This post may contain affiliate links. Read my Disclosure page.
Table of contents
Homemade Oatmeal Creme Pies
These homemade oatmeal cream pies are quite possibly the cookie you didn’t know you needed in your life…but trust me, you do. They are everything you WANT a Little Debbie to be: perfectly soft, lightly spiced oatmeal cookies with a creamy, buttery filling that doesn’t squeeze out of the cookie sandwich. I’m telling you, these are THE BEST.
Ingredients Needed for Homemade Oatmeal Creme Pies
These homemade oatmeal creme pies don’t require a ton of ingredients; here’s what you’ll need to make them:
- Butter: The one and only. You’ll need it for the dough and the filling.
- Dark brown sugar: The extra molasses in the sugar spikes these cookies with a more complex depth of flavor. It also helps make the cookies unbelievably soft.
- Granulated sugar: This helps balance the brown sugar and contributes to the cookies spreading to the perfect thickness.
- Eggs: These help with the structure and overall stability of the cookies.
- Vanilla extract: It enhances all the other flavors in the recipe. Leaving it out will result in cookies that taste a little bland.
- All-purpose flour: Only 1.5 cups of all-purpose flour is needed, making these the perfect treat to indulge in if you’re trying to ration the flour you currently have!
- Baking soda: Helps to create a soft, slightly fluffy cookie.
- Salt: Like vanilla, it’s a flavor enhancer. Don’t forget it!
- Cinnamon: YUM.
- Cloves: DOUBLE YUM. Also totally optional; feel free to replace with 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon.
- Old-Fashioned Oats: I prefer using old-fashioned oats as it gives you a chewier texture; however, you can use quick oats if that’s all you have on hand. The final look and texture of the cookie will be different, but still delicious!
The creme filling is also truly unforgettable! It's just butter, powdered sugar, heavy cream, and vanilla bean paste. YES, PLEASE.
How to Make Homemade Oatmeal Creme Pies
These oatmeal creme pies are ridiculously easy to make!
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Beat together the butter and sugars until pale and fluffy.
- Stir in eggs and vanilla extract.
- Whisk together flour, oats, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and cloves, then add in the dry ingredients and mix until well combined.
- Shape dough into balls, then bake for 12 to 14 minutes.
- Completely cool before spreading with buttercream filling.
Here are a few notes/tips to help ensure your cookie-making success!
The Cookie Dough Is Sticky
This cookie dough is thick and quite sticky. Don’t let that worry you, though! It yields a very soft, delicious cookie! Below is a photo of how the dough should look once it’s finished mixing.
Measure the Cookie Dough
Use a large 2-tbsp cookie scoop to measure out each cookie. If you want smaller cookie sandwiches, feel free to use a medium cookie scoop instead and lower the bake time to 10-12 minutes!
Cool the Cookies Completely & Then Pair Them
I think this is the fun part… finding the perfect match for each cookie! Make sure to allow them to rest on the baking pan for about 3 minutes before you remove them, and let the cookies cool completely before filling them. The cookies are extremely fragile when they first come out of the oven and will instantly break if you attempt to remove them before they’ve set!
How to Store Homemade Oatmeal Creme Pies
These cookies can be stored at room temperature for 1 or 2 days, but I highly recommend storing them chilled in an airtight container. They will keep for 3-4 days when stored properly in the fridge!
Can I freeze Homemade Oatmeal Creme Pies?
Yes! If you want to freeze them, simply put them on a baking sheet and place the sandwiched Homemade Oatmeal Creme Pies in the freezer. Once they are frozen, transfer to a plastic bag or freezer-safe airtight container to store. When you would like to enjoy them, remove from the freezer and let them sit at room temperature until thawed (about 1 hour)!
Tips For Making Homemade Oatmeal Creme Pies
- This dough doesn’t require any chilling time; you can bake it as soon as you mix it up! Because there’s no chill time, these cookies spread while baking... so make sure you give them ample room when placing them on the pan!
