These soft, creme-filled sandwich cookies were the first snacks produced by McKee Foods back in 1960.  It was his 4-year old granddaughter Debbie after which founder O.D. McKee named his line of snack cakes.  O.D. was inspired by a picture of the little girl in play clothes and a straw hat, and that's the image we still find today on every package.

The secret to cloning these mouth-watering snacks is re-creating the soft, chewy consistency of the oatmeal cookies.  To duplicate the texture, the cookies are slightly under baked.  Then you whip up some of the easy-to-make creme filling with marshmallow creme and spread it between two of the oatmeal cookies to complete the sandwich.

For the Cookies

• 1 cup margarine
• 3/4 cup dark brown sugar
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon molasses
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 1/2 cups 1-minute Quaker Oats

For the Creme Filling

• 2 teaspoons very hot water
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups marshmallow creme (1 7-ounce jar)
• 1/2 cup shortening
• 1/3 cup powdered sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• In a large bowl, cream together margarine, sugars, molasses, vanilla, and eggs.
• In a separate bowl combine the flour, salt, baking soda, and cinnamon.
• Combine the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients. Mix in the oats.
• Drop dough by tablespoonfuls onto an un-greased baking sheet. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until cookies are just starting to darken around the edges. They will still appear moist in the center. Be careful not to overcook - when cooled, the cookies should be soft and chewy.
• While the cookies bake, prepare the filling. Use a small bowl to dissolve the salt in 2 teaspoons of very hot water. Set this solution aside to cool.
• Combine the marshmallow creme, shortening, powdered sugar, and vanilla in a medium bowl and mix well with an electric mixer on high speed until fluffy. Add the cooled salt solution to the filling mixture and combine with the mixer.
• Assemble each creme pie by spreading the filling over one side of a cookie (the flat side) and press another cookie on top, making a sandwich. Repeat for the remaining cookies and filling.