The Best Iced Oatmeal Cookies Recipe

Simple and humble oatmeal cookies get a makeover with a healthy dose of warm cinnamon and an irresistible vanilla icing. These cookies are sure to be a hit with the family or at your next cookie swap!

Let's talk about these Iced Oatmeal Cookies! Well, lets just start with oatmeal cookies in general. In my experience, the oatmeal cookie--oatmeal raisin more specifically--is on every cookie platter, every dessert table and always has the vibe that no one really wants it, but expects it to be there anyway.  

Kind of like that cousin you HAVE to invite to your wedding.

But poo poo to that I say! Oatmeal cookies are more than just the runner up to chocolate chip!  They are delicious. They are warm. And they are soft, chewy and utterly irresistible!

The inspiration for these cookies came from a memory of eating a packaged version back when I was younger.  I had only been exposed to oatmeal raisin cookies at the time, so when I found these new fangled raisin-less cookies, coated in icing no less, it blew my mind. 

I think those cookies were kind of crunchy though, and I prefer a soft and chewy--not cakey--cookie. So when developing this recipe, that's what I set out to make.

By keeping the moisture in the dough down, flattening the tops slightly before baking and then cooking them the bare minimum, I achieved the soft, evenly baked, chewy cookie I was after.

Equally important was the icing. It needed to be thin enough to coat the cookie and to dry well for storage and it couldn't be too sweet.

My standard milk and powdered sugar glaze proved to be  just the right tool for the job. And it's so incredibly easy to make.

So with the perfect cookie in hand AND the perfect icing, iced oatmeal cookie greatness has been acheived!!

What makes these Iced Oatmeal Cookies so darn delicious?

Well let me tell you!

First, these cookies are soft and chewy.  I would say their bite is nice and "toothsome"-- meaning they're good and thick in the middle.  

Second, I went a little heavier with the cinnamon than most recipes.  Since this is a rather sweet cookie, I wanted the cinnamon to bring a certain warmth and balance to the party.

Third, these guys are coated in icing!!! Everything is better when its dipped in icing.  

Oatmeal cookies are classic.

To me, whenever I think of cookies, oatmeal cookies, chocolate chip cookies and sugar cookies immediately come to mind. These are foundational cookies to learn. Everyone knows them, they are so versatile and they're instant crowd pleasers.

With that being said, oatmeal cookies get a bad rap for being kind of boring. The icing in this case, makes them look a little more interesting on the platter.

Tips

• For a thicker and softer cookie, after you've scooped and flattened your cookies, put them in the fridge for 15 minutes to chill. Then bake.
• For a cookie with a thin, crispy edge, but chewy center, do not flatten cookies after scooping.
• Use cold butter, but not rock hard butter.  Depending how warm your house is, I let the butter sit out 30 minutes to an hour.  You want the edges of the butter sticks to be soft, but the middle to be firm. This will keep the cookies from spreading and becoming thin and crispy.
• If your butter sat out and completely softened, prepare dough per recipe, scoop and lightly flatten dough balls, then chill 20 min before baking. 
• Remove from oven when the bottom edges are lightly browned.  This will ensure a soft, chewy cookie.
• Make sure cookies are completely cooled before icing, otherwise the icing will just melt into the cookie.
• You can substitute a dairy free milk or low fat dairy milk for the icing. I do not recommend using half and half or heavy cream--the icing doesn't dry as well.

How to make Iced Oatmeal Cookies

Makes 3 dozen cookies

Ingredients

• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened but still cold
• 1 cup brown sugar
• ½ cup white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 2 ¼ cups rolled oats
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon salt

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375° and Line 3 baking sheets with parchment paper.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat butter until smooth and fluffy.  Add in sugars and mix on medium low until well blended, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Next, add in eggs one at a time, making sure the first egg is mixed in before adding the second one. Then add in vanilla.

With the mixer on low, add in flour, cinnamon, salt, baking soda and powder. Mix for a few seconds just to get dry ingredients incorporated.  Add in oats and mix on low, scraping down the sides of the bowl once with a rubber spatula. Finish mixing until ingredients are just combined and there are no white streaks of flour showing. 

Scoop a tablespoon sized mound onto your parchment lined pans.  

With two fingers, slightly flatten the cookies in the center.  Don't completely flatten the cookie, just flatten the centers a little.

Bake for 10-12 min, until the edges are lightly browned and the centers have puffed slightly.

Let cookies cool completely before icing.

To make icing:

Combine 1 ½ cups of confectioners sugar, 3 tablespoons whole milk, and 1 teaspoon vanilla in a small bowl. Stir until very smooth. Spread a thin layer of icing over the top of the cooled cookies and allow excess icing to drip down the sides.  Once the icing is dry, store cookies in an airtight container.

Variations

Whether you decide to keep the icing or not, these are some great mix ins--do about 1 cup for any chips, nuts or fruit. 

• Raisins of course! Or any other dried fruit
• Toasted chopped pecans or walnuts
• Toasted coconut on top the icing
• Chocolate Chips
• Butterscotch Chips
• ½ Cup Dried cranberries or cherries with 1 cup white chocolate chips
• In addition to the cinnamon, add ½ teaspoon nutmeg and ¼ tsp ground cloves for a pumpkin spice oatmeal cookie.

Ways to enjoy your Iced Oatmeal Cookies

Obviously you can eat them straight! But here are other ways you can use these cookies--iced or plain!

• Crumble up on yogurt or a smoothie bowl for a morning treat
• Chop up and put on top of vanilla ice cream with a drizzle of maple syrup (from Maine of course)
• Crumble into a trail mix
• Use them in place of vanilla wafers for banana pudding.
• Layer them with whip cream and peaches for a summer time trifle
• Use them as a fruit crisp topping
• Take some whip cream or vanilla frosting and put between two oatmeal cookies for oatmeal cream pies
• Replace the crackers with oatmeal cookies in a graham cracker crust recipe to make an oatmeal cookie crust

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