These vegan Apple Oatmeal Cream Pies are an updated, festive take on the classic treats of your childhood. Gluten-free option included!
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You know those old-school Oatmeal Crème Pies of your youth? They make me super nostalgic, and they’re the inspiration for these updated Vegan Apple Oatmeal Cream Pies. They’re so cozy, perfect for fall, and easily gluten-free.
Key Ingredients for Apple Oatmeal Cream Pies
Vegan Butter: You can use regular butter if you’re not vegan! Both will work.
Brown and White Sugar: For cookies that are perfectly balanced in flavor and texture. You can sub coconut sugar for both if desired!
Applesauce: To make sure that delightful apple flavor is infused throughout the entire cookie.
Vanilla Extract: To enhance the overall flavor profile of these cookies.
All-Purpose Flour: I’ve tested it with oat flour and this works as well for a gluten-free option; I would be sure to use store-bought as it’s more finely milled than homemade.
Rolled Oats: These are oatmeal cream pies, after all!
Cornstarch: Makes these cookies more chewy and helps bind them together in the absence of eggs. You could try using arrowroot starch instead, but I haven’t tested it.
Cinnamon, Allspice, Nutmeg, and Salt: All the necessary spices to make sure these cookies taste cozy and autumnal.
Baking Powder and Soda: For proper rise and texture.
Apples: I used Honeycrisp, but any apple should work. Choose your favorite!
Frosting: You could get fancy and make your own frosting if you want, but I just used store bought. Shockingly, most vanilla frostings you find in grocery stores are accidentally vegan. If you’re wanting a healthier option, Simple Mills is great.
Baking Tips and Tricks
- Measuring the Flour: Make sure to spoon your flour into the measuring cup and then level it with a butter knife. If you pack the flour, it may cause the cookies to be dry and crumbly, which no one wants! I put my measuring cup in a bowl as I spoon and level to catch excess flour to minimize waste.
- Baking Powder and Baking Soda: Make sure you’ve purchased both within the last six months for best results. It loses effectiveness over time. You can write the date you open your baking powder and baking soda on the top of your containers with a sharpie.
- Mixing Your Batter: Don’t overmix! It puts too much air in the dough, which leads to more gluten development. This can cause flat cookies or unpleasantly gummy and chewy cookies.
- Mixing Speed: While it can be tempting to crank that speed up on your mixer to quickly combine everything, this is not recommended. It will break down the eggs too much and make the cookie lose its structure. This will lead to a flat cookie. No fun! I recommend using low to medium speed and paying good attention throughout the mixing process.
- Oven Time: Ovens are finicky. Temperature can vary fairly significantly. I recommend beginning to check your cookies around the 11-minute mark. It’s okay if they’re slightly undercooked, as they will continue to bake on that hot cookie sheet!
If you make these Vegan Apple Oatmeal Cream Pies, be sure to leave a rating, review, question, or concern. This helps enormously with Google rankings and encourages others to try out the recipe. It also warms my little heart. You can also connect with me on Pinterest, Instagram, and TikTok!
More Cookie Recipes
- Decadent Brown Butter Sugar Cookies
- Orange Walnut Chocolate Chip Cookies (Vegan/GF)
- Gluten-Free Caramel Pretzel Chocolate Chip Cookies
Vegan Apple Oatmeal Cream Pies
Equipment
- Large Bowl
- Baking Sheet
- parchment paper
Ingredients
- ½ cup vegan butter (1 stick) softened
- ⅓ cup brown sugar (or substitute coconut sugar)
- ⅓ cup white sugar (or substitute more coconut sugar)
- ½ cup unsweetened applesauce
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1½ cups + 2 tbsp all-purpose flour (or substitute oat flour)
- 1 cup rolled oats
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- ½ tsp sea salt
- ¼ tsp nutmeg
- ¼ tsp allspice
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- 1 cup diced apples
- 1 16-oz container vegan vanilla frosting
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or silicone baking mat for easy clean-up.
- Place softened vegan butter, brown sugar, and white sugar in a large bowl and beat on high with a hand mixer (using dough hook attachments) or a stand mixer (using paddle attachment) for 2 minutes or until combined and somewhat fluffy.
- Add applesauce and vanilla extract and beat until just combined. The vegan butter may clump up and separate during this process as it reacts with the acid in the orange juice. Don't fret! Everything will come back together once we add the dry ingredients.
- Add 1½ cups all-purpose flour, rolled oats, cornstarch, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, and salt to wet ingredients. Beat with hand or stand mixer until just combined.
- Toss diced apples with remaining two tablespoons of flour until evenly coated and fold into cookie dough.
- Use a small cookie scoop or rounded tablespoon to form the cookie dough into 16 balls. Place 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheet. You may need to do multiple batches depending on the size of your baking sheet. Bake for 9-11 minutes, or until the top of the cookies are just slightly golden brown. Remove from oven and let them set and cool for 20-30 minutes on baking sheet before transferring to a cooling rack.
- When cookies are completely cooled, use an offset spatula to spread frosting on the bottom of one cookie. Top with a second cookie, bottom side down, and gently press together. Repeat until you have eight sandwiches. Enjoy!
Notes
Photography by Hope Agresti
