Oatmeal and Coconut Cream Pies with Pumpkin Brown Butter Frosting

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I haven’t posted one pumpkin recipe all year. ALL YEAR. It’s a travesty.

It’s not that I don’t like pumpkin, because I do, love it in fact, it’s just that when everyone else gets on the pumpkin bandwagon in what seems like August, I’m still desperately holding on to summer. Usually by the time I come around, it’s mid-November, and everyone has sort of moved on, and could care less about the plethora of pumpkin recipes I’ve got up my sleeve.

However, this year, I feel like I’ve met myself in the middle, because while I didn’t break out the pumpkin in September or even the beginning of October, I’m posting my first pumpkin recipe almost a whole week before November, and I’d call that a win.

And guy and gals, it’s a good one. Oatmeal and Coconut Cream Pies with BROWN BUTTER Pumpkin Filling. Has anything ever sounded better?? I’m slightly ashamed to admit that I’ve consumed no less than a dozen of these bad boys in the last week, and I still find myself sashaying up to kitchen counter to sneak in a few more each day. Help!

So the skinny on these guys. I made the cookie portion with Pamela’s Products Oatmeal Cookie and Bar Mix, which is not something I’d normally do, because I enjoy the process of measuring everything out, but I’ve got a busy 10-month old baby boy running around the house, so I’ll take any shortcut I can get these days. Plus, the ingredient list is short, and on top of that, they are all minimally processed, and lack any artificial additives (which are both super important to me). Of course though, the most important factor is the cookies are good, really good. In a great oatmeal cookie, you want that chew factor, which these totally have; they also have a ton of texture to them, which I adore in a classic oatmeal cookie. So yeah, these are a winner in my book!

For this particular recipe, I didn’t stray too far from the package instructions on making the cookies, but I did add in about ¾ cup of unsweetened coconut, because I’m having a slight infatuation with it at the moment. I also made the cookies a little bit smaller than instructed, just because I feel a little bit better about eating sandwich after sandwich when they’re miniature.

The filling is relatively easy, but does have one essential high-maintenance step – browning and then solidifying the butter. I feel like these days, I use brown butter in recipes just as much, if not more than normal butter, because it adds this extra layer of flavor that goes with everything. Plus for me, there is really nothing more fall than brown butter, the smell, the taste, it all just screams autumn and cooler temperatures to me.

So first, you melt and brown the butter, transfer it to a bowl, and then pop it into the freezer until it solidifies again, Making sure the butter goes back to its solid state is super important, because you need that structure to make a sturdy buttercream.

Once the butter is back to its original state, it gets thrown in the bottom of a stand mixer, and beaten until it’s light and fluffy. From there, pumpkin puree and vanilla gets thrown into the mix, and then powdered sugar is added in slowly until the mixture is fluffy and spreadable. At this point, I like to throw the frosting into the fridge to chill for a few minutes before assembling; this just ensures the buttercream doesn’t ooze out the sides before you can get your hands on one.

Once the cookies are assembled, they go back in to the fridge to chill for a few minutes, and then they’re ready to serve. If you’re serving them at a party, I recommend making the cookies and frosting the day before, then assembling the day of.

Ok, so now for the best part. This recipe is actually part of The Ultimate Pumpkin Sweepstakes hosted by Pamela’s Products, and if you go to this link and vote for your favorite pumpkin dessert, you will be entered for a chance to win an Orange Kitchen-Aid Stand Mixer, and all THIRTEEN of Pamela’s baking mixes. Go vote now!!! Thanks guys!