These homemade iced oatmeal cookies are classic oatmeal cookies made from scratch with simple ingredients, a touch of cinnamon, and vanilla icing in just 25 minutes. Perfect for afternoon snacking!
Chewy iced oatmeal cookies with homemade vanilla icing on top – just like I remember!
This recipe makes a mid-size batch of simple, quite healthy cookies that require no chilling, and honestly, the best oatmeal cookies I’ve had so far because these soft cookies have chewy edges, soft centers, and sticky-sweet vanilla glaze on the tops of the cookies.
My best tip to make old-fashioned iced oatmeal cookies is to not use pulsed oats but stick to good ol’ old-fashioned oats for a chewy, textured bite and nice flavor. If it says “oatmeal cookies”, I want to taste and see oats!
If you need more healthy dessert recipes using oats, check my banana bread with oatmeal, No Bake Chocolate Caramel Oat Bars, Applesauce Cookies, and oat flour pancakes.
Gina’s Recipe Rundown:
Texture: Perfect texture and golden brown color! Chewy cookies with soft centers and bits of oats and simple, thick icing.
Taste: Simple taste, buttery cookies, not overly sweet, with vanilla and cinnamon flavors packed into them.
Ease: So simple and ready to enjoy in less than 30 minutes.
Why I love it: I love nostalgic cookie recipes; they bring memories! I like these cozy cookies, simple ingredients, and how quickly I can bake the entire batch.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- No-chill iced oatmeal cookies recipe, which significantly reduces the prep time! You can make these old-fashioned oatmeal cookies in just 25 minutes, including baking.
- These are chewy oatmeal cookies – I use whole oats and they add to a bite!
- Better than Great Value iced oatmeal cookies, Mother’s iced oatmeal cookies
or any packaged oatmeal cookies, for that matter. No preservatives of fillers. - Perfect year-round, will make great gifts for the holiday season or an after-school snack.
- Stay soft for days! It will be great to make ahead or even freeze the dough.
Ingredients Notes
See recipe card for the exact quantities and nutrition calories info.
- Unsalted butter
- Granulated sugar
- Brown sugar. Use either light brown sugar or dark brown sugar – both are great. Dark brown sugar has a deeper flavor, more molasses, and adds more moisture.
- Eggs. We will need whole eggs and extra egg yolks
- Molasses
- Vanilla extract. Use pure vanilla extract for cupcake batter and icing
- Flour mixture: all-purpose flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt.
- Cinnamon
- Oats are great for making homemade treats! It is healthy, rich in fiber and nutrients, and adds nice texture. Make sure to use old-fashioned oats in this cookie recipe.
- Icing: vanilla extract, confectioner’s sugar (powdered sugar), and milk
Kitchen Equipment
- Mixing bowls
- Two cookie sheets
- Measuring cup
- Handheld electric mixer or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment.
- Silicone spatulas
- Parchment paper or silicone baking mats
- Optional, medium cookie scoop
How to Make Iced Oatmeal Cookies
Make Cookie Dough
- Line baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Beat the butter, white sugar, and brown sugar in a large bowl at medium speed until the butter is smooth and the sugars have emulsified. Butter mixture should no longer be gritty.
- Add the wet ingredients: egg, egg yolk, molasses, and vanilla, mixing until completely incorporated.
- Stir the dry ingredients: flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl.
- Slowly mix the dry ingredient mixture into the wet mixture. Then mix in the oats until combined.
Bake Cookies
- Portion the dough into 1 ½ tbsp-sized balls. They can be a bit sticky; it is normal. Place them on the prepared baking sheets in a single layer, about 2 inches apart.
- Use the bottom of a glass to gently flatten the dough balls slightly, taking care not to make it too thin.
- Bake for 13-15 minutes in the preheated oven or until lightly browned.
- Let the cookies cool completely on a wire rack.
Add Vanilla Icing
- Whisk the confectioner’s sugar, milk, and vanilla in a shallow bowl until smooth.
- Lightly dip just the tops of the cooled cookies into the icing mixture.
- Place the cookies back on the wire rack to let the excess icing drip off, and what’s left set before storing them. It may take a few hours, depending on the thickness of the layer.
Storage
Store in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days or about a week at room temp.
