These gluten free oatmeal cream pies are my from-scratch tackle the Little Debbie basic: skinny, chewy oatmeal cookies with a candy swirl of vanilla cream within the heart.
Why this recipe works
Many gluten free oatmeal cream pie recipes prove thick and cakey. These are deliberately skinny and chewy, with the frivolously crinkled floor and smooth texture that really feel true to the unique Little Debbie snack cake.
The oats are processed simply sufficient to interrupt them down with out turning them right into a clean flour. That approach, the cookies keep tender and cohesive, and have actual oatmeal taste like they need to, however with out the additional chewy, hearty texture of basic gluten free oatmeal cookies.
The filling is good buttercream with a little bit of meringue powder for stability. That approach, it stays fluffy and structured at room temperature, as an alternative of softening or separating after a number of hours.
Recipe elements
Listed below are the elements you will have to make the oatmeal cookies, and a bit in regards to the function every performs:
- Gluten free flour: Offers construction to the cookies as they cool, and retains them from spreading too skinny. Remember to use a correctly balanced mix with none gritty rice flour, like Higher Batter’s unique mix or Nicole’s Greatest multi-purpose gluten free flour mix with added xanthan gum. Bob’s Crimson Mill 1-to-1 also needs to work, with an extra 1/8 teaspoon xanthan gum.
- Floor oats: Provides some textured chew and mild sweetness. Pulsing quaint gluten free rolled oats in a blender or meals processor makes them a bit extra finely floor than quick-cooking oats however not as clean as oat flour.
- Granulated sugar: Provides sweetness, locks in moisture, and helps the cookies brown within the oven.
- Gentle brown sugar: Provides sweetness and richness, some brown coloration, and retains the cookies from spreading an excessive amount of.
- Baking soda: Helps the cookies brown and reacts with the molasses within the brown sugar for a little bit of rise.
- Butter: Provides richness, buttery taste, and causes the cookies to unfold within the oven simply the correct amount. Provides creaminess to the filling.
- Egg: Provides some rise, chew, richness from the yolk, and the white helps the cookies maintain their form as they cool.
- Vanilla: Provides depth of taste. Vanilla bean paste, created from vanilla extract, floor vanilla seeds, and a thickener like xanthan gum, provides extra taste than pure vanilla extract, however you should use both. I purchase mine at Dealer Joe’s for an inexpensive worth, and it provides a ton of additional taste.
- Confectioners’ sugar: Provides sweetness and stiffness to the filling.
- Meringue powder: Helps stiffen the filling, so it holds it form.
- Milk: Helps clean and soften the filling.
Easy methods to make gluten free oatmeal cream pies (step-by-step pictures)
For full ingredient quantities, please see the recipe card under. Listed below are step-by-step pictures to information you visually by way of making the cookies and filling them.
Mix the dry elements
Whisk collectively the flour mix with xanthan gum, floor oats, granulated and light-weight brown sugars, baking soda, and salt in a mixing bowl to keep away from any pockets of unmixed elements.
Combine within the butter
Chop room temperature butter into massive chunks, every a few tablespoon, and toss it within the dry elements. Press down firmly with the underside of a mixing spoon to work within the items of butter till it resembles coarse, moistened crumbs. This helps guarantee every part mixes collectively effectively, and helps management the unfold by coating the butter within the flours.
Add the egg and vanilla
Create a small effectively within the heart of the bowl, add the crushed egg and vanilla, and blend to mix right into a clean, cohesive mild brown cookie dough. It needs to be thick and considerably stiff, however in no way dry.
Portion the cookies
Fill a medium spring-loaded ice cream scoop, like a #40 scoop (or an OXO medium scoop) all the best way to create parts of dough that every weigh about 2 ounces.
Do not chill the cookie dough earlier than baking it. You need the cookie dough to unfold within the oven, and also you need it to have loads of chew. Should you let the cookie dough sit for too lengthy otherwise you chill it earlier than baking, the bottom oats will soften and you may lose some texture.
Bake the cookies
Place the parts no less than 2 inches other than one another on baking sheets in order that they have sufficient room to unfold with out overlapping. They’re achieved baking once they’re frivolously golden brown throughout and have unfold to about 4-inches in diameter.
They’re going to be fragile at first. Allow them to cool on the baking sheet for about 10 minutes earlier than shifting them to a wire rack to complete cooling.
Make the filling
Cream butter, some milk and vanilla with an electrical mixer (handheld is ok) till creamy, then add simply sufficient confectioners’ sugar to make a spreadable filling that holds its form however is smooth sufficient so that you can pipe it. I like so as to add some meringue powder to love we do with our cut-out gluten free sugar cookies to stiffen the filling and make it extra steady.
