Homemade Oatmeal Cream Pies

It's been a relaxing weekend spent almost entirely at home, so I was inspired to try a recipe I've been eying up for a month or two now: homemade oatmeal cream pies.

There is a reason I don't buy Little Debbie Oatmeal Cream Pies: my husband and I have a joint weakness for them. Anyone who's ever lived with anyone else should know that joint weaknesses, especially for junk food, are bad news. But! A homemade version would have significantly fewer questionable ingredients, so even if we did eat 2 or 12, I'd feel better about it. I didn't know if I could create anything as soft and luscious as those tender, nostalgic little cookie sandwiches, but I had to try.

Most people in the food blogiverse seem to roughly agree on the cookie recipe (except for this brave soul who developed a flawless-looking recipe from the original ingredient list, which includes dried apple and cocoa powder), but there's some disagreement on the cream filling. Many are making a homemade meringue/marshmallow filling, which is what I did according to this recipe, but others are mixing marshmallow fluff with shortening and powdered sugar, and still others are simply making buttercream. Although a buttercream might taste more like the original, I like the lighter alternative of homemade marshmallow, which is just sugar and egg whites. It lends a very satisfactory gooeyness to the final product.

I say: success. I'd make these again.