I’m sure most of you are familiar with the movie Julie & Julia, based upon the lives of Julie Powell, an ordinary woman who challenged herself to cook her way through Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking, 40th Anniversary Edition
Well, despite it being my calling, I’ve been so busy actually baking and blogging about it that I haven’t had time to read about Julie’s and Julia’s adventures in the kitchen or Julie’s blogging. Oops. I still have tomorrow, right? One of the things that’s prevalent in the film, however, is Julia’s love for butter. Ahhh, BUTTER. What would baking be without it? Margarine is just not an adequate substitute, I’m sorry. There’s nothing like the texture and taste that butter adds to a recipe.
This recipe will have you feeling like you’re channeling Julia with the nearly 1 pound of butter used. Yup, 3 1/2 sticks of butter to complete one recipe. It was a little scary at first, but I embraced the challenge and found it was well worth it in the end. Just walk a couple extra blocks or go skiing. That’s what I’m going to do.
These are supposed to be Little Debbie copycats, though I feel like it’s an insult to call these sandwich cookies a copycat since they far exceed the inspiration in flavor. You’ll never succumb to that red-headed pre-packaged food whore’s wares again!
Oatmeal Creme Pies
Ingredients
Filling:
- 1/2 cup 8 Tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
- 2 cups confectioner's sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/4-1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 2-3 Tablespoons heavy whipping cream
Cookies
- 1 1/4 cups 20 Tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup light brown sugar lightly packed
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar I recommend vanilla sugar, if you have it, for a little extra oomph
- 1 large cage free egg room temp
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 3/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 3 cups old fashioned rolled oats not the quick cooking kind!
Instructions
Filling
- Combine filling ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat until you get a creme the consistency desired. Set aside.
Cookies
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Line 2 rimmed cookie sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together butter and sugars. Add the egg and vanilla and mix well. Sprinkle the baking soda, sea salt, and cinnamon around inside the bowl and while the mixer is running on slow, gradually add the flour. Once fully incorporated, add the rolled oats and mix until just incorporated.
- Use a #60 cookie scoop for uniformly-sized and -shaped cookies. Drop on prepared cookie sheet and bake for about 10 minutes--be careful not to over-bake. Let sit on cookie sheet for 2-3 minutes before removing to wire racks to cool completely.
Assembly
- Take one cookie and smear creme filling on the flat bottom. Attach the flat bottom of another cookie to the filling to create a sandwich. Wrap individually or put in an air-tight container for up to 3 days at room temperature. They do improve with age so you may want to make them a few hours (minimum) to a day ahead of when you want to serve them.
Notes
At least you know when your cooking with butter or bacon it’s probably going to be good. Maybe not good for you, but everything in moderation right…
“Everything in moderation, including moderation.” ~ Julia Child 🙂 I totally agree.
ooh these looks heavenly! everything is always better with butter! i’m definitely saving this one, thanks! =)
Those look delicious and what a beautiful serving platter!
They are! And thanks! TJ Maxx has so many cute serving dishes!
Oh man, these sound delicious!
These look much better than the store bought version! YUM!
I used to LOVE those little debbie copycat cookies as a child and I’ve been dying to get my hands on a recipe for them! These look fabulous and yes, way better than the original! Good luck getting through Julie and Julia!
These are addictive. Seriously. At least Julie & Julia isn’t difficult reading, thanks!
These look amazing! I am trying them tonight!!
I made these for a family gathering. Every person there said ‘these are the best oatmeal cookies I’ve ever eaten.’ They really are delish.
I’m so glad they were a hit!
I have been wanting to make these since you first posted about them in January. They were well worth the wait. Thanks for sharing.
They’re so much better than the original, aren’t they? So glad you made them!