Category Archives: Sandwich Cookies

M&Ms Sandwich Cookies

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 If you haven’t noticed, I love sandwich cookies. This blog has existed for eight months, and I already have six sandwich cookie recipes in my recipe index. I mean, cookies and frosting together–does a more perfect dessert even exist?! 

Today’s sandwich cookies are my version of a favorite treat from my teenage years. Back then, I was on the high school dance team. Once classes were over for the day, I’d have thirty minutes to change and eat something before practice. Usually the whole team would go for some sort of fast food (ah, teenage metabolism), but occasionally, when everyone was attending tutorials or some other after-school program, I’d zip over to Ridgmar Mall, run to the cookie kiosk, and grab one or two (okay, okay, three!) miniature M&Ms sandwich cookies before driving back to school to dance off all the calories.

To this day, I get nostalgic for those soft cookies, M&Ms, and creamy vanilla filling. But I can’t remember the last time I was in a mall (one of the advantages of living in New York City). And as I always have fresh baked goods at home, I no longer stop for mass-produced treats. 

These days, if I want a few M&Ms Sandwich Cookies, I make them myself. They’re so much better than anything you could get at a mall. Soft, chewy cookies speckled with colorful milk chocolate M&Ms and sandwiched together with a smooth vanilla filling?! Yes. I’ll take three.

Most of my sandwich cookie recipes make five or six dozen very small cookies–far more than anyone really needs. This recipe makes a much more manageable two dozen sandwich cookies. If you’d like more, this recipe doubles very well.

Also, these cookies are slightly larger than my regular sandwich cookies. Where all of my other sandwich cookie recipes require you to scoop dough by the teaspoon, the cookies in this recipe are each made with 1/2 tablespoon (1 1/2 teaspoons) of dough. The larger scoops cut down on the time spent rolling dough and also allow for more M&Ms in every bite! 

I love working with M&Ms for holidays. There’s a perfect color combination for every occasion–red and green for Christmas, orange and black for Halloween, pastels for Easter. Since the Fourth of July is coming up next week, I went with the red, white, and blue variety for this batch! I think they’re pretty cute 😊 No matter which holiday you’re making these for (even if it’s just that it’s the end of a long week), I know these M&Ms Sandwich Cookies will be a hit!

 Want more M&Ms treats? Check out my M&Ms-Potato Chip Cookies!

M&Ms Sandwich Cookies
makes 2 dozen sandwich cookies

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar*
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon Kosher or sea salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1 large egg, room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup M&Ms milk chocolate candies

Filling:
1/2 cup shortening (or room temperature unsalted butter)
2 1/2-3 cups confectioner’s sugar
pinch of Kosher or sea salt
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1-2 tablespoons heavy cream

In a medium-large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, cream of tartar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, use an electric mixer to beat butter until light and fluffy, about two minutes. Beat in granulated and light brown sugars, followed by egg and vanilla. Mix in dry ingredients in two installments, combining completely after each addition. With the mixer on low, add in M&Ms and mix for 10-15 seconds until they are evenly dispersed. Cover and chill dough for 90 minutes, or up to three days.

Preheat oven to 350F. Line two baking sheets with parchment.

Scoop chilled dough by the 1/2 tablespoon (1 1/2 teaspoons) and roll into balls. Set dough balls about two inches apart on prepared pans. Bake 7-8 minutes, until the tops are no longer shiny. Let cookies cool on pans for five minutes before removing to a rack to cool completely. Repeat with any remaining dough.

Make the filling. In a large mixing bowl, use an electric mixer to beat shortening (or butter) until fluffy. Beat in 2 1/2 cups confectioner’s sugar and salt. Mix in vanilla and 1 tablespoon heavy cream. If filling is too thin, add more confectioner’s sugar. If it’s too thin, add an extra tablespoon of heavy cream. If you would like to pipe the filling, spoon it into a piping bag and snip off a corner.

There are two options for filling:

1. To assemble a sandwich cookie by piping, apply filling by pipe a circle in the middle of the underside of one cookie, leaving about 1/4″ around the edge. Top with a second plain cookie, with the underside filling-side-in. Repeat until all cookies have been used.

2. To assemble a sandwich cookie by spreading, use an offset frosting knife to spread 1/2-1 teaspoon on the underside of one cookie. Top with a second plain cookie, with the underside filling-side-in. Repeat until all cookies have been used.

