Iced Gingerbread Oatmeal Cookies
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These iced gingerbread oatmeal cookies have a delicious ginger molasses flavor, chewy oatmeal and a sweet vanilla icing. They’re classic iced oatmeal cookies, made for the holidays.
Iced oatmeal cookies are a classic, old-fashioned cookie recipe. I love the combination of chewy oatmeal cookie and sweet, vanilla icing. These iced gingerbread oatmeal cookies are just like your favorite iced oatmeal cookies, but with a delicious gingerbread flavor for Christmas.
The cookies are soft and chewy with hints of molasses, brown sugar, vanilla and warm spices. The vanilla icing on top will harden slightly as it sets, leaving a cookie that looks really pretty and stacks perfectly (great for your holiday cookie trays!). The bumpy surface of the oatmeal cookie gives each cookie a slightly uneven coating of icing that looks beautiful with the underneath cookie poking through.
Ingredients Needed
- All-Purpose Flour – be sure to measure correctly
- Spices – ginger, cinnamon, ground cloves and nutmeg
- Baking Soda – for rise
- Salt – to balance the sweetness
- Butter
- Brown Sugar and Granulated Sugar – the brown sugar gives flavor, whereas the granulated ensures that the cookies have slightly crispier edges
- Eggs
- Molasses – be sure to use fancy or cooking molasses, do not use blackstrap molasses – it’s too bitter for baking with
- Vanilla – for the perfect flavor
- Oats – I use a combination of quick oats and large rolled oats
- Powdered Sugar – for the icing
- Milk – for the icing
Recipe Tip
Using quick oats gives the cookies a more uniform shape, whereas large rolled oats provide more texture and slightly more uneven cookie tops that are perfect for dipping in icing. Therefore, I prefer to use a combination of the two for best results. You could use just quick oats or just large rolled oats if needed.
Method – with Photos
The dough for these cookies, doesn’t require chilling. However, if you prefer thicker cookies the dough can chill in the fridge for 30 minutes or up to 48 hours.
- Prep. Preheat the oven to 350F (180C) and line the cookie sheets with parchment paper or baking mats. Because of the molasses, these cookies can stick to the cookie sheets if you don’t line them.
- Whisk the Dry Ingredients. This is important so that the spices are evenly distributed.
- Beat the Butter and Sugars. Your butter should be softened first for easier mixing, but not starting to melt.
- Mix in the Eggs, Molasses and Vanilla. When measuring the molasses, lightly grease your measuring cup first so that it can easily slide out of the cup.
- Beat in the Dry Ingredients. Start with the mixer on a low speed to avoid the flour flying everywhere.
- Mix in the Oats. You can do this by hand or with an electric mixer.
- Form the Dough into Balls. I use a 1 1/2 tablespoon cookie scoop. Note that the dough will be sticky.
- Bake. These will need about 11-13 minutes, or until the tops look just set.
After the cookies are baked and cooled, it’s time for the icing.
- Whisk Together the Powdered Sugar, Milk and Vanilla. You may need to add in a little extra powdered sugar or a little extra milk. It should be thick, slightly tacky but still drizzle.
- Dip the Cookies. Do a quick dip of the top of each cookie into the icing.
Make Ahead Tips
These cookies will store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days – just make sure that the icing has fully hardened before stacking.
- The bowl of cookie dough can be covered with plastic and stored in the fridge for up to 2 days.
- Cookie dough balls can be placed in the fridge for about 30 minutes to firm up, then placed in a freezer bag and frozen for up to 2 months. Bake form frozen, as directed in the recipe.
- Baked and cooled cookies, without icing, can be frozen for up to 2 months. Place sheets of wax paper or parchment paper between each layer of cookies before freezing. Thaw in the fridge. Once thawed, make the icing and dip each cookie.
More Gingerbread Cookies to Love
Iced Gingerbread Oatmeal Cookies
Equipment
- Cookie Sheets
Ingredients
Gingerbread Oatmeal Cookies
- 2 3/4 cup all-purpose flour (344 grams)
- 2 teaspoons ginger powder
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter (226 grams), softened but not starting to melt
- 1 1/2 cup brown sugar (315 grams), I used dark
- 1 cup granulated sugar (200 grams)
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup molasses (80 ml), do not use Blackstrap – it's too bitter for baking
- 1 cup quick oats (about 100 grams)
- 1 cup large rolled oats (about 90 grams), sometimes called old-fashioned oats
Vanilla Icing
- 2 – 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar (220 – 275 grams)
- 2 – 3 tablespoons milk
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
Gingerbread Oatmeal Cookies
- Preheat the oven to 350℉ (180℃) and line cookie sheets with parchment paper or baking mats.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
- In a separate large bowl, beat together the butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar until creamed.
- Mix the eggs, vanilla and molasses into the butter mixture.
- Beat the flour mixture into the butter mixture until you ne longer see streaks or lumps of flour.
- Mix in the quick oats and large rolled oats.
- Spoon the dough into balls of about 1½ tablespoons of dough each, roll into a ball and place about 2 inches (5 cm) apart on the lined cookie sheets.
- Bake in the middle of the preheated oven for about 11-13 minutes, or until the tops look just set.
Vanilla Icing
- Whisk together 1½ cups powdered sugar, 1½ tablespoons milk and the vanilla extract. If the icing is too thick, whisk in a little more milk. If it's too thin (ie clear in color) whisk in a little more powdered sugar.
- Dip the top of each cooled cookie into the icing and place on a cooling rack to
Notes
- Molasses: Molasses labeled fancy or cooking is perfect for baking. Do not use blackstrap – it is too bitter for baked goods. Save it for your meat marinades.
- Oats: This recipe can be made with 2 cups quick oats or 2 cups large rolled oats instead of 1 cup of quick oats and 1 cup of large rolled oats.
- Storage: Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days. Be sure the icing is fully hardened before stacking.
- Nutrition: Details provided are an estimate only based on 1 cookie with icing, assuming the recipe yields 40 uniform cookies.
