Iced Oatmeal Cookies

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Soft and chewy Iced Oatmeal Cookies, perfect with a tall glass of milk!

Iced Oatmeal Cookies | www.motherthyme.com

Countdown to Christmas Cookies — Week 1

Just seven more weeks until Christmas Eve!

When you think how quickly this year has flown by, Christmas is going to be here before we know it.  Think about all the events you have leading up to Christmas.  Thanksgiving, holiday parties, shopping, decorating, sending holiday cards, you name it.  I like to get as much down now as I can before the holiday rush so I can enjoy the season.

To help you plan your holiday cookie list, for the next six weeks I will be feature some of my holiday favorites in my third annual Countdown to Christmas Cookies series.  Each year I have done this I have featured some of my holiday favorites.  This year it’s all about my favorite classic holiday cookies. 

I am kicking it off with these classic Iced Oatmeal Cookies.  I heard they are Santa’s favorite. These cookies are simply delicious!  They have such great flavor and texture.  I have to admit, these are probably one of my top five all-time favorite cookies, no matter what time of year it is.  The are dangerously good, so beware once you start eating these you may have a hard time putting them down.  This is coming from experience. 

With the hustle and bustle of the holidays, these are super easy to make.  Just make the dough, drop, bake and glaze.  If you are going to any cookie exchange parties this year, I highly recommend making these. 

The gift of food is always the best present.  Make these cookies and place them in pretty packaging along with a recipe card.  They will make a lovely gift everyone will love. 

Iced Oatmeal Cookies | www.motherthyme.com

What you need
Old-fashioned rolled oats
All purpose flour
Baking powder
Baking soda
Salt
Cinnamon
Nutmeg
Butter
Brown Sugar
Sugar
Eggs
Vanilla extract
Confectioners sugar
Milk

Quickly pulse the rolled oats in your food processor.

Iced Oatmeal Cookies | www.motherthyme.com
Whip up the dough.

Iced Oatmeal Cookies | www.motherthyme.com
Make 2 tablespoons size dough balls and place on a greased cooking sheet. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 10-12 minutes. Cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack. Glaze once the cookies are cool.

Iced Oatmeal Cookies | www.motherthyme.com

Iced Oatmeal Cookies | www.motherthyme.com

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Iced Oatmeal Cookies

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★★★★★

4.8 from 30 reviews
  • Prep Time: 15 minutes
  • Cook Time: 12 minutes
  • Total Time: 27 minutes
  • Yield: 2 dozen

Ingredients

  • 2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
  • 2 cups all purpose flour
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2 teaspoons cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 1 cup 2 sticks butter, softened
  • 1 cup light brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Glaze

  • 2 cups confectioners sugar
  • 3 tablespoons milk

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray baking sheets with cooking spray and set aside.
  2. Place rolled oats in a food processor and pulse for about 10 seconds until coarse.
  3. Mix oats with flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg.
  4. Using an electric mixer cream butter and sugars.
  5. Add in eggs one at a time then vanilla extract.
  6. Gradually add in flour mixture until combined.
  7. Roll dough into 2 tablespoon size balls and place on baking sheet spacing about 2 inches apart.
  8. Bake for 10-12 minutes until the bottoms begin to brown.
  9. Cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Glaze

  1. Mix confectioners sugar and milk together in a medium bowl.
  2. Quickly dip tops of cookies into glaze and let excess drip off.
  3. Place back on wire rack until glaze sets.
  4. Store cookies in an airtight container.

Notes

To have these cookies turn out flat, you don’t want to over ground the oats, just a couple quick pulses in the food processor to break them up a bit. If the oats are finely ground, the cookies won’t spread. You want to keep the oats in tact as they create texture.

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Iced Oatmeal Cookies - perfect with a tall glass of milk! | www.motherthyme.com



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173 Comments

    1. I’ve made these cookies a couple times and they are SO delicious! Only question I have….my frosting always comes out so translucent. How do you make your frosting opaque?

      Reply

      1. If you use water or a lower fat milk, the glaze will be more transparent. If you use whole milk or cream, it will become more opaque.

        Reply

      2. I always add merengue powder to the glaze. Doing this makes it a bit more like royal icing. Actually making a batch of these cookies today!

