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Oatmeal Cream Pies (the BEST copycat!)

5 from 14 votes

Oatmeal Cream Pies - soft, chewy oatmeal cookies with hints of cinnamon, molasses and coconut, with a sweet marshmallow cream filling.

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The best copycat Oatmeal Cream Pies – better than the original!

 

A stack of filled oatmeal cookies on a wooden plate

 

Soft, chewy oatmeal cookies with hints of cinnamon, molasses and coconut, with a sweet marshmallow cream filling.

I’ve been working on a recipe for Oatmeal Cream Pies for years, since I started blogging in 2010. These cookies are soft and sweet, loaded with molasses and cinnamon, and sandwiched between a creamy, sticky, delicious marshmallow filling.

These may not be an exact match to the famous Little Debbie Oatmeal Cream Pies, but everyone says they’re better!

 

Oatmeal Cream Pies stacked on a wooden plate with a glass of milk

Did you know Oatmeal Cream Pies were the very first snack cake baked by McKee Foods back in 1960?

I grew up about 8 miles from the McKee Foods headquarters so we could practically smell them baking all those wonderful treats.  When we were little our father sold group health insurance for a local Chattanooga company.  One of his clients was McKee Foods, and every once in a while, dad was invited to shop in the company store with their employee discount.

How happy we were to go shopping in a store filled with nothing but Little Debbie Snack Cakes!  Mom and Dad let us pick out a few boxes of our favorites to pack in our school lunch.  Funny how those food memories stick with you.  I was, and still am, a die hard chocolate fan but would never turn down an Oatmeal Cream Pie!

 

 

Oatmeal Cream Pies stacked on a wood plate with a bite out of the top cookie

Ingredients needed to make our Oatmeal Cream Pies recipe:

For the cookies:

  • old-fashioned rolled oats
  • all-purpose flour
  • baking powder
  • baking soda
  • salt
  • cinnamon
  • nutmeg
  • butter
  • dark brown sugar
  • granulated sugar
  • eggs
  • molasses
  • vanilla extract
  • coconut extract – our secret ingredient!

For the filling:

  • butter
  • powdered sugar
  • vanilla
  • salt
  • marshmallow fluff

 

How to make Oatmeal Cream Pies:

For the cookie dough:

  1. Pulse the rolled oats in a food processor. Combine the oats with the other dry ingredients.
  2. Combine the butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, then the molasses and extracts.
  3. Blend in the dry ingredients.
  4. Scoop the cookie dough into balls and bake.

For the filling:

  1. Combine the butter and sugar.
  2. Add the vanilla, salt and marshmallow fluff
  3. Spread on the bottom on one cookie, then top with another cookies and press gently to spread and seal.

Enjoy!

 

An overhead view of a plate and cooling rack with oatmeal cream pies

Can you freeze Oatmeal Cream Pies?

There are several ways to freeze these wonderful cookies:

  1. First, you can freeze the unbaked dough balls on a parchment lined baking sheet. Once frozen, transfer to a sealed container or zipper bag. Bake the dough balls frozen, if desired. Simply add a minute or two to the baking time.
  2. Or, you can bake the cookies, cool and then freeze in a container. Separate the layers with wax paper to prevent them from sticking together.
  3. Finally, feel free to freeze leftover filled cookies. The filled cookies will freeze very well, but the cookies are best frozen without the filling.

 

How long will these cookies keep?

These cookies keep for up to 5 days sealed in an airtight container and stored in the refrigerator. With butter in the filling, these cookies are best stored in a cool location. The filling will spread if heated.

 

I bet you could make some of these for your back-to-school kids and they’d be more excited about getting up early.

They just might be the envy of their lunch table friends, and the other kids may be wondering why their moms don’t bake like you.  These cookies are easy to make and keep great in the refrigerator for days … if they last that long.

Once they’re all on the bus, maybe you can take a ‘cookie’ break too.  Be sure to grab a glass of cold milk to seal the deal!  Whoohooo – back to school 🙂

 

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A stack of homemade Oatmeal Cream Pie Cookies

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Oatmeal Cream Pies

Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes
Yield: 16 sandwich cookies
Course: Dessert
Author: Tricia
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5 from 14 votes
Oatmeal Cream Pies - soft, chewy oatmeal cookies with hints of cinnamon, molasses and coconut, with a sweet marshmallow cream filling.

Ingredients

For the Cookies:

  • 2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
  • 2 ¼ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 1 cup dark brown sugar, packed
  • ½ cup granulated sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • ¼ cup unsulfured molasses
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 teaspoon coconut extract

For the Filling:

  • 6 tablespoons unsalted butter room temperature
  • ¾ cup powdered sugar
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • dash salt
  • 1 ½ cups marshmallow fluff

Instructions

To prepare the cookies:

