In fifth grade, my teacher had a system of points you could accumulate for helping other students or cleaning up the classroom or doing generally nice things for the other 10 year olds packed into the first-floor learning space. At first, she would give you small pieces of paper that noted that you had “done a good dee” or something like that, but then, she leveled up the playing field and gave away Little Debbie Oatmeal Creme Pies (this was only a year before the celiac diagnosis). Now, if you’ve never had the pleasure of biting into the unbelievably softy, slightly chewy, deeply sweet and molasses-y thin sandwich cookies that are Little Debbie Oatmeal Creme Pies, you certainly need to at least once in your life. As a 5th grader, these were a MASSIVE treat. A whole creme pie? They’re pretty darn big, especially if you’re only 75 pounds and growing.
Nearly twenty years later, there I was, reminiscing about the absolute dream of a cookie sandwich and hoping that I’ll get to savor them again. Which prompted the question – why not make them myself?! After scouring the internet for other copy-cat Little Debiie recipes, and comparing notes with my other gluten free cookie recipes, I came up with this one. Not perfect, by any means, but BOY did I eat way more of these than intended after the photo shoot. They almost feel a bit healthyish too with the earthy tang of of the molasses and nutty crunch of oats. Not that they are, by any means, but sometimes we just need a bit of an excuse to go for that fifth cream pie…
We’ll keep tinkering with this recipe over the years, but in the mean time, go ahead and do yourself a favor and make a batch or two of these. They’re also the perfect treat to send to friends and family as a sort of “back to school” treat box, socially distant, of course. We’ll certainly be sharing these – at least the second batch after we polish off this first one. If you’re a fan of sandwich cookies, try our peanut butter “nutter butter” look alike cookies, or these ABSOLUTELY fantastic chocolate peanut butter mud cookies, or if you’re just a fan of the oatmeal cookie, here’s an oatmeal chocolate chip cookie that’s sure to be a new favorite.
Gluten Free Oatmeal Cream Pies
Equipment
- Cookie sheets
- Parchment paper
- Piping bag or ziplock bag
- Electric mixer
Ingredients
For the cookies:
- 3 Large eggs separated
- 1 Cup salted butter room temperature
- 1 Cup brown sugar
- 1/3 Cup white sugar
- 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
- 2 Tbsp molasses
- 1 Cup gluten free 1-1 flour mix with xanthan gum (if your mix does not contain xanthan gum add 1/2 tsp now)
- 1/2 Cup blanched almond flour
- 1 Cup arrowroot starch
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 3 Cups quick cooking oats NOT whole rolled oats
For the filling:
- 1 Cup vegetable shortening
- 1/2 Cup salted butter room temperature
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2-3 tsp cream
- 3-4 Cups sifted powdered sugar
Instructions
- First, make your cookies! The dough will need to chill in the fridge for an hour so give yourself some time. In a medium bowl, using the electric mixer, beat the egg whites until soft peaks form. Add in the white sugar and continue beating until stiff peaks form, then set aside. In a large bowl, beat together the butter, brown sugar, and white sugar until fluffy and lighter. Add in the egg yolks, vanilla, and molasses and continue to beat until smooth. Then, add in the flour, starch, almond flour, baking soda, and salt and stir together until fully combined (I use a spatula). Add in the quick oats and stir to combine, then carefully fold in 1/3 of the egg whites at a time until fully combined. Then put bowl in the fridge for an hour.
- Once the cookie dough is chilled, preheat the oven to 325° F and line two cookie sheets with parchment paper, then grease the parchment paper and set aside. Scoop the cookie dough out by tablespoons and roll gently into balls. Place cookies about 4-5 inches apart on cookie sheets – about 6 cookies per sheet. Do not flatten cookies, they will spread. Bake for 10-12 minutes until the edges are medium brown, then let cool completely before filling.
- Once the cookies are cooled, remove from trays and turn upside down to fill. Make your filling. Using the electric mixer (cleaned) beat the shortening, butter, vanilla, and one cup of the sifted powdered sugar until lighter and fluffy – about a minute. Add 1 cup of sifted powdered sugar at a time until the frosting in stiffer. If it's too stiff, add 2-3 teaspoons of cream and beat to combine. Scoop the filling into a piping bag or ziplock bag and cut off about a half inch opening in one corner. Pipe the filling lightly onto the cookie halves. Only have of the cookies, then pair the empty cookies with the frosted ones to create the sandwiches. Lightly press to secure the sandwiches then serve!
Tag @sisterssansgluten on Instagram if you snap a photo of your cookies!
Food photography and styling by Amelia Farber
