Vegan Pumpkin Spice Oatmeal Creme Pies

If store bought oatmeal creme pies were your thing as a kid, then these are like those only better. And vegan. And pumpkin spice cause it’s fall. They’re soft and ultra chewy and have a creamy filling so what’s not to love?

A lot of oatmeal cookie recipes have way more sugar and way more oats than this one which leads to a crispy and thin cookie but it’s not what I was going for here. I wanted to replicate the soft and chewy Little Debbie style oatmeal cream pies that I remembered.

Another thing that makes cookies crisp is butter (even vegan butter) so to increase the softness I used half vegan shortening in these. It really makes a difference. Also replacing the egg with canned pumpkin added even more moisture and tenderness. The finishing touch was just a little molasses and I had the perfect combination of softness and chewiness.

Best to use rolled oats in the cookies, but if you only have quick oats those will work but the cookies may not have as much flavor. I used a pumpkin spice blend in these but if you don’t have any on hand, you can make your own. Just mix together 4 teaspoons ground cinnamon, 2 teaspoons ground ginger, 1 teaspoon ground cloves and 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg. You’ll only need one teaspoon so store the rest in a small container to use later.

Another note is to not over-bake these. You want these soft and chewy (I think I’ve said those words over a dozen times now) so watch them carefully. If you have a convection oven like me you know it can cook faster so pull them out when they just begin to brown.

One final bit of advice is that if you’re going to be baking cookies often, you might want to invest in a series of ice cream scoops so that each cookie you make is uniform. I have a 1 inch, 1 1/2 inch, and 2 1/4 inch ice cream scoop collection that I use for various sized cookies. Not only is it easier, it creates cookies of the same size that bake evenly. You can find these types of scoops in home stores and even in the supermarket in the household items section.

Vegan Pumpkin Spice Oatmeal Creme Pies

Recipe by Kreg

4.8 from 4 votes

Cuisine: Vegan, dessert

Servings

12

servings

Prep time

20

minutes

Cooking time

9

minutes

These are like the childhood oatmeal creme pies you remember only vegan and with the fall flavors of pumpkin spice!

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup vegan butter

• 1/4 cup shortening

• 1/2 cup vegan cane sugar

• 1/2 cup brown sugar

• 1/4 cup canned pumpkin purée (not pumpkin pie filling)

• 1 tablespoon finely ground flax seed plus 1 tablespoon water

• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

• 1 tablespoon molasses

• 1 cup all purpose flour

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder

• 1 1/2 cups rolled oats

• 1 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice

• Creme Filling

• 1/2 cup vegan shortening or vegan butter

• 2 cups vegan confectioners sugar

• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla bean paste (optional)

• 1-2 tablespoons vegan milk

Directions

• Mix the flax seed into the pumpkin with the water, whisk well and let stand for 5 minutes. Cream the shortening, butter and sugars together using a hand or stand mixer until well mixed. Add the pumpkin flax egg mixture, molasses and vanilla and beat until fluffy.
• Add the remaining ingredients and mix well.
• Line cookie sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats and using a 1.5” ice cream scoop or tablespoon, scoop balls of dough and place on sheet leaving space between them to spread. Press them down slightly with your fingers as shown in the photo above the recipe as these do not spread as much as regular cookies. Bake in a preheated 375° oven for 8-10 minutes until just beginning to brown. Don’t over-bake! Let cool completely before sandwiching with frosting.
• Creme Filling
• Mix all ingredients together with a hand or stand mixer adding milk until the consistency of a creamy frosting.
• Add frosting to the bottom of one cookie then sandwich it with another squeezing together lightly.
• Store cookies in an airtight container until ready to eat. These will freeze well for up to 6 months in the freezer.

Notes

• You can use quick oats instead of rolled oats if need be but the cookies might not have as much flavor.
  
• If you don’t have pumpkin spice, see the section above the recipe for a way to make your own.

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