Oatmeal Cream Pies are a soft and chewy oatmeal cookie sandwiched together with a delicious butter cream filling. These homemade oatmeal cream pies are one of my most popular treats and taste just like Little Debbie’s.
Did you love Little Debbie oatmeal cream pies as a kid? Opening that little plastic wrapper and enjoying the soft and chewy oatmeal cookie with a sweet cream filling.
Everyone has been asking me to share my oatmeal cream pie recipe. So, here it is! Soft and chewy, homemade oatmeal cookies sandwiched with homemade buttercream frosting for a filling. So much better than Little Debbie oatmeal cream pies.
(REMEMBER these Oatmeal Cream Sandwich Cookies use Instant Oats NOT Old-Fashioned Rolled Oats)
How to make Oatmeal Cream Pies
Step 1: In a large mixing bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the butter, sugar, and brown sugar. Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl occasionally with a rubber spatula.
Step 2: Add the egg, molasses, vanilla, salt, quick oats, flour, baking soda, and cinnamon and incorporate. Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl again with a rubber spatula so everything gets mixed well.
Step 3:Use an ice cream scoop to scoop even balls onto half sheet pans lined with parchment paper. Space them evenly apart so they have enough room to spread and not touch each other.
Stop using those terrible rolls of parchment paper and get yourself some pre-cut sheets of parchment paper for half sheet pans. They save you a ton of time and you’ll never fight with that roll from the grocery store again! I love to line half sheet pans with parchment paper before I bake a pie- to help catch all of the juices. Makes clean up so much easier! Try these pie recipes- cherry pie filling, blueberry pie, homemade apple pie, and blackberry pie.
Step 4: Place into a preheated 375 degree F oven for 14 minutes. Turn your baking pans once during the baking process. They may not look completely baked when you take them out of the oven, but they are done. Trust me.
Step 5: Let the cookies cool completely before placing frosting on cookies. Use disposable pastry bags or a large Ziploc bag. Cut the tip of the pastry bag off and squeeze the frosting onto the backside of one cookie. Sandwich another cookie on top. Place the oatmeal cream pies in individual baggies or an airtight container. Enjoy immediately or store in the fridge for up to 1 week.
A FARMGIRL’S PRO BAKING TIP
Remember, all ovens are different. It’s a good idea to use an oven thermometer to properly measure your oven temperature. And, with all baking, I always rotate my baking pans. But, be extremely careful when rotating a baking pan when you’re baking a cake recipe, or something like banana bread, because you do not want the cake to fall.
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In a large mixing bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the butter, sugar, and brown sugar. Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl occasionally with a rubber spatula.
Add the egg, molasses, vanilla, salt, quick oats, flour, baking soda, and cinnamon and incorporate. Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl again with a rubber spatula so everything gets mixed well.
Use an ice cream scoop to scoop even balls onto half sheet pans lined with parchment paper. Space them evenly apart so they have enough room to spread and not touch each other.
Place into a preheated 375 degree F oven for 14 minutes. Turn your baking pans once during the baking process.
Let the cookies cool completely before placing frosting on cookies.
Cream filling
In a large mixing bowl of a stand mixer using a beater attachment, beat together the ingredients. Add heavy cream a little at a time and adjust as needed for your desired thickness. Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula.
Scoop the cream filling into disposable pastry bags or a large zip-style bag. Cut the tip off the pastry bag and squeeze some cream filling into the center of one cookie. Press another cookie on top and sandwich together.
Place cookies into individual baggies or an airtight container and enjoy immediately, Or refrigerate any remaining cookies. They will last up to 1 week in the fridge.
Recipe Notes
Every oven is different, adjust the baking time to your oven.Oatmeal Cream Pie FillingShould you want a slightly less sweet filling option, try adding 1 cup of marshmallow fluff to the filling and 1 cup less powdered sugar.
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Hey Cathy,
Thanks for writing in. You can certainly cut back on the amount of powdered sugar in the filling, make a thinner layer of icing or try a different filling.
REALLY good!! Made mine with GF flour and took a chance and used old fashioned rolled oats (didn’t have quick on hand). Turned out chewy and soft with lightly crisp edges. Perfecto!
Hello Monique,
Molasses is a KEY ingredient in this particular recipe. I would NOT suggest leaving any ingredients out, especially molasses. I’m not sure of a substitute because with this particular recipe it’s extremely important to follow the ingredients and directions as follows or the same results may not be achieved. However, you can try pure maple syrup if needed. (NOT pancake syrup)
I didn’t realize until it was too late not to use old fashioned oats… unfortunately they did not work out very good with rolled oats. They spread out too much and also turned crispy. They still taste good, just not like the desired oatmeal cream pie. I’ll have to try again with instant oats.
This is one of those recipes that needs to be made exactly as written. I hope you give it another try soon! Also keep an eye on the baking time, if baked too long they can become too crispy.
