Gluten-Free Oatmeal Cream Pies, a Quick Little Debbie Copycat

When I was little, I used to love coming home from school to a couple of Little Debbie Oatmeal Creme Pies. This recipe for gluten-free oatmeal cream pies was developed with that childhood favorite in mind, with a few twists that in my opinion, make this cookie one of the most delicious snacks ever!

There's just something special about the pairing of oatmeal (which you have to buy certified gluten-free, by the way) and brown sugar. I'm working on recreating another recipe from my childhood, which is an oatmeal muffin, and my mouth waters just thinking about that combination. I like that you can see the oat grains in the final product, and how they add texture.

This is a cookie I make pretty often for my family, and when I post them up on my cottage bakery's social media, they sell out super quickly! When you're gluten-free, it's just such a treat to be able to savor an old-time favorite like Little Debbie Oatmeal Creme Pies, that are now off-limit because of a diet change. I get it, old comforts are crucial to a successful transition to a gluten-free lifestyle.

And that's why I'll walk you through how these gluten-free oatmeal cream pies are made, and you can enjoy them at home too! If you're looking for more cookie inspiration, check out my gluten-free matcha cookies or my gluten-free white chocolate macadamia cookies!

Ingredients

Most of these ingredients are kitchen staples, but I have a few important things to say about them:

• Gluten-Free Flour: this is the most important ingredient, that will make or break your recipe. Please take the time to read through the DIY blend I use for my bakery, as well as commercial recommendations.
• Oats: it's important to choose oats that are certified gluten-free, like Anthony's. That's because regular oats grow near wheat crops... the cross-contact with gluten will trigger a Celiac response.
• Marshmallow Fluff: I recommend Marshmallow Fluff from Durkee Mower, as they state in their FAQ that the product is gluten-free. While Kraft is also likely gluten-free, there is conflicting information about where they source their artificial flavors, which could come from gluten-containing grain.

If you have all those ingredients, you can also bake my gluten-free oatmeal raisin cookies instead!

See recipe card for quantities.

Instructions

Let's split the recipe between making the cookie, and making the filling.

For the Cookie

1. In a bowl, combine the room temperature butter, brown sugar, vanilla extract, molasses, and egg. Mix together with a spoon (I personally use my fingers) until well combined.
2. Add the rest of the ingredients (gluten-free flour, gluten-free oats, spices, baking soda and salt).
3. Mix together until a ball is formed. Refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes.
4. Shape small dough balls on a baking tray. Bake for ~11 minutes at 350F.

Easy peasy, you've made a copycat Little Debbie!

Hint #1: use room temperature butter for this recipe. If your home is warm, or if you've microwaved the butter slightly to bring it to room temperature, it is super important to leave the dough in the fridge for at least 30 minutes before shaping. Butter that is too warm in the dough will result in a cookie that spreads horribly! If you want perfectly shaped gluten-free oatmeal cream pies, let the butter in the dough harden in the fridge.

Hint #2: regarding sizing: each dough ball should weigh about 26 grams (image 5). If you don't have a scale, that's a big fat heaping tablespoon (image 6). If you've put the right amount of baking soda and refrigerated the dough as suggested in hint #1, you'll get just the right spread on your cookies (images 7-8). See photos below!

For the Filling

Make the frosting with an electric mixer, or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment.

9. Cream the butter until light and fluffy, and add the powdered sugar. Please see my buttercream recipe to get hints on the correct consistency and methods of creaming. Add the vanilla extract and marshmallow fluff.
10. Add a generous scoop of frosting to the inside of an oatmeal cookie (once they have completely cooled). I used about 15 grams of frosting per gluten-free oatmeal cream pie.
11. Sandwich the frosting.
12. Enjoy!

Substitutions

The allergens in this recipe as written are: eggs, milk.

• Dairy-Free: - the only milk in this recipe comes from butter. To make these dairy-free, use your favorite vegan butter in the cookie dough, and in the frosting.
• Egg-Free - eggs are in two places: in the cookie dough, and in the marshmallow fluff. You don't need to use marshmallow fluff in the frosting, but I have not tried making the cookie dough without the eggs, which act as an important binder. If you try a flax egg, please let me know!

If you're looking specifically for gluten-free egg-free treats, check out my gluten-free vegan lemon cake!

