Iced oatmeal cookies are soft and chewy cookies filled with cozy spices, topped with a vanilla icing. What I love most about these frosted oatmeal cookies is that they require no chilling time and are super easy to make. These old-fashioned oatmeal cookies are the perfect cozy cookie everyone will love!
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Why Should You Make This Recipe
There are few things I love more than a soft, chewy and cozy cookie. My Chewy Molasses Cookies, Chewy Maple Pumpkin Cookies and Chewy Carrot Cake Cookies are just a few cookie recipes I love from the blog. I know you’ll love this chewy oatmeal cookie with frosting because:
- 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 taste just like grandma’s and will leave you feeling all the nostalgia. They’re also super quick and easy to make. Simply mix up the oatmeal cookie dough, scoop, bake, top with icing and enjoy.
Ingredients
This recipe for oatmeal cookies with icing requires only a handful of simple ingredients to make and you probably already have them in your pantry and fridge. Here’s what you’ll need.
Dry Ingredients: Gather old-fashioned oats, all purpose flour, baking soda, ground cinnamon, ground nutmeg and salt.
Wet Ingredients: Gather unsalted butter, light brown sugar, granulated sugar, an egg and egg yolk, molasses, and vanilla extract.
Icing Ingredients: Gather powdered sugar and milk or water.
Substitutions
Here are my recommended substitutions to make these iced oatmeal cookies if you need them.
- Old Fashioned Oats: The oats are processed in a food processor for variations in texture. For that reason, quick cooking or steel cut oats are not recommended for this cookie recipe.
- 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
- 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.
Variations
- Oatmeal Raisin Cookie: Mix in 1 cup raisins right after mixing the dry ingredients into the wet. Follow the rest of the recipe as written.
- Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie: Mix in 1 - 1 ½ cups chocolate chips right after mixing the dry ingredients into the wet. Follow the rest of the recipe as written.
- 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.
- 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. In a small bowl, melt the butter and cool in the fridge for about 10 minutes. Process the rolled oats in a food processor for 8 - 10 pulses. In another bowl whisk together the flour, processed oats, baking soda, ground spices and salt until well combined.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk in the cooled melted butter with the light brown and granulated sugars until well combined. Whisk in the egg, egg yolk, molasses vanilla extract until smooth and well combined.
- Stir 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.
- 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 3 - 4 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 Store, Freeze and Thaw
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 oatmeal iced 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
- Process the oats: Processing the oats gives 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.
- Cool the melted butter. To make these cookies extra chewy, the butter is melted. However, it needs to cool for about 10 - 15 minutes before using in the recipe. I like to melt the butter right after turning on the oven and then transfer it to the fridge to cool while I gather my other ingredients.
- 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.
- Give your cookies a “cookie scoot.” Within the first 3 - 5 minutes 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
This iced oatmeal cookie recipe is written without the need to chill. However, chilling cookie dough has lots of benefits! Chilling the dough allows the glutens in the flour to hydrate and the flavors to more fully develop. If you have the time, chilling cookie dough for as little as a couple of hours can enhance the deliciousness of the cookie.
These old fashioned oatmeal cookies are smaller and more chewy than the crumbl versions.
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 Oat Recipes to Try
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
Equipment
- 1 food processor
- 1 whisk
- 1 spoon or flexible spatula
- 2 large baking sheets
- 1 parchment paper
Ingredients
Oatmeal Cookies
- 2 cups (172 g) old fashioned or rolled oats
- 2 cups (240 g) all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter melted and cooled
- 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
- 3 - 4 tablespoons (45 - 60 ml) milk or water
Instructions
- 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.
- In a small bowl, melt the butter and cool in the fridge for about 10 minutes.Process the rolled oats in a food processor for 8 - 10 pulses.2 cups (172 g) old fashioned or rolled oats
- In another bowl whisk together the flour, processed oats, baking soda, ground spices and salt until well combined.2 cups (240 g) all purpose flour, 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg, ½ teaspoon salt, ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk in the cooled melted butter with the light brown and granulated sugars until well combined. Whisk in the egg, egg yolk, molasses vanilla extract until smooth and well combined.1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter melted and cooled, 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
- Stir 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.
- 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 3 - 4 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.2 cups (240 g) powdered sugar, 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!
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