Oatmeal Nutella-cream cheese filled Whoopie Pies

Sometimes the recipes for my whoopie pies are inspired by a particular craving, sometimes by a particular seasonal treat, sometimes a suggestion by a friend, and sometimes they are just based on the ingredients I have on hand.

I knew I wanted to make a Nutella-cream cheese filling (and I had both Nutella and cream cheese) but I hadn’t totally decided on what kind of whoopie to stuff it in – vanilla, chocolate, chocolate chunk, something boozy… Well, I went shopping and meant to pick up either milk or buttermilk (I normally just have almond milk at home) but I completely forgot. I got home and realized that the only Whoopie Pies I could make without milk or buttermilk were the oatmeal ones. Besides the necessity to make these based on what I had on hand, I also wanted to try this recipe out since it was one of the few recipes in Whoopie Pies that I hadn’t yet tried!

I actually really liked the texture contrast between the chewier oat-y Whoopie Pies and the smooth Nutella filling. Also, in case you are wondering, the Whoopie Pies are still soft (no crispy cookies here!) and “whoopie-pie-like”! And the filling is not at all lacking in Nutella taste! Yum!

Oatmeal Whoopie Pies – from Whoopie Pies (makes about 18 filled Whoopie pies)

• 1/4 cup butter, at room temp
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 1/2 cup rolled oats
• 3/4 cup flour
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp salt

1. Preheat oven to 350°F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer (or in a regular bowl and use your hand mixer), cream together butter and sugars until fluffy and pale, about 3 minutes. Beat in the eggs one at a time and add the vanilla.
3. In a food processor, blender, or Magic Bullet (my preference!), process 3/4 cup of oatmeal until it resembles whole grain flour (as can be seen in the picture on the right – in contrast to the unprocessed oats on the left). Transfer to a bowl and add the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, salt and remaining oats. Stir together.
4. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and beat on low until combined.
5. Spoon or scoop 1 to 1.5 Tb of batter onto the baking sheets about 2 inches apart. Bake for about 11 minutes or until the cookies are set and edges just start to brown.
6. Let cool 3-4 minutes on the on the pan before transferring to a cooling rack.

Nutella Cream Cheese Filling

• 1 cup Nutella
• 4 oz (1/2 a pkg) cream cheese
• 2 to 2 1/2 icing sugar

1. Beat together Nutella and cream cheese.
2. Add icing sugar 1/2 cup at a time until a medium consistency is reached. If you add to much and it becomes stiff, add milk 1 tsp at a time until it is soft and smooth!

Assemble by filling two equally sized & shaped Whoopie Pies with 1 to 1.5 Tb filling (generally use as much filling as you used for the batter of each side of the Whoopie). Squish together and enjoy!