        Reply

    1. I made these today. While the cookie dough was really nice to work with, the cookie is overall just excessively sweet. The icing pushed it over the edge. Next time I will try omitting the white sugar. Maybe skipping the icing, as well. The icing was also very thick so I added about 2 teaspoons more milk. The cookie itself has a great texture, and the nutmeg was just the touch it needed to stand out against other oatmeal cookie recipes I’ve used. They are very pretty with the icing though!

      Reply
  10. Pingback: Red Velvet Pancakes with Cream Cheese Glaze | Mother Thyme

      1. A friend made this recipe and brought them to work today. Best oatmeal cookie I’ve ever had! Delicious! Thanks for sharing it!

        Reply

  18. I made these today and they turned out just ok. Mine did not look at all like the picture, they didn’t flatten out much so the cookies were way too thick and the glaze was also too thick so I had to add more milk than what was called for to thin it out some..

    Reply

    1. Hi Kelli, Thanks for your comment. I’m sorry to hear these didn’t turn out as you expected. I make these all the time and they always look as the pictures. I know others who have tried this recipe with much success. I would suggest checking your baking powder to make sure it’s good. Sometimes if your baking powder or baking soda is old you won’t get the same results and won’t make your cookies spread. Just a suggestion. 🙂

      Reply

      1. I just got done baking mine as well, my cookies did not flatten either, they are a spongy type of cookie. my baking powder is good, and went through all the ingredients to make sure nothing was left out…. they look like little domes, lol….

        Reply

    2. I made these and while they are good taste wise they did not flatten out like they are shown. I feel that it calls for too much baking powder. I will make them again but will try a little less bp.

      Reply

  19. I clearly remember making iced oatmeal cookies with my great-grandmother when I was very, very young. I have had a crazy fondness for them ever since, and have been searching for the perfect recipe. I think this might be it!!

    Reply

  21. My 5 year old daughter and I just made these this afternoon. They turned out like the picture and made the house smell wonderful. They were delicious! Thank you for the recipe.

    Reply
  22. Pingback: Coconut Cherry Drops | Mother Thyme

  23. I don’t comment often, but these cookies are fantastic!!! My oatmeal cookies usually fall apart, are too thin or too thick. These are perfect and the glaze is great! I actually got mine to look like the pictures. They taste just like (and tons better than) the iced oatmeal cookies you buy.

    Reply

  27. Hi, just checking about one of the ingredients. Does this recipe really call for ONE TABLESPOON of Baking Powder?

    Thank you!

    Karin

    Reply

    1. Hi Karin, Yes it is 1 tablespoon baking powder. I know it seems like a lot, but it helps really spread the cookies and give them the texture of the classic Iced Oatmeal Cookie. Let me know how they turn out for you. 🙂

      Reply

  28. Hello. I just made these last night, and while they are delicious, I am really curious as to how you were able to roll them into 2 Tblsp. balls? My dough was so sticky! And because I couldn’t roll them into balls, I ended up with strangely shaped cookies. Not as flat as yours. Do you know what I may have done wrong?

    They are super delicious. I’m going to go have a couple now 🙂

    Reply

    1. Hi Kristyn, I’m glad you enjoyed these but I don’t know why your dough was so sticky. The dough shouldn’t be sticky at all. Next time maybe chill the dough in the refrigerator for 30 minutes before rolling the balls or flour your hands. Enjoy!

      Reply

  32. I just made these this morning and they are wonderful! I didn’t roll them into balls but used my 2 T. cookie scoop and they still look like yours. The glaze takes them over the top. Thanks for sharing.

    Reply

  33. I made these half size as I wanted a smaller cookie for cookie trays. My cookies did not crack on top. Also I painted on th glaze work a pastry brush, much easier. Very tasty.

    Reply

  34. Found them on pintrest just took the first 2 trays out of the oven…once they were cool enough to taste…I did (w/o icing)…PERFECTION!!! Thank you!!! Cant wait to give them away!

    Reply

    1. Hi Kacie, If you try these again, try dusting your hands with flour. Maybe that will help in rolling the balls. Many people have had much success with this recipe so I don’t know why these didn’t turn out for you. Thanks for letting me know your results.

      Reply

  37. Ok..so mine did not get the crooks and my glaze wasnt white kinda just transplarent…the no crook could have been because i had to use Quick oats (all I had) BUT these were DELICIOUS!!!!! soft & moist…mmmmmm

    Reply

  38. Can you make the dough ahead of time and put in the freezer? Or put the cookies in the freezer once they are cooked but not iced?

