Recipe: Mini Oatmeal-Cranberry Whoopie Pies, from New York Times Cooking

Celebrate the holidays with these recipes courtesy of New York Times Cooking, specially chosen for "Sunday Morning" viewers.

We are pleased to share Melissa Clark's Mini Oatmeal-Cranberry Whoopie Pies. 

These miniature whoopie pies may be small, but they are packed with flavor. Chewy oatmeal cookies are spiced with cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger, and studded with dried cranberries. After baking, they're sandwiched around a tangy, fluffy cream cheese and cranberry filling. Make them up to three days ahead and store them in the refrigerator, stacked between pieces of parchment paper in an airtight container, or freeze them for up to 1 month. Feel free to add chopped pecans or walnuts for crunch, and substitute other dried fruit (raisins, chopped apricots, diced apple) for the dried cranberries. These are as adaptable as they are adorable.

Mini Oatmeal-Cranberry Whoopie Pies
By Melissa Clark

Time: 1 hour 15 minutes, plus cooling
Yield: About 2 dozen sandwich cookies

Ingredients:

For the Cookies:
¾ cup/170 grams unsalted butter, softened
1 cup/210 grams dark brown sugar
1/3 cup/66 grams granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 ½ cups/190 grams all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
¾ teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
¼ teaspoon ground ginger
3 cups/350 grams rolled oats (not instant)
1 ½ cups /225 grams dried cranberries

For the Filling:
8 ounces/227 grams cream cheese, softened
2 cups/230 grams confectioners' sugar
1 cup/228 grams unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/8 teaspoon fine sea or table salt
1/3 cup/100 grams whole-berry cranberry sauce, preferably homemade but canned is OK (don't use jellied sauce, it's too thin)

Instructions:

1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees with racks in top and bottom thirds, and line 4 baking sheets with parchment paper.

2. Prepare the cookies: In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to beat together butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in eggs, one at a time, until fully combined, then beat in vanilla.

3. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, nutmeg and ginger. Beat into egg mixture just until combined, then fold in oats and cranberries.

4. Scoop out heaping tablespoons of dough and place on a baking sheet at least 2 inches apart. Bake (in two batches) until the edges are golden brown, 10 to 14 minutes, rotating halfway through. Remove from the oven, transfer to a wire rack and let cool.

5. Meanwhile, make the filling: Using an electric mixer fitted with the whisk, beat cream cheese until fluffy and smooth, 3 to 6 minutes. Beat in sugar, butter and salt, beating until well combined, 2 to 4 minutes. Using a rubber spatula, fold the cranberry sauce into the filling mixture, leaving streaks. Chill the filling until it firms up enough to spread but doesn't completely solidify, 10 to 30 minutes.

6. To assemble the sandwiches, turn over half the cooled cookies. Top with 1 heaping tablespoon of filling, and sandwich with remaining cookies. Serve immediately or refrigerate for up to 3 days before serving.

Check out the "Sunday Morning" 2022 Food Issue Recipe Index for more menu suggestions, from all of the chefs, cookbook authors, flood writers and restaurateurs featured on our program.

And head to New York Times Cooking for more delicious Thanksgiving recipes.