the dessert sticks around the house for a few more days I usually don't have trouble resisting.
Not so with these. I could not keep my hands off of them. The cookies are soft and buttery, with a hint of molasses. The oats give them a nice chewiness and make the cookies sturdy enough to hold up to the creamy marshmallow filling. I am totally powerless against them.
The good thing is these freeze beautifully, so you can make a giant batch, stick them in a freezer safe bag with waxed paper between each layer, and then get them out of your sight (and your waist line). When you're craving a treat, take them out and defrost on the counter for a few hour. They'll be just as soft, chewy, and irresistible as ever. I hope you'll enjoy these as much as my family (and church and friends and coworkers!) did!
Homemade Oatmeal Cream Pies
Yield: 24 small sandwich cookies
Recipe adapted from Baked Perfection
Ingredients:
Cookies:
1 cup butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 Tablespoon molasses
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 3/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 1/2 cup old fashioned rolled oats
Cream filling:
3 teaspoons hot water
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 7 oz-8oz jar marshmallow cream
1/2 cup vegetable shortening
1/3 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract.
Directions:
For the cookies:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line large baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. In a small bowl, combine flour, salt, soda, and cinnamon.
3. In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream together butter and sugars. Add eggs one at a time, beating after each. Add molasses and vanilla and beat again.
4. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture in 3 additions, beating until just combined. Stir in oats.
5. Drop onto prepared baking sheets by the Tablespoon, leaving plenty of space between each one (these spread quite a bit, so don't worry if a Tablespoon looks small). Bake for 10-12 minutes or until firm on the outside and slightly unbaked in the middle. These can get crispy real fast, so it's better to remove them while still slightly underdone and then let them set up on the warm pan. Remove from oven and allow to cool and set up on the pan for 5 minutes. Remove from pan and allow to cool completely.
For the filling:
1. In a small bowl, whisk together hot water and salt. Set aside and allow to cool.
2. Combine marshmallow cream, shortening, vanilla and sugar in a medium sized bowl. Whisk (or beat) for 3-4 minutes or until fluffy. Add the salt water and mix well.
3. Use a small spatula to spread on under side of one cookie, then press a second cookie on top.
*I doubled this recipe with no problems, though I would have added a little more marshmallow cream to the filling because I ran low towards the end.
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