Jemma’s Pumpkin Oatmeal Cream Pies

You guys, I’m so excited to welcome my daughter, Jemma, as a guest author on my blog! For those of you who have been around since the beginning of That Mama Gretchen you’ll understand how surreal this is. I started blogging when I was pregnant with her as a way to keep my mom and sisters in the loop about my pregnancy … and now she’s baking solo and sharing the outcome of her kitchen success here! Time! Stop!

Lately, when I put the three boys to bed, Jem heads to the kitchen to work on a treat for the two of us to share while we watch Road To Avonlea (the best series EVER). This is probably one of the most amazing benefits of homeschooling … she can stay up late with me and binge watch what we’ve been telling the boys is her extra required “history lesson” :)

As she wrapped up these cream pies the other night she asked if I could teach her how to share the recipe in a blog post. Of course I said yes! So, the next evening while I tucked in the boys, she started typing. Now, I might be a little biased, but I think she is an excellent storyteller! I mean, she turned this recipe into such a fun read!

Hi, my name is Jemma! I am 8 years old and I am in 3rd grade. My favorite color is lavender purple and I love the giraffes at the zoo. I love making arts and crafts and, most of all baking.

We had about 1 cup of pumpkin puree in the fridge and it was starting to get kind of old so I decided to make a yummy treat out of it. I went onto Pinterest and searched “pumpkin desserts”. I picked out a few to try, but the one that stood out to me was the “Pumpkin Oatmeal Cream Pies”.

I looked at the recipe and we had all the ingredients in the kitchen! It is just so sad when you look forward to baking a recipe and then you have to go to the grocery store for the ingredients that you need, isn’t it?

These sound like delicious pies, but this is actually delicious cream sandwiched in between two pumpkin oatmeal cookies. I have to admit, they are really, really, REALLY, good! I made a few twists from the original recipe to make it my own.

Cookie Ingredients

• 1 2/3 cups self rising flour*
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 2/3 cup quick-cooking oats
• 1 1/2 sticks of salted butter, softened
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 2/3 cup canned pumpkin puree
• 1 large egg yolk
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla

*Self rising flour is one of our new favorite baking tricks. It is regular white flour with baking powder and salt added in. If you don’t have self rising flour you can use 1 2/3 cups regular white flour and add in 1 teaspoon baking powder and 1/2 teaspoon salt.

Cream Filling Ingredients

This is the half recipe I did, but if you like lots of frosting, double the ingredients.

• 1 stick of salted butter, softened
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 1/8 cup heavy cream
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla

Directions

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
• Put the flour, baking soda, and spices into a large bowl. Mix together and add the oats in.
• In a separate bowl, cream the butter with a hand mixer until it looks light and fluffy. Add the sugars and mix together. Add all the wet ingredients and then add the dry ingredients and mix.
• Use a cookie scooper to scoop out a ball of cookie dough and roll it until it is a perfect ball. Do this several times and place the balls on the pans. About 12 balls should fit on each pan. Use two fingers to pat the dough until it looks like a disk, or since the dough is very sticky, you may use a fork.
• Bake the cookies in the oven for 10-12 minutes or until they look nice and golden.
• While the cookies are baking, get a bowl and put the butter in it. Blend until nice and creamy with the hand mixer. Add the powdered sugar and mix on low so it does not poof! Pour in the heavy cream and the vanilla and mix on low as well.
• When the cookies are cooled, use a butter knife to spread the cream filling onto half of the cookies and then place the other cookies on top. Serve and enjoy!