Why Oatmeal Creme Pies Are Our Hands-Down Favorite Little Debbie Snacks

Assembling a ranking of Little Debbie snacks is no easy task (Little Debbie rules). But, ultimately, Tasting Table gave the coveted first-place spot to the brand's oatmeal creme pies.

The oatmeal creme pie is iconic — arguably the emblematic packaged snack of Little Debbie's entire oeuvre. In fact, oatmeal creme pies are the first-ever Little Debbie product to hit the market. But the attraction is about more than just the powerful grip of nostalgia. The cookies pack an impressively bold, complex flavor for a packaged snack. They're loaded with cinnamon, brown sugar, and vanilla, and you can taste every note. The salt content also prevents these little beauties from leaning too sweet, providing the harmonious balance that makes oatmeal creme pies the perfect coffee dunker. We also appreciated the oat-forward composition of this snack, which both makes it more substantial and gives it a pleasant chewiness. 

Thanks to their wide availability, these comforting, reliable creme pies are always there for you — from your weekly supermarket haul to the gas station at three o'clock in the morning when you've never been off this highway exit before and are pretty sure you're lost (...maybe we're projecting). However you enjoy 'em, these rich, toasty cookies and subtly sweet whipped, velvety creme filling marry for a treat that's greater than the sum of its parts. 

Since 1935, fans have been chowing down on the chewy treat, and nearly a century later, it doesn't seem to be going anywhere. According to the Little Debbie brand, O.D. McKee began experimenting with the hard oatmeal cookies he was baking at his shop amid the Great Depression. "He made formula changes to make the cookie soft, and sandwiched two cookies together with a fluffy creme filling. He sold these new 'creme pies' for a nickel a piece," the company explains. From the start, the cookies were designed to be soft and comforting — and nowadays, Little Debbie sells over 200 million cartons of oatmeal creme pies each year (that many foodies can't be wrong). The treat has even inspired a breakfast cereal and an ice cream pint flavor. Little Debbie even makes double-decker oatmeal creme pies to satisfy serious cravings (swoon) and sells retro oatmeal-creme-pie-themed apparel.

Fans have taken to Reddit to share their favorite ways to enjoy their beloved oatmeal creme pies. Foodies warm them up in the microwave for a toasty elevation, break them into chunks and stir them into vanilla ice cream for a next-level sundae, and hand them out to trick-or-treaters on Halloween. Whether they're part of a meticulously-curated morning ritual, or scarfed in clandestine pleasure as a midnight snack standing over the kitchen sink, oatmeal creme pies are the treat beloved by babes and world-weary grown-ups alike.