The Best Sourdough Oatmeal Cream Pies

These Oatmeal Cream Pies are made with soft, chewy oatmeal cookies and browned butter vanilla buttercream frosting. They are reminiscent of Little Debbie Oatmeal Creme Pies, but made from scratch with sourdough discard and brown butter and taste so much better.

These soft and chewy oatmeal sourdough cookies are packed with rich, warm flavors from molasses, cinnamon, and nutty brown butter. To take them to the next level, you’ll make a creamy buttercream frosting with vanilla, cinnamon, and more brown butter—creating the perfect filling for these irresistible cream pies.

I love recreating childhood favorites with a sourdough twist! Not only are they fun to make, but my kids can’t get enough of them. If you love this copycat recipe you’ve got to try my Chewy Granola Bars, Cheez-Its, Goldfish, and Animal Crackers. They are all snacks I love to keep on hand for my family. 

Why you will love this recipe

• A homemade take on Little Debbie Oatmeal Creme Pies, made with simple ingredients you’ll feel good about sharing with your family.
• Quick and easy—no chilling required unless you opt for the optional overnight fermentation.
• A delicious way to use up sourdough discard.
• Made with rich, nutty brown butter for a deeper flavor, but you can easily swap in regular butter if you prefer.

Key Ingredients & Subsitutions

• Browned butter- If you don’t want to brown the butter you can skip that step, but it adds a warm, nutty flavor that is so delicious!  
• Sourdough discard– Discard is sourdough starter that is no longer active and bubbly. It gives great flavor and moisture to the cookies. You can use active starter in place of discard in the recipe.
• Molasses- Adds a sweet, rich flavor and gives the cookies a beautiful brown color. You can substitute this for dark corn syrup or maple syrup in the recipe.
• Rolled oats- Old-fashioned oats give the cookies a chewy texture. You can use instant oats but the cookies won’t be as chewy.

See the recipe card below for the full ingredients list and quantities.

Instructions on how to make Sourdough Oatmeal Cream Pies

Make the Brown Butter

Browned butter is just butter that is cooked until it is golden brown. It takes on a nutty flavor that adds depth and pairs so well in this recipe.

Here’s how you do it:

• Cube the butter for the cookies and icing and place the butter in a saucepan over medium heat and frequently stir with a spatula. If you have a light colored pan that is helpful to see the color better but dark pans will do the job.
• Once the butter melts it will begin to foam. The butter should begin turning a golden brown color. Continue to stir. You will want to keep an eye on this as it can quickly burn if not attended to.
• Once the color turns a deep bronze color and the foam begins subsiding, usually within 5-8 minutes of starting, the butter is ready. It should smell nutty.
• Once browned to your liking, Place a bowl on a kitchen scale and zero it out. Pour the butter into the bowl to see how much it weighs. Divide that number by 2 and put half in the refrigerator to solidify for the frosting, and use the other half in the cookie recipe.

You can find more in-depth instructions here.  

Make the Oatmeal Cookies

1. In a large bowl mix together the browned butter and sugars.
2. Then, add in the wet ingredients: sourdough discard, egg, vanilla extract, and molasses and mix until incorporated.
3. In a medium sized bowl, mix the cinnamon, oats, flour, salt, and baking soda together. Add to the wet ingredients and mix until incorporated.

4. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Use a 2 Tablespoon cookie scoop to scoop the cookie dough onto the baking sheets. Each baking sheet should have 12 dough balls evenly dispersed on the pan. With the palm of your hand gently flatten out the dough balls.
5. Bake for 5 minutes, then switch the baking sheets between racks. Continue baking for another 5 minutes, or until the edges are lightly golden. Be careful not to overbake, as this will result in a crunchier texture.
6. After the cookies have cooled slightly, add them to a wire cooling rack to cool completely. 

Make the Brown Butter Frosting

While the cookies are cooling, make the brown butter frosting. 

Take the brown butter from the fridge and add it to the bowl of your stand mixer or in a medium bowl. Add the rest of the ingredients for the frosting in the bowl and whip together until light and fluffy. 

Place the frosting in a piping bag or a ziplock bag and cut the tip. Take one cooled cookie and pipe the icing on the back of the cookie. Then add one more cookie on top to sandwich them together. This recipe will make 12 Sourdough Oatmeal Cream Pies. 

Pro Tips

• To achieve perfectly round cookies, use a cup or the rim of a canning jar. Right after the cookies come out of the oven, place the cup over each one and gently rotate it in a circular motion. This helps shape the edges while the cookies are still warm and pliable.
• Cookies will continue to bake after coming out of the oven so resist the urge to bake these after the sides start lightly browning. Overbaking will result in crunchy cookies.
• Wait for the cookies to cool before adding the icing or the filling will melt off and make a mess.

Storage & Freezing Cookies

To store, wrap them with plastic wrap or add them to an airtight container. These can be kept on the counter for 2-3 days. After that, store them in the refrigerator.

These cream pies can be frozen with or without the filling. If you are freezing the cookies by themselves, place them in a freezer- safe bag or container for up to 3 months. For assembled cream pies wrap them individually in plastic wrap before placing them in a freezer-safe bag and freeze them for up to two months.

Frequently Asked Questions