Ok…here I go. I am a former “lunch pailer” who may have had the WORST lunches ever. Follow me here when I take you down memory lane. My Mom and Dad liked to put “healthy” things in my pail. What I mean by that is that my sandwiches were made on whole grain bread (imagine what Jesus probably ate and that is what I had). Peanut butter was this organic thick stuff that had no flavor but the only saving grace was honey. Needless to say NO ONE ever wanted to trade lunches with me. I couldn’t give this thing away.
I can still remember the EXACT moment when I opened my pail to find one of the greatest discoveries ever to grace my lunch pail. It was PUDDING. You see, 30 years ago pudding came in little tin pull tabbed containers. Everyone had them in their lunches except for me. But this day…my pudding was not in the tin one but was placed in a little tupperware container. I was SO EXCITED! I proceeded to gobble down the vanilla pudding feeling giddy and satisfied as never before. You might say it was complete jubilation. (btw- didn’t take much back then….remember I was a 2nd grader.) As soon as I got home from school, I ran into my Mom’s arms telling her how she totally rocked my lunch! She then looked at me and said she was so pleased I liked it…and then said these words, “it was your baby sisters baby food pudding.” What the heck? Baby Food! Are you kidding me? I was in complete shock, denial and even grief over the realization that my lunch jubilation was freaking BABY FOOD!!!!!! As you can see…I am still in awe!
So, you see I am a bit passionate about lunches. I do not prepare those “bento masterpieces” you see on Pinterest. However, I do make really good lunches using some easy to find containers. Utilize your Ball mason jars. They are a Mom’s best friend for lunch. I also use a lot of wax paper and parchment paper. So much better than plastic on the environment!
I also believe that you can do a little of work on Sunday evening and have great lunches for the next 5 days! Remember Little Debbie oatmeal and cream sandwiches? Well, now you can make your own for pennies on the dollar. The best thing is that YOU control the ingredients. No by products or fillers. Just wholesome homemade goodness that is a heck of a lot cheaper than those store bought cookies!
Little Oatmeal and Cream Sandwich Cookies
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup butter flavored Crisco
2 1/2 cups sugar
6 Tbsp. molasses
4 large eggs
2 tsp. vanilla paste
1 1/2 tsp. coconut extract
4 tsp. cocoa powder
3 tsp. cornstarch
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. pumpkin pie spice
3 3/4 cups all purpose flour
2 1/4 cup oats
Creamy Marshmallow Frosting
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup butter flavored Crisco
3 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla paste
2 (7 ounce) marshmallow cream
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside. In a large mixing bowl, beat together the butter, Crisco, and sugar till fluffy. Add in the eggs, vanilla paste and coconut extract and beat till well combined. In a separate medium sized bowl combine all of the dry ingredients. Then add one cup at a time to the creamy mixture and mix together using an electric mixer till all of the dry ingredients are incorporated. Place tablespoon scoops on parchment paper. Make sure and leave at least a 2 inch between scoops. These will spread when cooking. Bake for 9 minutes until slightly golden. DO NOT OVERCOOK. Remove from heat and allow to cool completely before frosting. Simply spread a tablespoon of frosting on a cookie and top with another to make a sandwich.
To make frosting: In a medium bowl mix together the butter, crisco, marshmallow fluff, vanilla and powdered sugar. Beat till combined.