Oatmeal Sandwich Cookies
These oatmeal sandwich cookies bake up perfectly soft and chewy with warm notes of cinnamon and molasses and are filled with tangy, toasty, brown butter cream cheese frosting.
Servings: 16 sandwich cookies
Calories: 326kcal
Equipment
Ingredients
Brown Butter
- 1 cup butter unsalted, cold and cut into Tbsp-sized pieces 226g
Chewy Oatmeal Cookies
- 1/2 cup brown butter, room temperature - made above 113g
- 1 cup packed dark brown sugar 200g
- 1/4 cup pumpkin puree OR 1 large egg, room temperature 60g
- 1 tsp vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste 5g
- 1 1/4 cups all purpose flour - fluffed and spooned into the measuring cup 160g
- 3/4 cup old fashioned oats 80g
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp fine salt
Brown Butter Cream Cheese Filling
- 1/3 cup (the remaining) brown butter, room temperature 75g
- 1/4 cup full-fat cream cheese, room temperature 56g
- 1 cup powdered sugar 125g
- 1 tsp vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste 5g
- 1/4 tsp fine salt
Instructions
Brown Butter
- Using brown butter is optional, but it gives these cookies such a deliciously warm, toasted flavor! However, if you're short on time, you can always just use regular butter.
- Grab a wide, heatproof bowl to pour the butter into once it's browned. Set aside.
- Place 1 cup of unsalted butter in a large, light-colored pan (to make it easier to see) over medium heat. Stir the butter the entire time with a rubber spatula to prevent the milk solids from burning!
- Once melted, the butter will foam and sizzle around the edges. Keep stirring!! The butter should turn golden brown after 5–6 minutes and be topped with a foamy layer of bubbles. Shortly after this the foam should kind of fade away and the milk solids at the bottom of the pan will be a perfectly toasted brown. It should have a strong, nutty aroma.
- Immediately remove the pan from heat and pour the butter into a heatproof bowl to stop the cooking process. If left in the hot pan, the milk solids will burn. It can happen in a flash, trust me!! Place the brown butter in the fridge for 30 minutes to cool to room temperature.
Oatmeal Cookies
- Preheat the oven to 350°F/175°C and line two large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Set aside.
- Add 1/2 cup of room-temperature brown butter (the remaining amount will be used to make the frosting) and 1 cup packed dark brown sugar into a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Beat on a medium-high speed for a couple of minutes, or until the mixture becomes lighter in color and looks fluffy. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed with a rubber spatula.
- Next, scoop 1/4 cup of pumpkin puree onto a couple of sheets of paper towel and pat it to remove any excess moisture. Then add the blotted pumpkin puree and 1 tsp vanilla extract to the butter/brown sugar mixture. Mix on a medium speed until combined.
- Then fold 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, 3/4 cup old-fashioned oats, 1 tsp baking soda, 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon, and 1/2 tsp fine salt into the wet ingredients with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon until just combined. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed to make sure everything is properly mixed together. The dough should be quite thick.
- Use a 1 Tbsp cookie scoop or a small spoon to measure about 32 cookie dough balls and place them on the prepared pans. Space them about 1 1/2 inches apart, as they'll spread a bit as they bake.
- Bake one tray at a time on the middle rack of your oven for 8-9 minutes, or until the edges look set and the centers have puffed up but are still soft.
- Gently flatten the cookies with the bottom of a metal measuring cup or glass while they're still warm. Then let the cookies cool on the sheet for 10 minutes, then place them on a wire rack to finish cooling.
Brown Butter Cream Cheese Filling
- While the cookies bake and cool, make the brown butter cream cheese filling. I prefer making it with a hand mixer because this makes a pretty small amount of frosting.
- In a medium bowl, beat 1/3 cup of room temperature brown butter (should be the amount remaining) and 1/4 cup room temperature cream cheese together on a medium-high speed until combined.
- Then add 1 cup powdered sugar, 1 tsp vanilla extract, and 1/4 tsp fine salt. Mix on a low speed until combined and smooth. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed with a rubber spatula.
- Scoop the frosting into a large piping bag or a freezer ziplock bag, and cut an opening at the base that's about 1/2 inch wide.
- Pair the cookies up (it's ok if they're not all exactly the same size!), then pipe a generous layer of frosting on the back of one of the cookies before sandwiching them together. Repeat until all the cookies are filled, then enjoy! These can sit out at room temperature for a few hours, or be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week.
Video
Notes
Please refer to the "substitutions and swaps" section in the blog post above for substitutions that can be made in this recipe.
How Many Cookies Does This Recipe Make?
The cookie recipe makes about 16 sandwich cookies using a 1 Tbsp cookie scoop. If you don't have that size cookie scoop, don't worry! You can also use a good old Tablespoon. If you want to make more cookies, you can double the ingredients and make a double batch using either a hand mixer or a stand mixer.Tips for Making the Best Oatmeal Sandwich Cookies
- Use a cookie scoop to make sure your cookies are uniformly sized.
- Space your cookies about 2 inches apart before baking them. They will spread as they bake.
- Don't over-bake your cookies! You want the edges to be set, but the centers to still be soft and puffy! Even if they seem a bit soft coming out of the oven, they will continue to bake and set on the tray once they're out of the oven.
- Gently flatten the cookies with the bottom of a metal measuring cup or glass while they're still warm. This will make them easier to sandwich together and eat.
- I used a piping bag to decorate these cookies, but you can also use a Ziplock bag if you don't have a piping bag! I recommend using the freezer type because they're a bit sturdier.
Making These Oatmeal Sandwich Cookies in Advance and Storing Them
This cookie dough can be made up to 2 days in advance. Store it in the fridge in an airtight container, then when you're ready to bake them, let the dough thaw to room temperature, scoop the cookies, and bake them. Baked and filled cookies can be stored in an airtight container or ziplock bag at room temperature for a few hours, in the fridge for a week, or in the freezer for a month. You can also freeze baked, unfilled cookies for up to a month. I like to thaw them in the fridge overnight, then fill them with frosting once they've reached room temperature and are ready to be eaten.Nutrition
Serving: 1 | Calories: 326kcal | Carbohydrates: 29g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 23g | Saturated Fat: 14g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 7g | Cholesterol: 71mg | Sodium: 265mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 18g