Homemade Oatmeal Cream Pies (aka: Little Dori's)

I was lucky enough to work in the campus bookstore while in college, and a dear friend and I used to bring in our spare change to buy munchies to get us through the end of our shifts. Our favorite treats to buy were Little Debbie snacks. We'd buy a whole box, hide them in the desk under my computer, and indulge. We even acquired the name Fat Kids because of our munching habits.

When I saw the following recipe in "The Amish Cook's Baking Book", I got a little excited to try them out. But don't expect some greasy filling in these pies. The marshmallow fluff that fills them is perfect! However, I'd never made marshmallow fluff before, let alone even eaten it, so don't get overwhelmed....though I did, as made obvious by the picture below.

The effort is well worth it...these pies didn't last more than 3 days in my house. I might need to do an extra run up the mountain tonight, now that I've thought about it......

Makes about 24 pies

Cookies

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

2 cups packed brown sugar

2 large eggs

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg

2 cups quick-cooking rolled oats

2 teaspoons baking soda

3 tablespoons boiling water

Filling (adapted from “The All-American Dessert Book”)

1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon unflavored gelatin (about 1 1/2 packets)

1/3 cup plus 1/4 cup water (divided)

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup light corn syrup

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 cup powdered sugar

8 ounces vegetable shortening

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Lightly grease a baking sheet and set aside (I prefer to use parchment paper as it saves me from doing even more dishes!).

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, nutmeg 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 (I did 1 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, 8-10 minutes.

Cool the cookies on a wire rack or a plate.

For 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. (I used an 8 cup Pyrex and wish I would have used a large bowl. The bigger the better!) 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.

I wrapped them, individually, in plastic wrap, and stored in an air-tight container. 3 days later, they were gone...so I know that they last at least that long!

Bake, eat, and love!