Old Fashioned Iced Oatmeal Cookie recipe is so tasty and very easy to make! Lightly spiced, with a soft and chewy center and crackled icing on top, they are perfect for the holiday season.
Iced Oatmeal Cookies are a classic cookie, they were always a favorite in lunchboxes when I was young! Topped with cracked icing, these cookies were always perfectly sweet and crisp on the outside, while also being chewy on the inside with hints of warm winter spices.
You can buy iced oatmeal cookies from the grocery store, but nothing beats the smell of freshly baked homemade cookies!
Baking these easy cookies yourself means you can try out different ways of making them to your own liking, and also decorate them for any special occasion or time of year!
If you want some more cookie inspiration using oats, check out my amazing Copycat Mrs. Fields Oatmeal Raisin Cookies for another trip down memory lane, and these Mango and Oat Cookies for something a bit different! This Famous Quaker Oatmeal Cookie recipe is a beloved classic as well.
Shopping List
Wet Ingredients. Butter, Vanilla Extract, Egg, Milk
Dry Ingredients. All Purpose Flour, Old-Fashioned Oats, Granulated Sugar, Brown Sugar, Powdered Sugar, Baking Soda, Salt, Cinnamon, Nutmeg
Chocolate. Candies, Chocolate Chips (Optional)
How to Make Iced Oatmeal Cookies
Oatmeal Cookies
Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F and make sure you have prepared baking sheets before you start mixing ingredients.
In a large mixing bowl with a hand mixer, or in the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the Butter, White Sugar, and Brown Sugar together. Add the Egg and Vanilla Extract and mix to combine.
In a separate bowl, combine the All-Purpose Flour, Baking Soda, Cinnamon, Salt, and Ground Nutmeg. Gradually add the flour mixture to the butter mixture, stirring until fully combined.
Don't forget to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl to make sure you're using all the ingredients.
Add the Old Fashioned Oats to the cookie dough and stir to combine.
Using a medium size #50 cookie scoop, scoop the cookie dough and place each dough ball on a parchment-lined baking sheet 2 inches apart.
Bake at 375 degrees F for 9-11 minutes. The cookies are done when the edges are set and the center is no longer glossy.
For chewy cookies, bake for 9 minutes. For a crispier cookie bake for 11 minutes. Always remember that baking times are suggestions. Each oven bakes a little differently so watch the cookies so they turn out perfect.
Allow the cookies to cool on a cookie sheet for a couple of minutes before moving them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Icing Oatmeal Cookies
Add Powdered Sugar, Vanilla Extract, and a drizzle of Milk to a small bowl, and until desired consistency is reached.
Carefully dip the top of the cookie into the icing, or drizzle the icing on the tops of the cookies. Wait until the icing sets before storing them.
It's important to use the right type of oats in these old fashioned iced oatmeal cookies. Old-Fashioned oats are best, try not to substitute them f
When cookies are baked at a higher temperature, they cook faster. This means that cookie dough won't lose as much moisture from drying out during a long baking time, resulting in that perfectly moist and chewy texture!
While oatmeal cookies have a higher fiber content compared to normal sugar cookies, they still contain lots of sugar - especially when topped with sweet icing! Oatmeal cookies do, however, have a lower calorie content than similar sugar cookies.
Store iced oatmeal cookies in a single layer in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days, but they will keep in the refrigerator for up to 10 days.
Yes! You can make your cookie dough now and save it for a later date, which is so handy for prepping snacks for holiday baking!
Simply make the cookies, and instead of putting the cookie dough balls in the oven, put the tray into the freezer.
Once the cookie dough balls have frozen, you can put them into a Ziploc bag and store them in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Wrap the balls individually in plastic wrap before putting them in the bag to keep the moisture in and prevent them from sticking together.
Then, when you want an Iced Oatmeal Cookie, bake the cookie dough balls from frozen for an extra minute, let it cool and add your icing!
Substitutions & Variations
- Quick Oats. Quick Oats can be substituted for Old Fashioned Oats. I do prefer the larger size of Old Fashioned Oats.
- Chocolate Chips. Adding Chocolate Chips to cookie dough is a fun added sweet surprise.
- Dried Fruit. Add some dried cranberries or raisins into the mix for extra flavor and texture.
- Blend Oats. For a more compact cookie texture, you can pulse oats in a food processor for a few seconds before adding them to the cookie dough. Be careful not to over-process the oats, as the crinkle texture and cracked icing will only happen with large oats in the mix too.
- Drizzle icing. Instead of dipping the whole cookie top into the icing, you can drizzle the icing over the Oatmeal Cookies for a different look.
- Colored Icing. Add a couple of drops of food coloring to your icing mix to change the color to make cookies that match a special occasion or holiday.
- Frosting. You can use frosting instead of icing if you prefer the taste or want something a bit different.
Pro Tips
What makes a good cookie? Does it have a soft center, crispy edges, and chewy? Each of these makes a great quality cookie. To make perfect cookies every time here are some pro tips.
To find out more, check out my Pro Tips Guide for making the best cookies every time!
Weighing Ingredients.
Baking is a science and adding too much or too little of any of the ingredients will alter the recipe. Weighing and measuring dry ingredients properly makes a world of difference. Investing in a kitchen scale is ideal. When a kitchen scale is not available make sure to stir and lift ingredients before scooping them into a measuring cup.
Cookie Scoop.
Using a cookie scoop keeps each ball of cookie dough the same size which is essential for baking. I have used a medium cookie scoop in these photos.
Baking Sheets.