You can easily make these cookies ahead to freeze. Simply let the cookies cool completely, then stack and store in a freezer bag for up to 3 months.
The oatmeal cookie dough is also freezer-friendly. You can shape the dough balls, blast freeze them on a cookie sheet first, then move to a bag and store.
Substitutions & Variations
- You can add raisins for extra texture and chewiness.
- Add more warm spices like cardamom, nutmeg, or pumpkin pie spice.
- Brown the butter before making the dough! Brown butter flavor is so deep and smooth, it goes really well with these iced cookies. If using, let the melted butter cool first.
- Toast your oats before making cookies. It will add more flavor!
Expert Tips To Make The Best Iced Oatmeal Cookies
- Always scrape the sides of the bowls as you work to ensure the ingredients are well mixed. A rubber spatula works best for it.
- The butter needs to be at room temperature before starting this recipe.
- Once the dough is done, you can cover it with plastic wrap and chill it for about 30 minutes before portioning and baking.
- You can make oat flour for this recipe, too. Simply pulse the oats in a food processor and then use it to make the dough. In that case, it is ok to use quick oats, too.
- Want thick icing? Add less milk. If the icing is too thick, you can add milk or water until it reaches the desired consistency (closer to vanilla glaze).
- The oats/flour ratio is important. More oats make a flatter cookie, more flour makes a thicker cookie.
- Another way to portion cookies is to first shape the dough as a log and then slice it into 2-inch slices. Each slice is your cookie, ready to be baked!
Popular Questions
How To Prevent Iced Oatmeal Cookies From Spreading?
To prevent iced oatmeal cookies from spreading too much during baking, make sure your butter is at room temperature but not too soft or melted, as overly soft butter is what causes excessive spreading.
Chilling the cookie dough for at least 30 minutes before baking helps the dough firm up, reducing spread.
Also, avoid using too much sugar or too little flour, as this can affect the cookie structure.
What Are The Most Common Mistakes When Making Oatmeal Cookies?
Common mistakes when making oatmeal cookies are using instant oats instead of old-fashioned rolled oats, overmixing the dough, and baking at too high or too low a temperature, resulting in uneven baking and poor texture.
Why Can’t You Use Instant Oats In Cookies?
Instant oats are not ideal for Iced Oatmeal cookies because they are processed to cook quickly and have a much finer texture than old-fashioned rolled oats. This ruins the texture, loosens up the shape, and makes flatter cookies. Regular oats make nice chewy, thicker cookies.
DON’T MISS THESE HOLIDAY E-BOOKS!
If you love this cookie recipe, you’re going to love these other oatmeal favorites, too. Please click each link below to find the easy, printable recipe!
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Iced Oatmeal Cookies
Ingredients
- ¾ cup butter 1 ½ sticks (12 tbsp) – room temp, unsalted
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 egg
- 1 tbsp molasses
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- ¾ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- 2 ½ cups oats old-fashioned oats – not quick-cook oats
Icing
- 2 cups confectioner’s sugar
- 3 tbsp milk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
Cookies
- Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
- Preheat the oven to 350°.
- Beat the butter, sugar, and brown sugar in a large mixing bowl until the butter is smooth and the sugars have emulsified. It should no longer be gritty.
- Add the egg, egg yolk, molasses, and vanilla, mixing until completely incorporated.
- Stir the flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl.
- Slowly mix the dry ingredient mixture into the wet mixture. Then mix in the oats until combined.
- Portion the dough into 1 ½ tbsp-sized balls. Place them on the prepared baking sheets, about 2 inches apart.
- Use the bottom of a glass to gently flatten the dough slightly, taking care not to make it too thin.
- Bake for 13-15 minutes or until a golden brown color.
- Cool completely on a wire rack.
Icing
- Whisk the confectioner’s sugar, milk, and vanilla until smooth.
- Dip just the tops of the cooled cookies into the icing mixture.
- Place the cookies back on the wire rack to let the icing set before storing them.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information for the recipe is provided as a courtesy and is approximate. Please double-check with your own dietary calculator for the best accuracy. We at Yummi Haus cannot guarantee the accuracy of the nutritional information given for any recipe on this site.
Created by Gina Kleinworth
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