Oatmeal Creme Pies

Ingredience

Cookies

1 cup (5 ounces) all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon table salt

¾ teaspoon baking soda

3 cups (9 ounces) old-fashioned rolled oats

½ cup (3 ounces) raisins

¾ cup packed (5¼ ounces) dark brown sugar

½ cup (3½ ounces) granulated sugar

½ cup vegetable oil

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

2 teaspoons molasses

¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 large egg plus 1 large yolk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Filling

5 ounces (1¼ cups) Fluff brand marshmallow crème

¾ cup (3 ounces) confectioners’ sugar

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

¼ teaspoon table salt

Pokyny

1. For the Cookies Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 400 degrees. Line 2 rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper. Whisk flour, salt, and baking soda together in medium bowl; set aside. Process oats and raisins in food processor until very finely ground, about 1 minute.

2. Whisk brown sugar, granulated sugar, oil, melted butter, molasses, and cinnamon in large bowl until smooth. Whisk in egg and yolk and vanilla until smooth. Using wooden spoon or spatula, stir in flour mixture until evenly combined and no dry flour remains. Stir in oat-raisin mixture until evenly distributed. (Mixture will be stiff; once dough begins to stiffen, you can mix with your hands until dough is evenly combined.)

3. Divide dough into twenty-four 1⅓-ounce portions, about 1½ tablespoons each. Roll dough portions between your hands to form smooth balls. Evenly space dough balls on prepared sheets, 12 balls per sheet. Using your hand or bottom of dry measuring cup, flatten balls to ½-inch thickness.

4. Bake cookies, 1 sheet at a time, until tops are beginning to crack at edges, 5 to 7 minutes. Let cookies cool on sheet for 5 minutes. Using spatula, transfer cookies to wire rack and let cool completely, about 45 minutes.

5. For the Filling Process all ingredients in now-empty processor until smooth and fluffy, about 30 seconds, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Transfer to bowl and stir to incorporate any dry sugar.

6. Spread scant 1 tablespoon creme filling on bottoms (flat sides) of each of 12 cookies. Top with remaining cookies to form sandwiches. Serve. (Assembled cookies can be stored in airtight container for up to 3 days.)

Poznámky

Regular old-fashioned rolled oats work best in this recipe. Do not use extra-thick rolled oats, as they will bake up tough in the cookies. For cookies with just the right amount of spread and chew, we strongly recommend that you weigh your ingredients. The cookies will seem underdone when you pull them from the oven. This is OK; they will continue to bake as they cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes. This method ensures that the cookies remain chewy once they have cooled.

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS To develop a freshly baked version of Little Debbie’s most iconic snack, we began with our favorite recipe for oatmeal raisin cookies, tweaking both the ingredient list and method to re-create the thin, tender cookies of the classic Oatmeal Creme Pies. Grinding oats and raisins into a paste gave our cookies the appropriate uniform texture and look and ensured the nutty flavor and bright sweetness of the original. Mixing molasses into the cookie dough added complexity and color, and a bit of cinnamon brought in aromatic depth. Upping the amount of baking soda and baking the cookies at a high temperature caused them to spring up in the oven and then deflate as they cooled, re-creating the distinct dark cracks of the Little Debbie cookies. Finally, making the filling proved as easy as combining marshmallow crème, softened butter, and confectioners’ sugar (with just a touch of vanilla extract and salt) in the food processor.