Homemade Oatmeal Cream Pies

Homemade Oatmeal Cream Pies are the lunchbox treat you’ve been craving; made with the best chewy oatmeal cookies with a hint of pumpkin pie spice and fluffy vanilla Ermine Frosting

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, these copycat Little Debbie’s Oatmeal Cream Pies offer so much more texture and flavor than the box could ever offer. That this nostalgic lunchbox treat is also easy to freeze and make ahead is even better.

Taste	Texture
Vanilla, brown sugar, spice	Chewy, soft

Active time	Total time	Yield	Difficulty
20 minutes	1 hour 22 minutes	20 sandwich cookies	Easy

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What are Oatmeal Cream Pies?

Oatmeal cream pies are the classic American cookie made with two soft oatmeal cookies sandwiched with a fluffy vanilla buttercream type frosting made by the Little Debbie company.

If you have ever had your lunch packed with a Little Debbie treat, the mere mention of unpacking one in the midst of your PBJ probably hits you right in all the sentimental feels.

Why You’ll Love Homemade Oatmeal Cream Pies?

1. Better: The wonderful thing about homemade Little Debbie cookies is that you can take out all the preservatives and use better, more flavorful ingredients.
   You’re the baker, so you get to control the quality of the final product.
2. The perfect freezer cookie: These cookies freeze wonderfully, making them perfect for an easy lunchbox treat. Simply pop the frozen cookie straight into your lunchbox with an ice pack, and it’ll be the perfect temp by lunchtime.
3. Make-ahead: Aside from freezing the whole cookies, the cookie dough (which needs to be chilled anyway) freezes beautifully. Anytime you want fresh oatmeal cream pies, you can pull out the dough balls and make up a quick batch of filling. If you’re short on time or just want something easy, you can also fill them with the Best Whipped Cream Frosting too for something besides the fluffy vanilla cream frosting in the recipe.

Oatmeal Cream Pies Ingredient FAQ

1. Can I use quick oats for this recipe? Yes, though the cookies will be a little less chewy. Actually the less chewy cookie is closer to the softer cookie you get in a Little Debbie’s oatmeal creme pie. The question of quick oats vs. rolled oats comes down to using what you have and what you like! If you want more chew, go for the old fashioned oats, and if you want a softer cookie with less texture, go for the quick oats.
2. I don’t have pumpkin pie spice. What can I use instead? You’ll always see me advocating for you to make your own pumpkin pie spice, but I get that not everyone buys spices in bulk. If you don’t have all the spices on hand, just use some the same amount of cinnamon. That little bit of spice will still give your finished homemade cream pies a cozy feel that absolutely goes perfectly with such a homey treat.

How to Make Homemade Oatmeal Cream Pies

1. Make the Ermine Frosting

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   : Make a batch of Ermine Frosting, following the recipe directions. You can chill the frosting for up to 3 days if needed before you assemble the sandwiches.
2. Make the Oatmeal Cookie Dough: Beat the butter with the sugars until everything is smooth. Add in the eggs, one at a time along with the vanilla and molasses (if using) until you have a fluffy mixture. Mix the flour with the oats, baking powder, pumpkin pie spice, and salt in a large bowl, stirring to distribute the oats evenly. Add the flour mix to the butter mix and beat for a few seconds just until the flour disappears.
3. Chill the Cookie Balls: Line a sheet tray with parchment

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   . Use a small cookie scoop to scoop level balls of dough onto the parchment

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   . Pop the sheet tray in the fridge for 30 minutes. Alternatively, you can chill the cookie dough balls for up to 3 months in a plastic bag or freezer container.
4. Bake the Cookies: Place the chilled dough on parchment-lined sheet trays. Bake at 375 for 12-14 minutes until the dough is set and golden around the edges. If you’d like, you can rotate a plain biscuit cutter a few times around the cookies right when they get out of the oven. This will help the cookies be more uniform in size and shape. Cool the cookies completely before filling.
5. Fill the Cookies: If you’re working with cold Ermine Frosting, take the frosting out of the fridge and let it sit for 10-15 minutes before whipping it into a soft frosting that will be easy to spread. Scrape the frosting into a pastry bag fitted with a plain tip. Squeeze a spiral of frosting onto the backside of a cookie. Press a second cookie over the frosting to make a cinnamon oatmeal cookie sandwich. Repeat the process for the rest of the cookies.

How to Store Oatmeal Cream Pies

These pies are best served cold. You can either store them in an airtight fridge container like a Rubbermaid Take-Along or you can package them individually in self-sealing cookie bags.

The cookie bags route makes for easy lunchtime packing as it contains all the cookie crumbles and any icing mess. However you pack them, store homemade oatmeal sandwich cookies in the fridge for up to 1 week or in the freezer for up to 3 months.

How to Make Oatmeal Cream Pies Soft (1 Secret Ingredient)

It’s optional, but you can add 1 tablespoon of molasses to the dough when you add the eggs.

Molasses, like all liquid sweeteners is hygroscopic, meaning that it naturally attracts moisture from the air and holds on to it, making for a naturally softer baked good.

Molasses is in the original Little Debbie’s Creme Pie recipe, so it makes sense to add it. If you don’t particularly enjoy the flavor of molasses, feel free to skip it.

Filling Variations for Oatmeal Cream Pies

While the Ermine Frosting is a great choice of filling for a classic oatmeal creme pie, you could really use any frosting or jam to sandwich these cookies together. All the jams are good on their own or as flavorings for plain frostings (just stir in a spoonful!). Here are some other fillings:

• The Best Whipped Cream Frosting
• Cream Cheese Frosting from Vanilla Sheet Cake: make a double batch of frosting
• Easy Homemade Strawberry Jam
• Raspberry Jam
• Whiskey Blueberry Jam

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