Oatmeal Cream Pies

This afternoon we had a Yankee Swap exchange at work. We made it a "dessert social" so we were all asked to bring something. I marked down "cookies" on the list. Why I chose such a broad category and why I even chose cookies in the first place is a mystery to me. So, me being me, I decide I need to look for something fun.

I was browsing through some blogs I really enjoy, and I found a great recipe on "...and a Cookie for Dessert." for Oatmeal Cream Pies. After reading Brooke's entry I decided I'd definitely use the recipe. I was able to find a different filling recipe on allrecipes.com (in fact it was associated with a chocolate sandwich cookie recipe) but I did make some modifications to it (more Fluff!). Also, I left the raisins out since a) I didn't have any at home and b) my husband doesn't like raisins. All in all, I'm pretty happy with how these came out! Thanks, Brooke, for the inspiration.

Oatmeal Cream Pies












1/2pound (2 sticks) margarine or butter, softened
1cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt (optional)
3 cups Quaker® Oats (quick or old fashioned, uncooked)

Filling:
1/2 stick of butter
3/4 cup confectioner's sugar
1 jar (7.5oz) of marshmallow Fluff
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Heat oven to 350°F. In large bowl, beat margarine and sugars until creamy. Add eggs and vanilla; beat well. Add combined flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt; mix well. Add oats and raisins; mix well.

Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.

Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool 1 minute on cookie sheets; remove to wire rack. Cool completely.

While cookies are baking, beat filling ingredients on low with hand mixer until well combined. When cookies have cooled completely, generously spread filling on flat side of half of the cookies, then use the other half of the cookies to top them to make sandwiches (I made about 18 sandwiches with the amount of filling this recipe makes).

Store in "sandwiches" in refrigerator (this helps filling to "set" - as you'll see by the picture above, it's a little "oozy" at first). Take out of refrigerator about a half hour before serving to bring up to room temperature.