Is there a better school day dessert than an Oatmeal Creme Pie? I mean, who can resist two super-soft cookies sandwiched together with marshmallow filling? Not me, that’s for sure. I haven’t been in school in eight years, and I still get hankerings for the Little Debbie treat.

While packaged Oatmeal Creme Pies are delicious, they are full of preservatives and ingredients I don’t recognize and cannot pronounce. I don’t have kids, but if I did, I can’t imagine putting one in their lunch boxes. But my feeling is that life is simply too short to live without such a delicious cookie, so instead of buying Little Debbie Oatmeal Creme Pies, I’ll just stick to making my own.

Y’all, these homemade Oatmeal Creme Pies are so damn good. They have everything that makes the original version great (hello, insanely soft cookies and marshmallow filling!), without any of the sketchy ingredients. I’m not saying my Oatmeal Creme Pies are healthy (because they aren’t), but I know and can pronounce everything that’s in them. Oh, and they’re just as delicious as the original, if not more so. Homemade is always better.

Let’s talk about the cookies. They’re everything you want in an Oatmeal Creme Pie: insanely soft and almost cake-like, with a tender crumb and just enough oats to qualify them as an oatmeal cookie. The cookies are made with all dark brown sugar which, in addition to giving them a rich molasses flavor, keeps them soft for days.

Also keeping these cookies soft? Quick oats. They’re used here instead of the usual old-fashioned oats. Their finer texture allows these cookies to retain that tender texture that I love about the original version. If you, like me, don’t keep quick oats on hand, I’ve included a conversion for regular old-fashioned oats in the recipe notes.

A word of warning: unlike most of my cookie recipes, this one is formulated to spread. Make sure to leave plenty of room around each ball of dough. Despite the spreading though, these cookies will not get crispy in any way.

Enough about the cookies–the marshmallow filling is where it’s at! It’s made with marshmallow fluff, confectioners sugar, vanilla, and shortening. If shortening is not for you, feel free to use softened butter instead. Either way, you’ll end up with a soft, luxurious filling that, in addition to being crazy delicious, will keep your Oatmeal Creme Pies soft for days on end!

Once you sandwich the cookies together with the filling, you’ll have a hard time keeping yourself and your family away from these Oatmeal Creme Pies. They’re a classic for a reason.

Want more Oatmeal Creme Pies? Check out this pumpkin version!

Oatmeal Creme Pies
makes about 3.5 dozen sandwich cookies

Cookies:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 Tablespoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon Kosher or sea salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
1 1/4 cup dark brown sugar, packed
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoons real vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups quick oats*

Filling:
1 7 1/2-ounce jar marshmallow fluff (about 1 1/2 cups)
1/2 cup shortening, room temperature*
1 cup confectioner’s sugar
1/2 teaspoon Kosher or sea salt
1 teaspoon real vanilla extract
2 teaspoons hot water (from the tap is fine)

In a small mixing bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, cream butter with an electric mixer until light and fluffy, about one minute. Beat in dark brown sugar. Add eggs one at a time, followed by vanilla. With the mixer on low, add the flour mixture in two installments, until completely combined. Mix in quick oats. Cover dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least one hour, or up to three days.

Preheat oven to 350F. Line two sheet pans with parchment paper.

Scoop cookie dough in 1/2 tablespoon (1 1/2 teaspoon) increments. Roll into balls and set them at least 2 1/2 inches apart on prepared pans (I can fit 12 dough balls on a half sheet pan). Bake for 4 minutes. Rotate pans top to bottom in the oven. Bake for another 3-4 minutes, until no longer wet-looking. Let cool on the pans for five minutes before removing to a rack to cool completely. Repeat rolling and baking until you have used all the dough.

To make the filling, cream the marshmallow fluff and shortening with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Beat in confectioner’s sugar and salt. Add in vanilla and hot water and mix on high until the filling is very fluffy. There are two options from here:

1. To assemble a sandwich cookie by piping, apply filling by pipe about a teaspoon onto the middle of the underside of one cookie. Top with a second plain cookie, with the underside filling-side-in. Repeat until all cookies have been used.
2. Repeat until all cookies have been used. To assemble a sandwich cookie by spreading, use an offset frosting knife to spread 1/2-1 teaspoon on the underside of one cookie. Top with a second plain cookie, with the underside filling-side-in. Repeat until all cookies have been used.

Cookies will keep very well in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week.

Notes:

1. If you don’t have quick oats, you may blitz 1 2/3 cups of old fashioned oats in the food processor until there are no whole oats visible. Steel cut oats will not work in this recipe.
2. If you don’t want to use shortening, you may use 1/2 cup of room temperature butter.