Easy Oatmeal Cream Pies: The Dessert I Bring to Every Game Day
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I have brought these to more tailgates, watch parties and Saturday afternoons on somebody's porch than anything else I make. They travel in a single container, they do not need a plate or a fork, and grown men who claim not to eat dessert will absolutely eat two.
They are also genuinely easy. Soft oatmeal cookies and a marshmallow buttercream, and the whole thing is better made a day ahead, which is the real reason I keep making them.
What You Need
Best baking sheets: stainless steel sheet pan set of 3. Shop it here
Best hand mixer: KitchenAid 5-speed. Shop it here
Best for even cookies: cookie scoop set. Shop it here
Best for neat filling: piping bags and tips. Shop it here
The Cookies
Makes about twenty four cookies, which is twelve sandwiches.
Cream one cup of softened butter with three quarters cup brown sugar and a half cup white sugar until it is light, about three minutes with a hand mixer. Add two eggs and a tablespoon of vanilla.
In another bowl whisk one and a half cups flour, one teaspoon baking soda, one teaspoon cinnamon, a half teaspoon salt and a quarter teaspoon nutmeg. Add to the butter mixture, then fold in three cups of old fashioned oats. Not quick oats, which turn to paste.
Scoop onto parchment lined sheets, about two tablespoons each, and space them well because they spread. Bake at 350 for nine to eleven minutes. Pull them when the centers still look slightly underdone. That is the whole secret to soft.
Cool on the pan five minutes, then move to a rack. They must be completely cool before filling or the buttercream melts straight out the sides.
The Marshmallow Filling
Beat one cup of softened butter until fluffy. Add one seven-ounce jar of marshmallow creme, two cups of powdered sugar, one teaspoon vanilla and a pinch of salt. Beat three minutes until it is genuinely light, not just combined.
Pipe or spread onto the flat side of half the cookies and sandwich. Piping is faster and neater, and a plain round tip is all you need.
The Game Day Version
Tint half the filling in your team's color and pipe it so a stripe of it shows at the edge. Or pipe the filling flat, sandwich, and roll the exposed edge in colored sprinkles. It takes about four extra minutes and it is the thing people photograph.
For a crowd, make them smaller. A one tablespoon scoop gives you twenty four sandwiches instead of twelve, and people are far more likely to take a small one when there are ten other things on the table.
You can also skip the baking and grab some oatmeal cream pie cookies from your local grocery store to create the same look with less of the mess. Just grab the cookie cuter by clicking the image above.
Making Them Ahead and Getting Them There
Bake the cookies up to three days ahead and keep them in an airtight container at room temperature. Make the filling up to two days ahead and refrigerate it, then let it come back to room temperature and re-whip for thirty seconds before using.
Assembled, they keep three days at room temperature and they genuinely improve overnight as the cookie softens against the filling. Assemble the night before.
To travel: single layer in a flat container, or two layers with parchment between. Do not stack them more than two deep or the bottom row compresses. If it is over seventy five degrees out, chill them for thirty minutes before you leave and they will hold their shape.
The Equipment
Stainless Steel Baking Sheet Set of 3
Three sizes, no nonstick coating to scratch off. Light colored metal matters here because dark pans brown the bottoms before the centers set.
Nonstick Baking Sheet Set
The budget option if you would rather not buy parchment. Three pans including a small one that fits a toaster oven.
KitchenAid 5-Speed Hand Mixer
You are creaming butter twice in this recipe and a weak mixer will not do it. This one has enough power to whip the marshmallow filling properly, which is what makes it light instead of dense.
Shop the KitchenAid hand mixer
6-Speed Hand Mixer With Bowl Rest
The value pick, and the bowl rest means you are not laying a dripping beater on the counter.
Cookie Scoop Set, 3 Sizes
Even cookies are what make sandwiches that actually match up. Freehanding it with a spoon is why half your pairs never fit together.
Piping Bags and Tips Set
Faster and tidier than a knife, and the filling goes on in a spiral that presses out evenly when you sandwich.
Precut Parchment Sheets, 12x16
Precut sheets instead of a roll. No curling, no cutting, and the cookies lift straight off.
Stainless Cooling Rack, Set of 2
Cookies left on a hot pan keep cooking. Two racks means a whole batch comes off at once.
Oatmeal Cream Pie FAQ
Can I use quick oats instead of old fashioned?
I would not. Quick oats absorb more liquid and the cookies come out cakey and pasty instead of chewy.
Why did my cookies come out hard?
Overbaked by two or three minutes. Pull them when the centers still look slightly wet. They set as they cool on the pan.
Can I make the filling without marshmallow creme?
You can use a plain buttercream, but the marshmallow is what makes it taste like the ones from the package. It is worth the one jar.
How far ahead can I make oatmeal cream pies?
Assembled, three days at room temperature, and they are best on day two. Cookies alone freeze for three months.
Do they need to be refrigerated?
No, and they are better if they are not. Room temperature in an airtight container. Only chill them if your house is very warm or you are transporting them a long way.
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