  • Preheat oven to 350°F. Prepare 2 baking sheets lined with parchment paper.
  • Add the rolled oats to a food processor and pulse 10 times. Don't over process because you need a variety of textures. In a large mixing bowl, combine the oats, flour, baking powder, soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Stir to combine. Set aside.
  • In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter on medium-high for about 30 seconds. Add the brown and granulated sugars and mix on medium-high until the batter lightens and becomes fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating just until the yolk disappears. Add the molasses, vanilla and coconut extracts and mix on low until incorporated.
  • Add about ⅓ of the oat and flour mixture to the creamed sugar and eggs. Mix on low just until blended. Continue adding the flour mixture until it is fully incorporated.
  • Using a 2-tablespoon size cookie scoop (scant - not heaping), roll the dough into balls and place on the prepared baking sheet at least 2-inches apart. You should be able to bake about 6-8 cookies on each pan. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until the bottoms just begin to brown. The middle may look a little unbaked, but not wet. Remove the pan from the oven and allow the cookies to rest for 5 minutes before removing to a rack to cool completely.
  • Repeat with the remaining cookie dough until all are baked. Match up similar sized cookies to create a sandwich. You should have a total of 32 cookies or 16 sandwiches.

To prepare the filling:

  • In a medium mixing bowl combine the butter and powdered sugar and beat with an electric mixer until fluffy.
  • Add the vanilla and salt and beat until blended. Add the marshmallow fluff and blend on medium-low until incorporated, about 2 minutes. Spread the filling on the bottom of half the cookies. Top with another cookie and press gently to spread and seal.

Recipe Notes

  • Store cookies in an airtight container in the refrigerator for best results.
  • If you have leftover filling, sandwich between graham crackers for a simple treat.
Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate. When multiple ingredient alternatives are given, the first listed is calculated for nutrition. Garnishes and optional ingredients are not included.

Nutrition

Calories: 403kcal | Carbohydrates: 60g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 17g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 62mg | Sodium: 203mg | Potassium: 166mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 37g | Vitamin A: 517IU | Vitamin C: 0.01mg | Calcium: 85mg | Iron: 2mg

Here are a few of our favorite tools used when baking these cookies:

      

The small print: If you decide to purchase something at Amazon after following my affiliate link, I receive a small commission, at no additional cost to you, which I use to pay for web hosting and services for this blog.

Do you have cookie monsters in your house?  I think everybody loves a great cookie every now and then!  These Homemade Fig Newtons are another one of our favorite copycat cookie recipes.

I also love these delicious Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookies with a robust peanutty flavor and smooth creamy filling.

How about these beautiful copycat Mrs. Fields Chocolate Chip Cookies!  Cooking Classy stole my heart with these Copycat Samoa Girl Scout Cookies – they look amazing!

 

Originally published August 2017, updated August 2020

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54 Comments

  1. Hannah

    5 stars
    This was so good! They were gone in a matter of minutes! I’ve earned “cool mom” points for making this for my son and his cousins! I will post a picture on pinterest. Thanks for sharing!

    Reply

  3. Kari

    4 stars
    Okay, so these tasted absolutely incredible! Definitely an indulgence! The only reason I didn’t give it 5 stars is because the filling just oozed out of the sides and the tops slid off. Not sure what I could do to make it not do this! Any ideas? I had this problem when I made a s’mores cake and the frosting was made with marshmallow cream..the icing just slid down the cake :/ SUUUUPER yummy though! The cookie was nice and chewy!

    Reply

    • Tricia Buice

      Thanks for the feedback Kari! The filling should firm up if it’s not too warm. Perhaps you could pop it in the refrigerator and be sure you don’t over-fill the cookies. Thanks for trying the recipe and for taking the time to let us know how it turned out. Bravo 🙂

      Reply

  4. Monica

    I don’t see many cream pies that often and I’ve only had it a couple of times but they are so memorable. I know yours would be amazing. I love the textures from the oats and that creamy filling. I want to make some of these right now!

    Reply

    • Tricia Buice

      We should make them together and eat a few for sure! Such fun that would be. Can’t wait to see how they turn out for you. I know your little men will enjoy them … a lot!

      Reply

  11. Lisa

    Hi Tricia, The oatmeal cookie recipe is amazing, yet the filling with added marshmallow creme I do not use because of it’s artificial ingredients. Is there another item I can use like butter and vanilla bean paste or alcohol free vanilla flavor?

    Reply

    • Tricia Buice

      Sure – I would just make a simple buttercream icing and go with that. Do you mean use vanilla bean paste instead of the coconut extract? The cookies are great even without the filling so a few alternations won’t hurt. Thanks!

      Reply

      • Lisa

        Thank you, Tricia, for helping me with the filling ingredients. I do use organic vanilla bean paste and vanilla flavor sans alcohol. the buttercream will be delicious in between the oatmeal cookies and even, like you said, all by themselves too!

    • Tricia Buice

      I would share them with you if we were neighbors Sue – but you may have to fight the family for them. Little Debbie Snack Cakes are a southern thing I’m sure – maybe next time you’re in the south you’ll give one a try! Thank you!

      Reply

      • Tricia Buice

        Hi Christine – I have not tested this recipe using quick oats. I fear the cookies would spread too much and not have the proper texture. Let me know if you try it anyway. Good luck! Sometimes we just have to use what we have on hand 🙂

    • Tricia Buice

      Hope your kids have a great year Marjory. School seems to start so early now – but hopefully everybody is happy about it 🙂 Personally I never liked the homework – haha. Thanks for stopping by!

      Reply