Crispy Iced Oatmeal Cookies
These copycat Iced Oatmeal Cookies are a homemade take on the classic grocery store treat you grew up loving. Made with simple pantry ingredients, they are perfectly crunchy, warmly spiced, and topped with a sweet vanilla glaze that tastes even better than the store-bought original. (Makes 38 small cookies)
Servings: 22 medium cookies or 38 small cookies
Calories: 233kcal
Ingredients
Cookie dough
- 3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
- ½ cup raisins
- 1 cup all-purpose flour (128g) sifted
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- ¾ cup dark brown sugar firmly packed
- ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter softened
- ½ cup vegetable shortening
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Icing
- 1 cup confectioners' sugar
- 1 ½ tablespoons meringue powder or powdered egg whites
- Water as needed
Instructions
Make the cookies
- Heat oven to 375ºF and place rack in center. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a food processor, process 2 cups oats and the raisins until finely ground. Transfer to a medium bowl; stir in remaining 1 cup oats, the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger and cloves; set aside.
- In a mixer bowl, beat together granulated sugar, brown sugar, butter and shortening on medium speed, scraping down sides of bowl occasionally, until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add egg, then extract; beat until combined. Stir in oats mixture until combined.
- To make 33 small cookies, roll dough into 1 ½-inch balls (2 tablespoons dough each). Place, 2 inches apart, on prepared sheet and lightly press to flatten. (yielding 22 larger cookies can be 2 ½ to 3 tablespoons of dough)
- Bake until light golden brown around edges, 13 to 14 minutes. Transfer sheet to a wire rack and let cool slightly. Transfer cookies to rack and let cook completely.
Make the icing
- In a small mixer bowl, combine confectioners' sugar and meringue powder. With mixer on low speed, beat in 2 tablespoons water until mixture is the consistency of a medium-thick icing. Beat 3 minutes, adding water (if needed), 1 teaspoon at a time, to make a spreadable icing.
- Ice the cookies using a pastry brush* and let stand until set, about 30 minutes.
Notes
*Adding the icing: Use a dry pastry brush dipped in the icing to BRUSH it on! No drizzling, no spreading with a spatula or a knife. Those don't work! Brushing is the key.
Make-ahead
Make dough ahead: Wrap dough disc in plastic wrap or store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Let sit at room temperature for 15 to 20 minutes before scooping and baking. You can also pre-scoop the dough before refrigerating so they are ready to go straight onto the baking sheet. Make icing ahead: Store the royal icing in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. Press plastic wrap directly onto the surface before sealing to prevent it from drying out. Stir well and check the consistency before using, adding a small amount of water if it has thickened. Freeze unbaked dough: Scoop the dough into balls and smash to flatten BEFORE freezing in a single layer until solid. Transfer to a zip-top freezer bag for up to 3 months. Bake directly from frozen (since you flattened them!), adding 2 to 3 extra minutes to the baking time.Storage
Room temperature: Once iced and fully dried for 3 hours, store cookies in a single layer in an airtight container with parchment between layers for up to 3 days. Refrigerate: Not recommended. Condensation will cause the glaze to get sticky. Freeze baked cookies: Make sure the icing has set completely, then freeze cookies in a single layer until solid. Transfer to a zip-top freezer bag or airtight container with parchment between layers for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature for about an hour before serving. Note: you will get some sticky frosting just as you would with refrigerating them.Nutrition
Serving: 1g | Calories: 233kcal | Carbohydrates: 34g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 19mg | Sodium: 117mg | Potassium: 110mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 20g | Vitamin A: 145IU | Vitamin C: 0.2mg | Calcium: 25mg | Iron: 1mg
