Homemade Oatmeal Cream Pies

With two soft, chewy oatmeal cookies sandwich a sweet marshmallow buttercream filling, these are every bit as nostalgic as the original packaged version. Making oatmeal cream pies from scratch gives you that familiar flavor and texture with fresher ingredients, richer molasses flavor, and a soft-baked cookie that’s hard to beat!

This recipe is part of our Better Than Store-Bought series, where we recreate homemade versions of your favorite store-bought snacks and treats.

An OG Classic, Made From Scratch

Before Swiss Rolls, Nutty Buddys or Zebra Cakes, there was the Oatmeal Creme Pie. In 1960, this was the very first snack sold under the Little Debbie name, and today we're showing you how to make it from scratch!

This recipe took us quite a few tests, mostly to get the size and shape just right, and to figure out if chilling the dough made a big difference. An oatmeal cream pie is a pretty decadent treat – two fairly large cookies, and a good amount of buttercream filling - so we didn't want them to be too big.

Once we got the size right, we also decided to flatten the cookies slightly before baking so the final sandwich cookie was thin enough that it didn't feel like too much of a mouthful.

The end result was just right! And, it's even better using our homemade marshmallow fluff in the buttercream filling. These are nostalgic, comforting, and honestly pretty easy to make, even for beginner bakers. (Definitely a little easier than our homemade pop tarts or fig newtons!)

Key Ingredients Needed for Oatmeal Cream Pies

• Marshmallow fluff: If you don't like the store-bought stuff but also don't want to make it from scratch, you can leave it out. To do so, you'll need to alter the buttercream filling by increasing the quantity of butter to 1 cup, and the powdered sugar to 3.5-4 cups to get the right consistency.
• Oats: Old fashioned rolled oats and quick cook oats have a completely different consistency, chewiness and they yield a very different oatmeal cookie. For a more homogenous consistency, we opt for quick cook oats in this recipe and don't suggest subbing them for old fashioned.
• Molasses: This is a traditional ingredient in a store-bought oatmeal creme pie and even a small amount makes a big difference flavor-wise. If you want to leave it out, you can use maple syrup or honey instead.

How to Bake Oatmeal Cream Pies

1. Preheat the oven to 350˚F / 175˚C and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the melted butter, molasses, granulated sugar and brown sugar. Add in the eggs and vanilla extract and whisk until smooth.
3. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the all purpose flour, oats, baking soda, salt and cinnamon.

3. Add the dry to the wet ingredients in two batches, stirring just until fully combined and no streaks of flour remain.
4. Using a size 50 cookie dough scoop (holds ~1 ¼-1 ½ tablespoons of dough), scoop the dough onto the baking sheet, then use your hand to gently flatten the ball into a disc. Leave about 1 ½ inches between each cookie.

5. Bake for 9-11 minutes, until the bottoms and edges are golden brown. Remove from the oven and let cool for a minute, then transfer to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.

5. To make the filling, add the butter to a mixing bowl and beat on medium-high speed for 2 minutes, until light and fluffy. Add the powdered sugar and continue mixing for 1 minute. Add the marshmallow fluff and salt and beat until well combined. It should be a fairly thick, stiff mixture. If it doesn't seem thick enough, add additional powdered sugar 2 tablespoons at a time. 
6. Using a piping bag with a round tip, pipe about 1 tablespoon of filling onto the bottom of half of the cookies, then sandwich with another cookie. Enjoy!

Top Tips from the CK Test Kitchen!

• Storage: You can keep these stored in a container at room temperature for 1-2 days, and then they will need to be moved to the refrigerator, where they will last for a week. If you live somewhere hot/humid, we suggest keeping these in an airtight container in the fridge so the buttercream doesn't get too soft.
• Cookie scoop: If you don't have a size 50 cookie dough scoop, just portion the dough into 1 ½ tablespoon portions. If you make them larger, they may need slightly longer to bake.

More Better Than Store-Bought Recipes You'll Love

We can't wait for you to bake these oatmeal cream pies in your own home! If you do, be sure to let us know! Leave a comment with a star rating below. You can also snap a photo and tag @crowded_kitchen on Instagram. We can't wait to see what you're cooking!

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