Just like Grandma used to... open.

I think at some point, Little Debbie has touched all of our lives. Basically, if you grew up anytime since the 1960s...they must have graced your kitchen table or lunchbox at some point. From Honey Buns and Pecan Spinwheels (we always called them pecan twirls) to Cosmic Brownies and Swiss cake rolls- Little Debbie was a rite of passage. 

In second grade, I can still recall my best friend peeling the outer chocolate shell off her Swiss Cake Rolls. Or seeing who could untwirl the biggest piece of a Pecan Spinwheel. And who could forget unwrapping those soft oatmeal cookies with the creamy filling?!? Not me.

So, while I will never forget Little Debbie; I am also a little older and wiser. 

Just look at this list of ingredients:

Corn Syrup, Enriched Bleached Flour (Wheat Flour, Barley Malt, Niacin, Reduced Iron, Thiamin Mononitrate [Vitamin B1], Riboflavin [Vitamin B2], Folic Acid), Palm and Soybean Oils with TBHQ and Citric Acid to Protect Flavor, Whole Grain Rolled Oats, Sugar, Dextrose, Water, Molasses, Raisin Paste, Contains 2% or Less of Each of the Following: Leavening (Baking Soda, Ammonium Bicarbonate, Sodium Aluminum Phosphate), Whey (Milk), Salt, Soy Lecithin, Corn Starch, Caramel Color, Mono - and Diglycerides, Natural and Artificial Flavors, Polysorbate 60, Sorbitan Monostearate, Dried Eggs, Modified Corn Starch, Sorbic Acid (to Preserve Freshness), Soy Flour, Dried Egg Whites, Annatto Extract, Beta Carotene, Blue 1, Carrageenan, Chocolate, Cocoa Butter, Citric Acid, Cocoa Processed with Alkali, DATEM, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Malic Acid, Modified Tapioca Starch, Modified Wheat Starch, Nonfat Dry Milk, Palm and Palm Kernel Oil, Pectin, Polysorbate 80, Propylene Glycol Monostearate, Red 40, Rice Flour, Sodium Citrate, Sodium Stearoyl Lactylate, Spices, Titanium Dioxide, Turmeric, Yellow 5.

Yowza- now, that is intense! Ummm...what exactly is propylene glycol monostearate?!? (Side note: it is a stabilizer.)

The only items that even sound appetizing are oats, flour (if you're into that sort of thing), molasses, corn starch, eggs, milk, salt, and rice flour. And the number one ingredient is corn syrup-as in the ingredient found in the largest quantity. You know- corn syrup, as in a type of sugar. No wonder they are SO dang good! My recipe only calls for 12 ingredients AND every single one is something you have heard before and they are easy to pronounce.

Straying a bit, my cream filling is made from butter, cream cheese, vanilla, milk/cream, and powdered sugar A more traditional filling might feature marshmallow fluff and/or shortening or some of the ingredients listed above (go ahead- try to figure out which ones...)

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Ingredients in Gluten Free Oatmeal Cream Pies

• Butter
• Brown Sugar
• Egg
• Vanilla
• Gluten Free Flour Blend
• Baking Soda
• Cinnamon
• Old-Fashioned or Rolled Oats
• Milk/Cream
• Cream Cheese
• Powdered Sugar
• Whipped Topping

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What is an Oatmeal Creme Pie?

Created by Oather McKee in 1935, Oatmeal Creme Pies feature two soft oatmeal cookies with a sweet creme filling. In 1960, McKee founded the Little Debbie brand and Oatmeal Creme Pies became one of their first commercial products. Originally, they were sold for 5 cents each.

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