Oatmeal Ganache Sandwich Cookies
These cookies can play to any mood or theme: elegant, casual, holiday, or home-day. The ganache filling is an obvious wow-factor, but I actually think the subtle hints of cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and orange are what make these treats utterly sublime.
Delightful little treats of homemade, easy ganache between crispy oatmeal-spice cookies.
- 1 c. all-purpose flour (spooned into measuring cup)
- 1/2 tsp. baking soda
- 1/2 tsp. baking powder
- 1 tsp. fine sea salt
- 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp. fresh ground or grated nutmeg
- 1/8 tsp. ground allspice
- 3/4 c. (1.5 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
- 3/4 c. granulated sugar
- 1/2 c. light brown sugar, gently packed
- 1 large room temperature egg
- 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
- zest of 1/2 small orange (about 1 tsp.)
- 1 c. quick-cooking oats (No quick oats? See TIP A below)
- 1.5 c. rolled, old-fashioned oats
- 1 c. heavy whipping cream
- 1 10-12- oz. package good quality semisweet or bittersweet chocolate chips (like Guittard® or Ghiradelli®, see TIP B below)
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Combine the first 7 ingredients (flour through allspice) in a large bowl and set aside.
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With a standing or hand-held electric mixer, beat the softened butter and sugars together on medium-high speed for 3-4 minutes. Don't skimp on this time. You want to create a very light and fluffy mixture that gives the cookies their desired crispiness.
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Add the egg, vanilla, and orange zest to the butter-sugar mixture and mix until combined. Scrape down sides as needed.
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With the mixer on low, slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Then add the quick and rolled oats and mix until just combined. Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl as needed to ensure all ingredients are evenly incorporated.
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Form the dough into 3/4-inch balls and place them on 3-4 parchment or Silpat-lined baking sheets (Remember, you will need 70-80 individual cookies to yield 35-40 sandwich cookies. Work in batches if needed.). Leave at least 1.5-2 inches between each ball. Bake each batch in a pre-heated 350° oven for 11-12 minutes or until just done. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets for 3-5 minutes before transferring them to cooling racks.
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Once the cookies have cooled completely, heat the heavy cream in a small saucepan over medium heat until it begins to simmer and steam (does not need to get to boiling). Immediately pour the hot cream over the chocolate chips in a medium-size glass bowl and stir until the chocolate is fully melted. The resulting ganache should be completely smooth and spreadable. If it appears too runny, then let it sit for a few minutes (the ganache will firm-up as it cools). If it is too thick, pop the bowl in the microwave for increments of 10-15 seconds and stir for a minimum of 30 seconds between each increment (do not overheat).
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Line 2 baking sheets with clean pieces of parchment paper. Using a butter knife or offset spatula, spread a spoonful of ganache over the back of a cookie (2 spoonfuls if you want them extra-chocolaty—you should have more than enough ganache). Top the ganache layer with another cookie (back-side down) to create a sandwich. Set the cookie to rest on one of the parchment-lined baking sheets. Repeat to create the remaining sandwich cookies. Once done, put the baking sheets in the fridge for 30-60 minutes for the ganache to fully set-up. Serve cookies cool (from fridge) or at room temperature. Store in the fridge for up to 1 week or in the freezer for up to 1 month.
TIP A: If you don't have quick oats, then use traditional rolled oats and give them a quick spin in the food processor. Do not substitute instant oats for quick oats—they're actually quite different. The difference between steel-cut, rolled (or old-fashioned), quick, and instant oats is in the pre-rolling, -cutting, and -steaming process. Steel-cut have not been rolled at all. They're simply cut. Rolled and quick oats are both rolled and partially pre-steamed. The quick variety is then cut down into smaller bits that cook faster. Instant oats are pre-steamed for even longer than rolled and quick oats and cook the fastest. The combination of quick and rolled oats in this recipe makes for a light, crisp texture that is neither too cake-y nor too grain-y. I often like to use a combination of rolled and quick oats in recipes to achieve just the right texture balance.
TIP B: Chocolate is like wine—you only want to cook/bake with a type that you would consume on its own (actually, shouldn’t this be the case with all ingredients?!?). I recommend always springing for the good stuff, but this is particularly important when making a chocolate ganache or glaze. Higher quality chocolate chips (or wafers) have minimal stabilizers which means that they melt more easily. They’re also a bit more forgiving if you need to heat and re-heat them. Of course, you could also use a solid block of chocolate and break it into small bits before melting, but why go to that extra trouble? Guittard® and Ghiradelli® semisweet and bittersweet chocolate chips have never let me down. One last thing, when working with chocolate always be sure to use completely dry bowls and utensils—even the slightest bit of water can cause chocolate to seize-up.