I have a new favorite recipe and you're looking at it! These gluten free pumpkin oatmeal cream pies taste like dreams coming true. They have the exact texture of a Little Debbie Oatmeal Creme Pie with the addition of pumpkin spice flavor. Perfect for fall! My family couldn't get enough of them and I think yours will love them too!
What ingredients go into pumpkin oatmeal cream pies?
Flour - For almost all of my recipes, I use Bob's Red Mill 1:1 Gluten Free Flour Blend. I have found it to be the most versatile gluten free flour. I have also used King Arthur, Walmart Great Value Brand and Pillsbury all with similar results. You can use a homemade flour blend but keep in mind this recipe was developed with BRM, so your final product may be slightly different.
Oats - Make sure to use certified gluten free oats. I typically use Bob's Red Mill brand.
Baking Powder & Baking Soda - We are using a little of both kinds of leaveners for this recipe. Pumpkin can be problematic in cookies because of it's high moisture content. The baking soda will help these cookies spread out instead of turning out like cakes.
Spices - Cinnamon and of course, pumpkin pie spice!
Butter - For non-dairy butter, I use either Miyokos brand or Country Crock Plant Butter. I find those two brands have the closest taste to real butter. If you can have dairy, then go ahead and use regular butter for this recipe. It's a 1 to 1 substitution.
Brown Sugar & White Sugar - For this fall flavor recipe, we want brown sugar which imparts a little of the homey molasses flavor. But because of all the moisture from the pumpkin, we need more white sugar to give the cookies the right amount of spread and chewiness.
Egg - We are just using one egg yolk in this recipe, to act as the binder for the ingredients. I don't call for a whole egg because we are trying to keep the moisture as low as possible.
Molasses - Just for an added bit of fall flavor. You can substitute honey or maple syrup if you don't have any molasses on hand, but it will change the flavor slighlty.
Vanilla - Just a hint of vanilla to sweeten the flavor.
Pumpkin - Use pure pumpkin puree, not pumpkin pie filling. Buy the canned type, because the moisture content is lower (do you see a theme here?)
That's it!
How to get perfect oatmeal cream pies
Have you ever had a sandwich cookie where the moment you took a bite, all the icing squeezed out the back. The problem is cookies that are too crisp. When baking these pumpkin oatmeal cookies, we want to make sure to underbake them just a bit. They will be extra soft and you'll think I'm crazy, but you'll thank me later. This is how you get the perfect oatmeal cream pie texture, just like Little Debbie herself.
How to store homemade oatmeal cream pies
After making my sandwiches, I popped these cookies into the refrigerator for about an hour to let the icing set up. It was pretty soft after being beaten.
Once the cookies are set, you can store them in an airtight container at room temperature (butter cream frosting does not require refrigeration).
The cookies should be good for 3 days, if they last that long.
If you love pumpkin spice, check out these other great recipes!
Gluten Free Pumpkin Spice Donuts (Dairy Free Option)
Gluten Free Pumpkin Pie Granola
Gluten Free Pumpkin Spice Muffins
Gluten Free Pumpkin Bread with Cream Cheese Frosting
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Recipe
Gluten Free Pumpkin Oatmeal Cream Pies
Ingredients
For the cookies
- 1 ¼ C +3Tbsp Gluten Free 1-to-1 Flour Blend
- 1 ½ C Gluten Free Oats
- ½ teaspoon Baking Powder
- ½ teaspoon Baking Soda
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- ½ teaspoon Cinnamon
- 1 ½ tsp Pumpkin Pie Spice
- ¾ C Vegan Butter room temperature
- ½ C Light Brown Sugar dark or light
- ¾ C Sugar
- 1 Egg Yolk
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla
- 1 tablespoon Molasses
- ⅓ C Pumpkin Puree not pumpkin pie filling
For the icing
- ½ C Vegan Butter room temperature
- 1 ½ C Powdered Sugar sifted
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla
- 2 teaspoon Non-Dairy Milk
Instructions
For the cookies
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, combine flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice. Mix together until well combined. Set aside.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine ¾ C of butter and the brown and white sugars. Cream for about 2 minutes on medium speed. Scrape down the bowl.
- Add the egg yolk and beat for 60 seconds on medium speed.
- Add the vanilla, molasses and pumpkin. Beat again for about 60 seconds until combined. Scrape down the bowl.
- Turn your mixer to the lowest setting and slowly pour in the dry ingredients. Stir until just incorporated. Remove from the mixer. If there are any remaining flour bits, fold them in by hand with a spatula. Let the batter refrigerate for 15 minutes before baking.
- Make golf ball sized scoops of dough and place on the prepared baking sheets, leaving about 2 inches space between. Flatten slightly with your fingers, so they are small, thick discs.
- Bake for 8-9 minutes, do not over bake. Remove when the edges are barely set when tested with a finger poke. The centers will appear undercooked but not raw. Cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheet them move to a wire rack to cool completely.
For the icing
- Add room temperature butter to the bowl of an electric mixer. Beat on medium speed for 2 minutes, until smooth. Scrape down the bowl.
- Add the powdered sugar and mix on low until the ingredients are combined. Once they start to come together as a paste, add the vanilla and milk. Mix until combined and scrape down your bowl.
- Turn the mixer to medium high speed and beat for 5 minutes. You will notice the icing getting fluffier as time passes.
- Remove from the stand and scoop tablespoon amounts of icing onto half of the cookies. Top with the second half making a sandwich. Gently press the two cookies together to spread the frosting out to the edges.
- If your icing is very soft, refrigerate your cookies for an hour to set the frosting.
- Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature.
Tiffany is the recipe developer, stylist and food photographer behind Well Fed Baker. As a lifelong baker who had to go gluten free and dairy free in 2016, Tiffany strives to share allergen friendly recipes that never feel like they are free from anything.
Veronica says
Updated. Five stars! Thank you for helping trouble shoot. I added a couple more tablespoons of flour and that helped a little, but ultimately they still spread to much and were a bit dark. SO, I just scooped the dough with an ice cream scoop and baked them for about 5 more minutes, until they looked really done. Problem solved! They are great and still soft and perfect for filling with a cream middle. Thanks for sharing your recipe!
Veronic says
I really like the taste of these, but mine don’t look like the picture. I followed the recipe and did not make substitutions. I used real butter. Mine spread out too much, were very thin and turned dark. Do you think I should add more flour? I did chill the dough at least 15 mins. I tested three cookies so I have most the dough left in the fridge. I appreciate your help trouble shooting and love all the recipes you have posted. Thanks!
I'm happy to help you troubleshoot! The real butter shouldn't have changed anything with the outcome. Could you have possibly used too much baking soda? Baking soda will make things extra dark and cause a lot of spread if there is too much added. My suggestion would be to try baking 1-2 after chilling the dough longer. Then if they are still spreading try adding 2-3 tablespoons of flour to see if that helps.
Stephanie says
Hello can i make these without an egg yolk to be fully vegan?
Yes, I would either use a flax egg or just put in 2 tablespoons of non dairy milk to replace the liquid from the egg.
Joan says
Oh My Gosh ... I just made the GF Pumpkin Oatmeal Creme Cookies. They are THE BEST!!!! I absolutely love pumpkin and these cookies are out of this world!!! Thank you so much for sharing your recipe.
I am so glad you enjoyed them. I'm already thinking of baking them again! 🙂