There’s this bakery in downtown Rochester called Cheesy Eddie’s that sells the most amazing version of these cream cheese oatmeal cookies. It’s this little old building on a corner, with a glass case full of decadent cheesecakes, pastries, and chocolates.
But I could never resist those cookies. So I decided to try to make my own version. They certainly aren’t an exact replica, and that wasn’t my intention. These are simply inspired by the bakery version, but will hit the spot for sure.
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Let’s Make Cream Cheese Oatmeal Cookies
To get started with these cookies, you’ll be mixing the wet and dry ingredients separately. The easiest way to start with the wet ingredients is by using a stand mixer with a flex-edge beater or paddle attachment. Cream the butter and sugar together first, and then mix in an egg and some vanilla extract.
The dry ingredients are a little easier. You can whisk them all together in a medium mixing bowl. Once everything is combined, add the dry ingredients into the wet in the mixer. I like to do this in a couple batches, so everything can mix in more easily. However, be careful not to over-mix. You should stop as soon as everything is incorporated.
To get the most uniform cookies, use a cookie scoop to place balls of dough onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. If you don’t have a cookie scoop, you can use a spoon and shape the dough into 1-inch balls. However, it’s more difficult to get cookies that are the same size this way.
They will spread when baked, so give them plenty of room. Two to three inches apart is perfect. As a guide, I only put five cookies on a single baking sheet to make these, so they had plenty of space to expand.
Bake these for 8-10 minutes, at 375F, with a rack in the middle of the oven. When you take them out, they won’t look done, but they are. You can tell they are ready because the outside edges will just be starting to get browned and dry, while the middle still looks squishy.
Let them cool on the pan for about 10 minutes. They will flatten out somewhat, and look dry in the middle. Then you can transfer them to a cooling rack until they have fully cooled to room temperature.
I usually bake cookies alternating between two cookie sheets. This way, one pan can cool while another is in the oven. Then I can swap them, by putting fresh cookie dough on the cooled pan when I move the cookies to the rack.
How to Make Cookie Sandwiches
While your cookies are cooling, you can start mixing the frosting. You’ll need another mixer bowl, or to clean out the one you used for cookie dough to use here. Use your mixer again by first mixing together the cream cheese and butter until smooth and fluffy.
Add in the powdered sugar, again in batches. I like to add about 1/2 cup at a time, and let it fully mix in before adding more. With the last of the sugar, add the vanilla bean paste and about half the milk. You can add more milk as needed to get the right consistency.
If you’ll be piping the frosting, you’ll want it to be medium consistency. This is less important if you will be spreading it onto the cookies. To test that your frosting is ready, stop the mixer, and look at the peaks. Medium consistency frosting will have peaks that droop over slightly, but then hold their shape.
The next part was fun for me, because you get to pair up the cookies. If you used a cookie scoop, this is fairly easy, since your cookies will be closer to uniform. However, you should still pair them by size and shape, to get the best looking sandwiches.
For each pair, flip over one of the cookies, and add some frosting to the back, flat side. I used a piping back with a star tip to make this faster and a little bit prettier. However, they will taste just as good if you simply spread the frosting with a knife.
The last step is to place the other cookie in the pair on top, and you’ll have a set of amazingly delicious cream cheese oatmeal cookies.
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How to Serve Cream Cheese Oatmeal Cookies
Honestly, just eat them. They are perfect for a snack or dessert. If you feel like you can justify it, have one for breakfast. I can easily see the oats and cream cheese in the ingredients and make the jump, so no judgement here. If you are having them for breakfast, try them alongside something with similar spices, like a warm bowl of homemade applesauce.
These would be a fun treat to share with friends or bring to a party or potluck. But you can also enjoy them at home with your own family. Store them at room temperature for 1-2 days, or refrigerate for up to a week, letting them warm up to room temperature for a few hours before serving. Pair these with a creamy hot beverage, like chai white hot chocolate, or for more of a kick almond Irish coffee hot cocoa.
