Okay real talk. I have loved Little Debbie oatmeal cream pies since I was a kid. That soft chewy oatmeal cookie, that thick sweet cream filling sandwiched in the middle, it is pure nostalgia in every single bite. I still love them. I am not going to pretend otherwise.

But one day my kids wanted oatmeal cream pies and instead of grabbing a box from the store I thought,  wait. I can make these. And not just make them but make them better. Better ingredients, better filling, bigger cookies, more of everything that makes an oatmeal cream pie an oatmeal cream pie.

And honestly? This might need to become a whole series because I am thinking about every single nostalgic snack cake from the store and how I can recreate it at home. Stay tuned for that because I am very serious about it.

Now before we get into it I want to tell you something about myself that I think a lot of you will relate to. I call myself an 80/20 mom. 80% homemade, 20% realistic. Because let’s be completely honest here, we still go through the Chick-fil-A drive through. My kids still eat store bought things. Life is busy and some store bought things are genuinely delicious and that is completely fine. But when I can make something at home with better ingredients and it tastes even better? I am going to do it every time. That is the whole vibe of this kitchen and this blog and I am glad you are here for it.

These oatmeal cream pies are soft, chewy, warmly spiced, and filled with the most dreamy cream cheese filling. Your kids are going to lose their minds. So are you. Let’s make them.

Let’s Make It

Preheat your oven to 375°F.
Start by creaming together your butter, brown sugar, and sugar until light and fluffy. Then add your egg, molasses, and vanilla and mix until everything is combined and smooth. That molasses is what gives these cookies their deep rich flavor and that gorgeous darker color, do not skip it!

In a separate bowl mix together all your dry ingredients, flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, and quick oats. Then add your dry ingredients into your wet ingredients and mix until a thick dough forms.

Roll the dough into balls, about 1 inch to 1½ inches depending on how big you want your finished cream pies. I like mine on the bigger side, just like the ones from the store. Place them on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake at 375°F for 10 to 12 minutes.

Here is the most important thing I can tell you about baking these, pull them when the edges brown and the center starts to puff up. They will continue to set as they cool and you want these to be soft and chewy, not hard. The second they look done they are actually about 2 minutes overdone. Trust me on this one.
Let them cool completely before you even think about adding the filling.

While they cool, make your cream cheese filling. Beat together your cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla until smooth and creamy. Taste it, if you want it sweeter add another ¼ cup of powdered sugar. I personally like mine a little lighter on the powdered sugar so that cream cheese flavor really comes through but you do you!

Once your cookies are fully cooled, match them up in pairs by size. Spread or pipe a generous amount of filling onto the flat side of one cookie and press the second cookie on top. There you go. Homemade oatmeal cream pie. Better than the box and made with your own two hands.

Tips From Your Bestie’s Kitchen

Get all your ingredients out before you start. Seriously, line everything up on your counter before you begin. This recipe has a few more components than a basic cookie and having everything ready to go keeps you from feeling scattered and overwhelmed mid-bake. Mise en place as the fancy people say. Prep first, bake second.

Don’t have molasses? Go buy some, and while you are at it, know that you can make your own brown sugar by mixing white sugar with molasses. So now you are using that jar for two things in this very recipe. Efficient and delicious.

Only have small eggs? Use two. It will not hurt this recipe one bit.

Store these in the refrigerator because of the cream cheese filling. Let them come to room temperature before eating or pop them in the microwave for just a few seconds. Warm oatmeal cream pie with slightly softened filling is an experience I want for all of you.

These freeze beautifully. Make a big batch, wrap them individually, and freeze them. Pull one out whenever you need it and let it thaw or microwave for a minute. Frozen oatmeal cream pie is also incredible just saying.

Little Debbie made a classic and I made it better in my kitchen and now you can make it better in yours. That is the 80/20 mom way

…and that’s all we did today.

Cyndi 

Item’s Used:

• Mixing Bowl
• Measuring  Cups
• Rubber Spatula
• Sheet Pans
• Parchment Paper
• Stand Mixer
• Hand Mixer

Homemade Oatmeal Cream Pies

5 from 2 votes

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Ingredients Method

Ingredients

  

What You’ll Need

Wet ingredients:

• 1 cup butter
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• ½ cup sugar
• 1 large egg
• 2 tbsp molasses
• 2 tbsp vanilla extract

Dry ingredients:

• 1⅓ cup all purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp nutmeg
• A sprinkle of clove
• 2½ cups quick oats

Cream cheese filling:

• 8 oz cream cheese
• ¼ cup butter
• ½ cup powdered sugar
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract

Method

 

1. Preheat oven to 375°F and line baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. Cream together butter, brown sugar, and sugar until light and fluffy.
3. Add egg, molasses, and vanilla and mix well.
4. In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, and oats.
5. Gradually mix dry ingredients into wet ingredients until dough forms.
6. Roll dough into 1–1½ inch balls and place on prepared baking sheets.
7. Bake for 10–12 minutes until edges are lightly browned and centers are puffed.
8. Cool cookies completely.
9. Beat cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla until smooth.
10. Spread or pipe filling onto the flat side of one cookie and top with another cookie.
11. Store in the refrigerator.

Tried this recipe?

Let us know how it was!