Oatmeal Cream Pies
Soft, chewy oatmeal cookies sandwich a cream cheese frosting filling in these Oatmeal Cream Pies. This upgraded Little Debbie oatmeal creme pie recipe makes a rich lunch-box treat, afternoon snack, or indulgent dessert that will take you back to all a standby parts of childhood. Made with spiced molasses oatmeal cookies and a tangy cream cheese filling; these sandwich cookies are totally addicting!
We have been a Little Debbie devotee since we were a teenager. We talked all about it when we made the Hostess Choco-Bliss Chocolate Snack Cakes, but to make a long story short, high school pretty much made up for all of the junk food that our mom kept out of the house when we were kids. Our love for Little Debbie ran deep; we found it incredibly hard to turn down Zebra Cakes, Nutty Bars, Swiss Cake Rolls or Oatmeal Creme Pies. With the exception of the occasional Swiss Cake Roll, we don’t think that we've had any of those treats since high school or college.
Since we thoroughly enjoy making from-scratch versions of our childhood favorites, from From-scratch Twinkies to Hostess Cupcakes, we knew from-scratch oatmeal cream pies had to be on our list!
What are Oatmeal Cream Pies?
Oatmeal Cream Pies made their debut in 1960 as the first dessert snack in the Little Debbie brand. They featured two molasses oatmeal cookies with an addictive creme filling; it truly was the lunch-box snack of dreams. Made with whole grain oats, molasses, and a creme filling these rich sandwich cookies were pretty hard to beat.
How to Make Oatmeal Cream Pies
For these from-scratch oatmeal cream pies, we wanted to keep the ingredients simple and wholesome. You will find pantry staple ingredients in these upgraded Little Debbie oatmeal creme pies.
- Flour – These cream pies keep it simple with all-purpose flour.
- Dry Ingredients – Salt, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon.
- Butter – Unsalted butter at room temperature.
- Sugar – A mixture of dark brown sugar and granulated sugar keeps these cookies ultra plush and sweet.
- Molasses – Helps make and keep the cookies soft and tender.
- Vanilla – Just for a little flavor.
- Eggs – Binds the cookie dough together.
- Oats – We suggest using old-fashioned rolled oats to make these oatmeal cookies.
- Cream Cheese Frosting – Made from a mixture of cream cheese and powdered sugar gives these sandwich cookies a soft-centered, creamy filling.
Now that you have your ingredients, let’s breakdown how to make these heavenly cookies into the two main parts- the soft oatmeal cookies and the creamy cream cheese filling.
How to Make Soft Oatmeal Cream Pies
- Preheat the Oven: Set the oven to 350°F and place racks in the upper-third and lower third of the oven. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats; set aside.
- Mix dry ingredients: In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, salt, baking soda, and cinnamon; set aside.
- Cream the wet ingredients: With an electric mixer, beat the butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar, and molasses on high until light and fluffy (about 4 minutes), scraping the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Vanilla + Eggs: Add the vanilla; beat until combined. Then beat in the eggs, one at a time, scraping down the bowl after each addition.
- Make the Dough: Reduce the speed to low, add flour mixture and beat until just combined. With rubber spatula, stir in the oats.
- Bake the Cookies: Drop the dough in 2-tablespoonful mounds 2-inches apart on the prepared baking sheets. Bake 12-14 minutes, until the cookies are set at the edges and slightly soft in the middle, rotating the baking sheet halfway through.
- Cool the Cookies: Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets for about 5 minutes, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.
- Make the Filling: With an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese and powdered sugar on medium-high until light and fluffy (about 2 minutes). Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Assemble the Cream Pies: Spread the filling on the flat side of half of the cookies. Sandwich the remaining cookies.
Notes about Oatmeal Cream Pies
- Cookie Softness: The cookies will be very soft when you take them out of the oven. That’s okay, that’s how they’re supposed to be, and that’s what makes them super-soft to eat even days later.
- Cool Completely: We cannot stress to you the importance of allowing the cookies to cool completely. If they are too warm the frosting will melt and you will be left with a melted cream cheese mess.
- Proportions: We're all about the filling and frostings! So our oatmeal cream pies are filled with this cream cheese frosting. We use about 2 tablespoons of frosting per sandwich to get the maximum frosting to cookie ratio.
Other Fillings to Try Out
If a cream cheese filling is not your jam you can also try sandwiching these oatmeal cookies with:
- 7 Minute Frosting
- Vanilla Buttercream Frosting from our vanilla cupcakes recipe
- Irish Cream Frosting from our Guinness chocolate cake recipe
- Marshmallow creme frosting from our whoopie pie recipe
Shelf-life, Storing, Freezing
- Shelf-life: These soft oatmeal cream pies last about 5 days in the refrigerator, if you don’t eat them all first.
