January 18, 2012

Homemade Oatmeal Cream Pies

by Natalie Dicks
I’ve had a craving for oatmeal cream pies for quite a while now. There’s just something I love about oatmeal cookies, especially cream filled ones. So yesterday afternoon when I had some free time I decided to bake a batch of them. They’re a little time consuming to make, but they turned out really well. I’d even go as far as to say they taste a little better than their Little Debbie counterpart. They are less sweet and have a lot more flavor to them. Enjoy!

Oatmeal Cream Pies
Ingredients
1 c. + 2 tbsp. all-purpose flour
1 c. quick rolled oats
¾ c. dark brown sugar
¼ c. granulated sugar
1 tbsp. molasses
½ c. (1 stick) butter, room temperature
2 eggs
¼ tsp. salt
¾ tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. ground cinnamon
pinch of nutmeg
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Cream filling:
6 tbsp. all-purpose flour

1 c. granulated sugar
1 c. (2 sticks) butter, room temperature
1 c. whole milk

¼ tsp. salt
2 tsp. vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS:
1. To make the cream filling, whisk together the flour and milk in a small saucepan placed over medium heat. Whisk continuously until it begins to thicken… really watch it. Let it cook for a couple of minutes, until the mixture has the consistency of pudding. Remove from heat, whisk out all clumps, and place in refrigerator to cool completely. The mixture must be chilled all of the way thorough before adding it to the butter, or it will melt it.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter, sugar, vanilla and salt for 2 minutes on medium-high speed, using the whisk attachment. Add flour and milk mixture. Beat on high for 6-8 minutes until the mixture is light and fluffy (and slightly resembles whipped cream). Chill in refrigerator until needed.3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or a Silpat mat, set aside.
4. In the bowl of a stand mixer beat butter, sugars, molasses, vanilla and eggs until creamy, about 2 minutes..
5. In a small bowl, whisk together flour, oats, salt, baking soda, cinnamon and nutmeg. With mixing speed on low, gradually add the dry mixture to the creamed mixture. Once incorporated, remove and  place dough into the refrigerator to chill for 30 minutes.
6 Scoop dough using a standard size scoop (I use a #20, or approximately 3 tbsp.) onto prepared baking sheets. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until the cookies begin to brown around the edges- they will look moist in the center, so don’t overcook.
7. Remove from oven and let cool on sheet for 2-3 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling (10 minutes or so).
8. Use knife or piping bag to spread the cooled filling on the flat side of one cookie, press second cookie on top. Continue until remaining cookies and filling are gone.
NOTE: I prefer these cookies after they have sat overnight. I think that the flavor really intensifies once the cookie has been sandwiched with the filling!
Life Made Simple | Makes approximately 12 pies