Chewy pumpkin oatmeal cookies sandwiched around an Italian meringue, cream cheese filling.
When I was a kid, I loved prepackage oatmeal cream pies. Chewy molasses oatmeal cookies with a mysterious marshmallowy filling. Even as I began to get older, they were one of my go-to snack foods when I needed a sugar fix. But nowadays, I’ve resigned myself to making them from scratch. Because homemade is always more satisfying and delicious!
I added pumpkin and ginger to these cookies for a bit of fall flair. But pumpkin can sometimes get lost in the other flavors. So to intensify the pumpkin flavor, I mixed it with half of the brown sugar before making the cookies.
The filling for these pies has that classic marshmallowy flavor with a hint of acidity from the cream cheese. It is delicious, but its a process to make and a little bit temperamental. The filling will become very soft at room temperature and requires refrigeration.
Here are a few notes on making the filling. The cream cheese mixture needs to be whipped and refrigerated before making the meringue. It should be cold but fluffy and soft. If your mix becomes stiff, re-whip it or softened at room temperature before adding it to the meringue. Cool the meringue completely before adding the cream cheese. It can be refrigerated to cool it more quickly. After the meringue and the cream cheese are combined, refrigerate the mix until set. To keep the filling from becoming to soft while making the pies, refrigerate the cookies beforehand or work in batches. Store the filled pies in the refrigerator for up to a week.
Pumpkin Oatmeal Cream Pies
Ingredients
Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies
- 3/4 cup pumpkin puree
- 1 cup brown sugar divided
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 cup butter 2 sticks
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 egg
- 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ginger
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 tbsp molasses
- 1 1/2 cup flour
- 1 cup oatmeal
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
Filling
Italian Meringue
- 1 egg white 30 grams
- 1/8 cup water
- 1/3 cup sugar 62 grams
Cream Cheese Icing
- 2 oz cream cheese 1/4 pkg
- 2 oz butter 1/2 stick
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla
- pinch salt
Instructions
Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
- Combine the pumpkin with 1/2 cup of brown sugar and set aside. In a mixer with a paddle attachment, cream the butter, salt and sugars until fluffy.
- Add the pumpkin mix, egg, molasses, cinnamon, ginger and vanilla and combine. Add the flour, soda, and oatmeal.
- Scoop cookies onto a baking sheet. About 1 tbsp per cookie. Bake for 12 minutes or until set. Cool and fill.
Filling
- Whip the cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla until smooth and fluffy and refrigerate.
- In a clean bowl add the egg white. In a small pot combine the water and sugar. Heat the mixture over medium high heat. The sugar should dissolve completely. Begin mixing the egg white until it starts to become foamy. Cook the sugar to 240 degrees. In a thin stream add the sugar while whipping the egg whites. After all the sugar has been added, continue mixing the whites until they reach stiff peaks. Cool the meringue and mix with the cream cheese mixture. Refrigerate to set and fill the cookies.