    Reply

  39. These are beautiful and taste so great – if anyone had trouble with them spreading they should make sure they are letting them cool on the pan for a while before transferring to the cooking rack! Thanks for a great cookie exchange recipe, I’ll link your blog/recipe everywhere I post my pictures! 🙂

    Reply

  40. Hi.Jennifer, I currently don’t have a ‘food processor’ as you recommended, what would be another way to get similar results with the oatmeal? Thank you

    Reply

  42. I made these tonight and they did turn out a little thicker than the picture. Icing was also a little thick but they were still delicious 🙂

    Reply

  43. Just baking these now. They smell amazing. I doubled the recipe so I have enough for gifts! Thanks for sharing. Merry Christmas to all!

    Reply

  44. I saw these today on my fb feed (posted by another site) & they looked so good I decided to make a batch. They turned out perfect, thanks for the recipe!! I did make a few alterations – even though I had rolled oats I also had quick oats (that I bought & opened by mistake, usually I have no use for them) so I used those instead of processing the rolled oats. Also I added a bit more spice, just because I can’t help myself! Bumped the cinnamon up to 1T + 1/2tsp ginger + 1/4tsp cardamom. Oh also I never portion dough out by the T/tsp, different size (ice cream) scoops/dishers are the way to go!

    Reply

  45. I made these tonight to the recipe tee. For the cookies to end up flat, make sure the balls are a substancial size. Two tablespoons or more will insure a flat cookie. My smaller ones ended up puffy. I froze half the dough balls in baggies ( after pre-freezing them on a tray for 15 minutes) and the rarest of the icing to have on hand.

    Reply

  46. I have a “cookie tasting” day coming up Sunday to see what cookies we want to make in June for a church build. We will be making thousands of cookies for the gang that does the building work free. Hope to have my new element (mine burned out this last week) by tomorrow. Will try these out. They sound and look good. I will also try freezing the dough because that would work great. Will let you know how all this works out.

    Reply

  50. Hi! These look great but I have 2 questions. Can I use quick oats and if I do use quick oats do I still have to use a food processor or can I use a blender? Thanks!

    Reply

  51. My kids and I think these are one of the best cookies I’ve made- so easy & delicious! Thank you!

    Reply

  52. For me this is the best oatmeal cookie recipe that I have made and I’ve made a few. They turned out just like your pictures. I baked twelve and froze the rest as dough balls. I agree that these are one of those cookies that you can’t stop at one. Thank you for sharing this recipe. A definite keeper in my kitchen!

    Reply

  53. Just made these cookies yesterday and they are by far the best oatmeal cookies I have ever made!!! So soft and chewy. Delicious with or without the frosting. My family also loved them and have fished off them all already. So glad I found this recipe on another blog and led me here. Will be trying more of your recipes. Thanks!!

    Reply

  55. These are the BEST oatmeal cookies I have ever had! I can’t believe I made them myself. I halved the recipe because I didn’t have enough flour and it made about 12 perfect cookies. The only modification I made was to add a few drops of maple flavoring to the glaze. It was amazing!! I am making more tonight but doubling the recipe this time! Thank you!

    Reply

  56. Mine first ones didn’t flatten out but the last batch did once I actually flattened them with a spatula. I haven’t gotten to the icing yet.

    Reply

  57. I absolutely love these cookies! I have made them many times and they have become one of our very favorites. Thank you so much for sharing your recipe.

    Reply

  59. The recipe calls for 1 cup butter, am currently out, can I sub 1 stick margarine and 1/2 cup shortening instead? Thank you

    Reply

  60. I rarely comment, unless a recipe is OVER THE TOP! Well, here I am 🙂 followed your directions, except adjusted spices to our taste and these cookies are perfect. I used my reg. cookie scoop, I got 2 1/2 doz. They taste amazing. I didn’t squish them down and they spread out nicely. The glaze or icing look and taste just right. I am thrilled with them. Thank You so very much for a recipe that will be made often. Bet

    Reply

  62. Oh my goodness!!
    Last week I made these for my 1st time and now about to bake these again! These are such a hit at my house!!! I did exactly as the recipe said with only adding my all time favorite raisins & cranberries. Man O Man talk about “Good” . I even had my husband try one even though he doesn’t like oatmeal cookie I tell you what, he said they were good!

    Reply

  63. hi, i would love to try out this recipe but i cant seem to save it
    i would like to just save it to my computer and then open it up on
    there. why doesnt it allow me to copy and paste?
    thanks for the recipe. i have only ever bought these cookie, never
    baked!

