Operation Baking Gals- October!

Alright, so I'm really slacking on getting these posts up, but I did mail my packages. I also had a lovely long conversation with the mail lady. That would be one of the very nice things about living in a small town. I have long conversations with the ladies at the post office. The teller at the bank notices when I lose a little weight. It's like that old Sesame Street song, "These are the People in Your Neighborhood". SO I went to the post office this morning with my jam, and my two soldier packages.

Yes, it's time for another installment of Operation Baking Gals! This time I have two soldiers. A soldier who is now on his second tour in Iraq and another soldier who has 50 soldiers with him. So I sent one soldier some of Aunt Nicky's Butter cookies cut into leaf shapes.

And then I sent another soldier some Cowboy cookies, delightful oatmeal-pecan-chocolate chip-coconut cookies of unfortunate Republican roots, made over by the lovely Martha Stewart (who has a really neat blog now. Check it out! And yes, neat as in tidy, duh, but also neat as in cool.)

And finally I searched the library book of the month, The Complete Cookie. I also got the Maltese Falcon (ooooh good) and Fahrenheit 451 (yikes scary). I don't just read cookbooks. In The Complete Cookie, I came across a delicious recipe for Caramel Meringue Filled Oatmeal Sandwich Cookies. They were really pretty easy to make and super delicious.

I hope the cookies brighten the soldiers' day.

Caramel Meringue-Filled Oatmeal Sandwich Cookies
from The Complete Cookie

Dough:
2 cups all purpose flour
2 cups rolled oats
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter at room temperature
1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract

Filling:
1 large egg white
1/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 Tbsp water
1 Tbsp dark molasses
1/8 tsp cream of tartar

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.

Combine the flour, oats, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon in a bowl. Whisk and set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugars with an electric mixer set at medium speed. Beat in the eggs, one at a time. Beat in the vanilla. Add the flour mixture and stir with a wooden spoon until incorporated.

Drop the dough by the heaping tablespoonful onto the prepared cookie sheets, about 2 inches apart. Bake for 8 to 9 minutes, until the cookies turn light golden.

Remove from the oven and cool the cookies on the sheets for 2 minutes, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

For the filling, bring water to a simmer over low heat in the bottom of a double boiler.

Meanwhile, combine the egg white, sugars, water, molasses, and cream of tartar in the detached top of the double boiler. Whisk to blend. Fit the top of the double boiler over simmering water, making sure that the water doesn't touch the underside. Cook, whisking constantly, until the mixture reaches a temperature of 140 degrees on an instant-read thermometer.

Remove the top of the double boiler from the heat and begin to beat immediately with an electric mixer at medium speed. Continue to mix for about 8 minutes until stiff peaks form.

Spread about 2 1/2 teaspoons of the filling on the flat bottom of a cooled cookie and top with a second cookie, flat side in, to make a sandwich. Repeat the process until all the cookies have been filled.

Freeze for 2 days and then mail off.