Use Up Leftover Ingredients
This recipe uses only 4 ounces of cream cheese, and so you’ll likely have some left over. If you’re looking for a sweet breakfast, you can try bananas foster stuffed french toast, or pumpernickel stuffed french toast sticks.
With your extra oats, you can have an easy and healthy breakfast with banana, coconut, and date quick oatmeal. Or to use some cinnamon in a fun new way try a chai latte green smoothie or cinnamon, pear, and rum cocktail.
Cream Cheese Oatmeal Cookie Sandwiches
Ingredients
Oatmeal Cookies
- 1 Cup Butter unsalted and softened to room temperature
- 1 Cup Sugar
- 1 1/2 Cups Brown Sugar
- 2 Eggs
- 1 tsp Vanilla
- 2 ¼ Cups White Whole Wheat Flour see note
- 3 Cups Quick Oats
- 1 Tbsp Cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp Ground Allspice
- 1/2 tsp Ground Cloves
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- 1 tsp Baking Soda
Cream Cheese Filling
- 4 oz Cream Cheese
- 1/4 Cup Butter unsalted
- 2 Cups Powdered Sugar
- 1/2 tsp Vanilla Bean Paste
- 1 Tbsp Milk
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375F, with a rack in the center. Line a cookie sheet (or two!) with parchment paper.
- In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and sugars on low speed. Add in the egg and vanilla, mixing until combined.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, oats, spices, baking soda, and salt until mixed. Add the dry ingredients to the mixer, in four batches, fully incorporating each batch at low speed, until all ingredients are thoroughly combined.
- Use a spoon or cookie scoop to place balls of dough, about 1-inch in diameter onto the prepared cookie sheet. These will spread, so it's best to spread them 2-3 inches apart.
- Bake for 8-10 minutes. The cookies should be dry around the edges, but still soft in the middle. Let cool for 10 minutes on the pan, and then transfer to a rack to cool completely.
- While the cookies are cooling, add the cream cheese and butter to a clean bowl for the stand mixer. Use the paddle attachment and mix at medium-low speed for about 5 minutes, until the mixture starts to get fluffy.
- Add in the powdered sugar, 1/2 cup at a time, fully incorporating into the cream cheese and butter. With the last batch of sugar, add in the vanilla bean paste and half the milk, and mix thoroughly. Add more milk as needed until the frosting has peaks that curl over slightly.
- Pair your cooled cookies by size and shape. If you used a cookie scoop, they will be more consistent. However, there may still be slight differences.
- Add the frosting to a piping bag if desired. From each pair, pipe or spread about 2 Tbsp of frosting onto the back of one cookie. Then cover with the other cookie.
- Eat these immediately, or store at room temperature for 1-2 days. You can also store the completed cookie sandwiches or the separate cookies and frosting in the fridge for 1-2 weeks. You can freeze these for 3 months. Thaw to room temperature before serving.
Notes
- If you do not have vanilla bean paste, you can substitute 1 tsp vanilla extract in the frosting.
- Using a cookie scoop for this recipe will help you get more consistent results, which is especially important when pairing up the cookies to make sandwiches.
- Some people (especially at high altitudes) found this recipe to work better with more flour. Add a bit more if your dough appears wet or sticky after it's mixed.
I’ve eliminated all biases and arrived at the conclusion that these are absolute perfection. No kidding. It’s all just brilliant. The only way to improve on this recipe is to make more.
We can make more any time you want! 🙂
This recipe makes me want to cry – only because I’m allergic to oats and I miss oatmeal cookies SO MUCH!!! But my husband would absolutely love them, so I may need to whip up a special treat for him soon. Tonight I made my mom’s chocolate chip walnut banana bread hehe. You’ve inspired me to bake more!
Oh no! I’m sorry I keep sharing recipes you can’t enjoy! I wish I could offer a substitute for oats, but I’m not sure there really are any. Maybe you could make regular chocolate chip cookies and still enjoy the cream cheese between those?
