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    Home ยป Recipes ยป Cookies

    Iced Oatmeal Cookies

    January 14, 2019 By Sam 98 Comments

    This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Please read my disclosure policy.
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    Iced Oatmeal cookies

    How to make old-fashioned Iced Oatmeal Cookies! These cookies are densely packed with chewy pulverized oats and then dipped in a shiny vanilla frosting. Recipe includes a how-to video at the bottom of the post!

    I’ve already shared quite a few oatmeal cookies: my soft, bakery-style oatmeal cookies, an oatmeal chocolate chip cookie recipe, and my popular no-bake cookies! Today I’m sharing a fun, old-fashioned, frosted favorite! 

    Iced oatmeal cookie on cooling rack

    Hello and Happy Monday! I’m back in cold and snowy Pennsylvania after spending the weekend in 75 degree Florida (and Disney!) with my family.

    Returning to icy weather isn’t exactly my idea of the best way to start off the week, but at least we have Iced Oatmeal Cookies, right?

    With firm exteriors and chewy centers, these cookies aren’t as soft as some of my other favorites, but they were specifically designed to have this firm but chewy texture. These are fun and beautiful cookies (can cookies be beautiful? these are to me), so let’s get started!

    chewy oatmeal cookies cooling on cooling rack

    Tips for Making Iced Oatmeal Cookies

    Start with melted butter, but let it cool!

    Using melted butter is one of my favorite techniques when making cookie recipes. It imparts a chewy texture and excellent flavor. However, let the butter cool until it’s near room temperature before adding your sugars. It should still be liquid (not re-solidified) but if the butter is hot it will melt your sugars, leaving you with a greasy and unusable dough.

    You will need a food processor for this recipe

    To give these iced oatmeal cookies that dense, chewy texture, I found the best method was to briefly pulse the oats in a food processor. You don’t get the same results using instant oats, so I do recommend starting with old fashioned oats and pulsing them. This is the food processor I use and love (affiliate).

    Your dough will be crumbly once you add your oats

    This is OK and the dough is supposed to be this way! Because of this,  though, you will want to use your hands to work the dough together and roll it into smooth balls (for neat, uniform-looking iced oatmeal cookies).

    It’s also very important (with all cookies, but especially these) that you do not over-measure your flour or you’ll end up with dry, crumbly cookies. I’ve included notes in the recipe below on how to properly measure your flour: stir, spoon, and level, never scoop your flour!

    how to make iced oatmeal cookies -- pulverized oats

    Oatmeal Cookie Icing

    The frosting that I used for these iced oatmeal cookies is essentially the same as my sugar cookie icing. I absolutely love this recipe because 1) it’s not royal icing, which I don’t care for, 2) it’s simple to make –essentially foolproof, and 3) it dries shiny and hard on your cookies.

    It does use light corn syrup (this is what helps give these cookies their beautiful shiny finish), but I’ve learned that not everyone keeps corn syrup on hand or loves using it (which I thinks comes from a misunderstanding… corn syrup is not the same as high fructose corn syrup). I tested the icing without and found that it will work if you leave out the syrup. However, you won’t get the signature shine and the icing doesn’t seem to set up quite as firmly as it does with the corn syrup.

    When made as directed, iced oatmeal cookies will take several hours at room temperature for the frosting to set completely and for the cookies to be stackable without messing up the icing.

    chewy inside of iced oatmeal cookie

    Enjoy!