Fill the cookies
Spoon the filling right into a piping bag fitted with a big open piping tip, or a zip-top bag and snip off the nook. Pipe a thick layer of filling on the underside of half of the cookies. For an genuine design from the facet of every pie, make a 3-leaf clover form with the filling earlier than urgent the opposite cookies on prime to sandwich.
Ingredient substitutions
Should you’re avoiding different allergens, listed below are my steered workarounds:
Dairy free
Instead of butter, strive block-style vegan butter like Soften, Miyoko’s, or Dealer Joe’s model. The cookies will in all probability unfold a bit extra, so you can even strive including about 10 grams extra gluten free flour mix. Within the filling, melting is not a problem, however do not skip the meringue powder which helps agency it up.
Egg free
Strive changing the one egg with a chia egg, flax egg (which imparts a bitter taste, however because it’s just one it may not matter), or strive growing the gluten free flour mix by 10 grams and including 25 grams Greek-style plain yogurt. Simply depart the meringue powder out of the filling recipe to make it egg-free and use a bit much less milk to maintain the filling agency sufficient.
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Handheld mixer or stand mixer with paddle attachment, for making filling
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Piping bag with massive open piping tip, for piping filling
Make the cookies
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Preheat your oven to 325°F. Line rimmed baking sheets with unbleached parchment paper. Put aside.
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In a big bowl, place the flour, xanthan gum, processed oats, baking soda, salt, granulated sugar, and brown sugar, and whisk to mix effectively.
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Chop the butter into massive chunks, and work it into the dry elements by urgent the butter down with the underside of the bowl of a mixing spoon. Break up any lumps within the brown sugar on the similar time, and hold working till the combination resembles coarse, moist crumbs.
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Create a effectively within the heart of the combination, add the egg, and vanilla, and blend to mix. The dough needs to be thick and comparatively stiff.
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Scoop the dough into about 12 items of comparatively equal dimension, about 2 ounces every. Roll every right into a clean ball about 1 1/2-inches in diameter.
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Place the items of dough 2 inches aside on the ready baking sheets. Bake within the heart of the preheated oven till the cookies are frivolously golden brown throughout and set within the heart (12 to 14 minutes).
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Enable the cookies to chill on the baking sheets till steady (about 10 minutes) earlier than transferring to a wire rack to chill fully.
Make the filling
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Within the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or a big bowl with a hand mixer, place the butter, milk, and vanilla, and beat on medium velocity till well-combined. Elevate the velocity to excessive and beat till creamy (about 2 minutes).
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Add the salt and about 3 1/2 cups of the confectioners’ sugar. Combine slowly till the sugar is included.
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Beat at excessive velocity till uniformly thick. It is achieved when it is smooth sufficient to pipe simply however nonetheless stiff sufficient to carry its form (about 2 minutes extra).
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Beat within the meringue powder and as a lot of the remaining 1/2 cup of the confectioners’ sugar as essential to thicken the frosting. If it will get too thick, add add extra milk by the teaspoonful, beating effectively after every addition,
Assemble the pies
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Switch the filling to a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2-inch plain piping tip.
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As soon as the cookies are fully cool, place half of them on a flat floor, inverted.
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Pipe about 3 tablespoons of filling on the bottoms of the inverted cookies within the sample of a 3 leaf clover (or in a single massive dollop).
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Prime with the opposite cookies to sandwich, and serve.
I like to recommend Higher Batter’s unique mix with out including xanthan gum, Nicole’s Greatest multipurpose plus xanthan gum, Bob’s Crimson Mill 1-to-1 gluten free (within the blue bag) with an added 1/8 teaspoon xanthan gum so the cookies do not crumble.
For a DIY model of Higher Batter or the unique Cup4Cup mix, which might work effectively right here, too, see our all function gluten free flour blends web page.
Serving: 1cookie pie | Energy: 666kcal | Carbohydrates: 155g | Protein: 6g | Fats: 40g | Saturated Fats: 24g | Polyunsaturated Fats: 2g | Monounsaturated Fats: 10g | Trans Fats: 2g | Ldl cholesterol: 128mg | Sodium: 250mg | Potassium: 131mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 36g | Vitamin A: 1214IU | Calcium: 47mg | Iron: 1mg
Vitamin data is mechanically calculated, so ought to solely be used as an approximation.
Storage directions
The crammed snack desserts could be saved in a sealed glass container at room temperature and will keep their texture for about 5 days.
For longer storage, seal ideally unfilled cookies tightly in freezer secure wrap or bag, and freeze for as much as 2 months. Defrost at room temperature and fill as directed. Or wrap every crammed pie tightly in freezer-safe wrap and freeze, then defrost at room temperature.