Glad to hear you had good results mixing the batter different than instructed. It’s really about using the correct ingredients, measuring correctly and mixing thoroughly with this particular recipe. This recipe was formulated to be the perfect chewy and tender cookie. We’ve never had an issue with batter being “too dry.” Glad you enjoyed them!
To clarify: your recipe says 1cup of butter which would be 2 sticks not one right? And same for the 2 cups which would be 4 sticks, not 2, correct? Thanks!!
Judy,
These cookies last well individually wrapped and refrigerated for up to 2 weeks. Or you can certainly freeze them and thaw right on your kitchen counter.
Oh my god, best oatmeal cookie ever! I had some cream cheese frosting left and went looking for a sandwich cookie recipe. I made some large cookies and then smaller ones. These are wonderful with or without filling. I can’t comment on the filling as I had frosting, but, trust me, THESE ARE THE BEST OATMEAL COOKIES!
I’m not sure what I did wrong. I had them scooped with an ice cream scooper, but they never flattened out? I used all the ingredients listed and followed the instructions as listed. My batter seems very dry, not sure if that’s the reason. But they cooked in the scooper shape 😂
Thanks for writing! Sorry to hear you didn’t have success with the recipe and your cookies didn’t spread.
That’s usually a sign of something missing in the ingredients, such as butter or the wrong amount of sugar. Even the best bakers do it! Including me!
So just double check the ingredients and make sure you added the butter. Be certain you added the molasses too, as this ingredient helps the cookies spread. This particular recipe requires baking soda, NOT baking powder. And it has Quick oats vs. old-fashioned oats. These items will make a huge difference.
I also followed to a t and double checked and they’re in the oven not flattening. I noticed the batter was dry and didn’t want to come together so I checked if I missed a liquid before baking.
Hello Diane,
Sorry to hear that your cookies didn’t spread correctly.
Number one, I’d make sure you print out the recipe and work off of it like a checklist. (I do this too!) Ingredients are super important in this particular recipe, such as quick oats vs old-fashioned, baking soda vs baking powder and making sure you add that tablespoon of molasses. Also, be sure you are measuring flour correctly. It should be either spooned or fluffed before measuring a cup. It’s very possible that you simply had too much flour. The other common thing I see people do is not creaming sugars properly. Butter should be soft, and creamed for a few minutes with the sugars.
Thank you for your reply I done the list as stated in the recipe so not sure what went wrong my butter was room temperature I’ve been a baker for many years I always cream my butter and sugar until it’s white so not really sure what happened but these things happen so will see what happens next time
Jessica Robinsonsays
Hello Diane,
Of course! Happy to help.
It could be a number of things. But the cookies not spreading properly makes me think a tad bit too much flour, possibly leaving out an ingredient like molasses or even not packing the brown sugar enough or your brown sugar vs mine might have different levels of molasses in them. If I can help in some way, please let me know. Also, if you haven’t done so, be sure and check your oven temperature with an external thermometer. Ovens can be off ever so slightly.
Pamsays
Definitely better than the store bought ones, thank you for such an amazing recipe! I switched the amount of sugar in the buttercream from 4 cups to 1-1/4 cups and it’s amazing. I’ll be making them again soon, everyone loved them!
Just made these, and they’re a big hit with my family! I didn’t have a great ice cream scoop, so they didn’t turn out quite as beautifully as yours. My kids and husband loved them, and they said they’re “way better than the store bought kind”. Saving this for future use! Thanks so much!
Micah says
Would light brown sugar or dark brown sugar be better?
Thanks!
Jessica Robinson says
Either will work
Cathy Malgi says
I tried your recipe today. The cookies are delicious. But the filling is way too sweet.
Jessica Robinson says
Hey Cathy,
Thanks for writing in. You can certainly cut back on the amount of powdered sugar in the filling, make a thinner layer of icing or try a different filling.
Adelyn Mason says
REALLY good!! Made mine with GF flour and took a chance and used old fashioned rolled oats (didn’t have quick on hand). Turned out chewy and soft with lightly crisp edges. Perfecto!
Jessica Robinson says
So happy to hear you made them GF and they came out great!
Monique says
If I don’t have molasses can it be left out or substituted?
Jessica Robinson says
Hello Monique,
Molasses is a KEY ingredient in this particular recipe. I would NOT suggest leaving any ingredients out, especially molasses. I’m not sure of a substitute because with this particular recipe it’s extremely important to follow the ingredients and directions as follows or the same results may not be achieved. However, you can try pure maple syrup if needed. (NOT pancake syrup)
Clara says
I didn’t realize until it was too late not to use old fashioned oats… unfortunately they did not work out very good with rolled oats. They spread out too much and also turned crispy. They still taste good, just not like the desired oatmeal cream pie. I’ll have to try again with instant oats.
Jessica Robinson says
This is one of those recipes that needs to be made exactly as written. I hope you give it another try soon! Also keep an eye on the baking time, if baked too long they can become too crispy.
