Simple and Easy Iced Oatmeal Cookies Recipe

Delicious soft and chewy oatmeal cookies iced with vanilla glaze! This recipe is super simple and easy enough to make during the week when you need a nostalgic pick-me-up or if you just need something quick for a party!

Old Fashioned Iced Oatmeal Cookies

The inspiration for these cookies comes from a memory I have of eating the packaged "Mother's" version when I was a kid. 

At the time, I never had an oatmeal cookie coated in icing before, and it blew my mind. They were SO DELICIOUS.

However, this Iced Oatmeal Cookie recipe beats the store-bought version by miles. This recipe gives you a thick, soft, and chewy oatmeal cookie and has way more icing than any of the packaged varieties. And tastes a million times better.

These cookies are always a crowd-pleaser and perfect for any occasion that calls for cookies (especially around the holidays)!

If you're looking to make more chewy and delicious cookies, I know you'll love these butterscotch chocolate chip cookies , chewy snickerdoodles , or peanut butter cookies.

What you'll need for this recipe

Makes 3 dozen cookies

Ingredients

• Unsalted Butter: softened but still cool.
• White and brown sugar: I like dark brown sugar, but light will work too!
• Eggs: for binding.
• Old Fashioned Rolled oats: this gives the oatmeal cookie its signature texture and flavor.
• All purpose flour: for structure.
• Baking powder and baking soda: for leavening and tenderizing.
• Ground cinnamon and salt: for flavor and balance.
• Vanilla extract: for flavoring both the cookie and the icing.
• Powdered Sugar and milk: for making a super easy and delicious icing for the cookies.

How to make Iced Oatmeal Cookies

In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the 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.

Add in eggs one at a time, making sure the first egg is mixed in before adding the second one. Then add in the vanilla.

With the mixer on low, add the flour, cinnamon, salt, baking soda, and baking powder.

Mix for a few seconds just to get dry ingredients incorporated, then add in the 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 mounds the size of a tablespoon 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 the cookies for 10-12 min, until the edges are lightly browned and the centers have puffed slightly.

Let cookies cool completely before icing.

To make the vanilla icing

Combine the powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla in a small bowl. Stir until very smooth. The icing should be thick but still, drizzle off the spoon easily. Add more milk a teaspoon at a time if necessary, to reach the desired consistency.

Use a spoon to spread a thin layer of icing over the top of the cooled cookies and allow excess icing to drip down the sides. 

Allow the icing to dry before enjoying!

How to store oatmeal cookies

After the icing has dried completely, these cookies will store well in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days!

Are Iced Oatmeal Cookies Healthy?

I would say no. They do contain oats, which are nutritious on their own, but these cookies do contain a fair amount of sugar--in the cookie and in the icing. So these should definitely be considered a treat.

Tips

• 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 on how warm your house is, I let the butter sit out for 30 to 60 minutes.  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 the dough per recipe, including the scooping and flattening process, but chill the dough for 20 minutes before baking. 
• Remove the cookies from the oven when the bottom edges are just 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 low fat milk for the whole milk or us dairy free milk for the icing. I do not recommend using half and half or heavy cream--the icing doesn't dry as well.