Tessa’s Recipe Rundown
Taste: They taste like your childhood -but better! Not quite as sweet and with the perfect hint of cinnamon.
Texture: My favorite part! The cookies are the perfect chewy complement to the rich and creamy filling.
Ease: Easier to make than you might think!
Pros: A better tasting and less artificial version of your favorite nostalgic treat.
Cons: None.
Would I make this again? Absolutely.
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Move over, Little Debbie. These Homemade Oatmeal Cream Pies are about to become your new best friend.
I like to call these the “adult-version” of Oatmeal Creme Pies. No, they don’t contain alcohol; however, these cookies are decadent and so flavorful. With no artificial flavorings, these copycat cookie sandwiches are made with ingredients that you probably already have in your pantry.
Remember how thin and squishy the store-bought cookies were? These babies are thick and chewy with a hint of spice from the cinnamon and chock full of the creamiest, smoothest buttercream frosting.
I think you’re going to love these Homemade Oatmeal Cream Pies. Or Oatmeal Creme Pies. However you spell it 😉
How to Make Soft, Chewy Cookies for Oatmeal Cream Pies
- Measure Your Flour Correctly: I always recommend using a digital kitchen scale to measure your flour. It’s so easy to accidentally compact the flour into measuring cups, which can result in dry, hard cookies that don’t spread. If you don’t have a scale, use the spoon and level method instead.
- Don’t Reduce the Sugar: Sugar does SO much more than just sweeten baked goods. Learn all about sugar’s role in baking here.
- Don’t Overbake: The cookies should still look a little wet on top when you pull them out of the oven. They will finish cooking with the residual heat.
- Eggs: This recipe uses two large eggs plus one egg yolk, lending moisture and richness to the dough. This makes these cookies softer and chewier.
How to Avoid FLAT Oatmeal Cookies
If your cookies end up flat, butter that was too warm is likely the culprit. When creaming butter and sugar, your butter should be at a COOL room temperature. 67°F is perfect – or even a couple degrees cooler if your kitchen is very warm. If your butter is too warm, your cookies will spread into flat puddles.
Storage & Make ahead
Room Temperature: Store the assembled cookie sandwiches an airtight container for up to a day.
Fridge: Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Let come to room temperature before serving.
Freeze: Wrap Oatmeal Cream Pies individually in plastic wrap and store inside an airtight container in the freezer for up to 2 months. Defrost in the fridge overnight, then let come to room temperature before serving. You can also scoop the cookie dough into balls and freeze those. Learn how to freeze cookie dough and bake from frozen here.
FAQs
This recipe calls for old-fashioned rolled oats, which give the cookies that characteristic craggly look, chewiness, and flavor.
You can, though that’ll change the texture and add a little more height to your cookies.
No dough chilling required! I don’t like to refrigerate dough made with oats for too long because oats are such a drying ingredient and really suck up moisture, and you don’t want the dough to dry up too quickly. If you wish to refrigerate this dough, you absolutely can – just avoid refrigerating longer than 48 hours – otherwise, you risk drying out your dough.
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Ingredients
For the cookies:
- 1 3/4 cups (222 grams) all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 1/2 sticks (170 grams) unsalted butter, at cool room temperature
- 3/4 cup (150 grams) granulated sugar
- 1 1/4 cups (250 grams) lightly packed dark brown sugar
- 2 large eggs, at cool room temperature
- 1 large egg yolk, at cool room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 cups (270 grams) old-fashioned rolled oats
For the filling:
- 1 1/2 sticks (170 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 2 1/2 cups (313 grams) powdered sugar, sifted
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon milk
Instructions
Make the cookies:
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line large baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 to 3 minutes. Beat in the eggs, egg yolk, and vanilla, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Slowly beat in the flour mixture until just combined. Stir in the oats with a rubber spatula.
- Using a spoon or large spring-loaded scoop, drop 3-tablespoon sized balls of dough onto prepared baking sheets. Flatten slightly with the bottom of a measuring cup.
- Bake for about 12 to 14 minutes, or until the edges are slightly browned, rotating baking sheets halfway through. Let the cookies cool on baking sheets for 5 minutes before removing to wire racks to cool completely. Cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Make the filling:
- Mix all ingredients together with an electric mixer on low until combined, then beat on medium-high speed until light, fluffy, and smooth, about 5 minutes.
- Spread or pipe the filling on half of your cookies and use the remaining cookies to sandwich. Serve or store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Let come to room temperature before serving.
More Recipes You’ll Love:
- Cosmic Brownies
- Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Monster Cookies
- Bourbon Rye Oatmeal Chocolate Chunk Cookies
- Homemade Marshmallow Fluff
Photos by Ashley McLaughlin.
Hi, curious if I can use brown butter?
Sounds delicious! We haven’t tried that so I can’t say for sure what adjustments would be needed, but please let us know how it goes if you try it out.
A family favorite at our house! They are soo good! We always use Quick Oats, as that is what we have on hand and they always turn out perfect! These pies are HUGE. We cut the size of each cookie in half, yielding 24 total pies, rather than 12.
I made these and followed the recipe exactly, with one exception: I used light brown sugar instead of dark brown sugar, as that’s all I had on hand. These were the perfect cookie, hands down. In fact, my brother-in-law said that these cookies may have been the best thing I’ve ever baked (and, I bake a lot). Here’s my tip: Bake until the edges start to brown, and remove from the oven. While the cookies are still hot, place the open end of a glass over each cookie and swirl the cookie inside the glass on the baking sheet. This will form the cookies into perfectly round circles. I can’t wait to make these again–thank you, Tessa, for sharing this recipe!
Hi! Can I freeze the dough to make ahead?
Hi Sarah! Yes, that will work just fine – or check out Tessa’s other tips for making these ahead in the Tip Box, just above the recipe!