Oatmeal Fudge Cookies

Oatmeal Fudge Cookies

When I was a kid, mom used to make those peanut butter blossom cookies with the Hershey kiss in the middle. They were tasty, but it always bothered me that the candy kiss was so hard when you bit into it. I would often remove the kiss before eating the cookie. Did anyone else do that? Fast forward a few years and now you’ll find me sinking my teeth into a similar idea, but with oats and pecans in the base and a soft fudge in the middle. Introducing the Oatmeal Fudge Cookie –  a new favorite in our Christmas cookie repetoire!

This recipe was created by a mom who does not cook with the seven most common food allergens – including peanuts and milk. My own daughter can’t have milk, but she can have nuts, so the one adaption I have made is to add 1/2 cup chopped pecans to the sugared oatmeal dough for a heartier flavor.  These cookies are also made with unsweetened applesauce in place of eggs and a quick and easy homemade fudge that I would make again and again! Sometimes the best cookies are those that think outside the box. Sorry peanut butter blossoms… but these Oatmeal Fudge Cookies have defeated you.

Come on in to my kitchen!

You’ll need quality shortening, rolled oats, flour, brown sugar (any kind), salt, baking powder, unsweetened applesauce, pure vanilla extract and pecans for the cookie dough. If you want to stay away from nuts completely, you can simply leave them out like her original recipe.  The fudge is made with your favorite semi-sweet dark chocolate chips, more flour, sugar and a little butter. The picture shows regular salted butter, but just like the author, I am going to use my special dairy free butter.  It’s such a little amount that we won’t taste the difference!

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Using a mixer, cream 1/2 cup shortening and 1 cup brown sugar until fluffy. Add in 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce and 1 tsp. vanilla. Mix until smooth.

In a small bowl, whisk together 1 cup all purpose flour, 1/2 tsp. baking soda and 1/2 tsp. salt. Add this to the creamed mixture. Then stir in 2 cups rolled oats and 1/2 cup chopped pecans.

Your dough should resemble oatmeal cookies and be fairly easy to mold with your hands. You are going to create little bird nests with the dough (as pictured here) and lay them on an ungreased cookie sheet. The most efficient way to do this is drop rounded scoops onto the sheet, then press into the middle with your finger, creating a bowl.

You want the nests to harden, so stick the entire cookie sheet into the freezer.

Meanwhile, let’s make some fudge! All you need is a microwave safe bowl. Melt 3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips with 4 T. butter or butter substitute. Add 1 T. warm water and stir until combined. Finally, whisk in 1/4 cup all-purpose flour and 2 T. granulated sugar. This will create a thick, rich chocolate fudgy dough that is pliable with your hands.

Take the hardened nets out of the freezer and nestle 1 T. of fudge into each center.

Bake 10 minutes or until lightly browned. These Oatmeal Fudge Cookies are delicious when served warm or cool. The best part is that soft chunk of chocolate in the middle. No need for its removal before devouring!

Enjoy!

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Love Twix Candy? You may also love this Homemade Fudge Recipe or this Peanut Butter Fudge Recipe.

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