These classic iced oatmeal cookies are old-fashioned style with soft centers, crisp chewy edges, and are topped with vanilla icing that sets after a couple hours. Pulsing the oats before adding to the cookie dough will give you a compact and uniform textured cookie.
These iced oatmeal cookies are old-fashioned style with buttery soft centers, crisp chewy edges, and plenty of cozy spice flavor. They’re topped with a light coating of vanilla icing that sets overtime, making cookies perfect for stacking and gift-giving. You know the packaged iced oatmeal cookies you can buy at the store? That’s what these are but, you know, fresh from your oven!
Video Tutorial
How to Make Iced Oatmeal Cookies
This recipe is adapted from my oatmeal chocolate chip cookies: soft & chewy oatmeal cookies from which you can make oatmeal raisin cookies, white chocolate chip cherry oatmeal cookies, and oatmeal scotchies. Since I love it so much, I used this recipe as my starting point today. I played around with the ingredients so that I could replicate the texture of store-bought iced oatmeal cookies with the taste of homemade.
Texture: We want a compact oatmeal cookie with soft centers and crisp edges. I switched up the oats to flour ratio in my original recipe. Less oats and more flour proved successful. I went even further and pulsed the oats a few times to gently break them down into a coarse powdery consistency. Ding ding ding! This was the winning answer.
Taste: Now that the texture is spot-on, what about the flavor? To instill that delicious old-fashioned oatmeal cookie flavor, make sure you reach for:
- brown sugar
- cinnamon
- nutmeg
- and a spoonful of molasses
Consider these 4 ingredients as flavor powerhouses. The brown sugar actually plays two roles: flavor and softness. Its soft and moist texture translates directly into the baked cookie.
The Trick Is Pulsing the Oats
This is an extra step, but—as mentioned above—taking an extra minute to pulse the oats will completely transform your iced oatmeal cookies. No matter if you’re using whole oats or quick oats, you must pulse them a few times in your food processor to obtain the correct consistency. This is the same trick we use for gingerbread oatmeal cookies and gingerbread latte cookies. I used my Ninja. Here’s the texture you want:
THIS COOKIE DOUGH SMELLS INCREDIBLE.
This is a soft cookie dough and will over-spread in the oven unless you chill it. Chill the cookie dough for about 45 minutes in the refrigerator before baking.
Use a cookie scoop. Can I admit something? I never use a cookie scoop when making chocolate chip cookies, but I swear by this tool for oatmeal cookies. Oatmeal cookie dough is sticky, textured, and soft. A cookie scoop not only prevents a mess, it helps ensure all cookies are the same size and shape. I recommend the medium cookie scoop, which holds 1.5 Tablespoons of cookie dough. The cookies spread nicely, so I recommend baking only 8 or 9 cookies on each baking sheet.
How to Ice Oatmeal Cookies
There are two tricks to icing oatmeal cookies.
- Thick icing. The thicker the icing, the more likely it will set. This vanilla icing is super thick. Start with sifted confectioners’ sugar and a splash of vanilla extract, then only add enough milk until you have a perfectly thick and creamy texture. Literally only 2 Tablespoons. Very little liquid.
- Light dip. Want to replicate the crackled icing appearance? The trick is to *lightly* dip the tops of the cookies into the icing. Don’t submerge the cookies; just a quick dip!
With every cookie recipe I test, I always set 6 or 7 cookies aside to see how they’ll taste a few days later. Results are often mixed—sometimes cookies lose their softness or just taste old… you get the idea. These iced oatmeal cookies? Still tasted fresh 1 week later. 1 WEEK.
As the days past, the spice flavor intensified. The centers were softer, the icing settled into the tops. By no means will your batch of iced oatmeal cookies last an entire week, but use my test as proof that these are damn good cookies!
One batch of these iced oatmeal cookies will launch you into cookie stardom. They evoke emotion. They’re the kind of nostalgic cookie that grandma used to make, which is why they’re so popular on store shelves. I’m confident that this recipe will result in marriage proposals, 1st-place medals, and sold-out signs at bake sales!!
Exaggerating? I would never.
Print
Iced Oatmeal Cookies
- Prep Time: 1 hour, 25 minutes
- Cook Time: 12 minutes
- Total Time: 2 hours
- Yield: 28 cookies
- Category: Cookies
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
These classic iced oatmeal cookies are old-fashioned style with soft centers, crisp chewy edges, cozy spice flavor, and are topped with vanilla icing that sets after a couple hours. Pulsing the oats before adding to the cookie dough will give you a compact and uniform textured cookie.
