These soft-baked oatmeal cream pies are a homemade take on the classic Little Debbie brand lunchbox treat we all loved growing up. Two chewy, soft-baked molasses- and cinnamon-kissed oatmeal cookies sandwich a fluffy, sweet cream filling. One bite and you’ll wonder why you ever settled for store-bought. And the best part: You don’t even need to chill the cookie dough.
I originally published this recipe in 2013 and have since added new photos and additional success tips.
If you’ve ever found joy unwrapping and chowing down on store-bought oatmeal creme pies, you’re in luck. Little Debbie’s cookie sandwiches were a favorite growing up, and I’ve carried that packaged sweet treat nostalgia over to my kitchen. (I even have a giant oatmeal creme pie cookie recipe!) These are my homemade version, and I’m delighted to say they’re even better than the original.
One reader, Adrienne, commented: “I have made these cookies twice now. They are without a doubt the BEST cookies my husband and I have ever had… not just best I have made, but best we have ever eaten… Absolutely wonderful! ★★★★★”
And another reader, Kate, commented: “What a fantastic recipe!!! The oatmeal cookies on their own are easily the tastiest and best oatmeal cookies I have EVER MADE! I made my creme pies slightly smaller than the recipe called for so I had about 30 pies total. Highly recommend! ★★★★★”
How Do These Compare to Store-Bought Oatmeal Cream Pies?
These cookies are incredibly soft and on the thinner side, made with butter, dark brown sugar, and just the right touch of molasses, cinnamon, and cloves for a cozy, melt-in-your-mouth bite. The filling is sweet, smooth, and creamy without any shortening or artificial ingredients.
They’re not an exact copycat, though. My homemade version is softer and oat-ier than the original. And I know that packaged oatmeal creme pies use raisin paste (among other additional ingredients) in the cookie dough; these do not.
What Makes These So Special?
- Real oats for that classic chewy texture
- No shortcuts in the filling—just real butter and vanilla
- BIG, satisfying cookies—2 tablespoons of dough per cookie (and you’re eating 2!)
- No chilling required… aka immediate gratification 🙂
If you’re feeling adventurous, I also have a pumpkin version for the fall season. These pumpkin oatmeal cream pies were a Sally’s Baking Challenge and readers RAVED about the flavor. I also have these spiced eggnog oatmeal cream pies that are perfect for the holiday season.
Ingredients You Need & Why
- Butter: These cookies use plenty of it both in the cookie dough and in the filling. You need a lot of butter in the cookie dough to ensure spread. The cookies should be soft and flat, and using proper room-temperature butter will help achieve that. If the butter is too soft, they’ll over-spread and become hard and crispy. Read more: room-temperature butter in baking.
- Dark Brown Sugar & Granulated Sugar: I recommend reaching for dark brown sugar, which has a slightly higher molasses content than light brown sugar. This means more flavor. You’ll use some granulated sugar, too, to ensure the cookies spread.
- Egg: An egg helps bind the ingredients and provides structure.
- Vanilla, Cinnamon, & Cloves: Deliciously cozy flavor.
- Molasses: Just a Tablespoon, for even more flavor.
- Flour: Flour gives the cookies structure and helps soak up the moisture in the cookie dough. Note that I slightly increased the flour from the original recipe. I now use 1 and 2/3 cups (209g) instead of 1 and 1/2 cups.
- Baking Soda: Helps the cookies puff up, then fall a bit as they cool.
- Salt: Flavor enhancer, and to balance the sweet.
- Quick Oats: For the ideal texture, use quick oats. They incorporate smoothly into the dough, unlike whole oats, which can make the cookies overly coarse.
- Confectioners’ Sugar: To sweeten and thicken the filling.
- Heavy Cream: Smooths out the filling.
Let’s address the butter in the room one more time: yes, these cookies use plenty. You need 1 and 1/4 cups (20 Tablespoons) in the cookie dough. This is 2 and 1/2 sticks. You also need 3/4 cup (12 Tbsp) in the filling, which is 1 and 1/2 sticks. These aren’t lightened-up or healthified in any way—and that’s the whole point. They’re a true treat, one worth savoring… every single soft and sticky bite.
Oats Success Tip
Again, use quick oats for the best texture.
If you only have old-fashioned whole oats, which is what I usually use in most oatmeal cookie recipes, give them a few pulses in your food processor to break them down. That’s the secret to helping these cookies spread just right and still hold their soft, chewy center.
