These spiced eggnog oatmeal cream pies are sure to get you into the holiday spirit! Chewy oatmeal cookies flavored with eggnog, cinnamon, and nutmeg are sandwiched together with rich, spiced eggnog buttercream. They’re soft, sweet, creamy, and ultimately festive.
Ahh, eggnog, the classic seasonal beverage that pops up only at the end of the year. This creamy drink has been around for centuries, and has such a distinctive taste and texture. It’s thick, rich, and creamy; and tastes like sweet vanilla custard spiced with cinnamon and nutmeg.
It can be enjoyed cold or warm, spiked with alcohol for a wintry cocktail, or mixed with espresso in a latte… but I enjoy it best this way: in these spiced eggnog oatmeal cream pies!
Yes, These Are Eggnog Oatmeal Cream Pies!
Here’s why I think you’ll love them:
- Soft and chewy cookies textured with oats
- Extra creamy eggnog buttercream filling
- Sweet and spiced with nutmeg and cinnamon
- Lovely eggnog flavor, in both the cookies and the frosting filling
- No raw eggs and no booze—so no worries!
Pair with peppermint mocha cookies for a duo of holiday drink-inspired cookies!
Behind the Recipe
I didn’t start out trying to make an eggnog version of an oatmeal creme pie. I wanted to make a chewy frosted eggnog-flavored cookie. A lot of eggnog cookie recipes don’t include it in the dough, just in the icing, but I really wanted it in both the cookie dough and the icing.
When I tried making an iced eggnog sugar cookie, it was just way too sweet. Eggnog is already sweet, and a sugar cookie was just not the right fit for this flavoring. So I started playing around with my recipe for iced gingerbread oatmeal cookies. I reduced many of the ingredients, especially the butter and oats, and took out the molasses, and added some eggnog.
When I added more flour, they were becoming cakey. But using a careful balance of not-too-much flour and not-too-many-oats, they stayed perfectly chewy, with some delightful texture from the oats.
Key Ingredients You Need & Why:
- Flour: All-purpose flour gives these cookies structure.
- Spices: Cinnamon + nutmeg amp up the eggnog flavor in the cookies and frosting. If you can find it, using freshly ground nutmeg really gives it that little something extra!
- Oats: Oats don’t absorb as much liquid as flour, so the cookies stay chewy instead of becoming cakey.
- Baking Soda: So the cookies will puff up a bit in the oven, then deflate a bit when cooling.
- Salt: Flavor enhancer + sweetness balancer.
- Butter: You’ll need room-temperature butter for both the cookie dough and the buttercream, to make sure it creams properly.
- Brown Sugar: For extra-soft cookies. You can use light or dark, but I prefer dark brown sugar in these cookies. The extra molasses content deepens the flavor.
- Eggnog: I use store-bought eggnog in both the cookies and the frosting, so it’s alcohol-free and pasteurized. My team and I haven’t tested this recipe with homemade eggnog, though I can imagine it would be just fine.
- Egg: For binding the dough ingredients together.
- Vanilla: Adds flavor to both cookies and frosting.
- Confectioners’ Sugar: For the eggnog buttercream frosting.
This recipe makes 24 cookies, so 12 eggnog oatmeal cream pies. Feel free to double the recipe—I can promise you people will ask for more! Or feel free to just spread/pipe the buttercream on top of each cookie… there’s plenty to use.
Let Me Show You How to Make Them
You want a thinner cookie here, so the sandwiches aren’t tall and ginormous. (Think store-bought oatmeal cream pies vs. a double-decker sandwich… LOL.) Therefore, you need a stickier dough that will spread more:
This dough needs 2 hours in the refrigerator before you can shape it. This is the case with MANY cookie recipes! If you’re short on time, here are all my cookie recipes that don’t require dough chilling—shortbread cookies are always a seasonal favorite!
Even after chilling, the dough is a bit sticky, and that’s ok. It’s still solid enough to roll into balls:
Eggnog Oatmeal Cream Pies: Shaping Tips
You want to roll them into evenly sized balls, to make it easier to match up 2 cookies for sandwiching together. I find a food scale super useful for getting the cookies to be uniform in size. Scoop a heaping Tablespoon of dough, then drop it on the food scale, and add or take away some dough to get it to be about 24–25g. Then roll into a ball, place it on a lined baking sheet, and repeat with the remaining dough.
