Oatmeal Sandwich Cookies with Mixed Berry Buttercream

Hearty, chewy oatmeal sandwich cookies stuffed with sweet and fruity mixed berry buttercream are my dessert of choice for early spring!

The first day of spring is always such a tease, at least for those of us living in the north east. It promises of warmer weather and budding flowers, but those sunny spring days feel so far away when we just had a major snowstorm last week.

I've mentioned many times before how much I love the transitional seasons, but this year I've been especially exited for spring. One thing Alex and I are super excited for is our trip to Charleston and Savannah that's coming up in April, but that's not what we're most excited for. If you've signed up for my email newsletter and saw my email last Thursday then you're already in on the excitement...

We bought our first house!! We're moving in at the end of the month, and we are both absolutely over the moon. We can't wait to BBQ on the deck, plant an herb garden, and (finally) have the space for a big, cozy couch! But most of all I can't wait to get into our new kitchen and bake myself crazy! I hope the whole house smells like fresh baked cookies all the time!

Which brings me to these oatmeal sandwich cookies with mixed berry buttercream. They are the perfect sweet treat to enjoy while the weather transitions. The oatmeal cookies are thick and hearty and reminiscent of the coziness of winter, but the mixed berry buttercream filling screams of the sweet berries that will soon be arriving.

[recipe title="Oatmeal Sandwich Cookies with Mixed Berry Buttercream" servings="12"]
INGREDIENTS:
for the cookies:
7 T unsalted butter
⅜ cup brown sugar
¼ cup sugar
1 egg
½ tsp. vanilla
¾ cup flour
½ tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. cinnamon
¼ tsp. salt
1-½ cup old-fashioned oats

for the buttercream:
¼ cup shortening
¼ cup butter
½ tsp. vanilla
2 cups confectioner's sugar
1 T milk
2 T mixed berry jam

DIRECTIONS:
for the cookies:
Preheat the oven to 350°F.

In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, beat butter, brown sugar, and sugar until creamy. Add the egg and vanilla and beat until combined. Add the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt and mix until combined. Add oats and mix well.

Scoop tablespoons of dough and gently roll each into a ball. Place on a cookie sheet and bake 10 minutes or until cookies are golden brown. Let cookies cool on the tray for a couple of minutes, and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. There should be 24 cookies.

for the buttercream:
Cream butter and shortening in a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer. Add vanilla and mix well. Add sugar slowly – one cup at a time – beating well on medium speed and scraping the bowl often. When all sugar is added the icing will be dry. Then add milk and beat at high speed until the frosting is light and fluffy. Finally add the raspberry jam and beat until well blended.

to assemble the sandwich cookies:
Once the cookies are completely cool, spread half of the cookies with a thick layer of buttercream and top with the remaining cookies. Eat immediately or store leftovers in the fridge for up to a week.
[/recipe]