Oatmeal Creme Pies

There are about five or six food blogs that I regularly “follow”.  I can’t handle too much more than that, because I have to, you know, work and stuff.  Most of the time I follow these blogs and see things that look awesome and say to myself: I’m going to have to try that.  And then I forget about it, and then later I stare at my kitchen cupboards wondering what to make, knowing that sometime I saw something somewhere that looked fabulous.  So sad.

But sometimes something jumps out enough to get me to make it right away.  Or at least to get me to remember it when I’m staring at my  kitchen cupboards wondering what to make.  These cookies fall into the second set of sometimes.

Originally from the kitchen of the Pioneer Woman (and then, a little more recently from mine), come these Oatmeal Creme Pies.  Only she calls them “Oatmeal Whoopie Pies”.  I couldn’t really call them that, because my cookies didn’t really turn out like hers.  Mine didn’t rise to cake-like consistency, but instead stayed rather flat, but still delightfully soft and chewy.  More like Oatmeal Creme Pies (think Little Debbie, only about a million times better).  And I think that I prefer them this way.  I’m not sure what I did wrong following her recipe, but I hope that I do it again next time.  They will probably be very good if they turn out like they’re *supposed* to, but I really hope that I never get to find out.  Practically perfect the way they are.

The thing about the recipe that really jumped out at me, though, wasn’t the cookie portion of the cookie…but rather the creme filling.  It came from a post on the Pioneer Woman’s  recipe sharing site Tasty Kitchen called “That’s the Best Frosting I Ever Had”, and ya know, I think they might be on to something.  It’s also some of the most bizarre frosting I’ve ever had – it has flour in it.  And you start out making it like gravy.  Totally bizarre, but totally amazing.  It’s the main reason I tried these in the first place, and a big part of the reason why I’ll be coming back for more.

Oatmeal Creme Pies
Ingredients (cookies):

2 C. brown sugar
1/2 C. butter
1/4 C. shortening
2 eggs
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. baking powder
3 Tbsp. boiling water
1 tsp. baking soda
2 1/2 C. all-purpose flour
2 C. oats

Method
1. Cream together the brown sugar, butter and shortening.
2. Add the two eggs and mix to thoroughly combine.
3. Add the salt, cinnamon, and baking powder.  Again, mix to combine.
4. Seperately, mix together the boiling water and the baking soda.  Then add to the rest of the ingredients, and mix to combine.
5. Add the four and the oats and mix well.

Spoon by the tablespoonful onto parchment lined baking sheets.  Bake 9-10 minutes at 350.  When cookies are completely cool, spoon one tablespoonful of frosting on to the underside of a cookie, then top with another cookie.   Makes about 25 – 30 sandwich cookies.

Ingredients (frosting)
5 Tbsp. flour
1 C. milk
1 tsp. vanilla
1 C. butter
1 C. sugar

Method1. Whisk together the milk and flour over medium-high heat in a saucepan, stirring constantly until thick.  Remove from heat and cool to room temperature.
2. Add the vanilla to the milk mixture and stir in.
3. Seperately, cream together the butter and sugar until completely combined and sugar graininess is gone.
4. Add the milk mixture to the butter mixture and beat with an electric mixture until combined and texture resemples whipped cream.