OMG. We’re wrapping up AK Pumpkin Week with these pumpkin oatmeal cream pies with a luscious brown butter cream filling, and they’re just as dreamy as they sound.
I’ve had so much fun making sandwich cookies over the past few years because they’re just a little something fun and *extra* during the fall & winter seasons. I mean, why have one cookie when you can have TWO sandwiched with a fluffy frosting? If you love my Little Debras from The Ambitious Kitchen Cookbook, my Gingerbread Oatmeal Cream Pies, or my Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cream Pies, get ready for a pumpkin-spiced version that will knock your socks off.
The frosting for these pumpkin oatmeal cream pies just so happens to come from the incredible Tahini Pumpkin Cake in The Ambitious Kitchen Cookbook as well. Grab your copy HERE just in time for the holidays — it makes the perfect gift and there are tons of recipes for your holiday menus!
Note: Please follow the recipe exactly as written! There are a few key instructions to pay attention to when baking these cookies to ensure that you get the perfect texture.
Everything you’ll need to make these pumpkin sandwich cookies
Rich brown butter, real pumpkin puree, cozy spices, AND a brown butter filling? Oh yeah, these pumpkin oatmeal cream pies are magical. Here’s what you’ll need to make them:
- Butter: we’re browning butter both for the cookies themselves and for the filling. I like to use salted butter for extra flavor.
- Pumpkin puree: you’ll add pumpkin puree right to your cookie dough! You can also make your own pumpkin puree with this tutorial.
- Sugar: these pumpkin sandwich cookies are sweetened with all dark brown sugar. YUM.
- Egg: you’ll need 1 egg to help the cookies bake properly.
- Flour: we’re using regular all-purpose flour in this recipe.
- Oats: I love the chewiness that old fashioned rolled oats add to cookies.
- Spices: get cozy with a mix of cinnamon, nutmeg, ground ginger, and allspice.
- Baking staples: you’ll also need vanilla extract, baking soda, and salt.
- For the filling: we’re whipping together more brown butter, cream cheese, powdered sugar, vanilla, and salt for the brown butter cream cheese filling.
Ingredient substitution FAQ
I know I’ll get a few questions about swaps for these pumpkin oatmeal cream pies:
- Can I make them gluten-free? I haven’t tested this recipe using a gluten-free substitute, but if you’d like to try one, I suggest trying a 1:1 gluten-free all-purpose flour in place of the regular flour.
- Can I make them dairy-free? You can use a vegan/dairy-free butter in the cookie dough and in the frosting, plus a dairy-free cream cheese in the frosting. Please note that you cannot brown dairy-free butter, so you’ll simply melt it and follow the recipe as written.
- Can I make them vegan? I haven’t tested the cookies themselves with a flax egg, but let me know in the comments if you try it. Then be sure to follow the dairy-free notes above.
- Can I use mashed banana instead of pumpkin? These are meant to be pumpkin oatmeal cream pies with lots of pumpkin flavor, so I did not test these using mashed banana. Feel free to try my Salted Banana Chocolate Chunk Cookies instead!
Looking for a gluten-free version?
Try my Healthy Soft Pumpkin Cookies with Salted Maple Frosting! You could even double the frosting and sandwich it between two of the cookies.
Want to make regular frosted pumpkin cookies?
You can! Make both the pumpkin cookies and the frosting as directed, then cool and frost each cookie individually instead of making the sandwiches.
If you like a lot of frosting, feel free to double the frosting recipe and spread on each cookie.
How to brown butter
In case you haven’t noticed, my love for brown butter runs deep, which is why we’re using it in the cookies themselves AND in the cream cheese filling. Learn exactly how to brown butter with our tutorial here, and get more recipes using brown butter here!
Tips for perfect pumpkin oatmeal cream pies
- Measure the pumpkin. Yes, you’ll want to measure the pumpkin puree AFTER squeezing out the excess moisture so that you get the right amount. You don’t have to do this for all baking recipes that use pumpkin, but it is very important in this recipe.
- Cool completely. Be sure to let your pumpkin cookies cool completely before adding the filling so that the cream cheese frosting doesn’t melt between the cookies.
- 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 in the pumpkin sandwich cookies after the cookies sit at room temperature for 1 hour, so try to resist biting into them until then!
Make them ahead of time
If you’d like to save a bit of time, you can make the dough and/or the filling for these pumpkin oatmeal cream pies ahead of time!
- Make the dough: You can refrigerate the dough (well-covered so it doesn’t dry out) for up to 24 hours. Set out dough for 30 minutes at room temp before baking.
- Make the frosting: you can either fully make the cream cheese frosting up to 24 hours ahead of time and store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator, OR you can just brown the butter and store it in the refrigerator in order to make the frosting the next day. Let the full batch of frosting or the chilled brown butter come to room temperature before using them. You’ll want to re-whip the frosting as well to get it nice and fluffy.
Storing tips
Store these pumpkin oatmeal cream pies in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. They’re delicious straight from the fridge or freezer!