How to Make Homemade Oatmeal Cream Pies
The cookie dough is pretty straightforward. Start by creaming the butter and sugars. If you need a refresher, I have a helpful video tutorial on how to cream butter and sugar. Then add the egg, plus the molasses and vanilla. These are your wet ingredients. Whisk all of the dry ingredients together and then combine them with the wet ingredients.
An electric mixer is really helpful, because this is a thick and sticky cookie dough:
Portioning the dough to bake is also very easy. I recommend 2 generous Tablespoons of dough per cookie, which is around 45g each. Roll the portions into balls and place on a lined baking sheet.
These cookies spread a decent amount, so I only put 6 cookie dough balls on the sheet at a time:
Bake the cookies for only about 10 minutes at 375°F (191°C). Most cookies bake at 350°F, but for today’s recipe, we want the exterior to set shape quicker, which helps keep the centers soft. These cookies should be extra soft-looking in the centers when they are done. Do not over-bake.
Homemade Cream Filling
As the cookies finish cooling, you can make the cream filling. This is just like making an American-style buttercream frosting. Beat butter until smooth, and then add confectioners’ sugar, cream, vanilla, and then add salt to taste. It’s smooth, fluffy, and thick—perfect consistency to stuff inside two cookies!
Use around 1.5 Tablespoons of filling per sandwich. Spread it on the underside of one cookie and then sandwich with another cookie. I usually use a small offset spatula to spread the filling.
Whether they bring back memories or become a new favorite cookie, these oatmeal cream pies are pure, sweet comfort in every bite. 😉
P.S. If you’re in the mood for even more from-scratch versions of store-bought treats, don’t miss my homemade Oreos, iced oatmeal cookies, and cream-filled chocolate cupcakes. Or check out these copycat desserts to make at home for more ideas!
Print
Homemade Oatmeal Cream Pies
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour, 30 minutes
- Yield: 15 cookie sandwiches
- Category: Cookies
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
These soft-baked oatmeal cream pies are a homemade take on the classic lunchbox treat we all loved growing up. Made with buttery, cinnamon-kissed oatmeal cookies and a fluffy, sweet cream filling, they’re even better than the original. And the best part: You don’t even need to chill the cookie dough.
Ingredients
- 1 and 1/4 cups (20 Tbsp; 282g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1 cup (200g) packed dark brown sugar
- 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 Tablespoon (15ml) unsulphured or dark molasses (do not use blackstrap; I prefer Grandma’s brand)
- 1 and 2/3 cups (209g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 3 cups (255g) quick oats (not whole oats)
Cream Filling
- 3/4 cup (12 Tbsp; 170g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 3 cups (360g) confectioners’ sugar
- 3 Tablespoons (45ml) heavy cream, at room temperature
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- salt, to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F (191°C). Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Set aside.
- In a large bowl using a hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar together on medium-high speed until light and creamy, about 3 minutes. Stop and scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. (Here’s a helpful tutorial if you need guidance on how to cream butter and sugar.) Add the egg, vanilla, and molasses and beat on high speed until combined, about 1 minute. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl and beat again as needed to combine.
- In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, cloves, and oats.
- With the mixer running on low speed, slowly add the dry ingredients to wet ingredients. The dough will be quite thick and very sticky, and you may have to mix it all by hand after a few seconds in the mixer.
- Scoop the dough, about 2 heaping Tablespoons of dough per cookie (if using a scale, make them 45g each), and arrange 3 inches apart on the baking sheets (about 6 cookies per baking sheet). Cookies will spread a bit in the oven.
- Bake for 10–13 minutes or until the cookies are very lightly golden around the edges. The centers will look very, very soft.
- Remove from the oven and allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack to cool completely.
- For the filling: In a large bowl using a hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter on high speed until creamy, about 1 minute. Add the confectioners’ sugar and beat on medium speed for 1–2 minutes. Pour in heavy cream and vanilla extract. Beat on high speed for 2–3 minutes. Taste and add a pinch or two of salt, if needed. If filling is way too thick, beat in another Tablespoon of room-temperature heavy cream.
- Spread about 1.5 Tablespoons of cream filling on the bottom side of half of the cookies; top with remaining cookies, right side up.
