You down with OCP? (Yeah you know me.) (Britt Ross/Yahoo)(Britt Ross/Yahoo)
When you bake for a living, as I did for several years, people assume you only enjoy eating desserts made from scratch. Now, I won't speak for other bakers, but as for me? Several store-bought treats have a special place in my heart, especially the ones I grew up eating as a kid. Nostalgia is a powerful ingredient, y'all! That said, and speaking of ingredients, I'm less inclined to consume the never-ending list of hard-to-pronounce components that make up many of these snacks nowadays. That's why I set out to make my own versions at home, the first being one of my all-time favorites: Little Debbie Oatmeal Creme Pies.
As a native New Englander, marshmallow fluff was a staple of my adolescent diet (probably explains my enormous sweet tooth), and I've always preferred a soft oatmeal cookie to its popular chocolate chip cousin. Put the two together, and you basically have an OCP. However, the older I get, the less interested I am in foods colored with Red 40 Lake, for instance. (Is that really necessary here, Deb?) I'm not cutting them out entirely — there's a time and place for everything in moderation, in my opinion — but if I'm able to make a version free of filler ingredients that's just as satisfying, if not more, I'm going that route.
To that end, I've come up with a take on this cookie sandwich that I'm quite pleased with. The base recipe is a riff on my go-to oatmeal cookie from Joy Wilson of Joy the Baker. I used instant oats instead of old-fashioned to more closely resemble the Little Debbie's soft texture, and added molasses to emulate the original's toffee notes. As for the cream (sorry, creme) filling? A classic Swiss meringue made with just sugar, salt, vanilla and egg whites (I promise it's worth the cost of a carton these days).
The end result is, in my opinion, a more refined version of the classic — a Little Debra, if you will. The cookie isn't quite as thin or cakey, but I actually prefer the heartier texture, which nicely contrasts with the sweet filling. And on that note, you can add as much or as little meringue as you'd like. Want to make 'em yourself? Here's how:
(Note: This recipe yields about a dozen cookies, or six cookie sandwiches. You'll likely have leftover meringue filling, which would be killer on a fluffernutter sandwich...)
While this recipe isn't particularly difficult, making meringue is particularly ... particular; as in, you'll need some special equipment, including a stand mixer and thermometer, preferably of the instant-read variety. (If you're thinking, "Nope!" feel free to use store-bought Fluff or vanilla frosting and skip to the cookie recipe — it'll still be delicious!)
If you'd like to try your hand at homemade filling, you'll want to fill a small saucepan with about two inches of water and bring to a simmer on the stove. While you're waiting for the water to simmer, you'll want to thoroughly wipe off a heat-proof bowl (I use the metal one that came with my stand mixer), a whisk and your stand mixer's whisk attachment with a little bit of white vinegar. Yes, it sounds strange, but this ensures there's no trace of fat left on your equipment. Even small amounts of fat can prevent your egg whites from whipping up while you're making meringue, so I wipe down everything that comes in contact with them.
Once that's done, separate five large eggs and place the whites into the heat-proof bowl — make sure no yolks sneak in! Add 1.5 cups (300 grams) of granulated sugar and a pinch of kosher salt, then whisk everything together.
Once your water is simmering, place the bowl over the pot and, whisking constantly, heat the egg white and sugar mixture until it reaches 160°F (that's where the thermometer comes in).
Pour the heated egg whites and sugar into your stand mixer's bowl (if they're not already in there), add a teaspoon of vanilla extract and start beating the mixture on medium-high speed using the whisk attachment. Keep beating until you achieve stiff peaks (to test, stop the mixer, remove the whisk attachment and see if the meringue on the whisk holds a peak without flopping over). You can raise the speed if needed, but be careful not to overwhip, or the meringue could become dry.
Once your meringue is at the right consistency, cover the bowl and place it in the fridge for a few hours. I like to do this to firm up the meringue a bit before I spread it onto the cookies; otherwise, it's very runny!
Alright, now for the straightforward part — no electric mixer required for the cookies. In a small saucepan, melt 4 tablespoons of unsalted butter. Take the pan off the heat and allow the butter to cool down. Next, add the cooled, melted butter to a large mixing bowl with 4 tablespoons of softened butter, 1/2 cup (100 grams) of granulated sugar, 1/4 cup (53 grams) of light brown sugar and 1 tablespoon of molasses. Mix with a sturdy spatula until all ingredients are incorporated.
Add 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract and 1 large, room-temperature egg, then mix until fully incorporated.
Add 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda and 1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt, then mix. Next, add 1.5 cups (135 grams) of instant oats and 1 cup (120 grams) of all-purpose flour, then fold with the spatula until everything is evenly mixed.
Once the dough comes together, you can portion it out. It will need to be chilled before baking so that the cookies keep their shape, but portioning it out before it hardens in the fridge makes things so much easier.
Use a cookie scoop to portion out the dough into evenly sized balls (about 1.5 tablespoons each). I place my cookie dough balls on plates, since I never have enough room in my fridge for a whole tray. Cover them with plastic wrap, then place the fridge for a few hours (or overnight) to chill.