Variations

I specifically wrote this recipe using marshmallow fluff in the frosting, because it's a pretty easy ingredient to find, and makes it taste more like an authentic Little Debbie cookie. However, at my cottage bakery, I don't use marshmallow frosting, I use...

• Horchata Frosting: I cannot recommend this pairing enough! I am in love with gluten-free oatmeal cream pies that use horchata frosting. You would need to purchase a horchata emulsion (non-affiliate link) and use it instead of vanilla extract in my buttercream recipe.

If you're hesitant about making the purchase, since that's a fairly large quantity, first let me say that emulsions last for over a year. And here are other recipes of mine that use horchata emulsion:

• Gluten-free carrot cake cupcakes
• Horchata cupcakes
• In development: cinnamon rolls

Equipment

You'll need two baking sheets for the cookies, and a stand mixer or electric mixer for the frosting. Note that my baking sheets are large 12 x 16 inches, and I fit twelve cookies per sheet.

Storage

These gluten-free Little Debbie copycats are shelf-stable.

I leave them at room temperature under a tea towel for up to three days.

If you have leftovers then, wrap them in plastic and freeze in an airtight container for up to a month. When ready to eat, simply thaw at room temperature.

FAQ

Gluten-Free Oatmeal Cream Pies

This recipe for gluten-free oatmeal cream pies is perfectly spiced using cinnamon and nutmeg, which pairs fabulously with a sweet and fluffy marshmallow buttercream.

5 from 7 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: copycat, gluten-free oats, little debbie

Prep Time: 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 11 minutes minutes

Resting Time: 30 minutes minutes

Total Time: 1 hour hour 1 minute minute

Servings: 12 sandwich cookies

Calories: 316.7kcal

Author: Naelle @ GlutenFreeDIYers

Cost: 7

Equipment

• 2 baking sheets
• 1 Stand Mixer or electric mixer

Ingredients

 

US CustomaryMetric

 

1x2x3x

For the Cookie

• 136 grams butter room temperature
• 165 grams brown sugar
• 15 grams molasses
• 4.2 grams vanilla extract
• 1 egg
• 135 grams gluten-free flour please click through for appropriate blends
• 150 grams oats certified gluten-free
• 6 grams baking soda
• 1.3 grams cinnamon
• 0.50 grams nutmeg
• 3 grams salt

For the Filling

• 57 grams butter salted, room temperature
• 98 grams powdered sugar sifted
• 4.2 grams vanilla extract
• 100 grams marshmallow fluff
• 5 grams hot water as needed

Instructions

For the Cookies

• In a bowl, combine the butter, brown sugar, molasses, egg and vanilla extract. Note that the butter should be soft, but not warm.
• Mix well until all the ingredients are homogeneous.
• Mix the dry ingredients together to combine well.
• Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture, and mix until a uniform dough ball is formed.
• Cover and refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes.
• When the 30 minutes refrigeration is almost up, preheat the oven to 350 °F (177 °C)
• Split the dough equally into 24 individual cookies, between the two lined baking sheets. Each cookie weighs 26 grams, please refer to the images in the instruction section of this post for a visual.
• Bake in the middle of the preheated 350 °F (177 °C) oven for 11 minutes.
• Fully cool on a rack before frosting.

For the Frosting

• Using the stand mixer or electric mixer, cream the butter until light and fluffy.
• Add the sifted powdered sugar and vanilla extract, and continue mixing until fully homogeneous, another 5 minutes.
• Add the marshmallow fluff and continue mixing.
• If the filling is too thick, which could happen if your house is cold, add hot water drop wise until a smooth spreadable consistency is achieved.
• Frost the back of 12 cookies, and sandwich them with the remaining cookies.
• Enjoy!

Nutrition

Serving: 65g | Calories: 316.7kcal | Carbohydrates: 45.5g | Protein: 3.3g | Fat: 14.6g | Saturated Fat: 8.5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.9g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3.8g | Trans Fat: 0.5g | Cholesterol: 48.2mg | Sodium: 302mg | Potassium: 92.4mg | Fiber: 2.3g | Sugar: 28g | Vitamin A: 422IU | Vitamin C: 0.004mg | Calcium: 34.1mg | Iron: 1.1mg