Happy Thanksgiving! Pumpkin Oatmeal Cream Pies

In South Africa, we don't celebrate the holiday of Thanksgiving. However I really like the concept of taking one day off to appreciate all the amazing things we have in our lives. Although things may not always be perfect, that doesn't mean we should lose sight of the great people around us and special things happening in our lives.

I found this quote online, that I believe is from Gerard Way:

What are you thankful for in your life? I would love to hear!

Ok, so enough with all the deep stuff. For the last month or so the bloggosphere has been FLOODED with pumpkin recipes in every shape and form. I got to the stage that if I saw another pumpkin recipe I thought I would have a break-down. But then I saw pumpkin in the shops and got really excited; we seldom see pumpkin around these parts. Suddenly I felt the need to join in this orange vegetable craze!

So without further ado, I present: Pumpkin Oatmeal Cream Pies from Cooking Classy. I made these slightly smaller than recommended and found that I actually preferred them without the filling. Don't get me wrong, they are delicious either way! But after a few (two...maybe three... okay, fine it was more!) filled ones they got a bit too sweet. The unfilled biscuits are packed with flavour! So if you can't find marshmallow fluff, as is often the case in SA, and don't want the bother of making it then you can enjoy these biscuits unfilled.

Pumpkin Oatmeal Cream Pies

From Cooking Classy

Pumpkin Oatmeal Biscuits
2 cups flour
1 1/2 cups oats (I used Jungle Oats)
1 1/2 tsp cornstarch
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/8 tsp ground cloves
227g unsalted butter (at room temperature)
1 1/2 cups light brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla essence (you can use vanilla extract instead if preferred)
3/4 cup and 2tbsp pumpkin puree**

1. Preheat the oven to 180⁰C
2. Slightly grind oats in a food processor
3. Whisk together flour, ground oats,cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices until combined
4. In a separate bowl, whip together sugar and butter until light and creamy. This will take a few minutes.
5. Add the egg and vanilla and mix until combined.
6. With your mixer on a low speed, add in half of the pumpkin puree.
7. With your mixture still on low, add in half the dry mixture and mix until just combined.
8. Repeat with the remaining pumpkin and dry mixture. Leave batter to rest for ten minutes.
9. Put 1 tbsp size scoops of dough onto a baking sheet lined with baking paper.
10. Bake for about 10 minutes. Allow to cool on baking sheet for another ten minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.

Marshmallow Cream Filling

113g salted butter (room temperature. If you only have unsalted, just add a pinch of salt)

6 tbsp canola oil

1 3/4 cups icing sugar

200g marshmallow fluff

1. Whip together butter and oil until well combined and light and fluffy.
2. Add in icing sugar and mix until combined.
3. Add in marshmallow fluff and mix until combined.

To Assemble

1. Spread some cream filling onto the underside (flat side) of half the cookies
2. Sandwich unfilled cookies onto filled cookies.
3. Enjoy!

** I have yet to find pumpkin puree in SA. I did find diced pumpkin at both Woolworths and Pick 'n Pay. I steamed it, but you could also boil it, and then pureed with an immersion blender.

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