Vegan Almond Oatmeal Cookie Sandwiches with White Chocolate Cream

When I was little, I liked Little Debbie snacks.  In fact, I considered them the best part of my lunch back in the day when my Mom would pack my lunch in middle school.  I liked those vanilla cake rolls with the strawberry cream filling and those little pink frosted heart cakes, but what I really loved were the oatmeal cream pies.  I don't know why they are called "pies" because they are actually oatmeal cookie sandwiches, but they were so delicious to my younger self.  Since I love to veganize things I loved as a kid, I thought I would make some oatmeal cream pies.  These would be a little more fancy though, and hopefully even more delicious.

For the oatmeal cookies, I used my normal recipe that uses coconut oil as the fat, but I also included some Dastony almond butter I recently received from Raw Guru as well to make for some chewy cookies with a light almond flavor.  They also had to have a hint of cinnamon and nutmeg because I love those two spices with anything oatmeal including my breakfast every morning.  The cookie dough was super delicious.  I am one of those people that likes to make cookies just to eat the dough so you betcha I tasted it. Or more like ate a couple of cookies worth of dough.  I made the cookies smaller because I wanted cute little cookie sandwiches, and they baked up beautifully!  My kitchen smelled amazing too!  Like caramel (thanks to the Raw Guru coconut sugar), a hint of spice, and a hint of almonds. That is part of why baking makes me so happy, all of the good smells.

Once they had cooled I had to make a really good cream filling.  I used a coconut milk base with a little bit of the Dastony almond butter to give it a slight almond flavor, plus some melted cacao butter to give it a white chocolate flavor and some coconut butter to thicken the cream.  It was heavenly!  It tasted like white chocolate almond mousse.

Once the cookies were all filled and sandwiched together I could not wait to try them!  They were sooo good though!  The cookies were sweet and chewy like oatmeal cookies should be, with a hint of almond and spice and that white chocolate almond frosting was the perfect partner for them.  Rich, smooth and creamy!  If you were ever a fan of oatmeal cream pies, or you just love oatmeal cookies, give these a try!  My Mom always said she liked oatmeal cookies the best because they were healthier.  I would have to agree.  After all, they have more fiber than most cookies!  I think that is a pretty good reason to enjoy them, don't you?

Vegan Oatmeal Cookie Sandwiches with White Chocolate Cream 
Makes about 18 sandwich cookies

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup virgin coconut oil, warmed to liquid
• 1/4 cup Dastony almond butter
• 1 1/2 cups Raw Guru coconut sugar
• 2 flax eggs*
• 1 Tbsp pure vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups gluten free oat flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 3/4 tsp sea salt
• 3 cups gluten free old fashioned rolled oats

Frosting:

• 3/4 cup full fat coconut milk at room temperature (you want the kind that is mostly thick, I used Thai kitchen organic)
• 2 Tbsp Dastony almond butter
• 3 Tbsp maple syrup
• 1/4  tsp sea salt
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup coconut butter, warmed to liquid
• 2 Tbsp Raw Guru cocoa butter, warmed to liquid (or additional coconut butter if you don't have cacao butter)

Directions:

1. In a large mixing bowl, mix together the coconut oil, almond butter, and sugar until well blended. Add flax eggs, vanilla, and beat until well combined (the mixture will become very thick).
2. Mix in the flour, soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and sea salt until well blended. Mix in the oats until well combined.
3. Heat the oven to 350F degrees with the rack set at the middle position. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
4. Roll the dough into small 1 1/2 inch balls, and spread them out on the 2 cookie sheets with plenty of room in between, and flatten them out slightly. Bake for 10-13 minutes or until golden, but not over baked. Let cool on sheet a few minutes, then remove to a wire rack lined with parchment to cool completely.
5. To make the filling, combine all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Pour into a bowl, and set in the freezer, whisking every 5-10 minutes or so until it has thickened to heavy whipped cream consistency.
6. Once the filling has thickened, place it in a pastry bag.  Flip half of the cookies over, and pipe the frosting onto them.  Top with the rest of the cookies.
7. Enjoy!  Store any leftover cookies in an airtight container in the refrigerator.