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Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Homemade Oatmeal Creme Pies

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I know I’m not the only one who grew up with Little Debbie snacks in my lunchbox. Although I have stronger recollections of the cream-filled Zebra Cakes, as well as the Hostess Ho-Ho’s that I received from my friend Rose nearly every day of 8th grade, I also had my fair share of oatmeal crème pies. I actually think these were my favorite of the bunch—so soft and chewy and sweet!
For years now I’ve seen copycat recipes for Oatmeal Crème Pies on the internet, but for whatever reason never got around to making them. Recently, I was reminded of them again and decided to go on and give them a try. Of course it wasn’t until after I’d already made the batch that
I realized I’d completely omitted the granulated sugar from the recipe. The brown sugar I included, but somehow missed the white.
This unintentional omission explains why my soft and chewy oatmeal cookies turned out a little puffy. More sugar certainly would’ve helped these retain the intended shape. Even without the extra sugar and that recognizable crème pie shape, the taste wasn’t negatively impacted. These were quickly gobbled up by friends at church and I returned home with a completely empty plate. I of course now need to re-attempt the recipe the correct way but can assure you that either way, these are a pretty good substitute for the plastic-wrapped originals!

One Year Ago: Whole Wheat Quick Bread with Pumpkin Seeds (perfect paired with soup!)
Two Years Ago: Greek Salad Pita Sandwiches


Homemade Oatmeal Creme Pies
from Natalie's Killer Cuisine


Ingredients:
-1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks), softened
-3/4 cup brown sugar
-1/2 cup sugar
-1 tbsp molasses
-1 tsp lemon juice
-1 tsp vanilla
-2 eggs
-1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
-1/2 tsp salt
-1 tsp baking soda
-1/2 tsp cinnamon
-1/2 tsp nutmeg
-1 1/2 cups quick oats (I used old-fashioned)

for the filling
-1 tbsp hot water
-1/4 tsp salt
-1 (7 oz) jar marshmallow fluff
-1/2 cup shortening
-1/3 cup powdered sugar
-1/2 tsp vanilla

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. In a large mixing bowl, cream butter with sugars until fluffy. Add molasses, lemon juice, vanilla, and eggs, beating until combined.
3. In a separate bowl, combine flour, salt, baking soda, and cinnamon. Add to the wet ingredients and mix until combined. Add oats and mix to combine.
4. Place 1-inch balls of dough on prepared baking sheets. Bake for 8-10 minutes until cookies begin to brown around the edges.
5. To make the filling, in a small bowl dissolve salt in the hot water. In a large mixing bowl, beat fluff, shortening, powdered sugar, and vanilla until fluffy. Add water and beat until mixture is glossy.
6. Spread 1 tbsp marshmallow filling on a cooled cookie and sandwich with another cookie. Repeat with all cookies. Store in a covered container at room temperature.