Sensational Pennsylvania Maple Cream Oatmeal Cream Pies Recipe

If you have ever taken that “Great American Road Trip,” you have probably seen a little something when you stop for gas called Little Debbie Oatmeal Cream Pies. It’s my go-to snack when we are on the road and I need a sugar boost to keep driving. I love oatmeal cream pies (AKA oatmeal sandwich cookies) so much, I’ve had to limit my consumption to ONLY road trips.

When we were driving out to Medora, North Dakota this summer, I’d grab a Little Debbie Oatmeal Creme Pie at almost every stop. My husband thought I was nuts, but I love them. Wouldn’t you if you could have a rich cookie filled with cream with just a hint of cinnamon and molasses poking out to tickle your tastebuds?

Oatmeal Cream Pies

As I continue to work my way through cookies from other countries, figuring out my own version of a homemade oatmeal cream pie was at the top of my list. Not chocolate chip cookies (they trigger my rosacea) or gingerbread sandwich cookies (which are divine), but two warm, chewy oatmeal cookies sandwiched between fluffy maple or marshmallow vanilla cream.

Heaven in one perfect circular sandwich, and I didn’t even have to resort to the store bought kind filled with preservatives.

I made several different variations of my oatmeal cookies until I settled on these large sandwich cookies. They are soft in the middle and can hold up to any amount of cream you want to pipe in between.

There was great debate in my house and the neighborhood over whether it was better with vanilla cream, which is found in the traditional oatmeal sandwich cookie, or maple cream, which gave it a more decadent and seasonal flavor, like we found at the Maple Festival in Somerset, PA last winter.

We got a half gallon of syrup for under $20; naturally I had to do something more than pancakes with all of that maple goodness!

No matter which you pick, and yes, you can make both creams for one batch of cookies, you are sure to be filled with a sweet treat that can get you through your next road trip with kids.

Love marshmallow? Don’t miss our campfire s’mores ice cream recipe!

Origins of the Oatmeal Cookie

The first recorded recipe of the traditional oatmeal raisin cookie was created in the United States by Fannie Merritt Farmer in 1896.

However, the Scottish have had oatcakes, where oatmeal cookies originate, since at least the middle ages. Theirs was a crispier version, but still used for its high fiber. Plus, oat cakes can last a while when you are on horseback galloping through the Scottish Highlands.

Many believed that oatmeal cookies were a healthy food in the early 1900s, packed with fiber thanks to the main ingredients of oatmeal and raisins. Although they are very good and do have some fiber, there is about the same amount of sugar and nutritional value in oatmeal raisin cookies as there are in chocolate chip cookies.

So, put that oat cookie down that you thought was healthy. Now, pick it back up and enjoy the sweet treat you deserve. Still the same cookie, but with a little more guilt.

Oatmeal Cookie Recipe

Speaking of guilty pleasures, oatmeal cream pies are filled with sweet, delightfully rich guilt. Two chewy oatmeal cookies (raisins are optional here) sandwiched between a fluffy marshmallow cream is never a bad way to get a sugar rush in the car, or at least I think so.

I love flavors that really pack a punch. The cream in this oatmeal sandwich cookie couldn’t do all of the heavy lifting. The oatmeal cookie recipe had to be able to stand all on its own.

Like other sandwich cookies, you need butter, eggs and flour, but I used a mix of brown sugar and white granulated sugar to give it that rich texture that comes from the molasses found in brown sugar that was also elevated by the addition of nutmeg and cinnamon.

I tried using browned butter instead of chilled butter, but the cookies weren’t quite as soft and fluffy. However, when I used half of the butter cold and browned the other half of the butter, I was able to get that slight nutty toffee taste that brown butter tends to add to pastries.

By using marshmallow in the cream filling, you get a fluffier frosting that can hold up between the two cookies. Adding maple syrup or maple extract, you bring that Little Debbie snack you love to a whole different level.

You can add raisins to the recipe, but it’s really not needed.

Oatmeal Cookie ingredients

• 1 cup butter, room temperature and cut into cubes
• 1 cup dark brown sugar, packed
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 2 1/2 cups old fashioned rolled oats (you can use quick oats too)
• Maple or Vanilla creme (recipes below)

Oatmeal Cream Pie directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
3. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg.
4. Using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle, cream together both sugars and butter for about 3 minutes until light and fluffy, scrapping down the sides at least once.
5. Add eggs, one by one, with about a minute between each.
6. Add vanilla, continuing to beat on medium.
7. Add dry ingredients (flour mixture) 1/2 cup at a time on low speed until combined.
8. Stir in the oats on low, one cup at a time.
9. Use a medium (2 inch) scoop or make a 2 tbsp ball of oatmeal cookie dough by hand.
10. Place cookie dough balls at least 2 inches apart on your lined cookie sheet.
11. Chill cookie dough in the freezer for 5 minutes.
12. Bake for 13-15 minutes, until edges are golden brown and top is cooked. Insides will still be a soft, chewy oatmeal cookie.
13. Allow to cool 10 minutes, moving to wire racks to cool after about 2 minutes.
14. Pipe or spoon marshmallow cream (maple or vanilla) onto bottom of one cookie. Place an equal size cookie on top to create a sandwich cookie.

Maple Marshmallow Cream

• 2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 7 ounces of marshmallow creme
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 tsp maple extract (careful, as extracts pack a big punch)
• 2-4 tbsp maple syrup (or increase your extract to 2 1/2 tsp maple extract), to get frosting to the consistency you want.
• Pinch of salt

1. Cream together butter and powdered sugar, about 2-3 minutes until light and fluffy.
2. Add the marshmallow, whipping on medium to medium-high until combined.
3. Add maple syrup, vanilla, maple extract and pinch of salt.
4. Add more powdered sugar to thicken or more maple syrup to thin as needed.

