Iced Oatmeal Cookies are the perfect homemade treat. Made with hearty oats, warm cinnamon, and a sweet vanilla icing, these frosted oatmeal cookies are soft, chewy, and full of cozy, old-fashioned flavor. Whether you're baking for the holidays or simply satisfying a cookie craving, these easy oatmeal cookies are a timeless favorite everyone will love.
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Why Make This Recipe
There are few things I love more than a soft and chewy oatmeal cookie full of cozy flavor. My Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies, Oatmeal Raisin Chocolate Chip Cookies, Oatmeal Coconut Cookies and Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies are just a few homemade oatmeal cookie recipes I love from the blog. I know you’ll love this frosted oatmeal cookie just as much.
- Layers of flavors and textures. From the soft, chewy and perfectly spiced cookie filled with cozy oatmeal, to the sweet vanilla icing, these old-fashioned cookies will delight your senses.
- Easy to make, bake and eat. These frosted oatmeal cookies are super quick and easy to make. Simply mix up the oatmeal cookie dough, scoop, bake, top with icing and enjoy.
- You love a classic cookie. The old fashioned iced oatmeal cookies are the best classic cookie. They are better than Grandma’s and will make everyone think you made a special trip to the bakery just for them.
Ingredients and Substitutions
This recipe for iced oatmeal cookies requires only a handful of simple ingredients to make and you probably already have them in your pantry and fridge. If you are missing any ingredients, here are my recommended substitutions.
- Oats: Old fashioned, rolled oats or quick cooking oats all work well for this cookie recipe. Feel free to use a combination of oats if you like.
- All Purpose Flour: Make these soft iced cookies, gluten free, by using a good 1-1 gluten free flour. I recommend using the one from Bob’s Red Mill.
- Baking Soda: This helps the cookies puff a bit and also spread. If needed, replace the baking soda with 2 ¼ teaspoons of double acting baking powder. Please note that this recipe has not been tested with baking powder.
- Ground Cinnamon and Nutmeg: Feel free to replace one or both with up to 2 - 3 teaspoons of any warming spices you love.
- Unsalted Butter: Vegan butter or plant based can also be used in place of regular unsalted butter.
- Granulated Sugar and Light Brown Sugars: Maple sugar would also work well to make this refined sugar free.
- Egg and Yolk: This recipe has not been tested without eggs.
- Vanilla Extract: This is more for background flavor and nicely enhances the flavors of the other ingredients.
- Molasses: This secret ingredient gives these oatmeal cookies a lovely chewy texture and keeps these cookies soft for days. Use unsulphured molasses, not blackstrap for these cookies. If you must substitute, a dark honey would work the best.
Variation
- Oatmeal Cream Pies: Prepare the cookie recipe as written. Instead of icing the cookies, sandwich two together using my Brown Butter Cream Cheese Frosting.
How To Make
Learn how to make iced oatmeal cookies in a few easy steps.
- In a large mixing bowl whisk together the flour, oats, baking soda, ground cinnamon, ground nutmeg and salt until well combined.
- Heat the slices of cold butter in the microwave for 30 seconds. The butter should have slightly melted edges, but should still remain largely in a sliced form. Add the butter to a large mixing bowl of a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment (or mixing bowl to be mixed with a handheld mixer). Cream the butter with the light brown and granulated sugars on medium high speed for 3 - 4 minutes. Cream in the egg, egg yolk, molasses and vanilla extract until smooth and well combined. Mix the dry ingredients into the wet a little at a time until just combined. I like to do this about ¼ of the dry ingredients at a time.
- Cover the cookie dough with plastic wrap. Chill the cookie dough in the fridge for 45 - 60 minutes. Preheat the oven to 350 F (177 C) for about 20-30 minutes before baking the cookies. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Using a medium cookie scoop (2 tablespoons, 30 ml), scoop the oatmeal cookie dough and place the cookie dough balls onto the lined baking sheet about 3 inches (8 cm) apart. Bake at 350 F (177 C) for 10 -12 minutes or until the edges of the cookies are set and the centers are slightly puffed. Cool the chewy oatmeal cookies on the baking sheet for 5 minutes. Then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely to room temperature. Make the icing while the cookies cool.
