Oatmeal Creme Pies

Ingredients

• For cookies:
• 8 ounces all purpose flour
• 4 ounces rolled oats
• 1/2 ounce cocoa powder
• 2 ounces dried apple rings
• 3 ounces unsalted butter
• 2 1/4 ounces neutral flavored oil, like safflower
• 7 ounces sugar
• 1 1/2 ounce molasses
• 3 ounces corn syrup
• 1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon mace
• 1 egg
• 2 ounces milk
• For marshmallow filling:
• 1 1/2 teaspoons gelatin powder
• 2 1/2 ounces water, divided
• 1 3/4 ounces corn syrup
• 4 1/2 ounces sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3/4 ounce unsalted butter

Directions

1. Set your oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment, and keep 2 more sheets of parchment nearby. Add the flour, oats, cocoa, and dried apples to a food processor. Run the machine nonstop for 2 minutes, then sift the mixture and save anything too coarse to pass through. Put those larger oat and apple pieces back into the processor for another 2 minutes. They may still be too coarse for sifting, but they should be very finely broken down. After 4 minutes total in the processor, you want no obvious oat flakes and apple pieces smaller than a lentil. Stir those fine bits back into the sifted dry mixture, then set the dry ingredients aside.
2. Using a hand or stand mixer, beat the butter, oil, sugar, molasses, corn syrup, the baking soda and baking powder, plus the salt, ginger, cinnamon, and mace until everything is evenly blended and a little lighter, about 2 minutes. Beat in the egg for 1 minute more. Turn the mixer to low, tip in the entire dry mixture, and mix until uniform. Slowly pour in the milk and mix until it is fully worked in. Turn off the mixer and use a rubber spatula to scrape the bowl and beater thoroughly. Portion the dough with a #60 scoop, the 2 teaspoon size, placing about 15 mounds on each cookie sheet. Space them generously, because they will spread quite a bit in the oven.
3. Bake until the cookies are puffed and just set, about 8 minutes. To find the best timing for your oven, bake 1 tray by itself before committing the rest. The cookies should look slightly soft; they will firm as they cool. If a batch turns crisp after cooling, shorten the bake time for the next round by a few minutes. Bake the rest of the dough the same way. Once the cookies are completely cool, turn half of them over for filling. If any cling to the parchment, slide a metal spatula underneath to loosen them gently.
4. For the filling, put the gelatin into a medium bowl, or into your stand mixer bowl, and stir in half of the water, 1 1/4 ounces. Use a fork to break up any gelatin lumps, then set the bowl aside. Set a very small pot over medium heat and add the remaining water, corn syrup, sugar, and salt. Stir carefully with a spatula so the sugar dissolves, taking care not to splash the mixture up the sides of the pot. Continue cooking until a candy thermometer reads 240 degrees F. As soon as it reaches that point, turn off the heat and let the syrup cool to 210 degrees. Do not rush this part; it needs to come all the way down to 210 degrees before you continue. Once cooled, pour the syrup into the gelatin mixture and whip on low speed until the gelatin is fully dissolved. Raise the speed to medium high and beat until the mixture is light, fluffy, and tripled in bulk. With the mixer still running, add the vanilla and then the butter, a teaspoon at a time. Scrape down the bowl if needed, and keep whipping until no butter specks remain. Use a spatula to move the filling into a pastry bag. Expect a creamy filling rather than a marshmallowy fluff. If it feels awkward to pipe, let it stand for 1 hour first. Pipe a quarter-sized mound onto half of the cookies, using less than seems right, then top with the remaining cookie halves.
5. They are ready to eat right away, but the texture settles by the following day, once the gelatin has set. Store them in an airtight container at room temperature for 1 week.