Ingredients
- 2 cups (170g) old-fashioned whole rolled oats
- 2 cups (250g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 cup (16 Tbsp; 226g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1 cup (200g) packed light or dark brown sugar
- 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 Tablespoon (15ml) unsulphured or dark molasses (do not use blackstrap; I prefer Grandma’s brand)
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Icing
- 1 and 1/2 cups (180g) sifted confectioners’ sugar*
- 1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1.5 – 2 Tablespoons milk
Instructions
- Make the cookies: Pulse the oats in a food processor 10-12 times until you have a variety of texture—chopped oats with some oat flour. See photo above for a visual.
- Whisk the pulsed oats, flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg together in a medium bowl. Set aside.
- In a large bowl using a hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar together on medium-high speed until creamed, about 2 minutes. Add the eggs, molasses, and vanilla extract and beat on high speed until combined, about 1 minute. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl and beat again as needed to combine.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix on low until combined. Dough will be thick and sticky. Cover and chill the dough for at least 45 minutes in the refrigerator (and up to 4 days). If chilling for longer than a few hours, allow to sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes before scooping and baking because the dough will be quite hard.
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Set aside.
- Scoop cookie dough, about 1.5 Tablespoons of dough per cookie, and place 3 inches apart on the baking sheets. Bake for 11-12 minutes or until lightly browned on the sides. The centers will look very soft.
- Remove from the oven and allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely before icing.
- Make the icing: Place sifted confectioners’ sugar in a medium bowl. Add the vanilla extract and 1 Tablespoon of milk. Use a fork to whisk until combined. It will be impossible to fully combine because this isn’t enough liquid. Add only enough extra milk to make a very very thick icing. I only add about 1 more Tablespoon of milk. Lightly dip the tops of the cookies into the icing. Icing will set after a few hours, so you can stack and gift the cookies.
- Cookies stay fresh covered at room temperature for 3 days or in the refrigerator for up to 10 days.
Notes
- Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: You can make the cookie dough and chill it in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Allow to come to room temperature then continue with step 5. Baked cookies with or without icing freeze well for up to 3 months. Unbaked cookie dough balls freeze well for up to 3 months. Bake frozen cookie dough balls for an extra minute, no need to thaw. Read my tips and tricks on how to freeze cookie dough.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Food Processor | Glass Mixing Bowl | Whisk | Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | Baking Sheets | Silicone Baking Mats or Parchment Paper | Medium Cookie Scoop | Cooling Rack
- Oats: Pulsing the oats in step 1 is the trick to this recipe. If you don’t have a food processor, use a blender. Even if you’re using quick oats, pulsing the oats is necessary—you just won’t have to pulse them as much as whole oats.
- Molasses: 1 Tablespoon of molasses helps give these cookies incredible flavor. Be sure to use unsulphured or dark molasses (do not use blackstrap; I prefer Grandma’s brand). If you don’t have any, use pure maple syrup instead.
- Confectioners’ Sugar: Sift confectioners’ sugar before measuring.
Reader Comments and Reviews
My cookies “melted” into liquid in the oven. Not sure what went wrong 🙁 Half of my batch turned out great and the other half had no structure. The inconsistency is weird.
Hi Morgan, that’s so strange that half the batch was fine while the other half over spread. Was the dough sitting at room temperature for too long? That would cause the butter to warm up and in turn, cause the cookies to spread much more.
I was craving oatmeal cookies and these more than delivered! The whole family LOVED them. I used my smallest cookie scoop (which I *thought* was 1.5 T) but ended up with way more than 28 cookies! I also found that I was incapable of “dipping” without making a huge mess, so I spread the icing on with a silicone brush. It worked well. Thank you for such a great recipe! I’ll definitely be making them for the holidays this year.
Can raisins be added and if so how much and during which step can they be added?
Hi Rick, you can follow this recipe and add 1 and 1/2 cups of raisins. Add with the dry ingredients in Step 4. Enjoy!
Would you be able to sub oat flour and whole rolled oats for the pulsed up oats? I want to spare my food processor. Thank you!
Hi Melissa, Oat flour will be a little too thin– you really want the slightly pulsed oat texture. You could certainly test it with 1 and 3/4 cup oat flour (what we would try first), but still fear your cookies may not spread properly.
Can u use margarine in this recipe, I can’t have dairy . Ty
Hi Teresa, we don’t recommend margarine, but you could try using solid coconut oil. The outcome will be different than intended. You may also try a plant based butter. Let us know if you give it a try.
Wonderful flavor and chewy texture. Be careful not to pulse the oats too much, which is what I did. My cookies came out a little puffier and didn’t spread as much as shown in the photo. Spot on with the store bought ones- but better 😉
Wow! It’s perfect.
This is a delicious cookie! Great texture and melts in your mouth! Will be making them again for sure! Thanks so much!
This recipe turned out well. The cookies were nice and soft which my SO prefers. I’m not sure if they could be baked longer to be crisper like the storebought crunchy ones. The taste was perfect.
I just made these cookies for some friends and all they had to say was “mm mm mm!”