- Whisk milk or water into the powdered sugar until smooth and well combined. Add more liquid for a thinner glaze or more powdered sugar for a thicker icing. Dip the top of each cookie in the icing. Gently shake the excess icing off the cookie. Return the cookie with icing to the cooling rack to fully set and enjoy.
How To Make Ahead, Store, Freeze and Thaw
- Make Ahead: Prepare the cookie dough recipe as written. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill in the fridge up for 1 - 2 days. Thaw at room temperature for 30 minutes while the oven pre-heats. Alternatively, chill the cookie dough for the recommended chilling time, scoop the cookie dough into balls, chill or freeze the cookie dough balls until you are ready to bake.
- Store: Place the frosted oatmeal cookies in an airtight container. Store at room temperature for up to 5 days. Transfer the cookies to the fridge for up to another 5 days. If you would like to store the iced oatmeal cookies for longer, I recommend freezing them.
- Freeze: Make sure the soft oatmeal cookies are completely cooled to room temperature. Place the cookies in a ziplock bag. Store in the freezer for up to 2 months. I recommend leaving the icing off the cookies if you plan on freezing them.
- Thaw: The easiest and tastiest way to thaw your old fashioned cookies to let them sit out at room temperature until thawed or overnight in the fridge.
M’s Expert Tips
- Choose your oats. I personally love using quick cooking oats for this iced cookie recipe. If you prefer to use rolled oats, I suggest Processing the oats for about 6 - 8 pulses to give these cookies a variation in texture. Look for a few whole oats mixed in with finer pieces and even a little bit of oat flour like consistency. If needed, use gluten free oats and flour.
- Don’t be shy with the warming spices. Use up to 2 - 3 teaspoons of cinnamon and nutmeg (together, not each) for the best flavor. You can even add a ¼ teaspoon cloves.
- Use the right molasses. The best molasses is unsulphured molasses, not blackstrap for these cookies. If you must substitute, a dark honey would work the best.
- Measure the flour properly. I highly recommend using a food scale to get perfectly measured ingredients every time.
- Don’t overmix the batter. Always use the lowest speed on your electric mixer or mix in the dry ingredients by hand. Make sure to mix the dry ingredients into the wet until just combined.
- Use a cookie scoop. The best way to ensure all the oatmeal cookies look the same is to use a cookie scoop. The ideal scoop should hold about 2 tablespoons of cookie dough.
- Chill the cookies. Chilling the cookies helps to hydrate the flour which creates a softer, chewier cookie with less spread.
- Give your cookies a “cookie scoot.” Within the first few seconds of removing the cookies from the oven, use a large biscuit cutter (wider than the cookies) to help shape any cookies back into a more round shape. Place the cutter over the cookies so the edges of the cookie are inside the cookie/ biscuit cutter. In a circular motion, gently nudge the edges back into a round shape.
FAQs
What are iced oatmeal cookies?
Iced Oatmeal Cookies are soft, chewy oatmeal cookies made with hearty oats, warm spices like cinnamon, and topped with a sweet and creamy vanilla icing glaze. They’re a classic homemade cookie with a nostalgic bakery-style flavor.
How do you keep these frosted oatmeal cookies soft and chewy?
To keep oatmeal cookies soft, avoid overbaking them and store them in an airtight container once completely cooled. Using the right balance of ingredients also helps maintain a tender, chewy texture.
Why are my oatmeal cookies dry?
Dry oatmeal cookies are often caused by adding too much flour or oats, overbaking, or measuring ingredients incorrectly. Be sure to measure carefully and remove the cookies from the oven when the centers are still slightly soft.
Why did my Iced Oatmeal Cookies spread too much?
Cookies may spread if the butter is too warm, the dough is too soft, the baking sheet is hot, or the ingredients were not measured correctly. Chilling the dough before baking can help prevent excess spreading.
Can I make these cookies smaller?
I find that a medium cookie scoop, with about 2 tablespoons of cookie dough makes the perfect chewy sugar cookie. However, you can make a small (1 tablespoon) cookie if you like. Bake this size cookie for 8 - 10 minutes.
