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Store-bought iced oatmeal cookies are a childhood after-school snack staple, but they are so much better when made from scratch! These old-fashioned Iced Oatmeal Cookies are chewy and lightly spiced, and topped with a crunchy vanilla icing.
Ingredients for Iced Oatmeal Cookies
Ground Oats – I like to add some ground oats in oatmeal cookies because you can incorporate more oatmeal flavor without making the cookies too crunchy. I grind rolled oats into a very coarse flour in this recipe, but you can also substitute oat flour if you have it. I don’t recommend using steel cut oats, because the baking time is not long enough to soften them.
Rolled Oats – I prefer to use rolled oats instead of quick cooking oats, because they won’t cook as fast and will give the cookies more texture.
Spices – I used the spices that I like best in an oatmeal cookie, but feel free to use an equal amount of your favorite baking spice blend.
Molasses – I like to add molasses to give the cookies a little bit of gingerbread flavor. I used sorghum molasses. Be careful to add exactly ½ tablespoon (or 1 ½ teaspoons,) because as a liquid it will greatly affect the cookie texture.
Notes on Technique
- I used a food processor to grind the oats. If you don’t have a food processor, you can substitute an equal weight of oat flour.
- Be careful not to add too much molasses, or the additional liquid may cause the cookies to spread out too much and become thin and fragile.
- It isn’t necessary to chill the cookie dough before baking.
- To ensure that your cookies are uniform in size and that they will bake evenly, I recommend using an ice cream scoop. The type of scoop with a metal band and trigger is the best one for cookie dough. I used a scoop with a 1 ½ inch diameter for these cookies.
- To get perfectly rounded edges on your cookies, you can take a round cookie cutter and rotate it around each cookie several times. You should do this right when you take the cookies out of the oven, when they are still hot and flexible.
- Make sure the cookies are completely cooled before glazing, or the glaze will melt off.
- The glaze needs to be fairly thick to stay on, but not so thick that it will break crumbs off the cookie when you dip it in. You may need to adjust the amount of milk to get the perfect texture.
- Just dip the very tops of the cookies lightly into the glaze – don’t submerge the entire top. This will help you get the lacy pattern that you find on store bought oatmeal cookies.
Iced Oatmeal Cookies
Ingredients
For the Oatmeal Cookies:
- 1/2 cup rolled oats, ground (45 g)
- 1 cup all-purpose flour (125 g)
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/8 teaspoon allspice
- 1 cup rolled oats (90 g)
- 1/2 cup butter, softened (113 g)
- 1/2 cup sugar (100 g)
- 1/4 cup brown sugar (50 g)
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 tablespoon molasses
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the Glaze:
- 1 1/4 cup confectioner's sugar (150 g)
- 2-3 tablespoons milk
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
Make the Cookies:
- Preheat the oven to 350° F (180° C.) Line 3 baking sheets with parchment paper. Add the 1/2 cup of rolled oats to a food processor and run on high until the oats become a very coarse flour.
- In a medium bowl, combine the ground oats, flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice. Stir until well combined. Add the remaining 1 cup of rolled oats, and stir until they are mixed in well.
- In a large bowl, with an electric mixer, cream the butter, sugar, and brown sugar until lightly fluffy. Add the egg, molasses, and vanilla, and mix until they are fully incorporated. Switch to a spoon and add the flour and oat mixture, stirring until the cookie dough is well combined.
- Using a cookie scoop or your hands, shape the dough into about 20 balls of uniform size. Space them evenly on the baking sheets, giving them a lot of room to spread out. Bake the cookies at 350° F (180° C) for about 10 minutes, or until the edges are lightly browned. Allow the cookies to cool for about 30 minutes before glazing.
Make the Glaze:
- Place a cooling rack on top of a baking sheet. Add the confectioner's sugar to a medium bowl. Pour in the milk and whisk until fully incorporated. Finally, whisk in the vanilla.
- One by one, turn each cookie upside down and dip the top lightly into the glaze, then place it on the cooling rack to dry. Once you have finished glazing all of the cookies, leave them to dry at room temperature for about 2 hours before storing. The cookies will keep at room temperature for about 4-5 days.
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