Gingerbread Oatmeal Cream Pies with Cinnamon Filling
Today’s recipe is for Day 2 of 12 Days of Christmas Cookies 2020
Before I start writing about these cookies I must preface something I have found to be true…there are two types of people in this world: those who love ginger cookies and those who don’t.
Well, turns out this cookie recipe is for both types of people. It is seriously so good. So good in fact that after I gave my friend a few to take home to her family she texted me that she was going to keep them a secret from her husband and kids 😂 Doesn’t help that she happens to be pregnant, either…
Anyway, these babies taste like Christmas perfection and I absolutely cannot wait for your taste buds to get ahold of them! Did anyone else grow up eating those Little Debbie oatmeal creme pies? Those things are seriously delicious. I remember learning as a teenager that I could make those homemade and my mind was BLOWN. While Little Debbie may be the original, I don’t think anything can beat homemade oatmeal creme pies. These gingerbread ones are the perfect touch for your Christmas desert, cookie plates for neighbors, or a fun little baking activity for you to do with your kiddos!
The oatmeal cookies are filled with all things Christmas: ginger, cinnamon, allspice, molasses, and vanilla. The cookies themselves are soft and chewy, or you can over bake them a bit if you like crunchy, hard cookies. The center is creamy, smooth, and has a touch of cinnamon. The cookies and cream filling together are beyond delicious and you’ll never want for another gingerbread cookie again 😉
I begin by creaming the butter chunks (cut into tablespoons) in my electric mixer bowl until the butter has softened up a little. Then, I add in the cup of brown sugar (if you don’t have dark handy, you could use light but I like the extra flavor dark brown sugar brings to this recipe). You should mix on low speed until the brown sugar and butter are well combined. From there you add in the egg, molasses, and vanilla and once again beat on low until the ingredients are well combined.
Now it’s time to combine your dry ingredients! For this recipe, I would highly suggest sifting all the dry ingredients together first in a separate bowl before adding them to the wet ingredients. This wiill ensure that all of the dry spices (cinnamon, allspice, etc) will be more evenly distributed.
If you don’t have allspice handy, you can combine these spices in a separate bowl to make your own 1 tsp of allspice: 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 tsp ground cloves, and 1/4 ground nutmeg. I didn’t have any allspice handy, so I’m happy to pass this along if you’re in the same boat I was!
Once you have all of your dry ingredients sifted together, turn your mixer on low and slowly spoon the dry mixture in with the wet ingredients. Scrape down the bowl’s sides occasionally and mix until well combined.
One of the keys of this recipe is that your butter is at the right temperature when the cookies are placed in the oven. If you have over beaten your dough, you may find that your cookies will become flat while baking, and this is due to the dough being too warm. If you are nervous that your dough doesn’t have a stiff enough consistency, pop that dough in the fridge for a good 30 minutes and let it stiffen up again.
With a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper or silicone mats, measure your cookies to 2 oz each. I would suggest making the cookie dough balls a similar shape by rolling them a tad bit so that when it comes time to sandwich them you are able to find matches easily! Set your timer for 10 minutes, but make sure to check in a little before. Your oven may be hotter than mine! Your cookies will be done when they are cracking on top and starting to get a little brown. If you like your cookies crispy, go ahead and let them bake a little longer until you notice more browning on the edges.
Once cookies are baked, you must do something really hard. You MUST NOT partake straightaway and you must allow them to cool until they are no longer warm/hot. Frosting these bad boys while warm would been muddles of icing slipping off of them 😂
Once cookies have cooled, you can make the creme filling. First, add the butter chunks and mix until it has softened a little. Then, add all the ingredients to an electric mixer (I use the paddle attachment) and mix until well combined.
To frost the cookies, take a spoon full of the creme filling and smear it on to the center of one cookie. Slowly push it to the outside edges of the cookie and then lightly press another cookie to make a sandwich.
The time has now arrived that you can fully enjoy these delicious cookies! I hope you enjoy them as much as I did!
Gingerbread Oatmeal Cream Pies with Cinnamon Filling
Ingredients
- 1/2 C Butter, COLD, cut into tablespoons
- 1 C Dark Brown Sugar
- 1/4 C Molasses
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Dry Ingredients:
- 1 C All Purpose Flour
- 1/2 C Cake Flour
- 1 C Old Fashioned Rolled Oats
- 2 tsp Ground Ginger
- 1 tsp Cinammon
- 1 tsp Allspice
- 1/4 tsp Salt
- 1/2 tsp Baking Soda
For the Cream Filling:
- 3/4 C Unsalted butter, COLD, cut into tablespoon chunks
- 1 1/2 C Powdered Sugar
- 1-2 tsp Cinnamon
- 3/4 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 1 tsp milk (if needed)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with silicone mats or parchment paper.
- Add cut up butter into the mixer and beat until the butter has softened and is somewhat smooth.
- Add in the brown sugar and mix until well mixed. Do not over mix!
- Add the egg, molasses, and vanilla and mix until well combined. Do not over mix!
- In a separate bowl, sift together the dry ingredients and mix until well combined.
- Add dry ingredients to the butter/brown sugar mixture. Pulse mixer or mix on LOW until dry and wet ingredients are combined. Use a spatula to scrape side of bowl as needed.
- Using a cookie scoop, or weighing dough balls to 2 ounces (small cookies, 4 ounces for large cookies) place cookies 2-3 inches apart. Bake for 10-12 minutes. I would recommend checking at 10 minutes to see if your cookies are done or not. Cookies will be done when the tops are slightly browned and are cracking.
- Let your cookies finish baking on the hot cookie sheet and do not disturb them until they are completely cooled!
For the Cream Filling:
- Add the butter, powdered sugar, cinnamon, vanilla, and milk to an electric mixer and beat on low until well combined. Then switch the speed to high and beat the filling for another 1-2 minutes to make it creamy and smooth! Be sure to not add milk if your cream is slightly runny. You want the cream to be as stiff as possible.
- Assemble the cream pies by putting a dollop of the cream in the center of one cookie, pushing it out to the edges and then placing another cookie gently on top.
- If you are not planning on serving the cookies right away, I would recommend refrigerating them so that the cream keeps it shape.
Happy holidays! I hope to see some of you make these! Make sure to tag me @batchcookies on Instagram if you do!
xoxo
Nicole