    Other Recipes You Might Like:

    • Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies
    • Oatmeal Cookie Bars
    • Oatmeal Muffins
    • White Chocolate Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies
    Iced oatmeal cookies

    Iced Oatmeal Cookies

    How to make chewy, old-fashioned Iced Oatmeal Cookies. **You will need a food processor for this recipe**
    Recipe includes a how-to video at the bottom!
    4.98 from 38 votes
    Print Pin Rate
    Prevent your screen from going dark
    Course: Cookies, Dessert
    Cuisine: American
    Prep Time: 35 minutes minutes
    Cook Time: 12 minutes minutes
    Total Time: 47 minutes minutes
    Servings: 30 iced cookies
    Calories: 176kcal
    Author: Sam Merritt

    Ingredients

    • 1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter melted and cooled 10 minutes
    • 1 cup (200 g) dark brown sugar tightly packed
    • ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar
    • 2 large egg yolks
    • 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
    • 2 cup (250 g*) all-purpose flour
    • 1 teaspoon baking soda
    • 1 teaspoon baking powder
    • 1 teaspoon salt
    • ½ teaspoon cinnamon
    • 2 cups (190 g) old fashioned rolled oats

    ICING

    • 1 ½ cups (190 g) powdered sugar
    • 1 ½ -2 Tablespoons milk
    • 1 Tablespoons light corn syrup**
    • ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract

    Recommended Equipment

    • Food Processor
    • Mixing bowls
    • Cookie sheet

    Instructions

    • Preheat oven to 350F (175C) and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
    • Combine melted, cooled butter and sugars and stir until well-combined.
      1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter, 1 cup (200 g) dark brown sugar, ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar
    • Add egg yolks and vanilla extract and stir well. Set aside.
      2 large egg yolks, 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
    • In a separate, medium-sized bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon.
      2 cup (250 g*) all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1 teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon cinnamon
    • Gradually stir dry ingredients into wet until completely combined.
    • Now you'll need to prepare your oats. Add old fashioned oats to the basin of a food processor and pulse briefly (7-10 times, don't over-do it or you'll end up with oat flour!)
      2 cups (190 g) old fashioned rolled oats
    • Stir your oats into your cookie dough until well incorporated.
    • Scoop dough by heaping 2 teaspoon-sized scoops and gently roll between your palms to form a smooth round ball (dough may be crumbly). Place cookie dough at least 2" apart on baking sheet and use your fingers to gently press down on each cookie to lightly flatten.
    • Bake on 350F (175C) for 12 minutes.
    • Allow cookies to cool completely before covering with icing.

    TO MAKE ICING

    • Combine powdered sugar, 1 ½ Tablespoons milk, corn syrup, and vanilla extract in a small bowl. Whisk until well-combined, if frosting is too thick, add more milk as needed. The frosting has reached the correct consistency when you lift up the spoon and it drizzles a thin ribbon of icing back into the bowl, that should hold its shape for just a second before dissolving back into the rest of the icing (see my video below for a visual).
      1 ½ cups (190 g) powdered sugar, 1 ½ -2 Tablespoons milk, 1 Tablespoons light corn syrup**, ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
    • To dip cookies, grip cookie by the base and dip just the surface of each cookie into the frosting. Pull straight out and place dipped cookie icing-side-up on a cooling rack to set. It will take several hours at room temperature for the icing to set completely and for the cookies to be stackable.
      Oatmeal cookie dipped into bowl of icing

    Notes

    *When measuring flour using cups, never scoop the flour directly into the measuring cup (this is likely to give you more flour than you need, resulting in dry cookies). Instead, stir your flour in its container then spoon the flour into your measuring cup and level it off using the back of a knife. **While my preference is to use corn syrup (which is not the same as HFCS!) You can get away with making this without the corn syrup, the frosting will be less shiny and less firm when set, but it will work.

    Nutrition

    Serving: 1cookie | Calories: 176kcal | Carbohydrates: 27g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 29mg | Sodium: 119mg | Potassium: 55mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 17g | Vitamin A: 206IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 20mg | Iron: 1mg

    Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more.

    Tried this recipe? Show me on Instagram!Mention @SugarSpun_Sam or tag #sugarspunrun!

