Homemade 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 delicious lunch-box treat, afternoon snack, or indulgent dessert that will take you back to all the best parts of childhood. Made with spiced molasses oatmeal cookies and a tangy cream cheese filling; these sandwich cookies are totally addicting!
I have been a Little Debbie devotee since I was a teenager. I talked all about it when I 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 my mom kept out of the house when we were kids. My love for Little Debbie ran deep; I 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, I don’t think that I’ve had any of those treats since high school or college.
Since I thoroughly enjoy making homemade versions of my childhood favorites, from Homemade Twinkies to Hostess Cupcakes, I knew homemade oatmeal cream pies had to be on my 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 delicious sandwich cookies were pretty hard to beat.
How to Make Oatmeal Cream Pies
For these homemade oatmeal cream pies, I wanted to keep the ingredients simple and wholesome. You will find pantry staple ingredients in these upgraded Little Debbie oatmeal creme pies.
Ingredients for Oatmeal Cream 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 moist 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 – I 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 gooey, 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.
Save This Recipe
Enter your email address, and we'll send it straight to your inbox!
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: I 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: I’m all about the filling and frostings! So my oatmeal cream pies are filled with this cream cheese frosting. I 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 my vanilla cupcakes recipe
- Irish Cream Frosting from my Guinness chocolate cake recipe
- Marshmallow creme frosting from my 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!
If you make these and love them, remember to stop back and give it a 5-star rating - it helps others find the recipe! ❤️️
Homemade Oatmeal Cream Pies
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
Instructions
- 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: I 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: I 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.
Did you make this recipe?
Leave a review below, then snap a picture and tag @thebrowneyedbaker on Instagram so I can see it!
Photography by Julia Trigo.
Just FYI, in the section titled “Proportions”, the text refers to these as “coconut cream pies”.
These look amazing but molasses isn’t a thing where I live (Switzerland). Do you think that black treacle would work as a substitute? Google seems to differ on opinions (which some saying that black treacle is basically molasses). Black treacle isn’t really a Swiss thing either, but available in the « British » section at the grocery store.
I made these for my dad’s birthday this past Sunday (also, yes, Easter – it was a busy day!) and they were a HIT. I made two batches – one with the cream cheese filling shown here and one with the fluff filling from your Classic Whoopie Pies, since I’d seen where you commented to one poster that it might be more like the filling found in the Little Debbie ones (which were always my dad’s favorites). The fluff filling was the winner but everyone loved both versions – well worth the effort!!!
These look great and I can’t wait to try them. I have a question about the portions for baking. When you say “two tablespoons” are you talking about measuring spoons or a specific size of cookie scoop?
Hi Peggy, You can use measuring spoons or a cookie scoop that has a 1-ounce capacity.
Love these! The first time I made them, I made the mistake of refrigerating the dough in advance of baking them. Don’t do that! The dough doesn’t spread properly to make the thin oatmeal cookies. Better to bake immediately, even if the dough seems thin. I also put some browned butter in the cream cheese filling. Thanks for the recipe – a nice twist on “Pi[e] Day.”
Thanks for providing freezing instructions! For these kinds of recipes, I know I won’t eat a whole batch very quickly.
If these are anything close to your “regular” oatmeal cookie recipe (which I think is the best I’ve ever had)….then these must be like a little slice of amazing🥰
Does the Little Debbie versions have a cream cheese frosting? I love the Little Debbie one but I don’t usually like cream cheese frosting. Thanks.
Hi Traci, I believe they are more of a marshmallow filling; my traditional whoopie pie filling would be a perfect one to try! >> https://www.browneyedbaker.com/gobs-whoopie-pies-recipe/
Hi Michelle! I’m super familiar with your recipe and have been using it for years. It is among my personal favorites and has been a pretty big hit among the “masses”. I have shared them during many staff meetings and social gatherings with rave reviews.
For me – this cookie is just perfect! The soft, chewy texture of the cookie coupled with the warm spices is heavenly.
I HAVE varied the filling. I love the tang of the cream cheese but long for a stiffer filling that will stay in the cookie sandwich when I bite into it – I’m willing to concede that reducing the amount of filling I pile into the “pies” might help, it just doesn’t seem like an option for a filling lover like me!! So I usually find myself gravitating to a more “gob-like” filling.
But – bottom line is that these pies are a proven winner and a well-loved favorite of ours! AND they freeze like a dream! ❤️
I’m so thrilled to hear you’ve loved these cookies! A favorite of mine too, for sure!
could i use whipped cream for filling instead of cream cheese?
Hi Angele, You could, but only if you plan on serving them all on the same day you make them. The whipped cream will not hold up long-term; if you want to keep them for a few days a more traditional frosting is appropriate.
Made this today. One word: HIT!