Maple-Nut Oatmeal Cream Pies

A soft, moist nut-studded oatmeal cookie with whipped maple cream cheese filling. Dare I say these are better than cupcakes?

Ingredients

FOR THE COOKIES:

2 cups Old Fashioned Rolled Oats

1 cup All-purpose Flour

1-½ cup Sugar

2 teaspoons Baking Powder

2 teaspoons Baking Soda

1-½ teaspoon Cinnamon

1 teaspoon Ground Nutmeg

1 teaspoon Ground Cloves

½ teaspoons Salt

5 whole Eggs (yes, 5)

1 cup Unsweetened Applesauce

2 Tablespoons Water

½ cups Vegetable Or Canola Oil

1 teaspoon Vanilla

¾ cups Chopped Nuts (pecans, Walnuts, Almonds)

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FOR THE MAPLE FILLING:

4 ounces, weight Cream Cheese, softened

4 Tablespoons Butter, Softened

2 cups Powdered Sugar

1 teaspoon Vanilla

1 teaspoon Maple Flavoring

2 Tablespoons Milk, If Needed

Preparation Instructions 

In a large bowl, combine oats, flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and salt. In another bowl, beat eggs, applesauce, water, oil, and vanilla until well mixed, then stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. DON’T overmix. Gently fold in the nuts. 

Drop batter by 2 tablespoonfuls, 2 inches apart on a greased cookie sheet, shaping each into a circle. Bake at 350F for 9-10 minutes or until tops are firm. Remove to wire racks to cool. 

In a small mixing bowl, beat filling ingredients together until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Add a tablespoonful of milk if you’d like it thinner. (I usually add 1 or 2.) Spread over the bottom of half the cookies; top with remaining cookies. Store in the refrigerator.

Makes about 24 sandwich cookies.

Note: If you find that they spread too much when baking, add a few tablespoonfuls of flour to the remaining batter.

Recipe Source: http://tastykitchen.com/recipes/desserts/maple-nut-oatmeal-cream-pies/