Gluten-Free Oatmeal Cream Pies
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Homemade gluten-free oatmeal cream pies combine soft, chewy oatmeal cookies and a creamy vanilla filling into a nostalgic sandwich cookie you won’t want to miss.
Back to school season always puts me in a nostalgic mood, and we LOVE re-creating childhood favorites with a gluten-free spin this time of year, whether it’s homemade Chocolate Pudding, fluffy Yellow Cake, or Peanut Butter Bars.
This year’s childhood remake is homemade oatmeal cream pies, and it’s the perfect recipe when you’re feeling nostalgic!
Our gluten-free oatmeal cream pie recipe is a homemade take on the classic Little Debbie Oatmeal Creme Pies. These delicious cookie sandwiches are made from soft oatmeal cookies with a hint of cinnamon, and a creamy vanilla filling you’ll dream about.
They’re the perfect nostalgic treat, and the best thing is: they start with simple ingredients!
Simple Ingredients To Get Started
One thing you’ll love about these delicious oatmeal cream pies is they start with a simple ingredient list. They’re basically all pantry staples! Let’s take a look:
- Gluten-Free Flour. We’re keeping things simple with King Arthur Measure-for-Measure Gluten-Free flour. If you use another 1:1 gluten-free flour blend, be sure it contains xanthan gum. Measure carefully! (Do NOT substitute oat flour, almond flour, or coconut flour into this recipe.)
- Gluten-Free Rolled Oats. Use certified gluten-free oats to stay safe! We recommend old-fashioned/rolled oats over quick oats for these, but if quick cooking oats are all you have, you can use them.
- Unsweetened Cocoa Powder. Little Debbie Oatmeal Creme Pies use cocoa powder for color, and we’re using the same trick here in our gluten-free version. They will NOT taste chocolatey, but it will deepen the color for a richer contrast.
- Cinnamon. Just enough for warmth.
- Baking Soda. For the perfect puff and spread.
- Salt. We use kosher salt. If you’re using fine table salt, you may prefer a pinch less.
- Butter. You’ll need softened butter for the gluten-free cookies and the filling.
- Dark Brown Sugar. We recommend dark brown sugar because it has a little extra molasses. Light brown sugar can work, but the flavor will be milder and the color will be lighter.
- Egg. Use a room temperature egg to help it blend in better!
- Molasses. This keeps the cookies moist and deepens the brown sugar flavor.
- Vanilla Extract. Plenty of vanilla in both the cookies & filling!
- A Simple Vanilla Filling. The vanilla frosting inside the oatmeal cream pies is made from butter, powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla.
How To Make Homemade Oatmeal Cream Pies, Step By Step
As always, you can find the full recipe with ingredient amounts, detailed instructions, and tips in the recipe card below!
First, Make The Cookies
- Preheat & Prep. To start, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
- Combine Dry Ingredients. In a medium bowl, combine gluten-free flour, gluten-free oats, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt. Whisk to combine, then set aside.
- Cream Butter & Brown Sugar. In the bowl of a stand mixer (or a large mixing bowl), combine softened butter and brown sugar. Beat on medium speed with a paddle attachment 2-3 minutes, or until smooth and fluffy.
- Build The Dough. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, then mix in egg, molasses, and vanilla one at a time, mixing to incorporate each one well before adding the next. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, then mix on low speed until just combined and blended.
- Scoop & Bake. Use a medium cookie scoop to measure 1 1/2 Tablespoon balls of cookie dough. Place 6 cookie dough balls on a prepared baking sheet and bake in preheated oven 9-10 minutes. Try not to over-bake, since you want the cookies to remain soft. If needed, gently shape cookies into perfect circles using a large round cookie cutter (or the back of a spoon).
- Cool. Allow the cookies to cool 5-10 minutes on the cookie sheet before transferring cookies to a wire rack to finish cooling. Repeat until all the cookies are baked, alternating baking sheets with every batch so you don’t put cool dough on a hot baking sheet. Let the cookies cool completely before frosting (so the frosting doesn’t melt!)
Make The Frosting & Assemble The Cookies
- Beat The Butter. When the cookies are cool, beat the butter in a stand mixer (or large bowl with a handheld electric mixer) 2-3 minutes, or until fluffy.
- Combine. Add powdered sugar and mix on low speed, drizzling in 1 Tablespoon of milk and 1 teaspoon of the vanilla. (If needed, you can add more milk 1 teaspoon at a time.)
- Whip. When the powdered sugar is absorbed, increase the speed to high and mix 1-2 minutes more, or until frosting is light and fluffy. Pause as needed, to scrape down the sides of the bowl. (If your frosting is too thick, you can add more milk 1 teaspoon at a time. If it’s too thin, you can add powdered sugar 1 Tablespoon at a time.)
- Frost The Cookies. Line cookies up in pairs (ideally they should be similar shape & size!). Flip over half of the cookies. (These will be the bottom half of the cookie sandwich.) Dollop or pipe about 1 1/2 Tablespoons of frosting onto each bottom half (don’t spread it all the way to the edge, since the frosting will continue to spread when you add the top cookie). Top with the second cookie and gently press down to finish spreading the frosting.
- Serve & Store. Enjoy the finished sandwich cookies right away or store in an airtight container 2-3 days at room temperature. Or, freeze in a freeze bag up to 2 months.
Cookie Baking Tips to Help You
FAQ + Tricks For The Best Gluten-Free Oatmeal Cream Pies
Don’t Over-bake! The big secret for the best homemade oatmeal cream pies is NOT over-baking the cookies. You want soft cookies that easily meld with the creamy filling. For best results, it’s better to slightly under-bake the cookies than to over-bake them. Pinky promise.