How to freeze these cookies
- To freeze without the filling: If you’d like to freeze the cookie dough or the baked cookies without the filling you can get all of my tips & tricks for freezing cookie dough and baked cookies here!
- To freeze the cookies with the filling: place the oatmeal cream pies in a layer in a container and separate each layer with wax paper. Store them in the freezer for up to 3 months. Once ready to enjoy, take out cookies and thaw them at room temperature for 30 minutes-1 hour, OR enjoy them straight from the freezer!
Tools you’ll need
Get all of my kitchen essentials here!
More pumpkin recipes you’ll love
Get all of my pumpkin recipes here, and all of my cookie recipes here!
I hope you love these brown butter 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!
The
Ambitious Kitchen
Cookbook
125 Ridiculously Good For You, Sometimes Indulgent, and Absolutely Never Boring Recipes for Every Meal of the Day
Salted Brown Butter Pumpkin Oatmeal Cream Pies
Incredible oatmeal cream pies with a delicious fall twist! These pumpkin oatmeal cream pies are baked with rich brown butter and sandwiched with an irresistible brown butter cream cheese filling. Everyone will love these perfectly sweet and spiced pumpkin sandwich cookies.
Ingredients
- Wet ingredients
- ½ cup (1 stick, 113g) salted butter
- ½ cup (120 grams) pumpkin puree**
- 1 cup (213g) dark brown sugar
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Dry ingredients
- 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (135g) all purpose flour
- ¾ cup (68g) old-fashioned rolled oats
- 1 ½ teaspoons cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon allspice
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- Filling
- 4 tablespoons (57 grams) salted butter, sliced
- 4 ounces (112 grams) cream cheese, softened
- 1 ½ cups (180 grams) powdered sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- Pinch of kosher salt
Instructions
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Brown the butter: Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Once melted, whisk constantly; the butter will begin to crackle, then foam. After a few minutes, the butter will begin to turn a golden amber color. As soon as the butter turns an amber brown and gives off a nutty aroma, 5 minutes total, remove from the heat and transfer to the bowl of the electric mixer to allow it to cool for 5 to 10 minutes. Make sure you scrape all the yummy bits of brown butter from the pan into the bowl – that’s where the flavor is! You should end up with roughly 90g to 95g of brown butter.
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Squeeze out pumpkin moisture: **While the brown butter cools, measure out ½ cup (120g) pumpkin puree. Place the pumpkin puree in paper towels (I suggest using a few layers) or a clean dish towel and squeeze out ALL the excess moisture, discarding the water. You will be left with approximately 70g to 75g of pumpkin puree (please measure this!).
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Combine wet ingredients: Add the pumpkin puree and brown sugar to the brown butter. Using the paddle attachment, mix together on medium speed until well combined, 1 minute. Next, add in the egg and vanilla and mix again on medium speed until smooth and well combined and mixture resembles caramel, about 1 minute.
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Mix together dry ingredients: In a separate large bowl, add the dry ingredients: flour, oats, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, allspice, baking soda, and salt. Whisk together until combined.
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Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix on medium-low speed until just combined. Cover the dough and place in the fridge for 30 minutes while you preheat your oven.
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Preheat the oven and rest the dough: While the dough chills, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
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Bake the cookies: After the dough rests, use your hands or a tablespoon to grab 1 ½ tablespoons of dough and roll into a ball. Place dough balls 2 inches apart on the prepared pan and use your fingers or palm of your hand to flatten each ball to be ½ inch thick. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes. If you like cookies with crispy edges, bake for about 12 minutes. If you like softer cookies, bake for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool the cookies on sheets for about 5 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. They will still remain soft on the inside. Repeat with remaining dough. Makes 20 cookies (or 10 cookie sandwiches).
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Brown the butter for the frosting: While the cookies bake and cool, you can make your brown butter frosting: Melt the 4 tablespoons of butter in a saucepan (you can use the same pan you used initially) over medium heat. Once melted, whisk constantly; the butter will begin to crackle, then foam. After a few minutes, the butter will begin to turn a golden amber color. As soon as the butter turns brown and gives off a nutty aroma, 5 minutes total, pour the brown butter into a small bowl and transfer to the fridge for 30 to 45 minutes to allow the butter to resolidify so that it’s similar to room temperature butter but not completely hardened (poking it should leave an indent). If it hardens too much, allow it to soften up at room temperature.
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Make the frosting: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the cooled brown butter on high speed until light and fluffy, about 1 minute. Add the cream cheese and beat on high until creamy, about 1 minute. Add the powdered sugar, vanilla, and salt and beat until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes.
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Assemble the cookies: Once cookies are cool, you can add the filling: Top one cookie sandwich with a spoonful of filling, leaving a nice edge around the cookie and top with another cookie sandwich, then very gently press down slightly. Repeat with all cookies. You should get about 10 to 12 oatmeal cream pies. Feel free to double the recipe if you’d like!
Recipe Notes
These are delicious straight out of the fridge or freezer, too!
Recipe by: Monique Volz // Ambitious Kitchen | Photography by: Eat Love Eats