M&Ms Sandwich Cookies will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week.

Note:

There is no substitute for cream of tartar in this recipe.

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Vanilla Bean Sandwich Cookies

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 Confession: I’m a vanilla person. Given the choice, I will pick vanilla over chocolate every single time. It’s not that I don’t like chocolate, it’s that I enjoy vanilla just the tiniest bit more. If you think I’ve gone and lost my mind, know that I come by it honestly.

So many people rag on vanilla, saying it’s boring. As far as I’m concerned though, when vanilla is done right, it’s anything but! In fact, my most popular cake order is this Vanilla Layer Cake. It has a little bit of a following! Oh, and these Vanilla Wafers are so good, you’ll never buy the boxed variety again. 

Long story short, I’m out to prove that vanilla is a powerhouse flavor. To make my point, I’m bringing you some fantastic sandwich cookies that are packed to the gills with vanilla bean flavor. Oh yes, these Vanilla Bean Sandwich Cookies are amazing! Soft, chewy vanilla bean cookies sandwiched together with the creamiest, dreamiest vanilla bean filling ever. There’s nothing plain about these little cookies! 

There’s nothing difficult about them either. The cookie dough is simple and straightforward–the hardest part is rolling 120 teaspoon-sized balls of cookie dough! And the filling is basically just a scaled down version of my go-to buttercream frosting. I use shortening in this recipe because I find it makes the filling reminiscent of Oreos, but you may substitute an equal volume of softened butter if you prefer. 

As easy as this recipe is though, there’s one thing that we need to talk about. This recipe contains one specialty ingredient: Nielsen-Massey Vanilla Bean Paste. You see, as much as I love vanilla, I can rarely bring myself to purchase whole vanilla beans. At $4 a pop, I just can’t justify the cost. Vanilla bean paste is my go-to for all recipes that demand the good stuff. It’s full of vanilla bean seeds and high-quality vanilla extract, and a $14 jar lasts forever. Trust me, nobody can tell that I didn’t throw $8 worth of vanilla beans into my recipes! See all those little black specks? If I didn’t tell you directly that I didn’t scrape those from whole vanilla beans, you’d never know the difference. But if you’re feeling fancy, feel free to use the real deal.

Whether you’re into vanilla or chocolate, you’ll love these Vanilla Bean Sandwich Cookies! They’re anything but plain 😊 

 Vanilla Bean Sandwich Cookies
makes about five dozen sandwich cookies

Cookies:
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon Kosher or sea salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
1 1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg + 1 large egg yolk, room temperature
1 tablespoon vanilla bean paste*

Filling:
1/2 cup shortening*
2 1/4-2 1/2 cups confectioner’s sugar
pinch of Kosher or sea salt
3 tablespoons heavy cream
2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste*

Make the cookies. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

In a separate large mixing bowl, use an electric mixer to beat butter until light and fluffy. Beat in sugar, followed by egg and yolk. Mix in vanilla bean paste. Add flour mixture in two installments, mixing to combine completely. Chill dough for 90 minutes in the refrigerator.*

Preheat oven to 350F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Scoop chilled dough by the teaspoon, and roll into balls. Set dough balls 1 1/2-inches apart on prepared pans. Bake 6-8 minutes, until no longer raw looking. Let cool on the pans for five minutes before removing to a rack to cool completely.

To make the filling, place the shortening in a large mixing bowl, and beat with a hand mixer on low speed. Once it’s smooth, add in 2 1/4 cups confectioner’s sugar and salt in two installments, until smooth. Beat in heavy cream and vanilla bean paste. If you’d like the filling to be thicker, add an additional 1/4 cup of confectioner’s sugar. If you would like to pipe the filling, place it in a plastic sandwich bag, and snip off a corner.

There are two options for filling:

1. To assemble a sandwich cookie by piping, apply filling by piping a circle in the middle of the underside of one cookie, leaving about 1/4″ around the edge. Top with a second plain cookie, with the underside filling-side-in. Repeat until all cookies have been used.

2. To assemble a sandwich cookie by spreading, use an offset frosting knife to spread 1/2-1 teaspoon on the underside of one cookie. Top with a second plain cookie, with the underside filling-side-in. Repeat until all cookies have been used.

Vanilla Bean Sandwich Cookies keep well in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week.

