It’s time to bring these insanely delicious cookies back because they’re everything I dream of. I first made them for Cookie Week back in 2019 while I was 36 weeks pregnant with Sidney (omg!) I hadn’t really craved anything sweet on a regular basis during my pregnancy, however, these gingerbread sandwich cookies changed EVERYTHING. I couldn’t stop eating them or thinking about them and neither could Tony. They just screamed all things Christmas!
The inspiration for these gingerbread oatmeal cookie sandwiches came from the dreamy cookies I used to eat when I was a kid. Remember those sweet packaged oatmeal cream pies? They were incredibly soft, chewy, and ridiculously sweet. I remember ripping a package of them open after school and the sweet oatmeal and cream scent hitting me right in the face. YUM.
I decided to create a holiday-inspired version of those Little Debbies infused with tender, sweet ginger molasses flavor, then stuffed with a vanilla cream filling that’s thick and luxurious. You’re going to LOVE them. They’re truly the ultimate Christmas cookie!
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Ingredients in gingerbread oatmeal cream pies
Imagine if a ginger molasses cookie and an oatmeal cookie had a baby — because that’s exactly what these cookies are and THEY’RE SIMPLY INCREDIBLE. These gingerbread sandwich cookies require simple ingredients that you likely already have in your pantry (especially if you love to bake):
- Butter: we’re using good old fashioned butter to provide delicious flavor and moisture in the gingerbread oatmeal cookies.
- Sweetener: you’ll need brown sugar (I prefer dark brown sugar) and blackstrap molasses to sweeten the cookies and give them that gingerbread flavor.
- Egg: you’ll also need 1 egg in this recipe.
- Flour: the base of the cookies is made with regular all purpose flour.
- Rolled oats: because oatmeal cookies are life, we’re adding rolled oats to the dry ingredients as well. Do not use steel cut oats as the texture will be much different.
- Spices: for that amazing gingerbread flavor you’ll need ground ginger, cinnamon and allspice.
- Baking staples: can’t forget the vanilla, baking soda and salt.
- For the filling: turn these ginger cookies into gingerbread cookie sandwiches by sandwiching them with a cream pie middle made from butter, powdered sugar, vanilla and a little milk. No cream cheese needed.
Magical oatmeal cream pie filling
The oatmeal cream pie filling has got to be one of the most delicious parts of these cookies. It’s a vanilla buttercream frosting, with a little extra milk to keep it extra smooth and creamy. Sandwich it between two gingerbread oatmeal cookies and prepare to fall in love. I typically just spoon the frosting onto each cookie but feel free to use a piping bag to pipe the frosting onto the cookie if you’d like.
Yes, you can also bake these cookies as-is and either skip the filling or just frost each cookie individually!
Molasses: the key to gingerbread
A lot of people ask if they can skip the molasses in these gingerbread oatmeal cream pies. If you want that rich, deliciously spiced gingerbread flavor, the answer is nope! Not only does molasses provide delicious sweetness to these cookies, but 1 tablespoon of it has 20% of your daily iron needs. Mind. BLOWN.
A few notes on substitutions
I’ve only tested these gingerbread oatmeal cookie sandwiches as-is, so I recommend following the recipe as written to ensure that they turn out beautifully. In terms of substitutions:
- Can I make them dairy free? Yes! Simply use vegan butter in the dough and in the cream pie filling.
- Can I make them gluten free? I haven’t tested a gluten free version of these cookies, so I cannot recommend a substitute but a gluten free all purpose flour may work. Let me know if you do in the comments!
- How about vegan? A reader commented that a flax egg worked in the gingerbread oatmeal cookies, so feel free to give that a try! Then be sure to use vegan butter to keep the cookie sandwiches vegan.
Tips for the best gingerbread oatmeal sandwich cookies
- Choose your texture. If you like softer gingerbread cookies, bake them just until they’re set for about 9-10 minutes. If you like crispier edges, bake them closer to 12 minutes.
- Cool completely. Be sure to let your cookies cool completely before adding the filling so that the cream pie filling doesn’t melt.
- Don’t overfill. Leave a little edge around the cookies when adding the frosting so that it doesn’t leak out.
- Let them sit. The filling will have the best texture after letting the gingerbread oatmeal cream pies sit at room temperature for 1 hour, so try to resist biting into them until then!
How to store & freeze oatmeal cream pies
I LOVE freezing extra cookie dough because that way I can pop them in the oven whenever I want and it’s great when you want to bring something to a party or to a loved one’s house but don’t feel like having a baking extravaganza. Here’s how to store and freeze these cookies:
- To store: feel free to keep the gingerbread cookie sandwiches at room temp in an airtight container for 1-2 days, then I recommend transferring them to the fridge for up to 3-4 days.
- To freeze: you have options to freeze the dough, freeze the baked cookies, or freeze the full gingerbread oatmeal sandwich cookies! Check out my full tutorial here to learn exactly how to do it.