    This post contains affiliate links. This means that if you purchase anything through these links I will get a small commission at no extra cost to you.  Please view the disclosure policy for more information.

    iced oatmeal cookie

    chewy oatmeal cookies on cooling rack

     

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Misty Weathers

      March 19, 2025 at 11:08 am

      5 stars
      These cookies are absolutely delicious!! Even though I “misread” the 2 tsp cookie scoop size and used the 2 tbsp….So they were delicious AND big LOL. They looked exactly like the picture and were chewy but crisp around the edges. I love how your recipes list the ingredient measurements in the instructions, so easy to follow. Thanks for another outstanding recipe!

      Reply
      • Casey @ Sugar Spun Run

        March 19, 2025 at 2:21 pm

        There’s nothing wrong with an extra big cookie๐Ÿ˜‰. We’re glad you enjoyed them, Misty, thanks for leaving a review!

        Reply
    2. Eva

      December 24, 2024 at 2:23 pm

      5 stars
      I love this recipe so much! I use it all the time and I always get compliments! They are my favorite cookies to make!

      Reply
      • Emily @ Sugar Spun Run

        December 27, 2024 at 12:19 pm

        We are so happy you love them, Eva! Thanks for the review ๐Ÿฅฐ

        Reply
    3. Rena Martin

      November 08, 2024 at 12:04 pm

      4 stars
      The first time I did these cookies they were perfect but the last time the dough was so dry. Canโ€™t figure out what Iโ€™m doing wrong.

      Reply
      • Sam

        November 12, 2024 at 7:20 am

        I’m so sorry this is happening, Rena! Are you weighing your flour? If not you may accidentally be adding too much. ๐Ÿ™

        Reply
        • Rena Martin

          November 24, 2024 at 10:29 pm

          Thank you so much.

    4. pam

      June 24, 2024 at 2:42 pm

      Sam,
      Thank you so much for such an awesome recipe. I made these cookies several times and everyone loved them.

      Reply
      • Emily @ Sugar Spun Run

        June 24, 2024 at 4:08 pm

        We’re so happy they were a hit, Pam! Thanks for coming back to leave a comment ๐Ÿฅฐ

        Reply
    5. Janis

      May 25, 2024 at 7:30 pm

      The other thing I wanted to thank you for was including the ingredients and the amounts within the text of your instructions. I cannot tell you how helpful that is and how much scrolling it eliminates. I love that you do this.

      Reply
      • Sam

        May 25, 2024 at 9:47 pm

        You’re welcome, Janis! I’m so glad to hear that it’s helpful. ๐Ÿ™‚

        Reply
    6. Janis

      May 25, 2024 at 5:06 pm

      I havenโ€™t made these cookies yet, but Iโ€™m about to. I want to compliment on your fantastic video. You did an amazing job of presenting the recipe. Easily explained the process clearly and made it simple to follow the instructions. I look forward to seeing more videos from you.

      Reply
      • Sam

        May 25, 2024 at 9:51 pm

        Thank you so much, Janis! ๐Ÿ™‚

        Reply
    7. Missy

      April 29, 2024 at 1:11 pm

      5 stars
      I made these to take to the lake with us this past weekend and they were a delicious treat!!!
      Everyone raved about how delicious they were and how I have to make them again next weekend. These are absolutely the best iced oatmeal cookies I have ever ate. I will definitely make them again!

      Reply
      • Sam

        April 29, 2024 at 1:53 pm

        I’m so glad you enjoyed them so much, Missy! I hope you love my other cookies just as much! ๐Ÿ™‚

        Reply
    8. SUSAN WOLKE

      December 21, 2023 at 10:48 am

      5 stars
      This was my first year in my new kitchen which was a big change from my previous kitchen. I know have an electric oven/stove and no longer have my kitchen aid mixer. It seemed all my old time recipes which I used for years were just failing, LOL. Luckily I used this recipe for my oatmeal cookies and they came out perfect! Thank you so much. Was super easy and delicious.