I made this recipe last night and drizzled the icing in ribbons across the cookies. (Truthfully, I was making a mess with the dipping method!) They were good. However, I set the cookie jar in the refrigerator because they were gooey and I’m in a humid climate. The magic began! These cookies went from good to fantastic! This recipe will be place among my favorites.
These are actually the second best cookies in the world. The first are Sally’s white chocolate macadamia. But nonetheless… I make (so many of) these every year for Christmas and relatives literally fight over them. I have since gone gluten free and had to make these again but used GF all purpose flour and certified gluten free oats as subs. Just as delicious. A hint of gritty this way as can be expected with GF flours … but still so chewy and delicious. For any fellow celiacs who may be wondering 🙂 very much still worth making!
I haven’t made this one yet but just am add on that I’ve made probably 10 or so recipes on this site just subbing 1 for 1 GF flour and all have come out really well
Ran low on oats, luckily I had packs of maple and brown sugar instant oatmeal to make up the difference.
They came out great, and the hint of maple was a nice flavor.
These cookies are DELICIOUS! I’ve made quite a few of Sally’s recipes, and while they’re always incredible, these cookies just won a special place in my heart they’re to die for!
I wanted crisp crunchy cookies more like a ginger snap so I was hesitant to try this recipe but I’m so glad I did because they are magic with the chewy crisp texture.
If I wanted them to snap more or be more crunchy all the way through, what could I do?
Hi Pepper Rose, for a crispier texture, you can try extending the bake time by a few minutes. We’re glad you enjoyed them!
Can I use cardamom instead of or in addition to the nutmeg and cinnamon? Find myself withe an oversupply of cardamom pods. Love these cookies, make them several times a year.
Hi Susan, absolutely, feel free to add some cardamom here. It would be delicious!
I make this recipe all the time and it’s amazing! I would like to try freezing the dough for future batches but I’m wondering how I would ice them without making a whole batch of icing – can you refrigerate or freeze this vanilla icing?
Hi Shannon! You can freeze the cookies with icing, if that would be easier. Otherwise, yes, you can freeze the icing for up to 3 months.
Omg delicious! These are incredible.
Can I use royal icing instead of the vanilla icing? I have leftover royal icing from another recipe.
Hi Christie! You certainly can, it will set harder than this icing.
I love this receipt! I was wondering if these be baked into bars instead of cookies?
Hi Danielle, We haven’t tested these as bars, but they should work. We would suggest a 9×9 pan and baking time may vary. Let us know if you give it a try!
As an experienced baker who loves Sally’s recipes, I was disappointed in this one. I followed the recipe exactly, but I found the end result to be bland and dry. I won’t be making these again.
These cookies are absolutely delicious!! This recipe is definitely a keeper!!
Hi Rose, We haven’t tested these as bars, but they should work. We would suggest a 9×9 pan and baking time may vary. Let us know if you give it a try!
My husband said I probably shouldn’t make these again as he went back for his fourth cookie. My kids think they can eat them for breakfast. I’m a huge fan of iced oatmeal cookies, so making my own that taste ten times better than store-bought? Wow. Thanks for another amazing recipe! Haha I will be making these again!
I made these cookies over the weekend and my family loved them. I had never made an oatmeal cookie with molasses in them. These will be a regular as my husband loves oatmeal cookies
Sally, these were the best oatmeal cookies I have ever made and eaten! They were so delicious, I did not even have to make the icing ! I wish I could have e shared a photo, because my cookies did not flatten, they stayed pretty round, but they were soft and chewy! This is my new oatmeal cookie recipe! Thank you for all you do!
Could I add raisins to this recipe? Oatmeal raisin are my favorite and I would love to try it with this recipe.
Hi Donna, you can follow this recipe and add 1 and 1/2 cups of raisins.
this is our favorite cookie recipe! I love using it as a base for fun experiments. My most recent was omitting the spices and adding freeze dried strawberries and white chocolate chips and a strawberry glaze divine. Keep up the amazing recipes! Thank you!!!
I bake cookies every week and I made this recipe last night. They were so tasty and everyone loved them. I’ve made many oatmeal cookie recipes but never one with molasses. I hadn’t iced oatmeal cookies before either and they turned out just like the pictures although I spooned the icing on top and then spread it. I will be making these again!
Great recipe!
Made this before and meant to make it again today but I accidentally made your other gingerbread cookie recipe, the one intended to be rolled out. I’m just wondering how that recipe will work if I use it in balls and ice it like this recipe
Hi Karen! That recipe is really best rolled out. You could roll it out, cut it into circles, and then ice those.
This recipe makes the absolute perfect oatmeal cookie, with slightly crisp edges, a soft, chewy interior, and perfectly spiced with just the right amount of sweetness from the icing. I also appreciate that they are perfectly flavored without the need for extra unnecessary steps like browning butter. They are absolutely delicious and completely addicting- highly recommend!