Eggnog Oatmeal Creme Pie Recipe

Once December hits, the eggnog game is fair game, and I go NUTS for 'nog. Boozy or not, it truly calls my name. I wanted to create a simple yet fun recreation of one of my favorite childhood snacks, but make it holiday themed! Enter this Eggnog Oatmeal Creme Pie recipe.

This takes an easy homemade spiced oatmeal cookie recipe with few ingredients and sandwiches them around a flavorful eggnog buttercream frosting. The cookies are lightly crisp on the outside and otherwise oh so soft and chewy!

It's the copycat Little Debbie oatmeal creme pie recipe you didn't know you needed (with a holiday twist, of course)!

For more eggnog recipes, try this eggnog creme brûlée or eggnog bundt cake!

Key Ingredients & Tools Notes

• Old Fashioned Oats. Also called rolled oats, and the most important ingredient! Unfortunately, you cannot substitute quick cooking oats or steel cut oats in this recipe.
• Brown sugar. You can use light or dark brown for this recipe. Dark brown will produce a slightly darker cookie with more of a molasses flavor.
• Eggnog. Choose the most flavorful eggnog you've tried! Personally, I think Turkey Hill brand is the best (though this is local to my area), but am also very impressed with the Aldi brand eggnog.
• Unsalted butter. For both the oatmeal cookies and the eggnog frosting.
• Ground spices. Cinnamon and nutmeg.

There are a few key tools you'll need:

• Stand mixer or hand mixer. If using a hand mixer, incorporate the rolled oats by hand.
• Large cookie/biscuit cutter. This is used to scoot the cookies and is a crucial step to the recipe in making the cookies perfectly round. I typically use my hand sieve, but anything round with an opening larger than the cookie will work (e.g. sour cream container). In a pinch, you can do this with the tines of a fork by laying the fork down on its side and pressing the cookie inward.
• Piping bags. You can also use ziptop bags. This is the easiest way to add the filling, but it can also be spread on the cookie.

How to make oatmeal cream pies

To make the oatmeal creme pies, I want to mention up front that you'll need to allow the dough to rest for 2 hours prior to baking. You have to do this if you want the cookies to turn out, as the butter needs time to harden up. Without the chill time, the cookies will be be super flat.

Additionally, you'll need to scoot the cookies at the 8-minute mark and also again at the end of baking. While this is technically an optional step, this is what will give you perfectly round cookies and make the cookie sandwiches look impeccable!

Making the Dough

STEP 1: Cream together the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar over medium speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.

While the mixture is creaming, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a separate bowl.

STEP 2: Once the butter and sugars are creamed, add the eggs and vanilla and beat to combine, then scrape down the sides. With the mixer on low speed, spoon in the dry ingredients until combined. If using a hand mixer, stir in the oats by hand so the mixer doesn't break them up.

Place the bowl and dough in the fridge (covered with plastic wrap) to rest for two hours. Do not skip this step.

Baking the oatmeal cookies

Preheat the oven to 350℉/177℃ and line 2 large baking pans with parchment paper.

STEP 3: Using a 1.5 inch cookie scoop, press the dough into the scoop with the palm of your hand (make it flush and remove excess), add the cookies to the baking pans, leaving as much space in between as possible. These cookies do spread quite a bit.

When scooping the cookies, use the palm of your hand to press the dough into the scoop so it's flush, then drop it onto the pan. This ensures even cookies.

Bake for 8 minutes. At the 8 minute mark, “scoot” your cookies to make them perfectly round. You can do this with a cookie cutter (or anything with a round opening - e.g. sour cream container) larger than your baked cookie or with a fork.

Simply surround your cookie with the cutter and move it around in a circular motion so the sides round back up. Because we’re making sandwiches, we want these to be as evenly round as possible.

STEP 4: Once shaped, return to the oven for about 2-4 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven, scoot any deformed edges again, and place the pan on a wire rack to cool. Allow the cookies to cool completely on the pan (this will finish setting the center).

The center of the cookies should look under baked and wet when you pull them out. This is correct! It's what creates a soft & chewy cookie and they will finish baking as they cool on the pan.

Eggnog Icing

While many oatmeal creme pie recipes use a marshmallow fluff filling, this one uses a more traditional American buttercream in order to incorporate the eggnog. You want to use an eggnog that has the most flavor you can find. See the FAQs for more information.

STEP 5: To make the eggnog buttercream frosting from scratch, start by creaming the butter on medium speed (using a stand mixer with paddle attachment or a handheld mixer) for one minute.

Add half of the powdered sugar, then increase the speed to medium (it will look like a paste at this point), then slowly drizzle in half of eggnog and beat on medium high speed. 

Return to low and add in the rest of the powdered sugar, ground nutmeg, then the remaining eggnog and beat on medium speed until light and fluffy. If it still feels a bit too stiff, add in another drizzle of eggnog until it's a pipeable/spreadable consistency. If too thin, add a bit more powdered sugar.

Assembling the Cookie Sandwiches

STEP 6: When the cookies are completely cool, pipe or spread the buttercream onto the bottom side of one of the cookies in a swirl. When piping, leave a bit of room around the edges of the cookies to allow for spreading when you sandwich the cookies together.

Place the bottom side of another cookie on top and gently press together until the eggnog icing just reaches the edges (but don't squish it out!).

Storing and Freezing

Store the Eggnog Oatmeal Creme Pies in a sealed container (or a ziptop bag) in the fridge for up to 3 days. Allow the cookie sandwiches to completely come to room temperature (about 1 hour) before enjoying so the butter has time to re-soften.

I actually find that these cookies are best on day 2 after a night in the fridge. The cookies soften up a bit from the contact with the buttercream...just make sure to bring it to room temperature!

The cookies can be frozen in a few forms:

• Flash freeze the dough on a sheet pan for 30 minutes, then transfer to a sealed container and freeze for up to three months, then bake from frozen. You will need to add a few minutes to the bake time.
• Freeze the cookies after baking in a sealed container for one month, then thaw at room temperature (uncovered) and fill.
• Fully assemble the cookie sandwiches, flash freeze for 30 minutes, then transfer to a sealed container and freeze for one month. Thaw in the fridge, then bring to room temperature and enjoy.

FAQs & Tips