Notes:

1. If you do not have or do not want to use vanilla bean paste, you may use the scraped seeds of half a vanilla bean plus two teaspoons of pure vanilla extract. Alternatively, you may use one tablespoon pure vanilla extract.
2. If you do not want to use shortening, you may substitute 1/2 cup (1 stick) room temperature unsalted butter.
3. If you do not have or do not want to use vanilla bean paste, you may use the scraped seeds of half a vanilla bean plus one teaspoon of pure vanilla extract. Alternatively, you may use two teaspoons pure vanilla extract.
4. I have sped up the chilling process by throwing the dough in the freezer for fifteen minutes. The dough may need to spend five minutes at room temperature before scooping.

Funfetti Sandwich Cookies

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 How is it December 22nd already? I have been so deep in the holiday rush that I just barely remembered to get to the airport this morning! Between the work, the parties, the shopping, and the work (did I mention the work?), I am mostly running on cookies and tinsel. But I am rallying with the eleventh recipe of Twelve Days of Cookies! Over the weekend, I looked through all my holiday cookie recipes thus far and realized I hadn’t used any of the five (yes, five!) jars of Christmas sprinkles that I purchased a month ago. When you love sprinkles as much as I do, that’s a travesty! So today, I am bringing you Funfetti Sandwich Cookies 😊 Two little cookies chock-full of sprinkles, sandwiched with a creamy filling. They are adorable, delicious, and simple as can be–just what we need this close to Christmas!

These cookies start with creaming room temperature butter. Now, I know letting butter come to room temperature can be tedious, especially when you’re short on time, but it’s necessary here to give us the softest, puffiest, chewiest cookies possible. So cream the butter, and then add granulated sugar and just a bit of light brown sugar. These cookies will not turn brown from the molasses, but instead have a little more chew and softness. After that, an egg and an egg yolk. The yolk is–you guessed it!–for chew. What can I say? I live for chewy texture. Then, add some vanilla, for chew. Just kidding! It’s for flavor. Now, beat in a mixture of all purpose flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. And finally, turn the mixer to low and add 1/2 cup of sprinkles. Just beat the dough long enough for the sprinkles to be evenly dispersed. Then cover the dough and chill it for 90 minutes while you wrap all your presents or make some artichoke dip or take a nap. Insider tip: choose the nap. Once the dough is good and cold, scoop it by the teaspoon, roll it into balls, and bake for 7-8 minutes. They should be cooked through but not golden brown, and so festive, it’s ridiculous.

Once the cookies are cooling, start on the filling. The filling is very simple. It only has five ingredients: shortening, confectioner’s sugar, salt, heavy cream, and vanilla. I know, I know, shortening is bad for us. If you are fundamentally opposed to using it, you may use an equal volume of room temperature butter. Beat together the filling, and then pipe or spread it onto the bottoms of half the cookies, and top with another cookie. Repeat until all your cookies are paired up. These Funfetti Sandwich Cookies keep extremely well covered at room temperature. They will still be soft, chewy and delicious a week after you make them (if they last that long)!

And that’s it! You now have some seriously adorable, festive holiday cookies that your family and friends will love! These will definitely be one of the first desserts to disappear off of your cookie trays–I know from experience 😊

Need more holiday cookie recipes? You’ve come to the right blog! Check out Red Velvet Peppermintdoodles, Eggnog Sandwich Cookies, Whipped Shortbread Snowballs, Apple Cider Snaps, Oreo-Stuffed Andes Peppermint Crunch Cookies, Peppermint Mocha Cookies, Salted Caramel Chocolate-Covered Pecan Cookies, Chocolate Crinkles {Gluten Free}, M&Ms Potato Chip Cookies, and Gingerbread Men with Chocolate Buttons! If you make any of my recipes this holiday season, use the hashtag #e2bakes, or find me on Instagram and Twitter @e2bakesbrooklyn!

Funfetti Sandwich Cookies
makes about five dozen sandwich cookies

Cookies:
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon Kosher or sea salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
1 large egg + 1 large egg yolk, room temperature
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup sprinkles*

Filling:
1/2 cup shortening*
2 1/4-2 1/2 cups confectioner’s sugar
pinch of Kosher or sea salt
3 tablespoons heavy cream
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

In a separate mixing bowl, beat the butter with a hand mixer until light and fluffy. Beat in granulated and light brown sugars until completely combined. Add egg and egg yolk, followed by vanilla. Turn the hand mixer to low, add in the flour mixture in two installments. Mix in sprinkles. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and chill for 90 minutes or up to three days.