More delicious cookie recipes
- Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cream Pies with Fluffy Peanut Butter Filling
- Salted Brown Butter Coffee Oatmeal Chocolate Chunk Cookies
- Peanut Butter Cup S’mores Chocolate Cookies
- Death by Chocolate Peppermint Cookies
- Soft Brown Butter Ginger Cookies with Lovely Lemon Icing
Get all of our amazing cookie recipes here!
These gingerbread oatmeal cream pie cookies are the most perfect treats to bake for the holiday season or to bring to cookie exchanges. They’re freezer-friendly and are the ultimate treat for those who used to love Little Debbies (like me!) or have a serious obsession with all things gingerbread flavor.
Time to get your bake on!
I hope you love these gingerbread oatmeal cream pies! If you make them be sure to leave a comment and a rating so I know how you liked them. Enjoy, xo!
Ambitious Kitchen
Cookbook
125 Ridiculously Good For You, Sometimes Indulgent, and Absolutely Never Boring Recipes for Every Meal of the Day
Incredible Gingerbread Oatmeal Cream Pies
Ingredients
- Wet ingredients:
- ½ cup butter, at room temperature
- 1 cup packed brown sugar (dark is great, but light also works!)
- 1/4 cup blackstrap molasses
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Dry ingredients:
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup old fashioned rolled oats
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 ½ teaspoons ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon allspice
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- For cream pie middle:
- ¾ cup butter, at room temperature
- 1 ½ cups powdered sugar
- 3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1-2 teaspoons milk to make the filling creamy
Instructions
- Add room temperature butter and brown sugar to the bowl of an electric mixer and beat the butter and sugar together for 1 minute. Next, add in the molasses, egg and vanilla and beat again until well combined, smooth and creamy, about 1 more minute.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients: flour, oats, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, allspice and salt in a bowl. Slowly add dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix on low-speed just until combined. Chill dough in fridge for 1 hour, this is so the cookies have the perfect texture, so please don't skip the chilling of the dough!
- Once ready to bake cookies, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Use your hands or a tablespoon to grab a large tablespoonful of dough and roll into a ball. Place dough balls 2-inches apart on cookie sheet. Bake 9-12 minutes. If you like cookies with a crispy edges, bake for about 12 minutes. If you like softer cookies, bake for 9-10 minutes.
- Remove from oven and cool the cookies on sheets about 5 minutes then transfer to a wire rack. They will still remain soft on the inside. Repeat with remaining dough. Makes about 30 cookies total (or what will be 15 cookie sandwiches).
- Once cookies have completely cooled, you can make the filling: Add the room temperature butter, powdered sugar, vanilla extract and milk to the bowl of an electric mixer. Beat on low, then gradually increase speed to high for about 1 minute, or until the frosting is smooth and creamy.
- Top one cookie sandwich with a spoonful of filling, leaving a nice edge around the cookies and top with another cookie sandwich, then very gently press down slightly. Repeat with all cookies. You should get about 15 oatmeal cream pies. The filling will have the best texture after letting the cookies sit at room temperature for 1 hour, if you try to bite into them earlier the frosting won’t be as firm as we’d like.
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
Recipe by: Monique Volz // Ambitious Kitchen | Photography by: Eat Love Eats
This post was originally published on December 5th, 2019, and republished on December 15th, 2021.
Can you substitute old fashioned molasses for the black strap molasses?
That will work! The cookies may just be a bit sweeter and have a more subtle molasses flavor.
I look forward to making this cookie at Christmas all year long. I honestly didn’t even think I would be into the flavor combo but it HITS SO HARD YALL
So good!! Glad you love it!
would these work with gluten free 1:1 flour?
sorry, just noticed this has already been asked!
No problem! I haven’t tested it, but I think it might work!
I liked these! The color of mine didn’t turn out quite as dark, (even using blackstrap molasses), more of a medium brown, so FYI for anyone for whom the color is important. I also wound up baking them for a few more minutes than the recipe, which might be my oven, but FYI they seem hard to overbake, they turned out quite soft even with a longer baketime. I also used a cream cheese filling since I’m all about the tang. The sandwiches softened up nicely after an hour of being filled, as promised–really nice texture with the oats, and they got multiple compliments at a party. thanks!
So glad you enjoyed! Such a great treat for parties & gatherings this time of year 🙂
These are delicious! I used 1:1 GF flour and couldn’t tell a difference. My husband loved them.
Perfect! Glad you both enjoyed.
Question… can I mix the cream filling by hand? I don’t have an electric mixer. And can the cream sit in the fridge overnight before using? Thanks!
Yes and yes! You’ll just need to whip it together really well.
Question… can I mix the dough and cream filling by hand? I don’t have an electric mixer. Thanks!
Hey how can I store these in the freezer once assembled.
Hi! Check out the full post, which has storing & freezing instructions 🙂
I have more of a question than a comment. I want to make these this year for my holiday gift-giving. How do you think it would work if I used cream cheese in lieu of butter for the filling?