- Cover and store leftover sandwich cookies at room temperature for up to 2 days, or in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Notes
- Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: You can make the cookie dough and store it, tightly covered, in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Bring to room temperature before continuing with step 5. (Note that the cookies won’t spread as much since the oats have likely absorbed a lot of moisture.) Baked cookies, cooled but not filled/sandwiched, freeze well for up to 3 months. (For best taste and texture, filling should be fresh.) Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and bring to room temperature before continuing with step 8. Unbaked cookie dough balls freeze well for up to 3 months. Bake from frozen, adding a minute or two to the baking time. Read my tips and tricks on how to freeze cookie dough.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Baking Sheets | Silicone Baking Mats or Parchment Paper | Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | Glass Mixing Bowl | Whisk | Large Cookie Scoop | Cooling Rack | Small Offset Spatula
- Brown Sugar: I use dark brown sugar for extra flavor. If you only have light brown sugar, you can use that with no other changes to the dough.
- Oats: Do not use old-fashioned whole oats in this recipe; for the correct texture and to ensure enough moisture is soaked up in the cookie dough, use quick oats. If you only have whole oats, pulse them about 10 times in a food processor before using.
- Be sure to check out my top 5 cookie baking tips AND these are my 10 must-have cookie baking tools.
- Cookies are adapted from myrecipes.com.
Reader Comments and Reviews
Can I substitute Light brown Sugar for Dark Brown Sugar?
Thank you.
Absolutely! Same amount.
Hello. Wondering about what other fillings could make for cookies.
Hi Minji, instead of the creme filling in this recipe, you could use any of your favorite frostings.
hi! i’ve made these before, but i was wondering if i could make these in a whoopie pie pan? thank you so much! these always turn out delicious!
We haven’t tested that but let us know if you do!
ok! i will!
Hi there, I am beyond frustrated. I have made these cookies 3 times. The first, they spread a fair amount but were fine. The second and third times they spread like wildfire to the unusable point. What on earth can I be doing wrong? I consider myself a pretty good baker and know all the tips and tricks when baking. I have checked my oven temperature. My ingredients are all fresh. My gut is telling me too much butter but this is the same as the Magnolia bakery cookies and its the same amount of butter. I’m so frustrated. Anyone else have this problem? I use SOOOOO many of your recipes so thank you!
Hi Katherine, thanks so much for your note and for giving this recipe a try. It sounds like your butter may be just a bit too warm which is causing the extra spread. We share more on what room temperature butter really means here. These cookies do spread a bit, but hopefully this (and our tips on improving your next batch of cookies) will help reduce the excess spread next time!
I made your oatmeal cookies and in the notes it said they were adapted from this recipe. My husband loves Oatmeal Cream Pies so I gave it a shot. I changed nothing about the recipe except that I made them half the size (1 tablespoon per cookie instead of 2) based on some comments saying they were too large and lowered the baking time to 7 min because of this. I ended up with 30 cream pies. THIRTY! Is this a problem? Absolutely not! I gave some to my coworkers and they said “oh my god these are delicious” and asked about the recipe. I let my friend have some and, even though she’s on a diet, she ate three of them. My husband took at least six to work with him. I’m down to 1/3 of the pies and they’ve only existed for 9 hours (and I was at work for 5 of those)! I thought I’d overbaked them based on their color, but they are incredibly soft and the cream is just the right sweetness. I didn’t overload the cookies, but I kept the excess cream in case anyone wanted extra. Fantastic recipe. Wouldn’t change any of the ingredients. Loved it!
Quite possibly the best oatmeal cookie I’ve ever made. This recipe is fantastic!
What a fantastic recipe!!! The oatmeal cookies on their own are easily the tastiest and best oatmeal cookies I have EVER MADE! I made my Creme pies slightly smaller than the recipe called for so I had about 30 pies total. I’ll definitely make these again! Highly recommend!
OMG these are so so good!! I liked the texture better after the cookies have cooled in the fridge for awhile. So yummy!!
These were amazing! I’m having my third in a few weeks and I was wondering if you had any oatmeal cookie recipes that could be frozen? I love oatmeal, it helps keep me full and I’d love to have some that I can make and freeze to eat after getting home. Do you have any recommendations?
Hi Kayla, We have so many! Oatmeal Raisin Cookies, Chocolate Chunk Oatmeal Cookies, and Zucchini Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies are just a few. For more options simply type “oatmeal cookies” into the search bar at the top of this page. Each recipe has make ahead and freezing directions in the recipe notes.
Can I freeze the cookies without the creme? Or can I freeze them at the dough level if not?
Hi Amy, I have froze these cookies with luck! I let them thaw in the refrigerator overnight. I wouldn’t suggest keeping them in the freezer for more than a month though.
Seriously delicious. My husband loved them. Made no changes except to add a little ground cloves cause we like a little spice. But omg, so stinking good.