- Storing: Store cookies in an airtight container with wax paper or parchment paper between the layers in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
- Freezing: You can freeze these cream pies by tightly wrapping them individually in plastic wrap and store in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Sandwich Cookies to Try Next
Oatmeal Cream Pies
Soft, tender oatmeal cookies sandwich a tangy cream cheese frosting filling for an unforgettable treat. Just like the Little Debbie oatmeal creme pies of your youth, only better!
From-scratch Oatmeal Cream Pies
Yield: 15 to 18 cookie sandwiches Plush, oatmeal cookies sandwich a soft-centered cream cheese frosting in these addictive Oatmeal Cream Pies!For the Cookies:
- 1½ cups (180 g) all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon (0.5 teaspoon) kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon (0.5 teaspoon) baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon (0.25 teaspoon) baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon (0.25 teaspoon) ground cinnamon
- 1 cup (227 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- ¾ cup (159 g) dark brown sugar
- ½ cup (99 g) granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon unsulfured molasses
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 eggs
- 2 cups (178 g) old-fashioned rolled oats
For the Filling:
- 8 ounces (227 g) cream cheese, at room temperature
- 6 tablespoons powdered sugar
- Make the Cookies: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and place racks in upper-third and lower-third of oven. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats; set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon; set aside.
- Using an electric mixer, beat the butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar and molasses on high speed until light and fluffy, scraping the sides of the bowl as necessary, about 4 minutes. Add the vanilla; beat until combined. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, scraping down the bowl after each addition.
- Reduce the mixer speed to low, add the flour mixture and beat until just combined. With a rubber spatula, stir in the oats. Drop the dough in 2-tablespoonful mounds 2-inches apart onto the prepared baking sheets. Bake until the cookies are set at the edges and slightly soft in the middle, 12 to 14 minutes, rotating the baking sheets halfway through. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.
- Make the Filling: Using an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese and powdered sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Assemble the Cream Pies: Spread the filling on the flat side of half of the cookies. Sandwich them with the remaining cookies. Store cookies in an airtight container with wax paper or parchment paper between layers, refrigerated for up to 5 days.
Notes
- Cookie Softness: The cookies will be very soft when you take them out of the oven. That's okay, that's how they're supposed to be, and that's what makes them super-soft to eat even days later.
- Cool Completely: We cannot stress to you the importance of allowing the cookies to cool completely. If they are too warm the frosting will melt and you will be left with a melted cream cheese mess.
- Filling Amount: We use about 2 tablespoons of frosting per sandwich to get the maximum frosting to cookie ratio.
- Storing: Store cookies in an airtight container with wax paper or parchment paper between the layers in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
- Freezing: You can freeze these cream pies by tightly wrapping them individually in plastic wrap and store in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Photography by Julia Trigo.
- Yield: 15 to 18 cookie sandwiches
- Prep: 30 minutes
- Cook: 12 minutes
- Total: 45 minutes
Ingredients
For the Cookies:
- 1½ cups ( 180 g ) all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon ( 0.5 teaspoon ) kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon ( 0.5 teaspoon ) baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon ( 0.25 teaspoon ) baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon ( 0.25 teaspoon ) ground cinnamon
- 1 cup ( 227 g ) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- ¾ cup ( 159 g ) dark brown sugar
- ½ cup ( 99 g ) granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon unsulfured molasses
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 eggs
- 2 cups ( 178 g ) old-fashioned rolled oats
For the Filling:
- 8 ounces ( 227 g ) cream cheese, at room temperature
- 6 tablespoons powdered sugar
Method
- Make the Cookies: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and place racks in upper-third and lower-third of oven. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats; set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon; set aside.
- Using an electric mixer, beat the butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar and molasses on high speed until light and fluffy, scraping the sides of the bowl as necessary, about 4 minutes. Add the vanilla; beat until combined. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, scraping down the bowl after each addition.
- Reduce the mixer speed to low, add the flour mixture and beat until just combined. With a rubber spatula, stir in the oats. Drop the dough in 2-tablespoonful mounds 2-inches apart onto the prepared baking sheets. Bake until the cookies are set at the edges and slightly soft in the middle, 12 to 14 minutes, rotating the baking sheets halfway through. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.
- Make the Filling: Using an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese and powdered sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Assemble the Cream Pies: Spread the filling on the flat side of half of the cookies. Sandwich them with the remaining cookies. Store cookies in an airtight container with wax paper or parchment paper between layers, refrigerated for up to 5 days.
Notes
Cookie Softness: The cookies will be soft when you take them out of the oven. That's okay, that's how they're supposed to be, and that's what makes them super-soft to eat even days later.
Cool Completely: we cannot stress to you the importance of allowing the cookies to cool completely. If they are too warm the frosting will melt and you will be left with a melted cream cheese mess.
Filling Amount: we use about 2 tablespoons of frosting per sandwich to get the maximum frosting to cookie ratio.
Storing: Store cookies in an airtight container with wax paper or parchment paper between the layers in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Freezing : You can freeze these cream pies by tightly wrapping them individually in plastic wrap and store in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Photography by Julia Trigo.