These will spread a bit while baking, which is what you want so you have a nice flat surface for the eggnog cream filling. I usually bake 8 cookies on a baking sheet, to give them plenty of room to spread out. These cookies bake in about 11–12 minutes, but check on them around minute 9 of baking to see how they’re looking.
Success Tip: If your cookies are spreading too much or unevenly, remove them from the oven and use a spoon to lightly push any wonky edges back in towards the center, to reshape into circles. (I do this a lot with chocolate chip cookies.) Return to the oven to continue baking. You can repeat this trick again as soon as you take them out of the oven after baking.
Don’t worry if they don’t all look pretty—you’re turning half of them upside down anyway!
Let’s review the shaping tips:
- Use a food scale to make the cookies uniform in size.
- If cookies aren’t spreading, bang the baking sheet on the counter a couple times, then return to oven to finish baking.
- If cookies are overly or unevenly spreading, use a spoon to reshape.
Make the Eggnog Buttercream Filling
Once your baked cookies are cool, make the eggnog buttercream frosting for your cream pie filling. This is really easy and just like vanilla buttercream, but scaled down and includes eggnog and spices.
Pipe or spread the filling onto the bottoms of 12 of the cookies, then place the other 12 cookies on top (flat/bottom sides in). I used a small star tip (Wilton 199), but anything would work.
Can I Make These Cookie Cream Pies Without Eggnog?
If you’d like to adapt this recipe to omit the eggnog, you can replace it with heavy cream in both the dough and the buttercream. Or try my recipe for classic oatmeal creme pies.
Turn Them Into Eggnog Ice Cream Sandwiches
These soft and chewy eggnog oatmeal cookies would also make wonderful ice cream cookie sandwiches. Simply swap the eggnog buttercream frosting for eggnog ice cream, and follow the instructions for sandwiching the cookies with softened ice cream, wrapping, and freezing from my cookie ice cream sandwich recipe.
Sally’s Cookie Palooza
This recipe is part of my annual cookie countdown called Sally’s Cookie Palooza. It’s the biggest, most delicious event of the year! Browse dozens of cookie recipes over on the Sally’s Cookie Palooza page including:
and here are 75+ Christmas cookies with all my best success guides & tips.
Spiced Eggnog Oatmeal Cream Pies
- Prep Time: 2 hours, 40 minutes (includes chilling)
- Cook Time: 11 minutes
- Total Time: 3 hours
- Yield: 12 sandwiches
- Category: Cookies
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
These are chewy cookies with oats and flavored with eggnog, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Sandwich them together with richly sweet and spiced eggnog buttercream. See my cookie shaping tips above before starting.
Ingredients
- 1 and 1/2 cups (190g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg (I recommend freshly ground)
- 2/3 cup (53g) old-fashioned whole rolled oats
- 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup (8 Tbsp; 113g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1 cup (200g) packed light or dark brown sugar (I recommend dark here)
- 2 Tablespoons (30ml) eggnog, at room temperature
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Eggnog Buttercream Filling
- 10 Tablespoons (142g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 2 cups (240g) confectioners’ sugar
- 3 Tablespoons (45ml) eggnog, at room temperature
- 1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- pinch each salt, ground cinnamon, and ground nutmeg
Instructions
- Make the cookies: Whisk the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, oats, baking soda, and salt together in a medium bowl. Set aside.
- In a large bowl using a hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and brown sugar together on medium-high speed until creamed, about 2 minutes. Add the egg, eggnog, and vanilla extract and beat on high speed until combined, about 1 minute. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl and beat again as needed to combine.
- Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients and mix on low until combined. Dough will be very sticky.
- Cover dough tightly and chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours and up to 3 days. Chilling is imperative for this sticky cookie dough.
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Line large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Set aside.
- Roll chilled cookie dough into balls, about 1 heaping Tablespoon (24-25g) of dough each, and place 3 inches apart on the baking sheets. (You should get 24 cookie dough balls.)
- Bake for 11–12 minutes, or until very lightly browned around the edges. The centers will look very soft. Remove from the oven and allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. (Success Tip: If your cookies are spreading too much or unevenly, remove them from the oven and use a spoon to lightly push any wonky edges back in towards the center, to reshape into circles. You can repeat this trick again as soon as you take them out of the oven after baking.)
- Make the buttercream filling: Using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle or whisk attachment, beat softened butter on high speed until creamy, about 1 minute. Add the confectioners’ sugar and beat on medium speed for 1–2 minutes. Pour in eggnog and vanilla extract, and add a pinch each of cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Beat on high for 2–3 minutes until fluffy. Pipe or spread some of the cream filling on the bottom side of half of the cookies; top with remaining cookies, right side up. I used Wilton 199 tip to pipe.
- Cover and store leftover cookies at room temperature for up to 1 day. After that, store in the refrigerator for up to 1 week to keep the creamy filling fresh.
Notes
- Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: You can make the cookie dough and chill it in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Baked cookies, cooled but not frosted/sandwiched, freeze well for up to 3 months. (For best taste and texture, eggnog buttercream filling should be fresh!) Follow recipe through step 7 before freezing. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and bring to room temperature before continuing with step 8. Unbaked cookie dough balls will freeze well for up to 3 months. Bake from frozen, adding a minute or two to the baking time. Read my tips and tricks on how to freeze cookie dough.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Glass Mixing Bowl | Whisk | Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | Food Scale | Baking Sheets | Silicone Baking Mats or Parchment Sheets | Cooling Rack | Small Icing Spatula (for buttercream filling) | Piping Bag (Reusable or Disposable) and Wilton 199 Tip or similar small piping tip (for buttercream filling)
- Eggnog: I recommend using store-bought pasteurized eggnog. My team and I haven’t tested this recipe with homemade eggnog, though I can imagine it would be just fine. If you’d like to make this recipe without eggnog, you can replace it with heavy cream in both the cookies and frosting; or try this recipe for classic oatmeal creme pies.
- Be sure to check out my top 5 cookie baking tips AND these are my 10 must-have cookie baking tools.
Absolutely delicious! Followed recipe exactly, and these came out heavenly!
I absolutely love this recipe! My partner has a lactose allergy so I used oat eggnog and non-dairy butter which turned out so delicious. The only change I had to make was refrigerating the buttercream before it would set. Still tastes amazing! Thank you Sally. I only use your recipes for baking and have never had an issue. I’m actually taking these cookies to our friends tonight and we’re doing a dairy free cookie bake off challenge.
I’ve made made few of your recipes and they’ve all been delicious! Even when I’ve messed up and it doesn’t turn out looking picture-perfect – they still always taste delicious! Wasn’t sure whether to leave a comment on this recipe or the one I combined it with, so my comment applies to both this recipe and your favorite gingerbread cookies. Used your gingerbread cookie recipe (although in a circle shape instead of a person shape) and combined with your eggnog buttercream recipe to make cream pies that way. Only change I made was to add a little more nutmeg and cinnamon to the buttercream. Gifted them out to friends, neighbors and colleagues today and yesterday and already gotten many texts and calls just to say they are sooo good! Many thanks from me and everyone who’s thanked me!
I have used so many of your recipes and they always turn out delicious! For this one, I combined 2 of your recipes and it’s not even xmas yet but the cookies have been given out and gotten rave reviews. This round: used your recipe for your favorite gingerbread cookies and your eggnog buttercream recipe to make the cookie sandwiches. Such a great combo and I’ve gotten random texts and calls from many giftees just to say how delicious they are. Thank you from me and everyone that’s tried them.
These cookies are divine! They get better the next day and the day after, if they last that long. The eggnog flavor is mild but tasty. It’s a little extra work to size the cookies but worth it. I just slathered the filling on with a spoon, there is plenty. Could prob cut the filling recipe by 1/3
Hi Sally! I am about to make this recipe and am wondering about earring about storage. I am wanting to include them in my giveaway for Christmas Eve. I am sure they wont be eaten right away, so how long is the shelf life? Would you recommend making something different?f
Hi Laurie! You can cover and store leftover cookies at room temperature for up to 1 day. After that, store in the refrigerator for up to 1 week to keep the creamy filling fresh. Just be sure to let the recipients know this!
Hi Sally!!! I love your recipes, they are always a hit. I made these cookies, scooped them and froze them. I wanted to know how far in advance can I make the butter cream filling so it could be ready. I will be baking the cookies on Wednesday and giving them out part of my Christmas cookies box on Friday. Thank you!
Hi Vivian! Use immediately or cover tightly and store for up to 1 week in the refrigerator or up to 3 months in the freezer. After freezing, thaw in the refrigerator then beat the frosting on medium speed for a few seconds so it’s creamy again. After thawing or refrigerating, beating in a splash of heavy cream or milk will help thin the frosting out again, if needed.
These turned out great!! I love a good, spicy spiced cookie, so I doubled the cinnamon and nutmeg…sooo good!! Also added some flaky salt to the tops! Great recipe that came together well, definitely making again very soon for the holidays!
Do you foresee issues doubling the recipe when mixing the batter? I will still plan to bake in batches. These have been a huge hit at all my holiday parties, so I need more for the work party!
Hi Joya, yes, you can double this recipe. Be careful not to over mix the batter with the added volume, but otherwise it will work just fine to double this one!
Hi Sally! I love your website; all the recipes I’ve tried have been a hit! I am actually writing about your oatmeal pumpkin creme pies. For some reason I am unable to comment on that particular recipe. When I bake the cookies they flatten out. I added 1/4 cup more flour like you had said on one other person’s comment. I also make sure the dough is cold; both times I’ve refrigerated for 24 hours. They look so beautiful and round when I take them out of the oven, but, sure enough, within a few minutes they sink down.
When I make snickerdoodles, I do half shortening and half butter and that keeps them from flattening out; have you possibly tried that with this oatmeal cookie recipe? Do you think it would work? Any other suggestions?
Thank you!! 🙂
Hi Kelly, that’s an older recipe on the website and I actually did not realize the comments were not working properly, so thank you for bringing to my attention. I haven’t tested that cookie dough with half shortening, but you certainly can. I know the cookies will hold shape better when making that swap. You can, too, also keep adding an extra 1/4 cup (about 31-35g) flour to the dough as well.
I made these with oat milk eggnog instead of cow’s milk, and they turned out great! They also kept well in an airtight container on the counter overnight. The cookie is good even without the frosting. Wonderful way to use up that last bit of eggnog!
Trying these today but with an adjustment. My coquito (eggnog) is not workplace friendly lol. (I use my coworkers as my baking guinea pigs) So instead of eggnog I am using my own home made apple butter…the apple butter is heavily spiced and has some of the same spice notes as eggnog. We’ll see how it turns out!!! Excited to try it and share my results. Thank you for all of your recipes…i quite enjoy trying them and they give me great motivation to continue perfecting my baking!!!
Rolled oats vs Quick oats?? Can I substitute?
I made these with homemade eggnog and they turned out great! The banging on the counter to keep them from puffing up was also very helpful. Thanks for another great recipe!
I made these for my husband who loves egg nog. I used a 1 Tblsp scoop for the cookies (not heaping) instead of weighing and the cookies turned out to be about 2” in diameter and a bit puffy (I did spoon and level the flour!). I thought they have a great taste even though I don’t like egg nog myself. My oven runs a bit hot, so next time I will decrease the temp or bake time and cut a bit a flour out. Thanks for the recipe!
These were delicious! Mine spread like nobody’s business (too much in fact) and we’re fairly thin. They retained their chewiness and were so good! I suspect I didn’t let them chill long enough/thawed them for too long after chilling since they were fairly greasy to make balls with. I loved the hint of spice along with the eggnog buttercream. Definitely will make again.
These were perfect. I have a frosting lover in the house who thinks a cookie without frosting isn’t worth much. He loved these. Also, thanks so much for the instructions in grams/weight. It’s SO MUCH easier to precisely weigh out the balls of dough, rather than guess with a tablespoon. I get much better results when i weigh everything.
These were perfect- the cookies had a nice soft and chewy texture with just the right amount of oats. My family usually thinks icing is too sweet so I used 1/2 cup less powdered sugar in the icing. I’m sure it was softer than intended that way but still very delicious. Any tips for making icing less sweet when you need it to be more structured than a whipped cream or cream cheese frosting? I love your recipies, Sally! For the past year or so I ONLY bake from here. Really no reason to go elsewhere because none of the recipies I have tried so far have failed me!
Hi Whitney! Thank you so much for trying these. My favorite ways to make a less sweet icing/frosting is really using a different technique and recipe. I love this Swiss meringue buttercream (which is very sturdy) and this whipped frosting.
These were amazing and surprisingly less work than I thought! Making them for a second time today. Sally, I used to think I could never make a successful baked good, but ever since I started following your recipes each one has always been a hit! Thank you for all the helpful tips and instructions you include in your recipes. Because of you I absolutely love baking now!
These are absolutely delicious! The cookies are the perfect consistency and the frosting is delightful. The eggnog flavor isn’t strong but it is there. I tasted the frosting and added extra nutmeg and cinnamon because we like those flavors a lot in our house. Thank you Sally for a most fantastic and easy to use recipe site!
These were so delicious I think they might become a new Christmas cookie tradition! About to make a second batch!
Excited to try these this week! I’m thinking of making them as “mini” sandwiches, instead of a heaping 1 TBSP, how much should I scoop per cookie to make a mini (~ half sized) and would you recommend cutting the cooking time down for mini sandwiches? Thanks!
Hi Jeannie! You can make them about half sized with 1.5 – 2 tsp dough. Baking time will be quick, but we’re unsure of the exact time. Let us know if you give it a try!
I made them mini with that suggested size and they came out so cute and perfect! I took some pics I’d love to email you & share if you’re interested 🙂
Hi Jeannie, We love to see baker’s photos – you can email us at sally@sallysbakingaddiction.com
Hi Jeannie!
How long did you bake the minis for? I baked the full sized for about 11 minutes and they turned out perfectly. But i’d like to try the minis this week!
I was skeptical that the eggnog flavors would come through on these, but it’s a really lovely cookie. I wish they had spread a bit less and didn’t come out quite as thin, but I loved the spices and flavor. The buttercream filling was superb.
I made this recipe according to the instructions but they ended up looking nothing like the photos. They were puffy and did not end up spreading at all so unfortunately I couldn’t make them into cookie sandwiches. A little disappointing as usually I get amazing results when I make your recipes.
Mine turned out the same way. They are delicious but didn’t spread. I’m still making mini sandwiches with them.
I just made mine today (after dough 3 days in fridge) and they did not spread out, either. They are puffy and look too big for sandwich cookies!! I have not tried them yet but I’m sure will be delicious as I have not tried a recipe that has not been. But I would love to know what I did incorrectly!
So I just tried my second batch and they came out the same (puffy) so right when I got them out of the oven I took my spatula and pressed gently down on them to make them flat. They look so much better!! Try that and see if It works!!
I’d like to try these just as a single cookie with frosting. Do you think I need a thicker cookie to get the same “ratio” taste wise? If so, do you have a thicker Oatmeal cookie recipe? Thanks!
Hi Victoria! You may love our iced oatmeal cookies recipe.
Would it be possible to make these into mini sized?
Can’t see why not! Let us know if you try it.
Really excited to try this recipe out! I’m wondering if it would be possible to add rum extract either to the cookies or icing to add to the egg nog flavor. What would you reccomend?
Absolutely! You can replace the vanilla extract in the filling with rum extract, and replace 1/2 teaspoon in the cookies.
I’m trying to make them mini-sized today!
How did this go? Any tips? I would like to make them mini, too, so I can fit all of Sally’s recipes I’m trying into our cookie boxes!
Maybe a weird question but is there a substitute to eggnog or can I make it myself?
It’s not available outside the US but I’m very curious haha.
Hi Kelly, we haven’t tested this recipe with homemade eggnog, though we can imagine it would be just fine. You can use regular heavy cream as the substitute.
I had the same thought Kelly, as I also live outside the USA and it’s not really a big thing here.
Would Sally happen to have a recipe for Eggnog, so we could try it to see what all the fuss is about? 🙂
Hi Carole! I don’t have a recipe, but here’s one you can try: https://tastesbetterfromscratch.com/homemade-eggnog/
Perfect timing – I was looking for an Eggnog Buttercream to use to frost your chocolate cupcakes. Is the frosting the correct consistency to use to frost cupcakes?
Hi Ingrid, it should work great! It’s really just a scaled down version of vanilla buttercream with eggnog and spices.
Thank you for the quick reply!
I’m elated that not only did you post another creme pie recipe, but it is eggnog flavored. I cannot wait to try these! Thank you thank you thank you! I will give an update after I make them.
These sounds like exact cookie I have been wanting to make this season! Question, How are these cookies on their own? Just in case I just want eat them sans frosting.
Soft, spiced, chewy! You won’t pick up much of an eggnog flavor though. Not without the frosting.
I’ve been looking for a great oatmeal cookie FOREVER! sounds like this may work unless you have a stand alone recipe you recommend