Oatmeal Cream Pies
Confession time. I’ve had crushes on girls. I’ll let that sink in a moment.
In fact, my first crush was a delightful gal. Her name was Debbie and she always wore a jaunty hat. She was also pretty small in stature, and many referred to her as Little Debbie. Sorry about that, couldn’t resist. Nor could I resist Little Debbie Oatmeal Creme Pies when I was a young whippersnapper. I’d see the new box in the cupboard on Wednesday nights. Wednesday was the regular day for the Derr family grocery shopping trip to Buehler’s in Wadsworth. It was my favorite night of the week.
I haven’t had a Little Debbie Oatmeal Creme Pie in years. And I’ve always wondered why they spelled Creme like that. It always seemed so exotic to me, so fancy. Yep, these are the things a young gay kid in a small town obsesses about.
Anywho, I’d been thinking about these treats for a while, so over the weekend I got to work. And here’s the result.
A few notes: First, be sure to line your baking sheets with parchment paper or a Silpat liner. These are sticky cookies. Second, the recipe for the filling makes more than you’ll need for the 18 finished pies. Don’t worry, refrigerate the extra for a snack another day. It would be great for frosting cupcakes, dipping fruit into, or just eating by the spoonful. Yes, I’ve done that, and we all know you have too. So don’t judge me.
Oatmeal Cream Pies – a made by mike original
For the cookies:
2 1/2 cups rolled oats
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 tablespoons honey
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Combine the oats, flour, cinnamon, baking powder and salt in a large bowl.
Beat butter, sugar and honey in a large bowl with a mixer on medium-high speed until fluffy, about 5 minutes. Beat in the eggs and vanilla until smooth. Reduce the mixer to low and add the oat and flour mixture. Beat until combined. Cover dough and refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Using a 1.75 inch ice cream scoop, drop 6 scoops of dough (about 2 tablespoons each) onto a lined baking sheet. Leaving at least 3 inches between each cookie. Using wet fingers, flatten each cookie slightly. Bake 15 minutes, until cookies are golden. Allow the cookies to cool at least 5 minutes on the baking sheet then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
For the cream filling:
2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened
3 cups confectioners sugar
2 tablespoons heavy cream
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
In the bowl of a stand mixer with a whisk attachment, beat butter and confectioners sugar until smooth and creamy, about 5 minutes. Add cream and vanilla and beat for an additional 2 minutes.
To assemble the oatmeal cream pies, place about 1 tablespoon of cream filling on the back side of one cookie. Gently place the second cookie over the cream and press until it reaches the edge of the cookies.