For a cream cheese frosting I typically use a mix of butter and cream cheese to get the right flavor!
I was able to make these gluten free AND vegan with Namaste all purpose flour, country crock plant butter sticks, and “just egg”. I needed a little extra flour to keep the body for turning them into sandwiches but they turned out great and were a hit even with my no-allergy friends! I would probably use Bob’s Red Mill AP flour next time.
I’m glad those swaps worked out well!
My husband and I loved these! I am wondering though, is there a way to make them less sweet? They were quite rich and sweet for our liking, any tips would be greatly appreciated!
Glad these are a favorite! I’d suggest reducing the powdered sugar a bit in the icing, or even icing the cookies individually instead of sandwiching them 🙂
These were AMAZING! I loved the Little Debbie oatmeal cream pies growing up and knew I needed to try these for Christmas. I subbed Bob’s Red Mill GF One to One flour and they turned out perfect!
The best! Happy to hear the GF flour worked, too!
Incredibly good. Don’t be afraid to spoon on a big heap of the frosting, there’s plenty for the recipe.
I doubled the recipe because I was certain it would be delicious. The cookies are amazing – crisp edges but chewy. When I make next time,
I am going to skip the buttercream and just use marshmallow cream or Fluff. The buttercream is just too sweet for me. But this is a terrific recipe!
Perfect! These are great for customizing with your fav frosting 🙂
These are absolutely amazing.. Followed recipe to a T and wouldn’t change a thing. Will make again for sure!
So happy to hear that!
These are a 100 out of 10! I made these THREE years ago and I STILL get asked for the recipe 😂 I made them for a cookie swap and ended up giving some to neighbors and friends. Solid recipe. LOVE!
Two years ago***
Amazing!! So glad you’ve loved them all these years!
These are hands down the best cookies! 5 ⭐️ and loved by adults and kids. I made these with my 8 year old daughter, they are relatively simple but look and taste gourmet. We followed the recipe and used a cookie scoop to make even sized cookie balls. Highly recommend!
Perfect! Such a great holiday cookie 🙂
I’ve made these multiple times and they were a HUGE hit. Definitely my favorite Christmas cookie!!
Question- if I left out the spices would this be just like the original Little Debbie oatmeal cream pies? (But better of course since they are homemade!)
So happy to hear that! They will still have a slight “gingerbread” flavor from the molasses, but they’ll be closer to that original Little Debbie flavor 🙂
Made your recipe several times and it is always a hit with everyone, especially adults! I add lemon zest to the filling and a bit more powdered sugar and cream to get a fluffy soft filling. Lemon and gingerbread are such a great combination. Thanks for a favorite recipe I make over and over!
Amazing! LOVE the idea of adding lemon!
These are amazing!! Made exactly as recipe states, although I did not have all spice so added a little nutmeg and cloves. Every single one gone by the end of the day!
Perfect swap! So glad you loved them!
World this work with molasses that’s not blackstrap? Thank you!
Hi! Yes, it should – the flavor will just be a bit lighter.
This coolie recipe is amazing 100/10 rating my kids love these definitely recommend trying this cookie
Ahhh yay! Glad these cookies are a hit for everyone!
These oatmeal cream pies were amazing. Next time I need to make the filling thicker; it melted a little and oozed out the sides, even after the cookies cooled. Keeping them in the fridge fixes this issue tho. I didn’t use gluten-free flour but did use gluten-free rolled oats, as that is all I had on hand. This didn’t make a difference in the texture.
Perfect! I am so glad you enjoyed this recipe and it turned out great for you 🙂
I used King Arthur gluten free Measure for Measure to make this recipe and they were delicious. The crucial step that is absolutely imperative is to chill the dough so you don’t end up with a gritty texture.
Ah yay! I am so glad this recipe turned out great for you Karla. Thanks for your review, I appreciate it!
These are delicious!! I made them for the first time for Christmas and everyone loved them! I’ve made them exactly as the recipe calls and also made them once- swapping the milk with eggnog for the filling. Both ways were incredible!!
Excellent! so glad this recipe is a hit, love the eggnog idea, sounds delish!
These cookies are amazing and a huge hit with everyone. So many people asked for the recipe!
These were delicious! The blackstrap molasses gives a stronger flavor than traditional ginger snaps, but I loved it. I used some oat flour in place of some of the all purpose flour and Truvia brown sugar, and they turned out great!
The absolute best cookies!!! Everyone needs to make these!
These are sooo good! We left them out for Santa and my son was sure they would be the best cookies Santa got all night! He was right ❤️
These look amazing! Love a ginger cookie!
These are absolutely incredible. To die for. Dangerously delicious. I made these GF using Bobs Red Mill 1 to 1 baking flour. It is very important to cool in fridge before baking as instructed in recipe or they will flatten out more. You don’t want this. This is my favorite cookie recipe of Ambitious Kitchen. #AKcookieparty
These turned out so good. This will be on repeat in my house. Thanks for a great recipe.