      Reply
      • Sam

        December 21, 2023 at 4:26 pm

        I’m so glad you enjoyed them so much, Susan! ๐Ÿ™‚

        Reply
      • Rebecca Wiedman

        December 21, 2023 at 9:48 pm

        5 stars
        soooo good!!!

        Reply
    9. Amethyst

      December 15, 2023 at 2:48 pm

      5 stars
      The best. Perfect recipe. I will be making again and again.

      Reply
    10. Tammy

      November 29, 2023 at 4:23 pm

      5 stars
      This will be my third year making the iced oatmeal cookies. They remind me of my childhood and eating the iced oatmeal cookies from the store. This homemade version tastes even better. I follow the recipe almost exactly as written with the exception of using salted butter instead of unsalted, decreasing the added salt a little. My favorite part about making these cookies is when it’s time to ice them. They always turn out so pretty and really stand out on my cookie trays.

      Reply
      • Sam

        November 29, 2023 at 9:28 pm

        I’m so glad you enjoy them so much, Tammy! ๐Ÿ™‚

        Reply
    11. Amber

      November 26, 2023 at 11:02 pm

      5 stars
      So easy and so delicious. Best cookie recipe I have found from a search in a long long time. Will be making them often. Didnโ€™t use corn syrup and the icing is still very good. Thanks!

      Reply
      • Sam

        November 27, 2023 at 4:47 pm

        So happy to hear you enjoyed them so much, Amber, thank you so much for trying my recipe, I appreciate it! ๐Ÿ™‚

        Reply
    12. Karissa

      November 11, 2023 at 11:37 am

      5 stars
      I made these today, and they were delicious!! and that’s saying something, because I am not usually a fan of oatmeal cookies. I think the glaze made it for me. I used a gluten free flour blend (no xanthan gum), and I chilled the dough. It was too soft without chilling. I did not have corn syrup, but the glaze still set quickly and beautifully! I even made some glaze with Maple syrup. ๐Ÿ™‚ Great recipe! I will definitely make these again!

      Reply
      • Sam

        November 11, 2023 at 5:08 pm

        I’m so glad you enjoyed them so much, Karissa! ๐Ÿ™‚

        Reply
    13. Cryatal

      September 11, 2023 at 12:45 pm

      5 stars
      Hello, thanks so much for he recipe!! Please how long can you store theseโ€ฆor shall I say how long is the shelf life? Thanks so much.

      Reply
      • Sam

        September 11, 2023 at 2:12 pm

        Hi Crystal! They will be good for up to 5 days in an air tight container. ๐Ÿ™‚

        Reply
      • Tom E

        October 02, 2023 at 8:46 pm

        5 stars
        The wife and have always enjoyed the store bought iced oatmeal cookies and we sure like these. I am amazed how well you have replicated them with no additional test tube additives.
        Well done Sam

        Reply
        • Sam

          October 03, 2023 at 9:48 am

          Thank you so much, Tom! I’m glad you enjoyed them so much! ๐Ÿ™‚

    14. Shanda

      July 07, 2023 at 10:03 pm

      What if you donโ€™t have a food processor?

      Reply
      • Sam

        July 09, 2023 at 10:56 pm

        Hi Shanda! Unfortunately, I don’t really have a great alternative. The food processor helps to chop up the oats for the texture in these cookies. ๐Ÿ™

        Reply
      • Cindy

        April 02, 2025 at 9:41 am

        Blender will work or even a rolling pin or meat tenderizer.

        Reply
    15. Michelle

      May 27, 2023 at 10:19 pm

      5 stars
      I made this today and it turned good! It is so yummy that my hubby told me to keep this recipe! Thank you for sharing your all great recipes!!!

      Reply
      • Emily @ Sugar Spun Run

        May 31, 2023 at 11:21 am

        Yay! So glad it was a hit, Michelle ๐Ÿ˜

        Reply
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    4.98 from 38 votes (8 ratings without comment)

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