Preheat the oven to 350F. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.

Scoop the dough in one teaspoon increments. Roll dough into balls, and set them two inches apart on your prepared pans. Bake cookies for 7-8 minutes, until the tops no longer look doughy. Let cool on the baking sheets for 7-10 minutes before transferring to a rack to cool completely. Repeat process until all dough has been used.

To make the filling, place the shortening in a large mixing bowl, and beat with a hand mixer on low speed. Once it’s smooth, add in 2 1/4 cups confectioner’s sugar and salt in two installments, until smooth. Beat in heavy cream and vanilla. If you’d like the filling to be thicker, add an additional 1/4 cup of confectioner’s sugar. If you would like to pipe the filling, place it in a plastic sandwich bag, and snip off a corner.

There are two options for filling.

1. To assemble a sandwich cookie by piping, apply filling by pipe a circle in the middle of the underside of one cookie, leaving about 1/4″ around the edge. Top with a second plain cookie, with the underside filling-side-in. Repeat until all cookies have been used.
2. To assemble a sandwich cookie by spreading, use an offset frosting knife to spread 1/2-1 teaspoon on the underside of one cookie. Top with a second plain cookie, with the underside filling-side-in. Repeat until all cookies have been used.
Notes:

1. Make sure to use jimmies (the cylindrical sprinkles). Do not use non-pareils (the little ball sprinkles), or they will bleed their color all through the cookie dough.
2. If you do not want to use shortening, you may use 1/2 cup room temperature butter.

Funfetti Sandwich Cookies

Eggnog Sandwich Cookies

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  Welcome back to Twelve Days of Cookies!

Have you ever made old-fashioned eggnog? It is a process. I had a friend who was very into the idea of homebrewing, but thought it was too intense to actually attempt it himself. About five years ago, he obtained an eggnog recipe from the super-geniuses at MIT though, and somehow convinced me that I should attempt it with him. Never mind that I had never tried eggnog and generally thought it sounded gross (we’ll get to my aversion to liquid dairy later). One late autumn Sunday, we collected all the necessary ingredients and got to work. I remember startling amounts of heavy cream, light cream, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, a handle of bourbon, and cracking and separating two dozen eggs. The MIT guys had figured out that whipping the egg whites made for a better final result. We put it in the biggest stockpot I’ve ever seen in a home kitchen, and stuck it all in a fridge deep in the basement of his family home. After three weeks, it was deemed safe enough to try. All I remember is that it was kind of like melted ice cream. It was after this little taste that he told me he was going to let it ferment in the fridge for A YEAR, when it would be “at its peak.” I was secretly grateful when his dad tossed it during a cleaning rampage six months later. Year old eggs and dairy? Not my thing. I’ll stick to the stuff in a box. And to bypass my previously mentioned aversion to milk, I’ll throw it in some cookies and fill them with frosting. That’s an eggnog recipe I can get behind.

These cookies are soft and sweet, full of eggnog flavor, and spiced with cinnamon and nutmeg. When I began thinking about an eggnog cookie recipe about a year ago, I couldn’t imagine that they would be good. Maybe they would taste right, but they’d be cakey. A good rule of thumb is that the higher the ratio of liquid to flour in a cookie recipe, the cakier the final product will be. Luckily, I’ve learned a lot about making chewy cookies in the last several years and have a few baking chemistry tricks up my sleeve. Here, we use two egg yolks, and then replace the volume of egg whites with eggnog. This nixes the possibility of cakey cookies and ensures a soft and chewy texture. To amp up the eggnog flavor, we add 1/2 teaspoon each of cinnamon and nutmeg and a splash of pure vanilla extract. The dough will appear very soft and fluffy after mixing, and will need a chill. This will allow the butter to re-solidify and the flavors to meld. Don’t skip the chill! This is what will give us soft, chewy cookies to fill with a thick eggnog frosting. The alternative are crunchy, possibly lacy cookies. We don’t have time for those this holiday season.      The eggnog frosting filling is a snap to make. Just whip together shortening, confectioner’s sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt, then add in a few tablespoons of eggnog and some vanilla. That’s it. I’ve mentioned my belief in wiggle room when it comes to dessert, but if you are not into using shortening, you may substitute and equal volume of softened unsalted butter. The shortening will have a filling more reminiscent of Oreos, and the butter will have a (you guessed it!) more buttery flavor. Either way, the filling takes these cookies over the top! The soft cookies and the creamy filling together just…well, they’re magical.