    Reply

  64. Hello! I was just wondering what % milk you used for the icing. Also, did you sift the flour or just spoon it into a measuring cup? Thanks!

    Reply

  65. These just came out of the oven, and they are phenomenal! I didn’t use a food processor on the oats because I was feeling lazy, but I really don’t think that affected them all that much. Maybe it stopped them from spreading out ever so slightly, but I still got nice flat cookies. Their texture and taste are so good (soft and chewy) that I don’t know if I will even make the glaze. This is now my go-to oatmeal cookie recipe!

    Reply

  66. After reading some of the comments, I was a little nervous to try these. But they turned out great!!! So delicious that even my husband (who usually doesn’t like oatmeal cookies) loved them 🙂 I only had quick-cook oats on hand. They are exactly the same thing as old-fashioned oats, just cut down slightly. So basically, by processing the old-fashioned oats like you do in your recipe, you are making quick-cook oats. I didn’t process my oats at all, and my cookies turned out perfectly, just like the ones pictured here. For the record for anyone who is wondering, quick-cook oats can be substituted one for one in this recipe (in my experience); just don’t grind them before using. Thanks for a delicious recipe that my family loves!

    ★★★★★

    Reply

  67. I’ve made these cookies twice now and they spread nicely, taste great, but the tops don’t have the nooks and crannies they need for the icing to look its best. I’m using old-fashioned oats and have been careful not to grind them too finely. My baking powder and soda are fresh. The cookies rise in the oven and spread to flat discs with bumpy tops, but no cracks. I don’t like to give up on a cookie and would like to try these again. I measured the flour by spooning it into the measuring cup and levelling, but usually measure dry ingredients by weight which is more accurate. Do you know the weight measurement for the 2 cups of flour?

    ★★★★

    Reply

    1. Hi Sadie, Thanks for your comment. I’m so sorry these are not turning out for you with the nooks and crannies. I make these all the time with precisely 2 cups leveled flour. I previously reader who recently made these used quick oats and did not grind them and they turned out perfect for her. My only suggestion is that you might be grinding the oats too much. You literally need to pulse them for a quick second just to break them up. I hope you give them another try because these are truly fantastic cookies! Keep me posted if you try them again. Best, Jennifer

      Reply

      1. Thank you for the suggestion. I only pulsed the oats a couple of times in my Kitchen Aid mini chopper and they were still quite coarse, but I’ll try the cookies one more time using regular oats to see if I can get the nooks and crannies that make the cookies so appealing. I’m an obsessive baker (I’ve tested over 1,000 cookie recipes!) and don’t like to give up on something that I think has possibilities. This recipe is on several blogs, and while the core recipe is basically the same as yours, there are subtle differences. I tried the Cooking Classy version with fewer oats, less baking powder and an equal measure of brown and white sugar. There was very little difference between the taste and texture of those cookies and yours, but still no cracks on top. Melted butter has been used in some versions which may help make the cookies spread more, but spreading hasn’t been an issue for me. I’ve tested countless oatmeal cookie recipes and several have been outstanding, but your cookies with the crackled tops and thick icing are the best looking!

        Reply

  70. These cookies are awesome! I’ve made them twice and they came out great! Thank you so much for sharing! :)))

    Reply

  71. Hi!!

    I make these cookies a lot… I get lots of requests for them. They are so good and,
    mine always come out like your picture…
    The only problem I have is, that, my husband likes raisins in his oatmeal cookies.
    Would you by any chance know how much I should add?
    I’m not even sure if you read these comments anymore. But, it could’t hurt to try right?
    Thank You for such a great recipe…

    Reply

    1. Hi Lori! I’m so glad to hear you enjoy these delicious cookies. I have never made them with raisins so unfortunately I can’t give you an accurate measurement. I would maybe start out with 1/2 cup and see how that works. Enjoy! 🙂

      Reply

      1. I just realized that you replied to this comment.
        So, please ignore the one I left for today. BTW you definitely get a 5 star rating on
        these cookies

        ★★★★★

        Reply

  74. Just made these today – rarely ever leave a message with the original blogger – but felt like I really wanted you to know that this was a GREAT recipe. I made another Pinterest version yesterday and they were awful. These were perfect w/o the icing and with the icing – it just takes them over the top! Bravo.