Preheat your oven to 350°F and line a half-sheet (i.e., 18" × 13") tray with a nonstick baking mat. Place 6 balls of dough on the tray, spaced about 2 inches apart from one another. Bake the cookies for about 7 minutes, then rotate the tray. Bake for another 7 minutes, or until the cookies lose their raw appearance and have nice browning around the edges. All ovens are different, so using your senses is always the best method!
Place the tray on a cooling rack for five minutes.
When the tray is safe to handle and the cookies have set up a bit, use a thin spatula to move them to the cooling rack. The cooled-down tray can now be used to bake the second batch.
Once all of the cookies have cooled, pair each one up with another that's about the same size and shape. Flip one cookie from each pair over so that they're upside down on the cooling rack, then spread a dollop of meringue filling over them. (Try starting with less than you think you'll need so it doesn't spill out of the sides when you press the cookies together.) Place the remaining cookies over their creme-filled counterparts and dig in!
(Not serving all of the cookies right away? My recommendation is to store the unfilled cookies in airtight containers — they'll last a few days at room temperature — and keep the meringue filling in an airtight container in the fridge. Then, fill your cookies just before eating them so they don't get soggy.)
I try to minimize waste in the kitchen as much as possible, which is why these reusable silicone baking mats come in clutch. Not only do they help keep my parchment paper costs to a minimum, they also protect my sheet trays from caked-on gunk.
The nonstick material is a breeze to clean, and I find that I can still achieve a nice golden brown on the bottoms of my cookies when I use them. Plus, I don't have to pry the cookies off once they're out of the oven — they can easily be lifted with a spatula. Pro tip: For dough that needs to be rolled out, you can roll it out on this rather than your counter to make cleanup a whole lot easier.
The Silpat brand is expensive, but it's the most durable I've tried — you won't have to replace it for a looong time!
I always bake my pies on these No. 1 bestselling trays, for several reasons. First, because I can preheat the tray in the oven before I pop my pie in, which gives the crust a quick zap of heat right away. Plus, pies can be drippy, so the tray is there to catch any filling that oozes out. Much easier to clean the tray than the bottom of my oven!
Once you realize how often you're reaching for this little doodad, you'll ask for a new color every time your birthday rolls around.
Much of the mixing we do happens in bowls, which is precisely why the balloon whisk has become sort of the poster child for this category of kitchen tool. Its rounded shape is suitable for a bowl's rounded edges, and because there's usually a good deal of space between the tines, your doughs and batters are less likely to get trapped. I reach for this kind of whisk when I'm mixing dry ingredients together, stirring custards, making pancakes or whipping cream by hand.
If you're in the market for a balloon whisk, I can't recommend this one enough; it's the exact one I use in my own kitchen, and I love its soft-grip handle, which helps keep my hand from feeling too much mixing fatigue. Plus, the silicone tines don't scratch nonstick cookware.
This is the exact mixer I own, and it's well worth the investment (and then some). Whether you're making large batches (the bowl is a roomy 5 quarts) or have a lot of prep work that needs to get done, this workhorse will save you a ton of time and energy. Its 11 speeds cover all the bases, from gentle folding to intense whipping, and the bowl-lift design makes it sturdier than its tilt-head cousin above. In fact, it makes me feel like I'm using a smaller version of the industrial mixers I worked with in professional kitchens. I love the look of mine (I have it in silver), so I leave it on my counter to make dragging it out less of a hassle — though the amount of effort it saves me would make it worth the inconvenience of hauling it out of a cabinet.
Using a cookie scoop is the best way to portion out your dough to ensure each cookie is the same size. Not only will they look prettier this way, keeping everything as uniform as possible will help ensure they all finish baking at the same time, too.
I use a small pot like this when I have to simmer water to cook egg whites over when I make meringue. I like its size, because it can hold enough water but isn't so big that my bowl can't rest on top of it while I whisk. Plus, you can't go wrong with stainless steel when it comes to durability (and looks!).
How many Ove Gloves does it take to screw in a lightbulb? Apparently one. (PSA: Turn the light off before you attempt this!)
When you take baked goods like cookies out of the oven, the heat of the pan will continue to cook them. That's why you need cooling racks on hand — by resting your treats on these, more air will circulate around them, allowing them to cool faster and keep from over-baking.
For the most precise measurements, weighing is always best, as scooping ingredients like flour into a measuring cup can yield wildly different amounts every time. This No. 1 bestselling scale can accurately weigh up to 11 pounds and its sleek design makes it easy to stow away when not in use.
The one caveat to the scale above is when you're measuring ingredients in very small amounts, such as baking powder, baking soda and the like. For those, I use measuring spoons — namely, this gold set. Not only is it pretty (which makes me more excited to bake), but I appreciate that the markings are etched in rather than printed on. That way, I know they won't fade over time.
I always reach for an instant-read thermometer to test the doneness of my egg whites for meringues, in addition to gauging when things like cakes and proteins are ready. It gives you a reading in seconds and takes the guesswork out of preparing food that's perfectly cooked and safe to eat.
If your cookies look perfectly golden brown when they come out of the oven, you don't want to mess them up by leaving the bottoms stuck to the tray. This thin spatula — not only for fish! — is just the thing to wriggle underneath your treats. It'll effortlessly loosen them from the pan and make it easy to transfer them to cooling racks — while keeping them intact.
