Oatmeal Cream Pies (Little Debbie Knock Off)

I come from a family who loves sweets and a mom that didn't love to bake, so we grew up getting our dessert fix from boxes of Little Debbie snacks.  My parents had to hide them so we kids didn't make off with entire boxes of them at a time.  My idea of a great day was when dad packed my lunch and put in an entire treat, rather than splitting it in half like my mom did.  The Little Debbie Oatmeal Cream Pies were simple, but always one of my very favorites of all the varieties. Now I'm all grown up and haven't bought a box of Little Debbies in well over a decade, so when I found this recipe on Pinterest I immediately became mildly obsessed with trying them.  I talked my daughter into whipping up a batch one day, which instead of alleviating my obsession, seemed to only increase it.  They actually taste similarly to the Little Debbie version and while I wouldn't call them healthy, this homemade version certainly doesn't have any preservatives or chemicals of the boxed version.  We've since made them a few more times and I can say that these are among my new favorite cookies.  I love it with lots of the coconut extract, but you could reduce that if you prefer.  You want to cook these only until they look ALMOST done.  If you overbake them, they will lose their fabulous chewy texture.  Enjoy! 

Makes about 12 sandwich cookies.

Click here for printable recipe.

Posted by Lara.

The ingredients:


Soft Chewy Oatmeal Cookies
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup shortening
1-1/4 cups sugar
3 Tbs. molasses
2 large eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
3/4 tsp. coconut extract (can use less if you don't care for coconut flavor)
1-3/4 cups + 2 Tbs. all purpose flour (I used half white whole wheat flour and half all purpose flour)
1 cup oats, ground slightly in blender  (don't skip the blending--it really makes the texture)
2 tsp. cocoa powder
1-1/2 tsp. cornstarch
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. ginger

Marshmallow Buttercream Frosting
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup  shortening
1-1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 jar (7-ounces) marshmallow creme

Directions: 
COOKIES: 
In a medium bowl, whip together butter, shortening, sugar,  and molasses on medium-high speed  for 1-2 minutes.  Add eggs, vanilla, and coconut extract.  Beat together.  Add flour, blended oats, cocoa powder, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger.  Beat together until just mixed. 

 Form about 2-tablespoons of dough into balls (I didn't make them quite this big) and place on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet.  Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes or until they looking slightly underdone.  Take care not to overbake, as they will lose their fabulous chewy texture.  Allow to cool in the pan for about 10-minutes before transferring to a wire cooling rack. 

When cookies are completely cooled, place a large spoonful of marshmallow frosting on the flat side of a cookie and sandwich together with another cookie.  VOILA!  A beautiful oatmeal cream pie cookie that taste similar, but better than the storebought version!   Makes about 12 sandwich cookies.

FROSTING: 
Whip together butter, shortening, and powdered sugar.  When smooth and fluffy, add the jar of marshmallow creme and whip together until well combined. 

Enjoy! 

Recipe adapted slightly from Cooking Classy.