GF Oatmeal Creme Pies

The beginning of a new year is “supposed” to be about renewal, setting new goals & starting fresh. But here I am, bringing a recipe for homemade oatmeal creme pies, which doesn’t exactly fit into the “eating healthier” goal many people set at the start of a new year.  Sorry, not sorry :)

By making your own, at least you have complete control over the ingredients go into (or are left out of) your version? These homemade oatmeal creme pies may not have the same shelf life as their pre-packaged Little Debbie predecessors, but these particular ones are gluten free, yet very tasty. In fact, I may need to send the remaining oatmeal creme pies with my husband to work because I can’t seem to stop eating them!

Because I attended a private elementary/middle school that didn’t have a hot lunch program, we had to bring a packed lunch from home. Bless my poor mother for packing lunches for myself and my sisters for 12 years!  On very special occasions, we were allowed a treat, like Little Debbie oatmeal creme pies, in our lunch box.  Sometimes there were zebra cakes or star crunch, but I think the oatmeal creme pie was my favorite :)

It has been years since I’ve had a Little Debbie oatmeal creme pie.... Especially now that I eat a mostly gluten free lifestyle, many of my favorite childhood lunchbox items are out of the question.  Instead, I’m experimenting with making my own versions to fit my changing dietary needs.

I looked at many recipes online for homemade oatmeal creme pies before settling on the one I used. Many images showed the cookies much puffier than my memories of  the prepackaged version.  Some used a straight frosting as the filling, while I wanted something more marshmallow-y.

The cookie dough for these pies is much more sticky than traditional dough. And it really spreads in the oven during the baking process. In fact, during the baking process for my first test pan, I did have serious doubts about whether the recipe would work! Thankfully, it did.

Instead of sandwiching the cookies with a frosting or meringue, I turned to one of my favorite marshmallow recipes (the one I used for homemade peeps and adapted to top chocolate stout cupcakes) and used that recipe for the filling. I do have a serious love for homemade marshmallows :)

Stay tuned, there may be more Little Debbie copycat recipes in the future!

Note: If you’re following a gluten free lifestyle, please make sure the oats you use are certified gluten free.  While traditional oats themselves do not contain gluten, they are often processed on equipment shared with gluten products, thus resulting in cross-contamination.  Or the oat fields are cross-pollinated with glutinous grains, again resulting in cross-contamination. I personally have had good luck with Trader Joe's Gluten Free Rolled Oats and Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Rolled Oats but everyone is different. Also, some people who cannot tolerate the proteins that make gluten also cannot tolerate the proteins in oats, so check with your doctor before consuming.

Oatmeal Creme Pies
Yields approximately 60 cookies or 30 sandwiches. 

Cookie Base
adapted from Babble 
8 oz / 2 stick unsalted butter, room temp
5.6 oz / 3/4 c Light brown Sugar
3.5 oz / 1/2 c Sugar
2 large eggs
1 Tbl Honey
1 tsp vanilla
7.45 oz / 1.75 c GF Flour (I used Jeanne’s Gluten Free AP mix or substitute AP if not GF)
1 t Baking Soda
1/8 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
4.7 oz / 1 1/2 c GF Oats (I used Trader Joe's version or substitute regular if not GF)

Marshmallow Filling 
note: do not make until ready to assemble or else the gelatin will set in the bowl not on the cookies!) 
2/3 c Cold Water
0.5 oz / 2 packets Granulated Gelatin
14 oz / 2 c Granulated Sugar
1/2 c Water
2 tsp Vanilla