Want To Make Smaller Cookies? To mimic the classic Little Debbie Oatmeal Cream Pies, these are definitely larger cookies. If you’d prefer to make smaller cookies, you can use a 1 Tablespoon scoop (small cookie scoop) instead of a 1 1/2 Tablespoon scoop (medium cookie scoop), and reduce the bake time by 1-2 minutes per batch. (Keep in mind that you’ll end up with more oatmeal cookie sandwiches than I did!)
Make Them Dairy-Free. I haven’t made them dairy-free yet, but I’d start by swapping out the butter for sticks of vegan butter (like Earth Balance). The other ingredients are all naturally gluten-free!
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Tell me all about it! Leave a star rating below when you try our Gluten-Free Oatmeal Cream Pies recipe. I can’t wait to hear how it goes!
Gluten-Free Oatmeal Cream Pies
Homemade gluten-free oatmeal cream pies combine soft, chewy oatmeal cookies and a creamy vanilla filling into a nostalgic sandwich cookie you won't want to miss.
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Servings: 10 cookies
Ingredients
For The Oatmeal Cookies
- 1 ½ cups gluten-free measure-for-measure flour* (180 grams)
- ⅔ cup gluten-free rolled oats (60 grams)
- 1 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder*
- ¾ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup butter, softened (113 grams/1 stick)
- 1 cup dark brown sugar (200 grams)
- 1 egg room temperature
- ½ Tablespoon molasses
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For The Vanilla Frosting:
- ½ cup butter, softened (113 grams/1 stick)
- 2 cups powdered sugar (240 grams)
- 1-3 Tablespoons whole milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
First, Make The Cookies:
- Preheat & Prep. To start, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
- Combine Dry Ingredients. In a medium bowl, combine gluten-free flour, gluten-free oats, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt. Whisk to combine, then set aside.
- Cream Butter & Brown Sugar. In the bowl of a stand mixer (or a large mixing bowl), combine softened butter and brown sugar. Beat on medium speed with a paddle attachment 2-3 minutes, or until smooth and fluffy.
- Build The Dough. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, then mix in egg, molasses, and vanilla one at a time, mixing to incorporate each one well before adding the next. Add the dry ingredients, then mix on low speed until just combined and blended.
- Scoop & Bake. Use a medium cookie scoop to measure 1 1/2 Tablespoon balls of cookie dough. Place 6 cookie dough balls on a prepared baking sheet and bake 9-10 minutes. Try not to over-bake, since you want the cookies to remain soft. If needed, gently shape cookies into perfect circles using a large round cookie cutter (or the back of a spoon).
- Cool. Allow the cookies to cool 5-10 minutes on the cookie sheet before transferring cookies to a wire rack to finish cooling. Repeat until all the cookies are baked, alternating baking sheets with every batch so you don’t put cool dough on a hot baking sheet. Let the cookies cool completely before frosting (so the frosting doesn’t melt!)
Make The Frosting & Assemble The Cookies:
- Beat The Butter. When the cookies are cool, beat the butter in a stand mixer (or large bowl with a handheld electric mixer) 2-3 minutes, or until fluffy.
- Combine. Add powdered sugar and mix on low speed, drizzling in 1 Tablespoon of milk and 1 teaspoon of the vanilla. (If needed, you can add more milk 1 teaspoon at a time.)
- Whip. When the powdered sugar is absorbed, increase the speed to high and mix 1-2 minutes more, or until frosting is light and fluffy. Pause as needed, to scrape down the sides of the bowl. (If your frosting is too thick, you can add more milk 1 teaspoon at a time. If it’s too thin, you can add powdered sugar 1 Tablespoon at a time.)
- Frost The Cookies. Line cookies up in pairs (ideally they should be similar shape & size!). Flip over half of the cookies. (These will be the bottom half of the cookie sandwich.) Dollop or pipe about 1 1/2 Tablespoons of frosting onto each bottom half (don’t spread it all the way to the edge, since the frosting will continue to spread when you add the top cookie). Top with the second cookie and gently press down to finish spreading the frosting.
- Serve & Store. Enjoy right away or store in an airtight container at room temperature 1-2 days. Or, freeze up to 2 months.
Notes
- Gluten-Free Flour. We love and recommend King Arthur Measure for Measure Gluten-Free Flour blend. If you use another brand, make sure it contains xanthan gum! We recommend weighing the flour for best results, but if you don’t have a scale, use the scoop and level method. Fluff the flour with a fork, then scoop the flour into the measuring cup and level it off with the back of a knife.
- Oats. If you have Celiac disease, be sure to buy certified gluten-free oats. We use rolled oats, but quick oats will also work in this recipe.
- Cocoa Powder. Little Debbie Oatmeal Creme Pies use cocoa powder for color, and we’re using the same trick here. They will NOT taste chocolatey, but it will deepen the color for a richer contrast. If you don’t have cocoa, you *can* leave it out.
- If you’d prefer to make smaller cookies, you can use a 1 Tablespoon scoop instead of a 1 1/2 Tablespoon scoop, and reduce the bake time by 1-2 minutes per batch. (Keep in mind that you’ll end up with more cookie sandwiches!)
Video
Find the recipe:
sweetsandthankyou.com/gluten-free-oatmeal-cream-pies/
How did you know my husband has been asking for Oatmeal Cream Pies? I will be trying these this weekend!
I hope they’re a huge hit for you Melissa!
These are what I always wanted the childhood ones to be. These are so amazing. And the cream is perfect.