Chocolate Oatmeal Moon Pies

Last week we went over to our friends’ house for dinner (our friend who also just happens to be the fab art director and graphic designer behind Annie’s Eats). I offered to bring a dessert. I’d had a pretty busy week of baking so I wanted something fairly simple but still a bit indulgent. I also wanted something both the kids and grown-ups would appreciate. (In case you didn’t know he has two of the cutest little girls on the planet.) I was flipping through my saved recipes and my search ended the moment I saw these.

I know the title seems long, but it still doesn’t even cover all the good stuff going on here. The cookies are oatmeal cookies with chunks of dried cherries, dark chocolate, and pecans. Ohmygosh yes. Then those lovely things are sandwiched with a fluffy, sweet marshmallowy frosting. And then you go and drizzle the whole thing with dark chocolate ganache. What can I say? I’m into drizzled chocolate this week. After baking the cookies, I was a bit concerned because they were on the crisp side. Thankfully they softened up a bit after being sandwiched with the filling. Because of this, I think it’s best to make and assemble these a day or so in advance of when you want to serve them. (That, or you can try playing with the recipe to make the cookie softer – I haven’t had the opportunity just yet.)

As you can see, this dessert is quite a mouthful. Sharing one with Andrew was plenty for me, and I’m not usually so keen on sharing my dessert with anyone. The combination of the slightly chewy-crisp cookie, the chocolate-cherry-pecan combo, and the ganache drizzle worked so well together, and definitely made for a crowd-pleasing end to a lovely meal. (And then we all went down into the playroom, and every single one of us wore some kind of costume. I might have worn a frog hat. Hopefully no one took pictures.)

Yield 20 large sandwich cookies

Ingredients

For the cookies:
1¼ cups all-purpose flour
¾ tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. coarse salt
2¼ cups old-fashioned oats
1 cup dried tart cherries, chopped
1 cup pecans, chopped
4 oz. bittersweet chocolate, chopped
12 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
1½ cups packed brown sugar
1 large egg
2 tsp. vanilla extract

For the filling:
12 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
1½ cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
6 oz. marshmallow fluff
1 tbsp. vanilla extract
1 tbsp. milk (optional)

For the drizzle:
4 oz. bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
½ cup heavy cream
2 tbsp. unsalted butter

Directions

01
Preheat the oven to 325˚ F. Line baking sheets with silicone baking mats or parchment paper. Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. Whisk to blend, and set aside. In a large bowl, combine the oats, cherries, pecans, and chocolate. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat together the butter and sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Blend in the egg and vanilla. With the mixer on low speed, add in the flour mixture, beating just until incorporated. Fold in the oat mixture with a spatula until incorporated.
02
Use a 1-ounce dough scoop to shape dough balls. Place the dough balls on the prepared baking sheets, spacing each 2-3 inches apart. Bake for 16-18 minutes total, rotating the pans halfway through baking. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely.
03
To make the filling, place the butter in the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat on medium-high speed until smooth, 1-2 minutes. Blend in the confectioners’ sugar until incorporated. Beat in the marshmallow fluff and vanilla until light and fluffy, 2-3 minutes. If necessary, blend in milk gradually until a soft, smooth consistency is reached.
04
Match the cookies up in pairs by size. Fill a pastry bag fitted with a large plain round tip with the marshmallow filling. Pipe a dollop of filling onto the flat side of one cookie of each pair, and sandwich the cookies together, pushing the filling to the edges.
05
To make the ganache, place the chopped chocolate in a medium bowl. In a small saucepan, bring the cream to a simmer over medium heat. Once simmering, remove from the heat and immediately pour over the chocolate. Let stand 1-2 minutes. Whisk in small circular motions until a smooth ganache has formed. Whisk in the butter until completely incorporated. Let the mixture stand at room temperature until slightly thickened. Drizzle over the assembled cookies. Chill to set the ganache, or serve immediately for a gooey, messy dessert. Store in an airtight container.

Source

adapted from Bon Appétit