Jessica Robinson says
Glad to hear you had good results mixing the batter different than instructed. It’s really about using the correct ingredients, measuring correctly and mixing thoroughly with this particular recipe. This recipe was formulated to be the perfect chewy and tender cookie. We’ve never had an issue with batter being “too dry.” Glad you enjoyed them!
Meghan says
To clarify: your recipe says 1cup of butter which would be 2 sticks not one right? And same for the 2 cups which would be 4 sticks, not 2, correct? Thanks!!
Jessica Robinson says
Meghan,
Yes, as stated in the recipe card. 1 cup of butter is 2 sticks.
Judy says
Hello, can I freeze the cookies?
Jessica Robinson says
Judy,
These cookies last well individually wrapped and refrigerated for up to 2 weeks. Or you can certainly freeze them and thaw right on your kitchen counter.
Julie Donahue says
Can this recipe be made using gluten free flour?
Jessica Robinson says
You can certainly try it. King Arthur Flour makes a great gluten free flour mixture!
Bridget says
Oh my god, best oatmeal cookie ever! I had some cream cheese frosting left and went looking for a sandwich cookie recipe. I made some large cookies and then smaller ones. These are wonderful with or without filling. I can’t comment on the filling as I had frosting, but, trust me, THESE ARE THE BEST OATMEAL COOKIES!
Jessica Robinson says
So happy to hear that Bridget!!! Thanks so much for taking the time to write!
Kaci says
I’m not sure what I did wrong. I had them scooped with an ice cream scooper, but they never flattened out? I used all the ingredients listed and followed the instructions as listed. My batter seems very dry, not sure if that’s the reason. But they cooked in the scooper shape 😂
Jessica Robinson says
Thanks for writing! Sorry to hear you didn’t have success with the recipe and your cookies didn’t spread.
That’s usually a sign of something missing in the ingredients, such as butter or the wrong amount of sugar. Even the best bakers do it! Including me!
So just double check the ingredients and make sure you added the butter. Be certain you added the molasses too, as this ingredient helps the cookies spread. This particular recipe requires baking soda, NOT baking powder. And it has Quick oats vs. old-fashioned oats. These items will make a huge difference.
Let me know if I can help you in any way!
Clare says
I also followed to a t and double checked and they’re in the oven not flattening. I noticed the batter was dry and didn’t want to come together so I checked if I missed a liquid before baking.
Jessica Robinson says
Sounds like perhaps you missed the egg. (I’ve done it too!)
Diane Joy o'brien says
I also had the same problem I added all the ingredients that you show but mine also was dry and did not spread
Jessica Robinson says
Hello Diane,
Sorry to hear that your cookies didn’t spread correctly.
Number one, I’d make sure you print out the recipe and work off of it like a checklist. (I do this too!) Ingredients are super important in this particular recipe, such as quick oats vs old-fashioned, baking soda vs baking powder and making sure you add that tablespoon of molasses. Also, be sure you are measuring flour correctly. It should be either spooned or fluffed before measuring a cup. It’s very possible that you simply had too much flour. The other common thing I see people do is not creaming sugars properly. Butter should be soft, and creamed for a few minutes with the sugars.
Diane says
Thank you for your reply I done the list as stated in the recipe so not sure what went wrong my butter was room temperature I’ve been a baker for many years I always cream my butter and sugar until it’s white so not really sure what happened but these things happen so will see what happens next time
Jessica Robinson says
Hello Diane,
Of course! Happy to help.
It could be a number of things. But the cookies not spreading properly makes me think a tad bit too much flour, possibly leaving out an ingredient like molasses or even not packing the brown sugar enough or your brown sugar vs mine might have different levels of molasses in them. If I can help in some way, please let me know. Also, if you haven’t done so, be sure and check your oven temperature with an external thermometer. Ovens can be off ever so slightly.
Pam says
Definitely better than the store bought ones, thank you for such an amazing recipe! I switched the amount of sugar in the buttercream from 4 cups to 1-1/4 cups and it’s amazing. I’ll be making them again soon, everyone loved them!
Jessica Robinson says
Pam,
Try using some marshmallow fluff in the filling… if you are looking for a little less sweetness.
P am E. says
Definitely much better than the store bought ones, thank you for such a great recipe!
I’ll definitely be making them again soon, everyone loved them!
Jessica Robinson says
So glad to hear that you loved them Pam!!
Aly says
Just made these, and they’re a big hit with my family! I didn’t have a great ice cream scoop, so they didn’t turn out quite as beautifully as yours. My kids and husband loved them, and they said they’re “way better than the store bought kind”. Saving this for future use! Thanks so much!
Jessica Robinson says
Aly,
I am thrilled to hear that everyone loved them!! Hope you’ll try more of my recipes!
Laura says
These look so good! Just the ones from Little Debbie, but better!!!!
Jessica Robinson says
Laura!!
Thanks so much!! These are such good cookies! Much better than store-bought!