Oatmeal cookies are some of my favorites! I have never tried making them on my own though. I will def have to try making your recipe because they look amazing!
Agreed! I love the texture and flavor of a good oatmeal cookie, and homemade is so much better. I hope you love them!
So I’m a weirdo and I don’t like cream cheese. However, my husband really enjoys it. So this recipe is great because I can make it and do the sandwich cookies for him and just eat the yummy oatmeal cookies myself!
Oh no! You could totally make these with a buttercream filling as well (just replace the cream cheese for more butter in the recipe), but I’m not sure if they’d be too sweet without the tang. But the cookies are also great on their own. Enjoy!
I’m such a cookie monster, but never had thought of cookie sandwiches. I love the idea of frosting in between, sounds so fresh! Definitely need to give these a try, thanks girl!
Cookie sandwiches are definitely elevated from your standard batch of cookies. They are a game-changer though, and you may never go back! Enjoy!
These look so good! Oatmeal cookies trigger wonderful nostalgic memories from childhood…LOVE how oatmeal cookies smell when they bake and have such a great consistency when they are done. Great idea for the sandwich cookies! 🙂
I totally agree. The spice combination with the texture of the oats is just so classic and perfect. Nothing compares to a fresh oatmeal cookie in my opinion!
I’ve made these before and they were divine!!! Perhaps I can try your recipe for Mother’s Daym
What a great idea! These are so fun for Mother’s Day. Enjoy!
These look so good! I normally gravitate towards chocolate chip, but the filling in this looks amazing.
Lauren
http://laurensjourney.com
You could definitely use a chocolate chip cookie recipe to make the sandwiches with the same cream cheese filling. Let me know how it goes if you try it!
What I love oatmeal creme pies!!! This could be bad!
They are totally dangerous. I’ve probably eaten 20 in the last couple weeks!
This looks delicious! Yum yum, yummy! 😋
Thank you for sharing the recipe, I will try it.
Thanks! I hope you love it. 🙂
These remind me of a favorite treat my dad packed in my lunch box when I was a kid. No raisins, ever. But, these days I am ok with raisins, so I will take them either way. I love this recipe.
How fun! I love the nostalgia that oatmeal cookies have for so many people. I am interested to try these cookies with raisins and see how that works too.
I love cookies! I will try this kind of recipe first time thanks to your article I am super motivated for it! I am already hungry while reading
Thank you! It’s a fun and delicious recipe. I hope you enjoy!
I loved the recipe and thank you for the detailed instructions including what to do with leftover ingredients. Thank you for sharing.
Thank you! I know my recipes sometimes have unique ingredients, and I don’t want anything going to waste.
OMG these seems so good! I can’t wait to try this recipe 🙂 Thank you for sharing
Thank you! They are probably my favorite recipe right now. They are so so good.
It looks delicious! Can’t wait to try it out 😉
Oh my goodness these look incredible!
This recipe didn’t work out. The cookies spread way too much and were more like brittle than cookies. Needs another cup of flour for the whole recipe. I added half a cup to the second half of mine and was able to salvage the second half of the batch.
I live at altitude and in a dry environment, so high altitude bakers may need to take note: add more flour.
Oh no! I am so sorry to hear this didn’t work as expected for you. This is one of my favorite recipes to make, and the cookies always come out deliciously chewy for me. Unfortunately, every oven and kitchen situation is different.
I am glad to hear you were able to save them by adding more flour. I am updating the recipe with a note thanks to your tip!
Could I sub the flour for a 1:1 ratio of gluten free flour?
Hi Shania, I haven’t tested making these with gluten-free flour, but it’s worth a try! Keep an eye on the texture of the cookie dough, making sure it’s not too liquidy, since some GF flours absorb liquids differently. Be sure you are also using certified gluten-free oats. I would love to hear how it goes.