Homemade Oatmeal Cream Pies

This past weekend my dad and brother when on a camping trip with their scout troop. When they came home, they brought something with them. No, not expansive knowledge of knot tying (although they did bring that also). Little Debbies. Oatmeal Cream Pies to be exact. I know what you’re thinking, how dare they bring pre-packaged pastry products into the house of a baker. I thought the same thing.



I’m pretty sure I was about 8 the last time I had a Little Debbie. I was at a friends house, her mom always had snack cakes in the house (my mom never did, still doesn’t!).I didn't even remember what they tasted like. So being the adventurer I am, I decided to try one of them.

It was gross. It just tasted bad. Artificial. So I thought, surely I can make a something better. Right?

Wrong. At first at least. The recipe I used was a disaster! First, I didn’t have enough plain oats. So I had to PICK APPLE PIECES OUT OF CINNAMON APPLE OATMEAL. Then sift all the sugar and cinnamon out. Let me tell you this, there is A LOT of apple bits and sugar in those little packets of oatmeal.



Then I tried three different times to get it to work. The first time, at the temperature the recipe gave. The second, at a lower temp. The third time I used a silpat because I couldn’t get the things off the pan. They burned far too quickly and spread out too much.

They actually tasted fantastic, but they were totally flat and impossible to get off in one piece.



But I was determined to make it work. So, I bought new oats, found a new recipe, tweaked it a bit, and tried again. This time they came out great, not too thin, and not too sweet.

And plus, they are kind of adorable in that reminiscing about simpler times kind of way. You should make these, you won’t be sorry.



Oatmeal Cream Pies

1 cup butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups quick oats

In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream together the butter and sugars.
Add eggs one at a time, until well combined, then add vanilla.
Whisk together flour, salt, baking soda, cocoa powder, cinnamon and oats. Add to the creamed mixture. Refrigerate for about 15 minutes.

Drop about a tbsp of dough on cookie sheet.
Bake at 350 degrees F for about 10-12 minutes, or until they are just starting to brown around the edges, they will look moist in the center, so don’t overcook.
Put them on a wire rack to cool.


Filling:
1/2 cup vegetable shortening
1 1/2 cups marshmallow cream
2 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1-2 tablespoons milk

Cream the shortening with the marshmallow cream, then add the powdered sugar and vanilla, beat on low for about a minute. If it’s too thick, add a little water. You want it to be spreadable but not runny.