Oatmeal Cream Pies

I can't think of when I've been so excited to try a recipe! Originally the plan was to make a batch last week when I hosted the senior choir here at my house but when one of the ingredients turned out to be harder to find than I'd anticipated, chocolate cake won out and oatmeal cream pies had to wait.

Not that my desire to whip these cookies up abated one tiny bit. For all the hysteria about Hostess products, I probably could learn to live without Twinkies and even (gasp!) Suzy Q's but what a diminished world this will be if Little Debbie ever decides to disappear with her oatmeal cream pies. 

I've been eating and loving those ever-so-soft and tasty cookies for a very long time. Years ago, when Cindy would come for weekly sleepovers and late night pool swims, we'd often sit in the spa eating Little Debbie's finest creations while looking at dark starry skies and listening to the distant banshee yelps of coyotes. Nothing like sharing good ole' wholesome junk food with your BFF!

This is NOT the cookie you want to whip up on the spur of the moment. By the time I finally had my batch finished it seemed as though I'd been cooking all night and used every appliance I own. Maybe you could do it neater but with all the components of this recipe and so many downright sticky ingredients (corn syrup, molasses, softened butter...) I spent a lot of time cleaning up bowls and spoons and mixers. It was an effort to keep both my camera and iPad someplace where they wouldn't be drowned in a puddle of stickiness. 

Whatever trouble and mess it took to create these cookies they are more than worth it. While I found the ingredient list a bit unusual, each component goes together to create what seems to be a pretty exact replica of Little Debbie's version of this filled cookie. 

You know what I'm the proudest of in regards to tonight's culinary endeavor? Even my marshmallow creme is made from scratch. I had to laugh when I read the comments regarding this homemade version on Annie's site. The nice ladies speak of how positively thrilled they are to have a recipe for the creme because it's just so painful and against God's laws to ever have to actually use that AWFUL version of the marshmallow creme you find in the stores...that would be the same jar of gooey white yummyness that I love and could eat every bit of in one sitting. I only made the home-made version to challenge myself but we'll pretend that I have such high and noble aspirations as the rest of Annie's cooking lady constituents concerning only eating the purest of foods. 

Oatmeal Cream Pies

Recipe courtesy of Annie's Eats

Yield: about 2-3 dozen sandwich cookies, depending on size

INGREDIENTS

For the cookies: 

8 oz. (1½ cups plus 2 tbsp.) all-purpose flour

4 oz. (1¼ cups) old-fashioned oats

½ ounce (2 tbsp.) unsweetened cocoa powder (yea..this is one of the ingredients I found hard to believe...but it worked!)

2 oz. (1 cup, packed) dried apple rings (and this is the one that took a few days to find. I finally got mine at Sprouts.)

3 oz. (6 tbsp.) unsalted butter, at room temperature

2¼ oz. (¼ cup plus 1½ tsp.) canola oil

7 oz. (1¾ cup plus 2 tbsp.) sugar

1½ oz. (3 tbsp.) molasses

3 oz. (6 tbsp.) corn syrup

1½ tsp. baking soda

½ tsp. baking powder

½ tsp. kosher salt

¼ tsp. ground ginger

¼ tsp. ground cinnamon

¼ tsp. ground mace

1 large egg

2 ounces (¼ cup) milk

For the filling:

2 cups marshmallow creme  (RECIPE BELOW)

4 oz. (8 tbsp.) unsalted butter, at room temperature

¾ cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted

Pinch of salt

½ tsp. cream or milk

DIRECTIONS

To make the cookies, preheat the oven to 350˚ F.  Line baking sheets with parchment paper.  In the bowl of a food processor, combine the flour, oats, cocoa powder and apples.  Pulse at first to chop coarsely, then process about 2-4 minutes, until no large apple bits or full oats remain.  Set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the butter, oil, sugar, molasses, corn syrup, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices.  Beat on medium-high speed until well combined, about 2 minutes.  Mix in the egg and beat 1 minute more.  Blend in the dry ingredients and the milk just until incorporated.  Scrape down the sides of the bowl and beat 30 seconds more.

Use a dough scoop to portion out the dough onto the prepared baking sheets (about 2 teaspoons for smaller cookies, about 1 tablespoon for larger cookies), leaving ample room as the cookies will spread while baking.  (What Annie doesn't tell you is that the dough will be quite soft - and it will look way too much like poop for comfort. The whole time I was spooning my cookie mixture on the baking sheets I kept thinking how good it was that I'm not pregnant or otherwise squeamish because the sight of those plops of poop might just have made me sick. So, if you get that sensation, be strong and soldier on. The end result is more than worth the rather aesthetically unappealing look of your unbaked cookie mounds.) 

Transfer the pans to the oven and bake, rotating halfway through, until the cookies are set around the edges and puffed up in the center, about 8 minutes for smaller cookies and 10 minutes for larger cookies.  (They may seem too soft but remember that the original is a very soft cookie so that is the desired texture here.  Also remember the cookies will continue to bake a bit longer once they are out of the oven.)  When cool and set enough to move, transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

FIlling:

To make the filling, combine the marshmallow creme and butter in a mixing bowl and beat on medium-high speed until smooth.  Blend in the confectioners’ sugar and salt and whip until the mixture is light and fluffy, about 1-2 minutes more.  Transfer the filling mixture to a pastry bag fitted with a medium round tip.   (The tip I use is not labeled, but the opening is just under ½-inch in diameter.) 

To assemble, pair the cookies up by size.  Pipe a small dollop of filling onto the flat side of one cookie of each pair.  Gently sandwich together with the remaining cookie, pressing the filling to the edges.  Store in an airtight container.


DIY Marshmallow Cream
Yield: about 3 cups
INGREDIENTS
¾ cup sugar
½ cup light corn syrup
¼ cup water
Pinch of salt
2 large egg whites, at room temperature
¼ tsp. cream of tartar
1½ tsp. vanilla extract

Combine the sugar, corn syrup, water and salt in a small saucepan over medium-high heat.  Attach a candy thermometer to the side of the pan.  Heat the mixture, stirring occasionally, until it reaches 240˚ F on the candy thermometer.


Meanwhile, combine the egg whites and cream of tartar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment.  As the temperature of the sugar mixture begins to approach its endpoint, begin whipping the egg whites on medium-high speed until soft peaks form.  Once soft peaks have been reached, lower the mixer speed to low.

As soon as the sugar mixture reaches 240˚ F on the candy thermometer, remove the pan from the heat.  Pour the syrup in a very slow, steady stream down the edge of the mixing bowl until it has been completely incorporated.  (It is important to add the syrup slowly so that you don’t cook the eggs.)

Once all of the syrup has been incorporated, return the mixer speed to medium-high and whip until stiff glossy peaks form and the mixture has cooled considerably, about 6-7 minutes.  Blend in the vanilla and beat for 2 minutes more.  Use immediately or store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.