1. To make the cookies: Line 4 baking sheets with parchment paper
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together on medium speed the butter and sugars until the mixture has completely combined, and is lighter in color and fluffy in texture. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. 
3. Add the eggs, honey and vanilla and mix on low until combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. 
4. Meanwhile, whisk together the flour, soda, cinnamon and salt in a separate bowl. Set aside. Pulse the oats in a food processor or clean coffee grinder until coarsely chopped. Mix the oats in with the dry ingredients. 
5. Add the dry to the mixer bowl and mix on low speed until just combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. 
6. Use a small 1 Tbl scoop to drop batter onto the prepared baking sheets. Pan the cookies 3 rows by 4 rows. Always start by portioning the outer edges (see photo below) & then filling in with the remaining rows. 
7. Chill the cookies in the refrigerator for 15 minutes.  Preheat oven to 350 F.
8. Bake the cookies for 10 to 12 minutes, or until the edges are light brown.  Rotate the pans halfway through baking. 
9. Remove from the oven and cool on the baking sheets. 
10. To make the filling (do so just before assembly): Bloom gelatin in cold water in bowl of a 6 qt stand mixer. Attach the bowl (during the blooming process) & whisk attachment to the mixer.
11.  In a 3 qt saucepan, combine the sugar & water. Stir just until the mixture resembles wet sand. Heat the pan over medium high heat to 238 F (softball stage). Do not stir during the heating process. 
12.  With mixer running on low, pour syrup over gelatin.  Increase speed to medium for 3 minutes. Put on the splash guard as a precaution against burns.  Increase speed to high & beat for 3 additional minutes.
13. Add the vanilla extract. Beat on high for an additional 7 minutes (splash guard is not necessary). 
14.  While the marshmallow is whipping, prepare a large piping bag by fitting it with a large round tip (I used an Ateco 804).  Prepare the cookies by matching like sizes & flipping over the bottom cookies for piping. Also gather a back up baking sheet with sprayed parchment for the extra filling. 
15. Once the marshmallow is very thick & holds its shape/a stiff peak, use a portion scoop to scoop it into the prepared piping bag.
16. Pipe the marshmallow in a spiral pattern onto the bottom of one cookie & top with another cookie to make a sandwich. Press slightly to adhere. Repeat with the remaining cookies. Work quickly so that the marshmallow does not set up in the mixing bowl or in the piping bag.  
17. Pipe any remaining marshmallow (there will be extra) into sprayed, parchment paper. 
18. Allow the sandwiched cookies to set at room temperature. 
19. Store any leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature. Eat within a few days, though they really do taste best have the best texture the day they are made. 

panning example from step 6 

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Cowgirl Cookies

To continue my “Week in the [Project] Life” series for Project Life 365, today’s prompt is #whatever.  For background on this project, please read my previous #breakfast, #lunch, #dinner, and #dessert posts. You can find me on Instagram @lauravein and Project Life 365 at @projectlife365.

"#Whatever is worth doing at all is worth doing well.” -Lord Chesterfield (1694-1773) Life is too short for bad cookies (or bad coffee)...  And if you want to eat a couple for breakfast, I’ll never tell! 

They have oatmeal in them after all :)

I'm not exactly certain about the background on the name of these cookies, but Cowgirl Cookies been one of my favorites since I first made them in culinary school.  They're full of oatmeal, coconut, pecans, chocolate chunks & plenty of spices!  Talk about a flavor explosion in a cookie.

Oats haven't made an appearance in my diet much at all in the past couple of years, nor have I eaten much gluten in the past year.  However, in preparation for some medical testing,  I have been doing some "cheating," because a few of the tests are more accurate if I actually have a little gluten in my system.

If I'm having a last hurrah with gluten (I'll find out once I complete my testing & the results come back), I want to be certain I am making and eating things that are worth it! Things that I will miss if I'm officially told to say goodbye to gluten forever. Things that use good, high quality ingredients. Not just eating gluten-y things for gluten sake. With wheat flour from King Arthur, locally sourced pecans, oats from Bobs Red Mill, and good chocolate, I'm confident these cookies fit the bill :)

Cowgirl Cookies


I cut down this recipe from the giant culinary school batch to a more manageable home batch.  I’m sorry I don’t have a yield amount.... We started eating the cookies before I could get an accurate count! 

4 oz Unsalted Butter, room temperature
3.65  oz Granulated Sugar
4 oz Brown Sugar
2 large Eggs
2 tsp Vanilla
5.30 oz AP Flour {you could also make these Gluten Free by using a GF baking mix}
4 g Baking Powder
4 g Baking Soda
1 1/2 tsp Cinnamon
scant 1/2 tsp Salt
6.65 oz Chocolate Chunks {I chopped up some Trader Joe’s chocolate} 
2.5 oz Oats {use Gluten Free, if you like} 
2.65 oz Sweetened Shredded Coconut
2.35 oz Chopped Pecans  

1. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter with the sugars on medium low speed until the ingredients completely mix together, become lighter in color & increase in volume.  Scrape down the bowl. 
2. Add the eggs, one at a time, and mix at low speed until just incorporated.  Add vanilla. Scrape down the bowl and mix a few more seconds. 
3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon & salt.  
4. Add the dry ingredients to the mixing bowl & mix on low speed until half way combined.  
5. Combine the chocolate, oats, coconut & pecans and add them to the mixing bowl.  Mix on low speed until the ingredients are just incorporated, scraping the sides as necessary.  
6. Refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes while the oven is preheating to 350 F. Line to baking sheets with parchment paper. 
7. For large cookies (which I believe have the best combinations of textures: crunchy edges & soft centers), use a large cookie scoop (mine is 3oz) and pan the cookies 6 to a half sheet pan. 
8. Bake in the preheated oven for 10 minutes, then rotate the pan & bake an additional 4 to 6 minutes, or until the edges just begin to brown. Remove from the oven & cool completely. 
9. Store baked cookies in an airtight container at room temperature or in the freezer. (I happen to think these cookies are fabulous when eaten straight from the freezer... though don’t damage your teeth in the process!). 