No matter whether you enjoy eggnog as a beverage or not, you won’t be able to resist these cookies. Sweet, creamy, spicy, and chewy?! You can’t go wrong with these. Make sure to make room for these on your cookie trays this year!

Looking for more holiday cookies? Check out my Red Velvet Peppermintdoodles and Chewy Pumpkin Ginger Cookies!  Eggnog Sandwich Cookies
makes about five dozen sandwich cookies

Cookies:
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon Kosher or sea salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
1 1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg*
2 large egg yolks, room temperature
4 tablespoons eggnog*
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Filling:
1/2 cup shortening*
2 1/4-2 1/2 cups confectioner’s sugar
pinch of ground cinnamon
pinch of ground nutmeg
pinch of Kosher or sea salt
3 tablespoons eggnog
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

In a separate mixing bowl, beat the butter with a hand mixer until light and fluffy. Beat in sugar and spices until completely combined. Add egg yolks one at a time, mixing until combined. Then mix in the eggnog and vanilla. Turn the hand mixer to low, add in the flour mixture in two installments. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and
chill for 90 minutes or up to 2 days.

Preheat the oven to 350F. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.

Scoop the dough in one teaspoon increments. Roll dough into balls, and set them two inches apart on your prepared pans. Bake cookies for 7-8 minutes, until the tops no longer look doughy. Let cool on the baking sheets for 7-10 minutes before transferring to a rack to cool completely. Repeat process until all dough has been used.

To make the filling, place the shortening in a large mixing bowl, and beat with a hand mixer on low speed. Once it’s smooth, add in 2 1/4 cups confectioner’s sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt in two installments, until smooth. Beat in eggnog and vanilla. If you’d like the filling to be thicker, add an additional 1/4 cup of confectioner’s sugar. If you would like to pipe the filling, place it in a plastic sandwich bag, and snip off a corner.

There are two options for filling.

1. To assemble a sandwich cookie by piping, apply filling by pipe a circle in the middle of the underside of one cookie, leaving about 1/4″ around the edge. Top with a second plain cookie, with the underside filling-side-in. Repeat until all cookies have been used.

2. To assemble a sandwich cookie by spreading, use an offset frosting knife to spread 1/2-1 teaspoon on the underside of one cookie. Top with a second plain cookie, with the underside filling-side-in. Repeat until all cookies have been used.

Sandwich cookies keep covered at room temperature for up to a week.

Notes:

1. I recommend using freshly grated nutmeg. It has a much more pronounced flavor than the pre-ground variety.
2. I use Horizon Organic Low Fat Eggnog.
3. If you do not wish to use shortening, you may use 1/2 cup room temperature butter.

Pumpkin Oatmeal Creme Pies

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imageRemember Little Debbie Oatmeal Creme Pies? I had totally forgotten about them until a few weeks ago. I had just finished a nine hour day nannying…a day when I had forgotten to eat. It doesn’t happen often, but when it does, it’s bad. I’ll eat anything that’s not nailed down. As I neared the subway, I realized that I was not going to make it home in one piece if I didn’t eat something immediately. I swung into the nearest bodega thinking I’d grab a Kind Bar, but they didn’t have any. I went for Cheez-Its, but they didn’t have those either. And that’s when I saw it: the familiar cellophane wrapper with two suuuuuper soft cookies sandwiched with marshmallow filling and a hefty dose of nostalgia. I gave the cashier a handful of change and promptly demolished that cookie. Once I had my brain functioning again, I got to thinking about Little Debbie Oatmeal Creme Pies. They are so soft that they can practically be rolled into a ball, there are no discernible oats, and they have an ingredient list that I would find horrifying on an occasion when I don’t feel like I’m about to pass out. I could do better. And as the weather was starting to turn cooler, I decided that I could make them pumpkin. And tiny. Little food just tastes better.

