These homemade oatmeal cream pies are the perfect copycat recipe of the classic Little Debbie’s oatmeal cream pies. Soft baked and chewy thin oatmeal cookies sandwiched together with a fluffy filling that you ca pile as much as as little as you want!
I’m a self-appointed oatmeal cream pie connoisseur. Why you might ask? Well, I have a Little Debbie oatmeal cream pie just about every morning with my coffee. If there’s one thing you should know about me it’s I’m going to give myself a sweet treat first thing in the morning. So when I wanted to create my own copycat recipe I have quite a history of knowing exactly how these cream pies should look, taste, and feel.
The most important part that makes that classic look is the cookies are actually very thin and soft. Go on and see what oatmeal cream pies look like then come back here. You’ll see this isn’t simply two oatmeal cookies sandwiched together. If you really look, you really don’t even see whole oat pieces in the cookies. They also have a classic crinkle top with a slight fudgy look to certain parts.
Based on this analysis it told me two things that were going to be a most for a true copy cat recipe: the oats needed to be blended into almost a powder and the cookie dough needs oil to maintain a bendable soft texture and look.
Now let’s talk filling. Through my countless morning taste testing I determined the filling isn’t just a sweetened buttercream. It’s not as thick and heavy as a traditional buttercream frosting, but it’s not as smooth as canned frosting. There’s a unique texture that I found I was able to achieve with one surprise ingredients: marshmallow fluff.
By adding marshmallow fluff to the butter and powdered sugar you get this extra later of fluffiness and lightness that doesn’t turn these into a cookie sandwich with cake icing on the inside.
INGREDIENTS AND SUPPLIES
Here’s what you need to make these oatmeal cream pieces this week!
Cookie Ingredients
- Butter. You’ll need 5 tablespoons and you’ll brown it. Browning the butter adds an extra layer of flavor and helps these cookies get that rich deep color that is so classic.
- Vegetable oil. The oil helps the cookies maintain peak softness and helps the top crinkle and get that little fudgy look.
- All purpose flour.
- Quick oats. You absolutely must pulse these into a fine powder. That’s what is going to help transform these from a typical oatmeal cookie to a copycat Little Debbie cookie.
- Baking soda.
- Dark brown sugar. Go for the dark, not light brown sugar. It’s another way to really make sure the color of these cookies maintains that rich amber-brown appearance.
- Molasses. A little molasses really helps elevate the flavor and one final way to bring forth that deep color!
- Spices: Cinnamon and cloves.
- Odds and ends: Vanilla extract, an egg, salt.
Cream filling ingredients
- Butter.
- Powdered sugar.
- Milk.
- Vanilla.
- Marshmallow fluff.
Supplies
- For mixing: bowls, spoons, measuring cups.
- For baking: large cookie sheets.
- For blending: blend, food processor, or other similar blending device to pulse the quick oats into a powder.
HOW TO MAKE COPYCAT OATMEAL CREAM PIES
These really aren’t any more complicated than making a frosted cookie or cupcake! While the cookies are baking you’ll make the filling. When the cookies have fully cooled you’ll add the filling, then sandwich them together!
STEP 1: Cookie Dough
- Brown the butter and set aside to cool slightly. In a large bowl combine the dry ingredients including the quick oat powder you’ve made. In another bowl add the brown butter with the dark brown sugar, and remaining wet ingredients.
- Slowly add the dry ingredients into the wet and stire to combine.
STEP 2: Form and Bake
- For a sandwich cookie you really want each dough ball to be equal so it looks nice and even when you combine the top and bottom half. I did about 2 tablespoons of dough per cookie. Add to the baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes at 350 degrees, no chilling the dough required! The dough will be quite soft, but this is necessary to getting a flat cookie.
If you stop here, you’ve made the recipe for my thin and chewy oatmeal cookies. But we’re making cream pies so continue on to the next steps!
STEP 4: Filling and assembling
- While the cookies are baking, combine all the cream filling ingredients in a bowl and set aside until all the cookies have baked and are fully cooled.
- To one cookie add as much of the cream filling as you’d like, than add another cookie and sandwich together. True oatmeal cream pies do not have a thick filling layer, but these are your cream pies so go has heavy with the filling as you’d like!
I tested this recipe over 6 times to create what I believe is the best copycat version of these oatmeal cream pies! These are a small batch recipe, and you’ll get about 9-10 finished cream pies at the end.
I hope you like these as much as I do!
Got oatmeal? Here are some more tasty treats that use quick oats!
Brown butter oatmeal cookies
Apple muffins
Apple crisp cookies
Banana blueberry oat muffins
Walnut granola
Pumpkin molasses muffins
Copycat Oatmeal Cream Pies
These homemade oatmeal cream pies are the perfect copycat recipe of the classic Little Debbie’s oatmeal cream pies. Soft baked and chewy thin oatmeal cookies sandwiched together with a fluffy filling that you ca pile as much as as little as you want!
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 8 cream pies
- Category: Cookies
- Method: Bake
Ingredients
For the cookies
5 tablespoons salted butter, browned
6 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup quick oats
1 cup dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons molasses
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon cloves
For the cream filling
1/4 cup softened butter
1 and 1/2 cups powdered sugar
3/4 cup marshmallow fluff
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons milk
Instructions
1. Start by making the cookies. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Start by making the brown butter. Place a medium-sized pot over medium heat, then add the butter. After the butter is melted adjust the heat higher to medium-high. Allow the butter to come to a rapid bubbly simmer. While adjusting the heat between medium and medium-high, continually stir the butter until the milk particles have browned and the liquid is a rich caramel or amber color. I’ve found that once the butter is melted this process takes 4-5 minutes. Once fully browned, immediately turn off heat and pour into a heat proof bowl.
3. Add the quick oats to a food processor or blender and pulse a few times to until a fine oat powder is formed. It doesn’t need to be completely smooth and little pieces of visible oat pieces are ok. Do not skip this step. See photo in post. Pour into a large bowl and mix in the flour, salt, baking soda, cinnamon, and cloves.
4. To the browned butter whisk in the dark brown sugar, molasses, vegetable oil, vanilla, and the egg.
5. Add the dry ingredients into the wet and stir to fully combine. The dough will be quite soft, but this is necessary to getting a flat cookie.
6. For a sandwich cookie you really want each dough ball to be equal so it looks nice and even when you combine the top and bottom half. I did about 2 tablespoons of dough per cookie. So roll 2 tablespoons of dough together then add to the baking sheet.
7. Bake for 10 minutes at 350 degrees. Remove cookies to a plate to cool.
8. While the cookies are baking, make the cream filling. In a bowl beat the softened butter for 1 minute. Gently stir in the powdered sugar, then continue beating for 1 more minute. Add the fluff and vanilla and beat for 1 final minute.
9. Allow the cookies to cool completely, if you add the filling when they are still warm it will melt. Place your desired about of cream filling on one cookie, then add the other cookie on top and press closed. True cream pies are not overly filled, but these are your cream pies so be as generous as you’d like!
This is a small batch recipe and will make about 8 traditional sized cream pies. Enjoy!