Baking sheets can be ungreased. I like to use Parchment Paper liners or a Silicone Mat for easy cleanup.
Baking Time.
Every oven heats a little differently. I recommend doing a test batch of 1-3 cookies to test the baking time for a perfectly baked cookie before baking the remaining dough.
Cookies.
Cookies are perfectly baked when edges are set and centers are no longer glossy.
Cooling Rack.
Allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for a minute or two before moving them to a cooling rack to cool completely.
- Kitchen Scale. I use this for accuracy in measuring and it's a life saver when it comes to consistent baking
- Wire Rack for cooling cookies. I like to have at least 2 cooling racks
- Mixing Bowls. A Large Mixing Bowl for mixing ingredients and small and medium mixing bowls for other ingredients
- Cookie Sheet. Most recipes will take 2 batches to bake. It's great to have multiple baking sheets available
- Parchment Paper or Silicone Baking Mat. Line Cookie Sheet with parchment paper for easy clean up and to prevent sticking.
- Cookie Scoop. A small #60 Cookie Scoop or a Medium Cookie Scoop #50 are great choices for uniform drops of cookie dough.
- Storage Container. An Airtight Container to store cookies or ZipLoc Bags work great too.
- Additional supplies. Measuring Cups and Measuring Spoons along with silicone spatula are all helpful
Have you tried this Iced Oatmeal Cookies recipe?
Let me know what you thought of this recipe! Tag @bestcookierecipes on social media so I can see how great your cookies are! I would also love to read your comments below. Let me know what you thought of these cookies. It really does help!
Other Cookie Recipes You'll Love
- Eggnog Cookies with Eggnog Buttercream
- Oatmeal & Mango Cookies
- Old Fashioned Peanut Butter Cookies
- Gingerbread Crinkle Cookies
- Starbucks Toffeedoodle Cookies (Copycat)
- Classic Peacan Pie Bars
- Mrs. Fields' Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
- Eggnog Snickerdoodle Cookies
- Air Fryer Peanut Butter Cookies
- Lemon Oatmeal Bars (Betty Crocker Copycat)
Old-Fashioned Easy Iced Oatmeal Cookies
Ingredients
Oatmeal Cookies
- 1 ¼ cups Butter Softened
- ¾ cup Brown Sugar 160g
- ½ cup Granulated Sugar 100g
- 1 Egg Large
- 1 teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract
- 2 ½ cups All Purpose Flour 300g
- 1 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- ¼ teaspoon Ground Nutmeg
- 2 cups Old-Fashioned Oats uncooked, 160g
Icing
- 1 ½ cups Powdered Sugar
- ½ teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract
- 1-2 tablespoons Milk
Instructions
Oatmeal Cookies
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
- In a large mixing bowl with an electric mixer, cream the Butter, White Sugar, and Brown Sugar.
- Add Egg and Vanilla Extract, stirring to combine.
- In a separate bowl, combine All-Purpose Flour, Baking Soda, Cinnamon, Salt, and Ground Nutmeg. Gradually add the flour mixture to the butter mixture, stirring until fully combined.
- Add Old Fashioned Oats and stir to combine.
- Using a medium size #50 cookie scoop, place dough balls on a parchment-lined baking sheet 2 inches apart.
- Bake at 375 degrees F for 9-11 minutes. The cookies are done when the edges are set and the center is no longer glossy.
- For chewy cookies, bake for 9 minutes. For a crispier cookie bake for 11 minutes.
- Let the cookies cool on the cookie sheet for a couple of minutes then move them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Icing
- Add Powdered Sugar, Vanilla Extract, and a drizzle of Milk to a small bowl, and until desired consistency is reached.
- Carefully dip the top of the cookie into the icing, or drizzle the icing on the tops of the cookies. Wait until the icing sets before storing them.
Notes
- Room Temperature: Store iced oatmeal cookies in a single layer in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
- Fridge: Iced Oatmeal Cookies will keep in the refrigerator for up to 10 days. Make sure they have completely cooled, and are stored in an airtight container first.
- Freezer: Put the cookie dough balls on a tray in the freezer. Once frozen, put them into a Ziploc bag and store them in the freezer for up to 3 months. Wrap the balls individually in plastic wrap to keep the moisture in and prevent them from sticking together. Simply bake the cookie dough balls from frozen for an extra minute, whenever you want a fresh Iced Oatmeal Cookie!
Nutrition Disclaimer
All nutrition values are approximate and calculated by a plugin and are provided as a courtesy. Adding or subtracting ingredients will change the nutritional value.
Cathy
I made these cookies yesterday. This is the first time, and last, with this recipe. The cookies didn't flatten at all. The recipe was followed exactly. They taste good but I don't like the looks of them at all; and presentation is important to me. Will return to my regular Oatmeal cookie recipe.
Rebecca Johnston
Hi Cathy, I'm so sorry you didn't love these cookies. If they didn't flatten it sounds like you added too much flour. I do recommend weighing ingredients for more consistent baking. Adding too much flour will make cookies hard and dry when baked and they won't flatten. Hopefully next time you try a recipe you will have better luck!
Susan
At first I didn’t think I liked these cookies. However after letting them set & a few hours later adding the glaze & letting that dry they are DELICIOUS. I took them for a church coffee time & these were a hit!
I did flatten them while they were still hot so they would stack nicely. I will make these often.
Rebecca Johnston
Hi Susan! I'm thrilled you enjoyed these Iced Oatmeal Cookies. I just love them too and you are right, wait until they cool to glaze them and let the icing cool. They are also magical dipped into hot cocoa too!