Homemade Oatmeal Cream Pies with Buttercream

Serve up a nostalgic feeling treat made with real ingredients with you make homemade oatmeal cream pies! These soft baked cookies filled with a rich buttery filling are so much better than store bought. They're perfect for pot lucks, picnics, or a special treat at home!

These oatmeal cream pies have soft and chewy oatmeal cookies with a fluffy vanilla buttercream filling sandwiched in the middle. The cookies stay soft for days, and the homemade version tastes so much better than the packaged ones from the store!

I try not to be a longwinded story teller in recipes, but I have a long history with homemade oatmeal cream pies. My family lived in Tennessee when I was in middle school. We had to take a state history class and do a big project/presentation.

I did my project on Little Debbies Oatmeal Cream Pies. They were first developed by a baker from Tennessee! I made my own and shared them with the class as part of my presentation.

Now, more than 20 years later, I'm still making my own oatmeal cream pies instead of buying them. Now you can, too. =)

If you're not looking to make oatmeal sandwich cookies, just leave out the buttercream frosting for some delicious homemade chewy oatmeal cookies that taste great on their own.

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What you'll need to make homemade oatmeal cream pies

For the cookies you'll need:

• Butter for the rich, soft baked cookies
• Three different sweeteners for the classic flavor - brown sugar, granulated sugar, and a hint of molasses
• Eggs at room temperature to help keep the cookies chewy and airy
• Flour. I use organic flour from Costco or King Arthur
• Oatmeal, of course! I recommend old fashioned, not quick cooking or steel cut.
• Fresh baking soda. Baking soda looses its "oomph" quickly.
• Classic flavors like vanilla and cinnamon

Don't be intimidated by the buttercream filling! It's super easy to make. You'll just need:

• Butter, at room temperature or softened by not melted,
• Powdered sugar or granulated sugar that you run through a food processor
• A dash of vanilla
• A splash of cream or milk

Supply List

• Mixing bowls
• Electric mixer. You can make cookies with just a fork and a whisk - I've done it! - but it's a lot of work.
• Measuring cups and spoons
• Baking sheets. I always use stainless instead of no stick.
• Parchment paper. I usually use If you Care brand because it's compostable and doesn't have any weird coatings
• Cookie scoop. Optional, but helps you get a uniform appearance that's more like "the real thing"
• Cooling rack
• Piping bag and tip. Again, this is optional, but helps you get a professional appearance. If I didn't already have piping tips from when I made our wedding cake and cookies years ago, I probably wouldn't rush out to get them for this recipe.

Baking Notes and FAQs

Old-fashioned oats give these cookies the best chewy texture. Quick oats will make the cookies softer and less hearty.

As much as I love them for other things, I can't recommend the Seventh Generation oats sold at Costco for these cookies. Even though they're "old fashioned," they're a bit too thick for this recipe.

Do not overbake the cookies. They continue to set as they cool and stay softer when slightly underbaked.

These cookies taste even better the next day after the filling softens them slightly.

I used a Wilton 2A tip to pipe the filling onto the cookies. You can also spread the filling with a knife, but piping gives them that classic oatmeal cream pie look.

Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days, or refrigerate for longer storage.

Can I add cinnamon to the filling? You can, but I prefer keeping the cinnamon in the cookies so the vanilla filling stands out more.

How to make your own oatmeal cream pies

Don't be intimidated by making these oatmeal cream pie cookies! If you've ever baked cookies before, you can handle it.

These cookies start off like any typical cookie recipe. You'll preheat your oven, then cream together the sugars and butter. Make sure your butter is at room temperature so it creams well!

After the butter is creamed, you'll add in your room temperature eggs, vanilla, and molasses.

In a separate bowl, whisk your dry ingredients together until they're well combined.

Add the dry ingredients on top of the wet and stir until just combined.

Lastly, fold in your oats.

Prepare your bakings sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats, if desired.

Use a cookie scoop or a tablespoon to make balls of dough with about two tablespoons of dough each. Make sure to space them on the baking sheet because they will spread as they bake.

Pop your cookies in the oven for about 10 minutes. The edges will look lightly golden, but the centers should still be soft.

As soon as at the cookies come out of the oven, you can use a large glass or cookie cutter to shape the still soft cookies and ensure a more uniform appearance.

Let the cookies cool for five minutes on the baking sheet to set, then use a thin spatula to transfer them to a wire cooling rack.

Your cookies will need to cool completely before you add the frosting layer! Otherwise the buttercream will melt.

While you wait for the cookies to cool, make your buttercream. It's super easy. Just beat the butter until it's smooth and creamy, then add the sugar, vanilla, and a splash of cream or milk.

Use a spatula to scoop your buttercream into a piping bag fitted with a large tip. Make sure to check out this post with wedding anniversary cupcakes for tips on how to make an "icing pod" to make the process easier and less messy!

If you don't have a piping bag, that's okay. You can use a spatula, a knife, or even the back of a spoon.

Match up the cookies to find pairs that are roughly the same size, then apply a generous amount of frosting to one cookie from each pair. Place the second cookie on top to form your sandwiches.

And that's it! Your homemade oatmeal cream pies are ready to enjoy.

Yield: 10

Homemade Oatmeal Cream Pies

Print

These homemade oatmeal cream pies feature soft cookies and delicious buttercream filling.

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Additional Time 30 minutes

Total Time 1 hour

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.


2. In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar
together until light and creamy.


3. Add the eggs, molasses, and vanilla extract, and mix until fully combined.


4. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.


5. Slowly mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until just combined.


6. Stir in the oats until evenly mixed throughout the dough.


7. Scoop about 2 tablespoons of dough and roll into balls. Place them on the
prepared baking sheets, leaving space between each cookie because they will
spread while baking.


8. Bake for 9–11 minutes, or until the edges are lightly golden and the centers still
look slightly soft.


9. Right after the cookies come out of the oven, I like to use a large round cookie
cutter to gently shape them back into circles. This also helps make the cookies
more uniform in size.


10. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.


11. Once the cookies are completely cooled, make the filling.


12. In a mixing bowl, beat the butter until smooth and creamy.


13. Add the powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and 1 tablespoon of heavy cream.
14. Beat until light and fluffy. Add another tablespoon of cream if needed for a softer consistency.


15. Match the cookies into similar-sized pairs.


16. Pipe the buttercream onto the flat side of one cookie, then top with another
cookie. Repeat with the remaining cookies.

17. Enjoy!