Note: if you make smaller cookies, pan them in 4 rows of 3 & bake them less time, rotating as necessary, until the cookie edges are just beginning to brown.  

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Mom's Apple Crisp (Gluten Free)

October 1st will always be "Apple Crisp Day" to me. But not just any apple crisp, my mom’s now famous apple crisp.

My dad, along with his  business partner Steve, took a leap of faith and started their own engineering company on October 1, 1991. Those first years were not easy ones as they worked to get their business established. Lots of time and effort goes in to the creation of a company! I remember my dad working extremely long hours in those early days & also doing extensive traveling....

Amidst all the hard work, they did take time to celebrate. The company’s first anniversary was celebrated with cake, but, every anniversary since then has been celebrated with delicious apple crisp, made by my mom.

Fast forward 20+ years, and that same company, which started with two people in a tiny basement office of a downtown building, has since grown exponentially.  There are now more than 200 employees in over a dozen branches in different cities throughout the upper midwest!

It never ceases to amaze me when I remember where they started back in the early 90s and see how much things have changed today. What an incredible thing. I’m so proud of them :)

The apple crisp tradition continues still today. I have very fond memories of visiting Dad’s office every October 1st (or on a date near there) to help hand out pieces of crisp to every employee present. The employees who have been there for years & years have come to expect & anticipate the coming of apple crisp!

As many years as it is possible, the different offices will have an apple crisp celebration party all together via video link. And Mom has graciously shared her recipe with people in each office so that they might all share in the same signature dessert.  The main office has become so large that several employees volunteered to each make a couple pans of apple crisp, so that Mom isn’t making apple crisp for quite so many people...

A few years before Dad’s company was founded, my parents planted an apple tree in our back yard, and that apple tree has provided the fruit for many years’ crisps. Most years, the crazy tree produces SO MANY apples that my parents have to pick a bunch of the non-mature green apples early in the season so that their weight doesn’t break the limbs of the tree.

This year was different.  The tree decided not to produce a single apple, which meant my mom had to find a new source for apples this year.  But I have high hopes that next year their tree will be back to its overproducing ways :)

I haven’t lived in my hometown nor attended the annual anniversary celebration in several years. I also haven’t made mom’s recipe in quite some time because my body just hasn’t seemed to like oats (this recipe just isn’t the same without them). But I’ve been experimenting with trying Gluten Free Rolled Oats & so far I don’t seem to have the same unpleasant symptoms I’ve had in the past. Hurray! 

So this year, I made Mom’s recipe.  I scaled it down slightly, because I knew it wasn’t a good idea to have a 9x13 pan of apple crisp for just the two of us--I doubt I’d have any self control when it comes to a pan of apple crisp.  I used a little cornstarch (instead of flour) to help thicken the apple juices & substituted gluten free flour & gluten free oats in the topping.

The intoxicating smell of the cooking apples & the spices as the crisp baked permeated the whole apartment.  It was torture to wait the nearly two hours it took for the crisp to properly bake.  Even with the slight changes, the apple crisp was perfect. Though I wasn’t back with my parents to celebrate in person, we celebrated in spirit with our bowls of warm crisp topped with melting vanilla ice cream.  I tried not to lick the bowl :)

Happy Anniversary, AE2S!


Mom’s Apple Crisp
yields approximately 6 servings

3.5 oz / 0.5 c Granulated Sugar (may adjust depending on sweetness of apples)
2 tsp cornstarch 
2 tsp Cinnamon 
4 medium large apples (I used a mix of 3 Granny Smith & 1 Fuji, which came to about 21 oz once peeled, cored & sliced)

2.15 oz (0.5 c) Flour (I used Gluten Free)
1.75 oz (0.5 c) Rolled Oats (I used Gluten Free)
3.75 oz (0.5 c) Brown Sugar
1/8 tsp Baking Soda
1/8 tsp Baking Powder
2 tsp Cinnamon
pinch Sea Salt
2 oz (0.25 c) Unsalted Butter, cold

Ice Cream, for serving (optional, though not optional in my book!)

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Grease an 8x8 square pan or a medium gratin dish with nonstick spray or a little softened butter.  
2. In a large bowl, mix together the granulated sugar, cornstarch and cinnamon. Peel, core and slice the apples.  Mix in with the sugar mixture.  Pour into the greased pan & compress slightly . 
3. In a separate smaller bowl, combine the flour, rolled oats, brown sugar, baking soda, baking powder and sea salt.  Cut the butter into small pieces & use a pastry cutter or two forks (or very quickly work with your not hot fingers) to cut the butter into the dry ingredients.  Keep the mixture slightly lumpy & crumbly.  Immediately distribute the crumb topping over the apples. 
4. Place the finished pan on top of a rimmed pan (to collect any juices) and slide into the oven. Bake for between 60 and 90 minutes, or until the top is browned and the juices are bubbly--mine took close to 90.  
5. Cool slightly and serve with vanilla ice cream. 
6. Store any leftovers, covered, in the refrigerator.  Leftovers are great cold (even for breakfast, shhhh!) or warmed.  Consume within a couple of days.  