Do you think this recipe wiping work with a flax egg instead?? I’m plant based and really want to make these!
I haven’t tested it, but let me know if you do! Here are all of my egg free baking recipes if you’re interested.
LOVE these. Just made them + they turned out perfect. Will make again and even wrote about them on my blog (www.refinedpeddler.com). Thanks for the recipe!
Wow! These were SO GOOD! Saving this recipe for the regular rotation. They really do spread a lot into the perfect thinness for a sandwich so listen to Sally and don’t crowd the baking sheet!
These are going to be my new go to holiday cookie. They are delicious!
Hello! I was wondering how I can incorporate coffee espresso grinds into this recipe to get an oatmeal coffee cookie out of it? Thank you!
Hi Hilary! You can certainly try adding espresso powder (not coffee grinds) in the cookie dough and / or the filling — we’d start at about 1/2 teaspoon and then you can adjust for future batches. Or, you can use the coffee buttercream from this cake as the filling. Let us know what you try!
These are delicious but my cookies turned out kind of crispy. I’m not complaining, but when I make them again (AND I WILL MAKE THEM AGAIN!) I’d like them to be softer like Little Debbie’s. Did I overcook? Make them too small?
Hi Kristen! If the cookies are crispy, they are likely over-baked. Remove from the oven once those edges set. The centers will still look soft, but will set as the cookies cool.
Awesome awesome awesome recipe- I always make these for gatherings because I know they will be a huge hit!!! People LOVE them!!!
Just wanna say thank you because this has been my go to recipe since 2014. I’ve made and shared this recipe countless times, because these are a huge hit with everyone. And because I’m a 22 year old man, this has been a pleasant surprise for others.
I personally just keep them as cookies and frost the tops completely because there is always enough frosting. Nevertheless, seriously, thank you for sharing this wonderful recipe.
Can these be baked in a 13×9 pan to make bars and then ice the top, or in two smaller round pans to make a giant one? I only have a toaster oven and my sheet trays don’t fit in it
Hi Jenny! You can prepare this cookie dough in a 9×13 inch baking pan, yes. I’m unsure of the bake time though.
Could you use regular oats instead of quick oats?
Hi Kelly! I recommend quick oats. You want very fine, small pieces of oats in the dough. You make my own quick oats by pulsing whole oats in a food processor/blender 4-5 times.
Thanks so much! I made these today, and they are just as good, if not better than the store bought version. My family loved them! Thanks for your great recipes, they never dissapoint.
Really looking forward to making this recipe. However, I’d love to add some raisins; how much would you suggest I add?
Thanks in advance,
Chris
I’d add 1 cup to the cookie dough.
Hi Sally, I’ve been following your blog for over a year now and have made so many of your recipes… They are always a hit! I made this recipe today for the first time, and I was feeling a little lazy so I spread all of the cookie dough into a parchment lined 9 X 13 pan and baked it for 25 minutes at 350 in my convection oven. I just spread the frosting over the whole thing when they cooled, and voila, oatmeal cream pie bars! They turned out excellent, thicker than baking them into cookies. I figured I’d share this for other readers who want to make these, but are crunched for time. Thanks for another great recipe!!
I know it’s mentioned in the recipe not to but do you think half and half would work instead on the heavy cream? I’ve made them before and know how delicious they are. I’d love to make them but I’m missing the heavy cream.
half and half works in a pinch!
Do you have a suggestion for making mini cookies for multiple holiday cookie tray? Should I just use 1 tablespoon drops of the cookie dough? Thanks so much! I’m excited to try these!
Yep, that measurement sounds good. The bake time will be slightly less.
Made these for a cookout this past weekend. AMAZING!!! There is not one thing I would change.
WOW. These are amazing. My son requested Oatmeal “Whoopie Pies” for his back to school cookie. I can’t wait until he gets home to taste them. Super easy to make and taste out of this world! The oatmeal cookie part alone is great if you don’t want to mess with the cream filling. Thanks for the recipe!
Hi there!
I was wondering what will happen if I use the old fashioned rolled oats instead of quick cooking oats? We are gluten-free, and we only buy old fashioned rolled oats. 🙂
Thank you!
Simply pulse your GF whole oats in the blender or food processor about 5-6 times to create quick oats. You need powdered quick oats for this recipe. Enjoy!
Hi Sally, I was wondering if I could substitute the filling you use in your oreo recipe for the creme filling in this one. Do you think it would work?
Thanks, Ella 🙂
That would be just fine. In fact, I think they taste pretty similar!