- Don’t overbake the cookies. The edges should be slightly brown and crispy, but the centers will be soft and chewy.
- If any cookies look misshapen after baking, use a round biscuit/pastry cutter to gently scoot the edges in and reshape while still warm on the pan.
- Make sure the cookies are completely cool before filling them with the vanilla bean creme filling; otherwise it will melt!
- Leave room around the edges of the cookies when you pipe/spread the filling on. When you press another cookie on top, the filling will spread to the sides.
Homemade Oatmeal Creme Pies
Ingredients
For the Oatmeal Cookies:
- 225 g unsalted butter room temperature
- 220 g light brown sugar
- 100 g granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 190 g all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon coarse sea salt
- ¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- 240 g old-fashioned oats
For the Vanilla Bean Creme Filling:
Instructions
To Make the Oatmeal Cookies:
- Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a large bowl with an electric mixer, cream the butter, light brown sugar, and granulated sugar together on medium-high speed until light and creamy, about 2 minutes. Add in the eggs and the vanilla and mix until combined, scraping down the sides as needed. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, cloves, and oats together. With the mixer on low, slowly add the oat mixture to the wet ingredients, mixing until just combined. (The dough will be thick).
- Using a large cookie scoop, scoop the dough onto the prepared baking sheet, leaving about 2.5 inches between each cookie (they will spread as they bake). Bake for 12-14 minutes, or until lightly golden brown around the edges. Allow cookies to sit on the pan for about 3 minutes before removing them to a wire rack to cool completely. While the cookies cool, prepare the double vanilla buttercream for the filling.
- To fill and assemble, pipe or spread about 1½ tablespoons of creme filling on the bottom side of half of the cookies; top with the remaining cookies, right side up.
Megan
Excellent recipe and delish! I DID put my dough in the fridge for an hour before baking. I added maple extract to my filling - too good !
Chelsea Perkins
Did not have good luck with this recipe, I think that the dough definitely need to be chilled before baking! The flavor was really good but they spread so flat across the entire pan. Going to try a different website and recipe unfortunately.
Mike Johnson
So sorry to hear you didn't have luck with this recipe but I can assure you that these cookies need zero chill time! From what you described, it sounds like either too much sugar was used (an issue you'd run into if you aren't using a scale) or your butter might have been *too* softened (if we're being technical, the precise temperature should be between 63 and 68 degrees — where it's cool to the touch, but your finger can leave an indent). Best of luck with your next try! 🙂
Emily
Okay, this was THE BEST cookie dough that I have ever tasted! My house smelled amazing and I was beyond excited until I went to take them out of the oven. They completely flattened into the shape of the pan. I must've done the conversion from grams into cups wrong? Could you help or offer any other thoughts? These are my dad's favorite and I'm motivated to get them right!
Thank you so much!
Michael Johnson
The cup conversion is in the recipe card as well! At the bottom of the list of ingredients, you should be able to swap from metric to US customary. If they continue to come out flat, I would give your dough about an hour or two to chill in the fridge. You can also try adding an additional tablespoon or two of flour!
Alex Nebel
Hey Mike,
Just made these and love the flavor, however, mine came out super flat.
Any tips?
Michael Johnson
These cookies are pretty flat! You could always scoop the dough out into balls and chill them for about 15-20 minutes before baking to make them slightly thicker!
Mariah
Made these and absolutely loved them! Was curious if there would be any reasonable way to make them gluten free for a friend?
Michael Johnson
Bob's Red Mill has a gluten-free 1-to-1 baking flour that would work perfectly in place of the all-purpose flour!
Michael Johnson
Also, so glad you enjoyed!!
Vivian
Can’t wait to make this recipe! A couple quick questions— would we be able to use regular granulated sugar instead of golden sugar? And do you have any non-dairy alternatives for the heavy cream (such as almond milk)?
Michael Johnson
Granulated sugar would work just fine! And almond milk will work as well, you'll just want to really beat the heck outta that buttercream to get it super fluffy. 🙂