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These gluten-free oatmeal cream pies are my fall version of the Little Debbie Oatmeal Creme Pies I loved as a kid – soft and chewy pumpkin spiced oatmeal cookies with a browned butter cream filling in the middle.
They’re made with gluten-free 1:1 flour and old fashioned oats, there’s a dairy-free option using vegan butter, and they take about 35 minutes, not counting the time the cookies need to cool before you fill them.
Why These Gluten-Free Oatmeal Cream Pies Work
I loved Little Debbie Oatmeal Creme Pies as a kid. I can still hear the wrapper, smell the sweetness, taste the delicious filling. They’re nostalgic and so ingrained in my memory! The real ones are made with wheat flour, so they’re out if you’re gluten-free like I am now. These are my fix, and since it’s fall, they got pumpkin!
These gluten-free pumpkin oatmeal cream pies are soft, spiced pumpkin oatmeal cookies sandwiched with a browned butter cream filling, made with gluten-free 1:1 flour and old fashioned oats. If you’ve made my soft and chewy gluten-free pumpkin cookies, these are their oatmeal cousin.
You can buy gluten-free oatmeal creme pies now (the brand Katz makes one), but they don’t make a pumpkin version! Plus a browned butter filling and a kitchen that smells like pumpkin pie spice for the rest of the afternoon feels essential here. Sorry, Katz 🙂
Ingredient Notes
Here are a few important details about the ingredients we’re using for this recipe. The rest, plus their measurements, can be found in the recipe card!
- Gluten-free all-purpose flour: Use a 1:1 blend that already has xanthan gum in it. I like Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 flour and I get it right from Amazon. If you aren’t gluten-free, regular all-purpose flour works in this recipe too.
- Old fashioned oats: Make sure to use certified gluten-free oats if you need these to be truly gluten-free, since regular oats are usually processed with wheat. Old fashioned is what this recipe was written with – I haven’t tested it with quick oats, so I can’t say how the texture changes.
- Pumpkin puree: Plain canned pumpkin, not pumpkin pie filling, which already has sugar and spices in it. You only need ⅓ cup, so plan on using the rest of the can in my healthy pumpkin banana bread.
- Butter, for the filling: This gets browned, so it needs to be real butter or a vegan butter that actually browns. Not all of them do. If you’re dairy-free, I recommend Violife – it browns instead of just melting or burning.
Recipe Variations
- Marshmallow fluff filling. The Little Debbie version uses marshmallow creme, and a lot of copycat recipes do too. I haven’t tested this recipe with a fluff-based filling, so I can’t say how it holds up in this version. If you try it, let me know in the comments!
- Egg-free. I haven’t tested these without the egg yolk, so I can’t say for sure whether a flax egg works. Again, let me know if you try it! If you need an egg-free oatmeal cookie, my vegan and gluten-free oatmeal cookies are delish!
How to Make Gluten-Free Oatmeal Cream Pies
Step 1: Brown the butter for the filling first so it has time to cool. Melt it in a saucepan and keep it going over medium heat, stirring often. It’ll foam up, then the foam settles down and you’ll see little brown specks collecting at the bottom of the pan and smell something nutty. That’s it – pull it off the heat right then, because it goes from browned to burnt fast. Pour it into a bowl and put it in the fridge while you make the cookies. You want it to firm back up to the texture of softened butter.
Step 2: Cream the softened butter with both sugars until light and fluffy, then mix in the pumpkin puree, egg yolk, and vanilla.
Step 3: Stir the dry ingredients together in a separate bowl, add them to the wet, and stir just until you don’t see dry flour anymore. Fold in the oats the same way – just until combined. Overmixing is how you get tough cookies.
Step 4: Scoop the dough, roll into balls, and space them out on the parchment-lined sheet. Now the important part: flatten each ball to about ¼ inch thick with the flat of your palm or the greased bottom of a mug. These cookies don’t spread much in the oven, so however thick you leave them is how thick they come out.
Step 5: Bake until the edges are golden. The centers will still look soft. Let them sit on the pan for a few minutes, then move them to a wire rack to cool completely. While they cool, check on the browned butter – if it’s still liquid, chill it longer, and if it’s gone rock hard, leave it out on the counter until it softens.
Step 6: Once the cookies are fully cooled, beat the softened browned butter until smooth. Add the powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla and beat on low until the sugar is mixed in (this keeps the powdered sugar in the bowl and not on you), then turn it up to medium and keep going until it looks pale and fluffy, like frosting.
Step 7: Spread or pipe the filling onto the flat side of one cookie, press a second cookie on top, and repeat. Then enjoy!
If you’re making a batch for a fall afternoon, these go SO WELL with my pumpkin spice matcha latte, which I know is pumpkin on pumpkin (who’s counting?).
