Oatmeal Cream Pies

A Little Debbie inspired recipe! Letting the cookies sit out lets the flavors really develop and soften to really recreate that same old O-C-P pleasurable first bite. a moist oatmeal cookie with a marshmallow-buttercream filling. Mmmm Mmmm Good.

Tips:

Pulsed oats - Run the oats through the food processor until they are a bit more broken up and resemble breadcrumbs.
Mallow filled - the beautiful thing about making your own cream pies, it the fact that YOU control how much cream filling you get! No more sparsely filled pies :)
Fill faster - if your prefer a faster filling method, scoop the filling into a large plastic bag and snip off one corner to create a piping bag for filling.

Oven Temperature: 350 degrees

Prep Time: 25 minutes

Bake Time: 10-12 minutes

 Servings: About 15 cookie sandwiches

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup quick oats, pulsed slightly in a food processor
2 teaspoons cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup shortening
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
1 1/2 Tablespoon molasses
2 large eggs
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon coconut extract

Marshmallow-Buttercream Filling: 
3/4 cup vegetable shortening 
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 (7 ounce) jar marshmallow cream

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking pans with parchment paper and set aside.

2) In a medium mixing bowl, combine flour, oats, cocoa powder, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger, and set aside. 

3) In another bowl, cream together butter, shortening, sugar and molasses on medium-high speed until light in color and fluffy, about 2 minutes. 

4) Beat in eggs, one at a time, mixing until combine after each addition. Mix in applesauce,  vanilla and coconut extract. 

5) Gradually add in dry ingredients until combined and a stiff dough forms.

6) Scoop dough out by heaping Tablespoons and shape into balls. Flatten the cookies slightly so that they're about 1/2 inch thick. DO NOT OVERCROWD THE PAN! I suggest fitting 9 per sheet.

7) Bake in a preheated oven 10 - 12 minutes (cookies will still be soft and not fully set - DO NOT OVERBAKE).

8) Allow the cookies to cool for several minutes on baking sheet before transferring to wire rack to cool completely. 

9) For filling, slowly cream together shortening and powdered sugar. Stir in the marshmallow cream until the filling is smooth.

10) Spread marshmallow-buttercream filling on the bottom of one cookie and sandwich to the bottom side of another cookie. Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature.