Soft coconut gingerbread oatmeal cream pies stuffed with coconut salted caramel sauce and coconut frosting.
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coconut gingerbread oatmeal cream pies
Hello hello! ☺︎ Today I have for you these coconut gingerbread oatmeal cream pies that just so happen to be vegan (but you’d never notice)! They start out with a super soft and perfectly spiced gingerbread oatmeal cookie that’s filled with a coconut ermine frosting and a coconut salted caramel sauce. If you’re not familiar with ermine frosting, it’s also called boiled milk frosting because you make it with a cooked milk mixture and butter. That admittedly does sound a little odd, but I promise the result is a super rich, delicious, and not-too-sweet frosting. So let’s get into it!
expert baking tips
Weigh your ingredients:
My recipes are all written in grams because it is the most accurate way to bake. When you use a kitchen scale, you ensure that your baked goods turn out as close to the written recipe as possible. Plus, the cleanup is way easier when using a scale! I will provide standard cup measurements but please note that I have not tested the recipe using cup measurements and therefore can not guarantee your recipe will come out how mine did. Here is my favorite kitchen scale.
Mix the dough carefully:
When adding in the flour, only fold the mixture just until no flour streaks remain. Over mixing the dough leads to more gluten formation, which can make the cookies thicker and more tough in texture.
Under bake for perfect cookies:
Cookies continue baking after they have been taken out of the oven. Once the cookies look just a little wet on top still, they are ready to come out. Let the cookies rest on the baking sheet for an additional 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool.
The secret to perfectly round cookies:
Wanna know the secret to perfectly round cookies? It’s cookie scooting! Right when the cookies come out of the oven, take a bowl, cup, or biscuit cutter that is just slightly larger than your cookies and place it over one of the cookies. Gently swirl the bowl around the cookie to make the cookie perfectly round (and slightly thicker). And that’s all there is to it!
A note on oven temperature:
Ovens vary and fluctuate in temperature and might not always actually be at the temperature they claim to be at. If you love to bake like I do, I highly recommend getting an oven thermometer. They are super helpful for letting you know when your oven might be lying to you! I use this one.
ingredients for coconut gingerbread oatmeal cream pies –
gingerbread oatmeal cookies:
- all-purpose flour: for structure and chewiness.
- rolled oats: I recommend rolled oats for the best texture.
- baking powder: for helping the cookies puff up.
- baking soda: for helping the cookies rise and giving them crisp edges.
- salt: to help balance and bring out the sweetness of the cookies
- gingerbread spice: for flavor. I used a pre-made blend of gingerbread spices but you can make your own blend of spices as well.
- vegan butter stick: use your favorite vegan butter stick (not butter spread) here.
- dark brown sugar: for a deep molasses flavor, moisture, and sweetness.
- vegan yogurt: for binding and for moisture, I used vanilla oatmilk skyr here.
- vanilla: for flavor. You can use vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste here.
coconut salted caramel sauce:
- granulated sugar: the base of the caramel
- vegan butter stick: helps make the caramel smooth and velvety.
- coconut milk: helps smooth out the caramel and make it pourable.
- salt: the perfect balance to the sweetness of the caramel. I used just regular table salt, but if you want to use sea salt or flaky sea salt you should double the amount.
coconut ermine frosting:
- granulated sugar: for sweetness.
- vegan butter stick: the base of the frosting.
- coconut milk: the base of the pudding mixture for the ermine frosting.
- salt: for flavor.
- all-purpose flour: for thickening the pudding mixture.
- vanilla bean paste: or regular vanilla extract, for flavor.
coconut gingerbread oatmeal cream pies
recipe q&a
can i make these non-vegan?
These are super delicious vegan, but if you don’t have vegan ingredients on hand and want to make these, you definitely can. Just sub the butter for regular unsalted butter in all the components, the vegan yogurt for an egg or greek yogurt, the coconut milk in the salted caramel sauce for heavy whipping cream and the coconut milk in the frosting for whole milk.
can I double this recipe?
Of course! Obviously, they will not be small batch anymore but small batch isn’t always what we need! I even more strongly recommend measuring by weight if you are going to double the recipe for the best results.
can I make these cookies ahead of time?
Definitely! You can make all of the components the day before baking and assembling the cookies. Just keep the cookie dough stored air-tight in the fridge along with the cooked milk mixture and the salted caramel sauce. Be sure to take out your cookie dough and set it at room temperature for ~30 minutes until it’s scoopable again before baking.
how should I store these cookies?
Because these cookies are filled with caramel and ermine frosting, they do need to be refrigerated once they are frosted.
tools and ingredients:
You can find all my favorite tools and ingredients that I use on my Amazon Storefront page, here!
other recipes you might enjoy:
tools and ingredients
You can find all my favorite tools and ingredients that I use on my Amazon Storefront page, here!
did you make this recipe?
I’d love to see and know your thoughts! please leave a comment and review below, and tag me on instagram @freshbeanbakery. #freshbeanbakery
Coconut Gingerbread Oatmeal Cream Pies
Ingredients
Gingerbread Oatmeal Cookies
- 90 g vegan butter stick (6 ⅓ tbsp.)
- 150 g dark brown sugar (¾ c.)
- 50 g vegan yogurt* room temperature
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- 130 g all purpose flour (1 c. + 1 tbsp + 1 tsp.)
- 80 g rolled oats (1 c.)
- ½ tsp. baking soda
- ½ tsp. baking powder
- ½ tsp. salt
- 2 tsp. gingerbread spice
Coconut Salted Caramel Sauce
- 75 g granulated sugar (¼ c. + 2 tbsp.)
- 21 g vegan butter stick room temp. (1 ½ tbsp.)
- 30 g coconut milk room temp. (1 oz.)
- ⅛ tsp. salt
Coconut Ermine Frosting
- 65 g granulated sugar (⅓ c.)
- 20 g all-purpose flour (2 tbsp. + 2 tsp.)
- ⅛ tsp. salt
- 80 g coconut milk (2 ⅔ oz.)
- 75 g vegan butter stick (5 ⅓ tbsp.)
- 1 tsp. vanilla bean paste
Instructions
Gingerbread Oatmeal Cookies
- Add the butter to a medium-sized microwave-safe bowl and melt it in 20-second intervals until the butter has fully melted.
- Whisk in the brown sugar, yogurt, and vanilla until well combined.
- Add in the flour, oats, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and gingerbread spice. Use a rubber spatula to fold the mixture together just until no flour streaks remain.
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and chill the dough in the fridge for 30 minutes. While the dough is chilling, start on the caramel and frosting.
Coconut Salted Caramel Sauce
- Add the sugar to a medium-sized saucepan set over medium heat. Stir occasionally until the sugar begins to melt, then stir constantly until the sugar has completely melted and turned into a deep amber color.
- Add in the butter and whisk until the mixture is smooth.
- Take the mixture off of the heat, and slowly whisk in the coconut milk until it is completely incorporated into the caramel. Whisk in the salt, then transfer the caramel to a heat-safe jar and set it in the fridge to thicken up.
Coconut Ermine Frosting
- Add the sugar, flour, salt, and coconut milk to a small saucepan set over medium heat. Continously whisk the mixture together until it starts to bubble up and thickens to a pudding-like consistency.
- Transfer the mixture to a shallow heat-safe bowl and cover it tightly with plastic wrap. Set the mixture in the fridge to chill.
Baking & Assembly
- Once you’re ready to bake the cookies, preheat the oven to 350°F / 175°C. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or with a silicone mat.
- Scoop out 1 1/2 tbsp. scoops of dough, setting them on the cookie sheet ~2” apart to allow room for spreading.
- Bake for 9-11 minutes, until the edges of the cookies turn golden brown.
- Immediately after taking the cookies out of the oven, take a bowl that is slightly larger than the cookies and swirl it around over them to make them a little more uniform and circular.
- While the cookies are cooling to room temperature, finish makking the coconut ermine frosting. In a medium-sized mixing bowl or in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter until it's light and fluffy.
- While the mixer is running, add in the cooked milk mixture in three intervals, allowing it to fully combine with the butter before adding in more. Once all of the milk mixture has been incorporated, add in the vanilla bean paste and beat the mixture for an additional minute.
- Transfer the frosting to a piping bag fitted with your tip of choice.
- Flip half of the cooled oatmeal cookies upside down and pipe a circle of frosting around the outer edge of the cookie.
- Spoon a dollop of the caramel into the center of the cookie (if the caramel has hardened too much in the fridge, microwave it in 5-10 second intervals to soften it). Place a cookie on top of the frosting, then serve and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Please note that the nutrition facts are only an estimate and may vary based on different brands of ingredients and any substitutions made.