If you grew up eating Little Debbie’s oatmeal cream pies, you’re going to love today’s homemade copycat version! While I’ve always been a bigger fan of fudge rounds (hello, chocolate!), these oatmeal cream pies have quickly become one of my favorite desserts. Today’s recipe features a chewier, flatter, softer, less oat-y, and more richly flavored adaptation of my oatmeal cookies sandwiched with a homemade marshmallow cream that’s similar in preparation to Swiss meringue buttercream. It’s so much better than the store-bought version, and it even makes more than the standard Little Debbie box carries, so you’ll have plenty to share. This recipe took a ton of trial and error to get just right, but after lots of tweaks and many so-so pies, a clear winner emerged. The most difficult and perhaps longest step is whipping the marshmallow cream filling to stiff peaks, but if you’ve ever made my meringue cookies before, you shouldn’t have any issues. I made sure to include a troubleshooting section with today’s recipe, so be sure to read that thoroughly before you get started. Let’s dive in!

What You Need

Homemade oatmeal cream pies have none of the preservatives or artificial colors/flavors that their store-bought counterparts have. Here are some of the key ingredients that keep them tasting great:

Unsalted butter. We’ll melt this first to give our cookies the proper (and flatter, softer) texture. You want to make sure your butter has cooled completely after melting–it shouldn’t feel warm at all when you touch it! Sugar. We’ll use both dark brown and granulated sugar. Molasses. This makes the cookies chewy and soft, and it also adds to that signature oatmeal cream pie flavor. Flour. All-purpose is recommended. I have not tried this recipe with any alternative flours.Cornstarch. This encourages soft and chewy cookies. I love to use it in my chocolate chip cookies for the same reason.Cinnamon. An essential ingredient for oatmeal cream pies!Instant/quick oats. These are NOT the same thing as rolled or old fashioned oats! Instant oats are smaller and incorporate much more easily and will give you the proper texture (reminiscent of their store-bought counterparts). Note that we are also using less than a traditional oatmeal cookie would have.Egg whites. Egg whites from a carton may work, but they will not always whip to stiff peaks, so I don’t recommend them.Cream of tartar. Like in my pavlova and chocolate meringues, cream of tartar stabilizes the egg whites and helps them whip to stiff peaks.Vanilla extract. This gives the filling its lovely marshmallow flavor, so don’t skip it!

RECIPES THAT USE LEFTOVER EGG YOLKS: My pound cake, crème brȗlée, lemon curd, and tiramisu all use six egg yolks, which is exactly how many you’ll have left over after making this recipe! Remember, this is just an overview of the ingredients I used and why. For the full recipe please scroll down to the bottom of the post!

How to Make Oatmeal Cream Pies

SAM’S TIP: Since the filling mixture will ultimately need to be whipped for 5-10 minutes, I like to keep things easy and just use the bowl of my stand mixer for my double boiler. This way, you can take the bowl directly from the double boiler over to your mixer. If you don’t have a stand mixer, you can mix the filling with a hand mixer, but it will be quite an arm workout and will likely take 10 or more minutes. If you go this route, definitely make sure whatever bowl you use is heatproof and can sit on your pot without touching the bottom.

Troubleshooting

It’s easier to stop problems before they start, so make sure you read these tips before you begin:

Make sure your butter has cooled enough before adding the sugars! If it’s too warm, it can melt the sugars and leave you with a sticky, greasy dough that spreads too much. Make sure your mixing bowl and whisk are completely clean, dry, and grease free before adding your egg whites! Even the tiniest bit of grease can prevent your egg whites from whipping properly. Also, make sure you don’t get ANY yolk in with your whites, as this will also keep the egg whites from whipping properly. Make sure you whip the marshmallow cream long enough! You want to beat until it is thick, stiff, and glossy. The peaks that form when you pull the beater out of the mixture should hold their shape and not fall back in on themselves or fold over–if they’re still doing this, keep beating! Exactly how long this takes can vary, but it will likely take more than 5 minutes. If you’re a visual learner, check out the photo above or the video in the recipe card to help you determine what stiff peaks look like.

Enjoy! Let’s bake together! I’ll be walking you through all the steps in my written recipe and video below! If you try this recipe, be sure to tag me on Instagram, and you can also find me on YouTube and Facebook

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