Notes: To any readers who are gluten free but can't eat oats (even if they are gluten free), make the same apple base & try topping it with my gluten free almond topping recipe.  

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Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Lactation Cookies

On a regular basis, I read a fair amount of blogs. Mostly food-related blogs, but there are a few lifestyle, photography, travel and miscellaneous mixed in too. (side note: if you’re a reader and have your own blog, I’d love to add it to my list! Let me know your url!) When a post from Amanda at I am Baker about “lactation cookies” showed up in my feedly last month, I was very intrigued. I pinned the recipe on Pinterest, knowing I’d definitely revisit the recipe!

At first glance, one might think that “lactation cookies” means cookies that include breast milk, but that is NOT the case! No, these are cookies that contain specific ingredients that are supposed to help increase a nursing mother’s milk supply.  Those ingredients are things like Brewer's Yeast and Ground Flaxseed and they also include other good for a nursing mother’s general nutrition ingredients like oats & a small dose of cinnamon.  Some moms follow a dairy free lifestyle to help with potential colic in their new little ones, so that is why these cookies use shortening instead of butter.

Growing up in the midwest, it was simply a given that when one of my parents’ friends or a fellow member of our church had a new baby, the people around them provided dinners for the family as they adjusted to their new life. These meals were especially important if the families didn’t have extended family visiting. It was a way to not only show love for the family, but also to help the family through a potentially challenging time of learning to care for their own first baby, or of having to care for a new baby while also taking care of other kiddos.  I very distinctly remember my mom making spaghetti pie & blueberry dessert (two of her specialties) on more than one occasion to take to a family with a new baby.

Two of my friends have had babies this summer. While I’ve only had the chance to make dinner for one family, I did deliver some of these lactation cookies to both ladies. Anyone in their families can eat these cookies (men or other children won’t magically start lactating if they eat them), but they were especially intended for the new moms. The cookies are not supposed to be any sort of a miracle item, but I figure tasty cookies are bound to “help” a new mom regardless of if they dramatically increase her milk supply.

OATMEAL CHOCOLATE CHIP LACTATION COOKIES
via I am Baker 
yields 72 small cookies,
recommending serving: at least 4 per day for the nursing mom 

1 1/2 c / 6.35 oz  AP Flour
1 tsp Baking Soda
1 tsp Baking Powder
1 tsp Salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp cocoa powder

3/4 c / 4.9 oz Vegetable Shortening
1.5 c / 10.5 oz Granulated Sugar
2 large Eggs
1 tsp Vanilla Extract

1 1/2 c / 5.25 oz Rolled Oats
1 Tbl Ground Flaxseed
2 tsp Brewer's Yeast
10 oz Dark Chocolate Chips 

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line several baking sheets with parchment paper (I try to line 4 pans, if I have them available). 
2. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon & cocoa powder. Set aside.
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the shortening with the granulated sugar on medium speed until the mixture is well combined & fluffy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.  Add the eggs & vanilla extract. Mix on low speed until just combined. Scrape the bowl again. 
4. Add the prepared dry ingredients. Mix on low speed until the dry ingredients have been incorporated just halfway. Stop the mixer. 
5. In the dry ingredients bowl that was just used, add the oats, flax, brewer’s yeast & chocolate chips. Pour those ingredients into the stand mixer bowl & mix on low speed until everything is just incorporated. 
6. Use a 1 Tablespoon cookie scoop  to portion the cookie dough. Pan 3 rows of four cookies on a standard half sheet size baking pan.  
7. Bake at 350 F for 7 to 9 minutes, or until the edges are just barely browned. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on the sheet pan. Store cookies in an airtight container. Leftovers may be frozen, if necessary. 

Note

• The original recipe called for adding a tsp of allspice to the dry ingredients. I didn’t have any, so I just omitted it. 
• The original recipe also called for dairy free chocolate chips. With my limited access to grocery options, I could not find any dairy free chocolate chips, so I instead opted to use dark chocolate chips, which will have a lower dairy content than milk chocolate or semi-sweet chocolate chips. 
• In the future, I would like to try substituting the shortening for coconut oil, but it isn’t something I’ve tried yet.... 
• I also recommend baking these cookies right after the dough is made. I refrigerated part of the dough & it did not seem to bake as well the following day. 

this post contains affiliate links. 

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