Coconut Gingerbread Oatmeal Cream Pies

Soft gingerbread oatmeal cookies stuffed with a coconut ermine frosting and coconut caramel sauce.

Add the butter to a medium-sized microwave-safe bowl and melt it in 20-second intervals until the butter has fully melted.
Whisk in the brown sugar, yogurt, and vanilla until well combined.
Add in the flour, oats, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and gingerbread spice. Use a rubber spatula to fold the mixture together just until no flour streaks remain.
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and chill the dough in the fridge for 30 minutes. While the dough is chilling, start on the caramel and frosting.

Add the sugar to a medium-sized saucepan set over medium heat. Stir occasionally until the sugar begins to melt, then stir constantly until the sugar has completely melted and turned into a deep amber color.
Add in the butter and whisk until the mixture is smooth.
Take the mixture off of the heat, and slowly whisk in the coconut milk until it is completely incorporated into the caramel. Whisk in the salt, then transfer the caramel to a heat-safe jar and set it in the fridge to thicken up.

Add the sugar, flour, salt, and coconut milk to a small saucepan set over medium heat. Continously whisk the mixture together until it starts to bubble up and thickens to a pudding-like consistency.
Transfer the mixture to a shallow heat-safe bowl and cover it tightly with plastic wrap. Set the mixture in the fridge to chill.

Once you’re ready to bake the cookies, preheat the oven to 350°F / 175°C. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or with a silicone mat.
Scoop out 1 1/2 tbsp. scoops of dough, setting them on the cookie sheet ~2” apart to allow room for spreading.
Bake for 9-11 minutes, until the edges of the cookies turn golden brown.
Immediately after taking the cookies out of the oven, take a bowl that is slightly larger than the cookies and swirl it around over them to make them a little more uniform and circular.
While the cookies are cooling to room temperature, finish makking the coconut ermine frosting. In a medium-sized mixing bowl or in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter until it's light and fluffy.
While the mixer is running, add in the cooked milk mixture in three intervals, allowing it to fully combine with the butter before adding in more. Once all of the milk mixture has been incorporated, add in the vanilla bean paste and beat the mixture for an additional minute.
Transfer the frosting to a piping bag fitted with your tip of choice.
Flip half of the cooled oatmeal cookies upside down and pipe a circle of frosting around the outer edge of the cookie.
Spoon a dollop of the caramel into the center of the cookie (if the caramel has hardened too much in the fridge, microwave it in 5-10 second intervals to soften it). Place a cookie on top of the frosting, then serve and enjoy!