    Reply

  75. These are great! I used half butter and half shortening mixed with 1 T. of water. The cookies spread perfectly and taste as good as they look. Thanks for sharing the recipe. Have a good day! 🙂

    ★★★★★

    Reply

  77. This recipe was SO yummy!!! They were so easy to make, and that’s what I like:) Only thing is my cookies didn’t flatten out while baking like the picture. So when my cookies got out I just flattened them out with the bottom of a glass, Lol! Although they don’t look as pretty and adorable as yours, they were delicious! Thank you for the recipe !!

    Reply

  80. This recipe is so easy and the flavors are great, but I also had problems with the cookies not flattening out or developing cracks. I used all new ingredients and ended up with very dense cookies. I also needed to add more milk to make the glaze work, but that was an easy fix.

    I’m going to try another batch tonight and see what I can do to flatten them because I really want these to work – they taste great. I’ve read that baking powder makes the dough more acidic which contributes to the rising of the cookie and not the flattening, so I will try to decrease the baking powder and increase the baking soda.

    Reply

  81. I had to try this recipe because I love oatmeal cookies. And I love frosting. I love these cookies. I made them last summer at the lake. The kids ate them up – gone!- and called them the ‘epic’ oatmeal cookies. Thanks for sharing this amazing great recipe.

    ★★★★★

    Reply

  83. my husband told me to make him some oatmeal cookies and i had already had this recipe pinned. I told him to go get the ingredients and we made them. We followed your recipe and they was delicious. He said girl u making me want to marry u again n we’ve been married for 12 years. Thanks for the recipe

    ★★★★★

    Reply

  84. Made these gluten free with no problem! I just subbed oat flour equally for the flour! They still turned out just like the picture, beautiful and delish!!! Thanks for the recipe!

    ★★★★★

    Reply

  86. I have made these a few times now and they have turned out great .. I only had quick oats in the house so I used those and did not pulse in the food processor.. And they turned out just like picture and taste GREAT ??

    ★★★★★

    Reply

  88. This is our go-to cookie recipe. I’ve made them so many times, as gifts for family and friend, treats for the littles, and for my husband to take to work as a treat for his department. There’s always someone who asks for the recipe and everyone loves them! I can never get my cookies to crack like yours, but they are still pretty and taste amazing. Thank you for sharing this recipe with us. <3

    ★★★★★

    Reply

  89. I made these this morning, and doubled the recipe so that I could freeze half. The whole process took about two hours (had to bake in two separate batches) and they taste amazing. I don’t have a blended or a food processor, so I just baked with the oats as they were and they still turned out great. My only tip: ice the cookies while they are still a bit warm to get the crackled look without having to water down your glaze. The ones that I thouroughly cooled are still beautiful and tasty, but they don’t have the pretty little crackled texture.

    Reply

  90. Very good, but recipe calls for too much nutmeg. It was overpowering. Recommend cutting down to 1/4 teaspoon.

    ★★★★

    Reply

  91. Hi, just found your recipe this weekend made them tonight. They came out perfect, look just like yours and the smell is wonderful. Can’t wait to ice them and have them for dessert. Thanks for sharing your recipe. I might try refrigerate the dough for a bit, it was a tad messy rolling the cookies, nothing too bad.

    Reply

  93. I make these cookies very often. Everyone LOVES them.

    My husband wants me to add raisins to it. Any idea how much I would need?

    I am not a fan of raisins but, I thought I’d be nice and make him a batch.

    Reply

  94. The flavor is 5 + + stars however my cookies are coming out much more puffy or domed. They are not flat like the picture or chewy.

    What could be the reason for this? And/ or how do i get a flatter chewier cookie?

    ★★★★

    Reply

  98. I’m making these today for the first time and wondering, if the texture of the old fashioned oats is what helps the cookies to spread, why do we need to grind them at all?

    Reply

  99. Soft, flavorful, and easy to make! Definitely saved this recipe to make again. Such a classic.

    ★★★★★

    Reply

  101. These have become a go to recipe. Taste is addictive and look just like your photos. Everyone who tastes them loves them. I don’t leave comments and have high standards so please know these are outstanding.

    ★★★★★

    Reply

  103. These turned out fine as far as just ratios and everything working out according to the recipe, but I think the nutmeg was way too overpowering, and I know nutmeg isn’t always my favorite to I definitely didn’t do a heaping 1/2 tsp or anything, I did it a little scant actually. That said, if you like nutmeg you’ll like these, but otherwise I’d recommend reducing or perhaps just leaving it out.

    ★★★

    Reply

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