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When writing and testing this recipe, I tried to stay true to the Little Debbie classic. I wanted them to feel and taste authentic…but better, and with pumpkin spice. I didn’t want to take two Quaker Oatmeal Cookies, sandwich them with vanilla buttercream, and call them Oatmeal Creme Pies. Nope. I wanted for these cookies to be soft, sweet, not too oatey, chock-full of marshmallow–I wanted them to be nostalgia-inducing. But also pumpkin, because pumpkin. So I got to work.

Texture is key. These cookies have to be extra soft and puffy. Enter dark brown sugar and a bit of cornstarch. Egg yolks for richness. Pumpkin purée in place of egg whites (if we added both, these cookies would be cakey, and you know how I feel about cakey cookies 😭). Cinnamon and a hefty amount of my trusty pumpkin pie spice round out the pumpkin flavor. Yum.

Let’s talk about oats. I’ve never noticed any in Little Debbie’s cookies, which is probably why they are so incredibly soft. I thought about using oat flour to match their version, but instead went with quick oats. You can buy them in the store, but I just blitzed two cups of old-fashioned oats in the food processor until there were no visible whole oats. This gives our version a tiny bit of chew, but still keeps them feeling authentic. It’s an update worth making.

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The filling is made with marshmallow fluff, confectioner’s sugar, vanilla, and one very controversial ingredient. I’m kind of afraid to even talk about it because, well…it’s shortening. And it seems like today everybody hates shortening. And I understand! Hydrogenated oils are horrible for us! But if you want to keep the filling close to the original, shortening is a necessary evil. I use Spectrum brand, which I find at Whole Foods. I’m pretty sure an equal volume of room temperature butter would work in its place, but I haven’t actually attempted it. If you do, let me know in the comments! The filling is sticky (but not too sticky), and keeps these cookies soft and delicious for days. If you make a batch on Sunday, you’ll be able to tuck them in lunches all week long.

Now that I’ve mentioned shortening, is there anyone still reading this?! Maybe not, but if you are, make plans to make these this weekend and then send Little Debbie packing. These Pumpkin Oatmeal Creme Pies are so, so good. You’ll never go back.

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Pumpkin Oatmeal Creme Pies
makes about five dozen sandwich cookies

Cookies:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 Tablespoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon Kosher or sea salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
1 cup dark brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
4 tablespoons pure pumpkin purée
2 large egg yolks, room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoons real vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups quick oats*

Filling:
7oz marshmallow fluff (about 1 1/2 cups)
1/2 cup shortening, room temperature*
1 cup confectioner’s sugar
1/2 teaspoon Kosher or sea salt
1 teaspoon real vanilla extract
2 teaspoons hot water (from the tap is fine)

In a small mixing bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, cream butter with an electric mixer until light and fluffy, about one minute. Beat in cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice until evenly dispersed. Add in dark brown and granulated sugars, and mix to combine. Beat in pumpkin purée, followed by the egg yolks and vanilla extract. With the mixer on low, add the flour mixture in three installments, until completely combined. Mix in quick oats. Cover dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least one hour, or up to three days.

Preheat oven to 350F. Line two sheet pans with parchment paper.

Scoop cookie dough in one teaspoon increments. Roll into balls and set them two inches apart on prepared pans. Bake for 6-8 minutes, until the tops of the cookies no longer look wet. Let cool on the pans for five minutes before removing to a rack to cool completely. Repeat rolling and baking until you have used all the dough.

To make the filling, cream the marshmallow fluff and shortening with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Beat in confectioner’s sugar and salt. Add in vanilla and hot water and mix on high until the filling is very fluffy. There are two options from here:

  1. To assemble a sandwich cookie by piping, apply filling by pipe a circle in the middle of the underside of one cookie, leaving about 1/4″ around the edge.
  2. Top with a second plain cookie, with the underside filling-side-in. Repeat until all cookies have been used. To assemble a sandwich cookie by spreading, use an offset frosting knife to spread 1/2-1 teaspoon on the underside of one cookie. Top with a second plain cookie, with the underside filling-side-in. Repeat until all cookies have been used.

Cookies will keep very well covered at room temperature for up to a week.

Notes:

  1. If you don’t have quick oats, you may blitz two cups of old fashioned oats in the food processor until there are no whole oats visible. Steel cut oats will not work in this recipe.
  2. If you don’t want to use shortening, you may use 1/2 cup of room temperature butter.