Vanilla Marshmallow Creme

• 3/4 cup butter, softened and cubed (1.5 sticks)
• 3 cups powdered sugar (AKA confectioners’ sugar)
• 7 ounces marshmallow cream (half a large jar)
• 1.5 tsp vanilla extract
• 2-3 tbsp milk or heavy cream

1. Cream together butter and sugar, about 2 minutes until light and fluffy.
2. Add marshmallow creme (aka Marshmallow fluff), whipping on medium to medium-high until combined.
3. Add vanilla extract.
4. Add milk one tablespoon at a time, until your marshmallow creme is a semi-thick frosting consistency. You do not want your creme to dribble out, or be too stiff.

Yield: 18

Oatmeal Sandwich Cookies

Print

Whip up a batch of these oatmeal sandwich cookies that are soft in the middle and can hold up to any amount of cream you want to pipe in between the sandwich layers.

Fill with traditional vanilla marshmallow cream, or opt for our maple cream filling for a more decadent and seasonal flavor that enhances the spices in the cookie dough.

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes

Marshmallow Cream 10 minutes

Total Time 40 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 cup butter, room temperature and cut into cubes
• 1 cup dark brown sugar, packed
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 2 1/2 cups old fashioned rolled oats (you can use quick oats too)
• Maple or Vanilla creme (recipes below)

MAPLE MARSHMALLOW CREAM

• 2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 7 ounces of marshmallow creme
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 tsp maple extract (careful, as extracts pack a big punch)
• 2-4 tbsp maple syrup (or increase your extract to 2 1/2 tsp maple extract), to get frosting to the consistency you want. Pinch of salt

Vanilla Marshmallo Creme

• 3/4 cup butter, softened and cubed (1.5 sticks)
• 3 cups powdered sugar (AKA confectioners' sugar)
• 7 ounces marshmallow cream (half a large jar)
• 1.5 tsp vanilla extract
• 2-3 tbsp milk or heavy cream

Instructions

Oatmeal Sandwich Cookies

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
3. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, salt, baking soda, cinnamon and nutmeg.
4. Using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle, cream together both sugars and butter for about 3 minutes until light and fluffy, scrapping down the sides at least once.
5. Add eggs, one by one, with about a minute between each.
6. Add vanilla, continuing to beat on medium.
7. Add dry ingredients (flour mixture) 1/2 cup at a time on low speed until combined.
8. Stir in the oats on low, one cup at a time.
9. Use a medium (2 inch) scoop or make a 2 tbsp ball of oatmeal cookie dough by hand.
10. Place cookie dough balls at least 2 inches apart on your lined cookie sheet.
11. Chill cookie dough in the freezer for 5 minutes.
12. Bake for 13-15 minutes, until edges are golden brown and top is cooked. Insides will still be a soft, chewy oatmeal cookie.
13. Allow to cool 10 minutes, moving to wire racks to cool after about 2 minutes.
14. Pipe or spoon marshmallow cream (maple or vanilla) onto bottom of one cookie. Place an equal size cookie on top to create a sandwich cookie.

Maple Marshmallow Creme

1. Cream together butter and powdered sugar, about 2-3 minutes until light and fluffy.
2. Add the marshmallow, whipping on medium to medium-high until combined.
3. Add maple syrup, vanilla, maple extract and pinch of salt.
4. Add more powdered sugar to thicken or more maple syrup to thin as needed.

Vanilla Marshmallow Creme

1. Cream together butter and sugar, about 2 minutes until light and fluffy.
2. Add marshmallow creme (aka Marshmallow fluff), whipping on medium to medium-high until combined.
3. Add vanilla extract.
4. Add milk one tablespoon at a time, until your marshmallow creme is a semi-thick frosting consistency. You do not want your creme to dribble out or be too stiff.

Recommended Products

As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.

• 
  Stainless Steel Fine Mesh Strainers
• 
  McCormick Ground Nutmeg, 2 oz
• 
  Baking Trays Half Sheet (2 Pack)
• 
  IF YOU CARE FSC Certified Parchment Baking Paper, 70 sq ft
• 
  Arm & Hammer Pure Baking Soda, 8 oz
• 
  Stainless Steel Mixing Bowls
• 
  KitchenAid Stand Mixer
• 
  Marshmallow Fluff
• 
  Organic Vermont Maple Syrup, Grade A Dark Robust
• 
  Nielsen-Massey Pure Vanilla Extract
• 
  Diamond Crystal Table Iodized Salt
• 
  DOMINO GRANULATED PURE CANE WHITE SUGAR
• 
  Domino Dark Brown Sugar 2 Lb (Pack of 2)
• 
  Domino Powdered Sugar
• 
  King Arthur Flour, 100% Organic All-Purpose Flour Unbleached

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

18

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 535Total Fat: 21gSaturated Fat: 13gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 7gCholesterol: 72mgSodium: 392mgCarbohydrates: 85gFiber: 2gSugar: 62gProtein: 4g

All information and tools presented and written within this site are intended for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and any nutritional information on twisttravelmag.com should only be used as a general guideline. This information is provided as a courtesy and there is no guarantee that the information will be completely accurate. The nutritional labels are a product of online calculators, such as Calorie Count. Even though I try to provide accurate nutritional information to the best of my ability, these figures should still be considered estimates.