Recipe Tips
- These cookies don’t spread much, so a round ball of dough will bake into a round puck. Press each one down with your palm or the greased bottom of a mug so they bake flat and even.
- Cool the cookies COMPLETELY before you fill them. Even slightly warm cookies will start to melt the filling and it’ll slide right out the sides.
- Check the browned butter when the cookies come out of the oven. You want it to be the texture of softened butter. If it’s still liquid, chill it longer. If it’s too hard to dent with a finger, leave it out at room temperature until it softens.
- Remove the cookies from the oven when the edges are golden. The centers will look underdone, and that’s what keeps them soft and chewy once they cool.
Recipe FAQs
No. Little Debbie Oatmeal Creme Pies are made with wheat flour and oats that aren’t certified gluten-free, so they’re not safe on a gluten-free diet. Enter: this recipe!
The store-bought kind is mostly sugar, palm or vegetable oil, and marshmallow creme. The filling in these gluten-free pumpkin oatmeal cream pies is browned butter, powdered sugar, a tablespoon of dairy-free milk, and vanilla, beaten for about 3 minutes until it’s fluffy.
They’re not supposed to. This dough holds its shape in the oven, so you have to flatten each ball to about ¼ inch before baking. If you skipped that step, the cookies will come out thick and domed – still good, just harder to sandwich.
It could be a couple things. Either the cookies weren’t fully cooled when you filled them, or the browned butter was still too soft when you whipped it. Cool the cookies all the way, and if the filling seems loose, chill the browned butter longer next time.
Up to 4 days in an airtight container at room temperature or in the fridge, or up to 3 months in the freezer. If you’re baking ahead for the holidays, they’d fit right into my gluten-free Thanksgiving desserts lineup.
More Fall Dessert Recipes
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Gluten-Free Pumpkin Oatmeal Cream Pies
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup butter, softened
- ⅓ cup brown sugar, packed
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- ⅓ cup pumpkin puree
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup gluten free all-purpose flour, or regular all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
- ¼ tsp cinnamon
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ¼ tsp sea salt
- 1 ½ cup old fashioned oats
Browned Butter Cream Filling
- ½ cup butter
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 tbsp dairy free milk, plus more if needed
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- Brown butter for the cream filling: Add butter to a saucepan over medium heat. Melt then cook for 6-8 minutes while stirring often. It will begin to foam and turn brown.½ cup butter
- Once the foam reduces and you see brown milk solids at the bottom, remove from heat and chill in the fridge while you make the cookies until it solidifies into softened butter. You’ll use the chilled butter for the cream filling.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. In a large bowl, add softened butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar. Cream together until light and fluffy.1/2 cup butter, ⅓ cup brown sugar, ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- Add pumpkin puree, egg yolk, vanilla extract, and mix until combined.⅓ cup pumpkin puree, 1 egg yolk, 1 tsp vanilla extract
- In a separate bowl, stir together flour, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, baking soda and sea salt. Add this mixture to wet ingredients and stir until just combined.1 cup gluten free all-purpose flour, 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice, ¼ tsp cinnamon, ½ tsp baking soda, ¼ tsp sea salt
- Fold in oats until just combined.1 ½ cup old fashioned oats
- Scoop dough with a 1½ tbsp cookie scoop or by rounded tablespoons, roll into balls, and place them on the parchment lined baking sheet about 2 inches apart. Use the flat side of your palms or a greased bottom of a mug to flatten the dough to about ¼ inch thick.
- Bake for 9-11 minutes until the edges are golden. Cool for 5 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. You can check on the chilled brown butter while the cookies cool and if it’s too cold and hard, let it sit at room temperature to soften.
- Once the cookies are fully cooled, beat the softened browned butter with an electric mixer for a minute until smooth. Add in powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla extract, and beat on low until the sugar is fully incorporated. Increase to medium-speed and beat for another 3 minutes until nice and fluffy.2 cups powdered sugar, 1 tbsp dairy free milk, 1 tsp vanilla extract
- Spread or pipe the cream filling to the bottom of a cookie, then press another cookie on top to make a sandwich. Repeat with the rest of the cookies. Enjoy!
Notes
- If you aren’t gluten-free, feel free to use regular all-purpose flour.
- These cookies do not spread much. Flatten the dough on the baking sheet to about ¼ inch thick before baking.
- Make sure to cool the cookies completely before adding the cream filling, or the filling will start to melt.
- Brown the butter for the filling first, then chill it while you make the cookies until it firms up to softened-butter texture. If it’s still liquid when the cookies are done, chill it longer. If it’s too hard, leave it out at room temperature until softened.
- For dairy-free, use vegan butter. Not all vegan butter will brown – I recommend Violife for a vegan butter that browns instead of just melting or burning.
- Store in an airtight container at room temperature or in the fridge for up to 4 days. You can also freeze in a freezer-safe bag or container for up to 3 months.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
