Golden Girls

This oatmeal cookie with a cheesecake filling and a graham cracker outside "crust" is one of one of my most popular recipes. It's also a perfect example of a stuffed cookie. 

When I thought up the idea of cheesecake-stuffed cookies, of course I had to name them the "Golden Girls" after one of my favorite 80s sitcoms. Whenever Dorothy, Rose, Blanche and Sofia couldn't sleep (which, let's face it, was pretty often...because they're old ladies) and needed to work out their problems (which, let's face it, are a given when an ugly duckling, a dimwit, a slut, and a Sicilian live together), they went straight to the refrigerator, grabbed a cheesecake, and sat around the kitchen table talking, eating, laughing, eating, fighting, and eating some more. 

Many of the funniest moments in TV have taken place in their kitchen. I'm sure my Golden Girls cookies would meet the girls' standards!

Filling	8 ounces room-temperature cream cheese 4 tablespoons sugar 2 teaspoons vanilla
Creamables	2 sticks butter 1 1/2 cups brown sugar 1/2 cup white sugar 1 tablespoon cinnamon
Wet Ingredients	3 eggs 2 teaspoons vanilla
Dry Ingredients	2 cups finely ground graham crackers 1 1/2 cups flour 2 1/2 cups oatmeal 1 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 tablespoon cinnamon

1. Add the filling ingredients to a medium bowl and mix well.  Let the mixture cool and solidify in the refrigerator until step 7.
2. Preheat oven to 350º.
3. In your Kitchen Aid or a large mixing bowl, cream together the creamables.
4. In a small bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients and then add to the creamables. Mix together until smooth.
5. In another large mixing bowl, add the dry ingredients. Using a spatula, fold together until evenly distributed. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the creamables and wet ingredients. Mix until evenly combined.
6. Shape dough into balls—about 2 tablespoons each.
7. Remove the filling mixture from the refrigerator and stuff each dough ball with 1 teaspoon of the mixture.  Put the stuffed dough balls in the freezer for five minutes to firm up.
8. Place chilled dough balls about 2 inches apart on Silpat- or parchment paper-lined cookie sheets.
9. Bake at 350º for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Remove the cookie sheets from the oven and let stand for 2 minutes. Then place cookies on wire racks to cool.

Comments

[Lorraine]

These look SUPER yummy!! When I'm feeling a little more ambitious, and confident, I will try to make them for sure.

[Oatmeal Cookie Guy]

These are another favorite of mine...and everyone else. In fact, one of my friends at work requested this cookie specifically for her birthday party. Once you've got the stuffing technique down, a world of cookie possibilities opens up.

[stripeydots]

Hi, I just came from Martha's site where I saw your cookie entry. Super excited to make them! Can you tell me if I need to let the 2 sticks of butter sit to room temp before creaming them? And thanks for providing the stuffing process on youtube, very helpful!

...Amelia...

[Oatmeal Cookie Guy]

Thanks, Amelia. I usually let the butter set on the counter for 15-20 minutes before I cream it and the sugar together. This allows the butter to soften up a little...the butter shouldn't be super soft or melty.

[stripeydots]

Hi Greg, I made these babies today; so delicious! I ate 3 at one sitting, no kidding! My 16-month-old ate 1 jumbo at a go and still wanted more. Your blog's going on my fave list, so glad I saw your entry on Martha's site. Next up... your Florida Cookies!

[Oatmeal Cookie Guy]

Thanks, Amelia! So glad you and your son liked them.

[baking blonde]

I made these and blogged about them! I will be making them again!

[Em]

My boyfriend and I made these last night....they are amazing! The dough wasn't as firm as yours so we put it in the freezer, and we had to bake them for longer than 12 minutes, but they turned out great! Definitely one of my favs.

[Marguerite]

You are truly the cookie KING!!!!!!!!!!! These cookies are the bomb.
Everyone I gave them to said they were the best cookies they ever had. So thank you for your creativity.

Marguerite

[Oatmeal Cookie Guy]

Thanks, Marguerite! :-)

[Oatmeal Cookie Guy]

Thanks, Em. :-)

[linda]

I love these, and so did everyone at work! I'm always looking for good cookies to send to my son in college. Can these be mailed, or do they need to be refrigerated?

[Oatmeal Cookie Guy]

Thanks, Linda! You should serve these the same way way you'd serve a cheesecake. But the leftovers, if there are any, should be stored in the fridge. I'll do some research about the safety of leaving the cream cheese filling unrefrigerated for the duration of a mailing and post my findings.

[Oatmeal Cookie Guy]

Hi again, Linda. The Food Safety and Inspection Service, a department within the U.S. Department of Agriculture, states that cream cheese (and, by extension, cream cheese-filled products) should be shipped refrigerated and kept cold. Check out the "Mail Order Food Safety Chart" on this page (cream cheese is about halfway down):

http://www.fsis.usda.gov/factsheets/Mail_Order_Food_Safety_Table/index.asp

[Oatmeal Cookie Guy]

For more on shipping these cookies, check out:

http://oatmealcookie.typepad.com/the_oatmeal_cookie_blog/2009/05/reader-query-shipping-golden-girls-cookies.html

[bird]

probably one of THE BEST oatmeal cookie recipes i've ever tried!!! these are amazing! they're like an oatmeal, graham, cream cheese, cinnamony delight! chewy, crunchy, simply perfect cookies. Mrs. Field's has NOTHING on these babies.

[Oatmeal Cookie Guy]

Wow! Thanks, Bird. I think I'm going to print out your comment and post it next to my Kitchen Aid. :-)

[Helle]

Hello from far away!

Tried these cookies yesterday but I added lemon to the filling and a tiny pinch of nutmeg to the crust. Also I needed a lot more of the filling, I think half the recipe again.

My bowl was too little, too and when I mixed all the ingredients together I made a biiiiiiig mess in my kitchen... but my friend cleaned because he was too stupid to fill the cookies ...;)

Nevertheless: They are sooooo delicious!! I would be very happy if you allow me to translate the recipe into German and post it on my blog (needless to say that I would link to your site). In exchange I would like to offer you MY best cookie-recipe. No oatmeal in it, but they're truly delicious too ;).

[Philip]

These are amazing! A co-worker made me a batch, and I can't wait to make some myself.

[Caitlin Craft]

How many cookies does this recipe make?

[Oatmeal Cookie Guy]

Hi Caitlin,

This recipe makes about 5 dozen cookies.

[Sunshine]

So, how much cinnamon is in this recipe? As it is now, there are 2 tablespoons. Thanks!