Homemade Oatmeal Cream Pies
I had to save the best for last this week. Oatmeal Cream Pies were my all time favorite. There’s just something about that soft chewy oatmeal cookies with the cream filling smooshed between.
I have a confession to make about the store bought version of this cookie. When I was in High School, I was the yearbook editor senior year with a good friend of mine K. He and I had a class period each day to do yearbook work as an independent study class. We had the yearbook room to ourselves for one hour a day. It was a lot of fun. We kept Oatmeal Cream Pies in the yearbook drawer and would house these things on a regular basis. We’d go through a disgusting amount of these cookies in one hour. Thank goodness for my high-school metabolism (which has since vanished), as well as my stomach of steel. Oh man, parts of high school were a good time.
Back to reality. In the past 10+ years since then, my stomach has become more sensative to dairy and other foods, and I have to work to not gain weight. I’ve learned a lot about how to eat healthy and gained quite the love of cooking and baking. I’ve also learned that most store bought foods can be made a hundred times better at home.
These cookies are no exception. The brown sugar in the cookies keeps them perfectly soft and the filling is so much better than what’s in the store bought version. It’s like a homemade marshmallow fluff, and it’s amazing. I packaged them in celophane bags so they were easy to throw into lunches for me and Hubby this week.
One Year Ago: Best Dang Thing Ever Bars
Homemade Oatmeal Cream Pies
Yield: 24
Ingredients:
For the Cookies
3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
2 cups packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
2 cups quick-cooking rolled oats
2 tsp baking soda
3 Tbsp boiling water
For the Filling
1 Tbsp plus 1 tsp unflavored gelatin (about 1 1/2 packets)
1/3 cup plus 1/4 cup water (divided)
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
2 tsp vanilla
1 cup powdered sugar
8 ounces vegetable shortening
Directions:
Make the cookies
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Lightly grease a baking sheet and set aside (or use parchment).
Cream the butter, sugar, and eggs in a large bowl.
In a separate bowl, sift together the salt, flour, and baking powder. Add to the creamed mixture. Add the cinnamon and oats. Mix well.
In a small dish, add the baking soda to the boiling water, and then stir the mixture into the rest of the batter. Mix well.
Drop by the tablespoon onto the baking sheets about 2 inches apart and bake until the cookies are firm and just starting to turn golden around the edges, 10 to 15 minutes. Cool the cookies on a wire rack or a plate.
Make the filling
In a small measuring cup, sprinkle the gelatin over 1/3 cup cold water. Let stand, stirring once or twice until the gelatin softens, about 5 minutes.
In a heavy 2-quart saucepan over medium-high heat, stir together the granulated sugar, corn syrup, and 1/4 cup hot water until well blended. Continuing to stir, raise the heat to high and bring to a full boil. Continue boiling for 30 seconds. Immediately remove from the heat. Stir in the gelatin mixture until it dissolves completely.
Transfer the mixture to a large bowl. Add the vanilla.
With a mixer on medium speed, beat for 20 seconds. Gradually raise the speed to high and beat until the mixture is stiffened, white, very fluffy, and cooled to barely warm, about 5 minutes.
Reduce the mixer speed to low and gradually add the powdered sugar.
Add the shortening and beat until completely smooth.
The filling will set up as it sits, so wait until it is thick enough to spread or pipe before filling the cookies.
Recipe from How to Eat a Cupcake
I am Jen the Beantown Baker. Engineer by day and baking maven by night. Hubby serves as my #1 fan and official taste tester. We got hitched back in 2006. Barefoot. In the sand. With the waves crashing behind us. It was one of the best decisions we’ve ever made. 
Everytime I make anything out of this book I screw up a step. I’m starting to blame the book – maybe it has too many steps? I’ve had it for years, and I don’t mess up other recipes. But with this book. . . everytime I look at the recipe while whatever I’ve made is in the oven I go “oh no.”
Let us know what else you cook and like out of the book. Love your blog.
These look so DELICIOUS! My mouth is watering!! Thank you!!
http://www. simplysweeter.blogspot.com
These are my favorite type of bars! And I agree, I could eat lemon curd all day!
I also often don’t have the right size pan for a recipe, I guess I need to stock up 🙂
I love lemon bars and yours look absolutely delightful! I’m a huge fan of the entire Cook’s Illustrated brand and have been meaning to pick that book up for a while!
Sues
You’re so lucky to have won that cookbook!! If I would have known about that giveaway, I would have signed up for sure. I’ve been coveting that book for a long time.
These lemon bars look so yummy!!! I love lemon bars. I really enjoyed this bar series! Thank you.
Oh you saved the best for last with lemon bars, yum!
You are so right about spring teasing us. Very annoying!
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I lıke lemon bars !!
wonderfull lemon bars
happy weekens.
I’ve been in a lemony mood as of late. This helps take some of the edge off.
What delicious bars! I’m so glad you like the book. Now I need to own it…haha.