Other Cozy Cookie Recipes to Try
- Cinnamon Sugar Cookies
- Chewy Molasses Cookies
- Chewy Maple Pumpkin Cookies
- Chewy Carrot Cake Cookies
- Apple Butter Cookies
If you try this Iced Oatmeal Cookies recipe please rate the recipe and leave a comment below. Doing so helps other readers decide if this is a great recipe to bake. Don’t forget to tag me on Instagram using @olivesnthyme so I can see what you’re baking! - M
Iced Oatmeal Cookies Recipe
These Iced Oatmeal Cookies are soft, chewy, and packed with warm cinnamon flavor, then finished with a sweet and creamy vanilla icing for the perfect classic touch. This easy homemade frosted oatmeal cookie recipe is simple to make and delivers the old fashioned bakery-style flavor everyone loves.
Equipment
- 1 stand mixer with paddle attachment or electric hand mixer with beaters
- 1 food processor (optional if using rolled or old fashioned oats)
- 1 spoon or flexible spatula
- 2 large baking sheets
- 1 parchment paper
- 1 medium (2 tablespoon, 30 ml) cookie scoop optional
Ingredients
Oatmeal Cookies
- 2 cups (160 g) quick cooking, old fashioned or rolled oats
- 2 cups (240 g) all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup (226 g) cold unsalted butter, cubed
- 1 cup (200 g) light brown sugar
- ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar
- 1 large egg (US), room temperature
- 1 large egg yolk (US), room temperature
- 2 tablespoons (30 ml) molasses
- 2 teaspoons (10 ml) vanilla extract
Icing for Oatmeal Cookies
- 2 cups (240 g) powdered sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 - 4 tablespoons (45 - 60 ml) milk or water
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl whisk together the flour, oats, baking soda, ground cinnamon, ground nutmeg and salt until well combined.2 cups (160 g) quick cooking, old fashioned or rolled oats, 2 cups (240 g) all purpose flour, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg, ½ teaspoon salt
- Heat the slices of cold butter in the microwave for 30 seconds. The butter should have slightly melted edges, but should still remain largely in a sliced form. Add the butter to a large mixing bowl of a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment (or mixing bowl to be mixed with a handheld mixer) along with the light brown and granulated sugars. Cream the butter with the light brown and granulated sugars on medium high speed for 3 - 4 minutes.1 cup (226 g) cold unsalted butter, cubed , 1 cup (200 g) light brown sugar, ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar
- Cream in the egg, egg yolk, molasses and vanilla extract until smooth and well combined. Mix the dry ingredients into the wet a little at a time until just combined. I like to do this about ¼ of the dry ingredients at a time.1 large egg (US), room temperature, 1 large egg yolk (US), room temperature, 2 tablespoons (30 ml) molasses, 2 teaspoons (10 ml) vanilla extract
- Cover the cookie dough with plastic wrap. Chill the cookie dough in the fridge for 45 - 60 minutes. Preheat the oven to 350 F (177 C) for about 20-30 minutes before baking the cookies. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Using a medium cookie scoop (2 tablespoons, 30 ml), scoop the oatmeal cookie dough and place the cookie dough balls onto the lined baking sheet about 3 inches ( 8 cm) apart. Bake at 350 F (177 C) for 10 -12 minutes or until the edges of the cookies are set and the centers are slightly puffed.
- Cool the chewy oatmeal cookies on the baking sheet for 5 minutes. Then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely to room temperature. Make the icing while the cookies cool.
- Whisk milk or water and vanilla extract into the powdered sugar until smooth and well combined. Add more liquid for a thinner glaze or more powdered sugar for a thicker icing.2 cups (240 g) powdered sugar, ½ teaspoon vanilla extract , 3 - 4 tablespoons (45 - 60 ml) milk or water
- Dip the top of each cookie in the icing. Gently shake the excess icing off the cookie. Return the cookie with icing to the cooling rack to fully set and enjoy.
Notes
Store: Place the iced oatmeal cookies in an airtight container. Store at room temperature for up to 5 days. Transfer the cookies to the fridge for up to another 5 days. If you would like to store the iced oatmeal cookies for longer, I recommend freezing them.
Recipe updated to reflect a softer, chewier and thicker cookie that shouldn't spread too thin than the one published in 2023. To make the original recipe make these changes to the recipe above:
- ½ cup (113 g) melted and cooled butter (cool for 10 minutes)
- ¾ teaspoon baking powder
- process the oats for about 10 pulses in a food processor
- omit the chilling time before baking
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