Molasses Iced Oatmeal Cookies
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Move over traditional old fashioned iced oatmeal cookies, we’re kicking things up a notch with molasses! These quick and easy oatmeal cookies are soft and chewy and covered in a simple bold melt-in-your-mouth molasses icing. You can also find this recipe on page 33 of my cookbook.
OLD FASHIONED OATMEAL COOKIES WITH A MODERN TWIST
If you’ve been around my site before, you’ll know that my oatmeal cookie game is strong. I have a beloved chewy oatmeal cookie base recipe that was first perfected with my chewy oatmeal raisin cookies (my V fav cookie ever) and has been used in my chai oatmeal cookies, oatmeal walnut chocolate chip cookies, and oatmeal scotchies.
This cookie, however, is different. You know those old fashioned packaged oatmeal cookies with the icing on top that are a little crunchy and a lot delicious?
These molasses iced oatmeal cookies were made with those cookies in mind, but because I don’t believe oatmeal cookies should be totally crunchy, we’re softening things up and spicing the icing with molasses because YES.
HERE’S WHY YOU’LL LOVE THESE COOKIES
Aside from being oatmeal based, the best cookie flavor in the world (I mean, in my world anyway), these cookies have so much to love baked into every bite. I’m telling you: these cookies will be one of those cookies you never knew you needed until you take your first bite.
Here’s why:
• mega flavor (cinnamon + nutmeg bring the “old fashioned” flavor)
• buttery centers
• crisp and chewy edges
• a crackly molasses icing on top
• easy, no fuss, no chill recipe
• a beautiful golden yellow color means they bring a pop of color to cookie trays
KEY INGREDIENT NOTES
You’ll need 15 total ingredients for this frosted oatmeal cookie recipe (but one of them is water and hardly an ingredient). They’re all simple, I promise. You probably have most if not all of them in your pantry already!
MOLASSES + OTHER SPICES
This recipe is an adaptation of my very favorite oatmeal cookie recipe, which utilizes molasses, but I left the molasses out of the cookie dough to crisp up the cookie just a touch. Other components that bring old-fashioned oatmeal cookie flavor are brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and vanilla extract.
These 5 key ingredients come together to pack a punch of flavor. These oatmeal iced cookies kick you in the mouth in the best way possible, so even if you have to take an extra trip to the grocery store for molasses, it will be worth it, believe me.
Looking to use up that molasses? Make homemade apple butter, gingerbread cake, gingersnap cookies, shoofly pie, or gingerbread chocolate cookies next.
OLD FASHIONED OATS
The dry base of these cookies is all-purpose flour and old fashioned rolled oats. The oats, however, get a quick whirr in a food processor to grind them up a bit. Only about 15 pulses.
You want different sizes of oats, not all large and not all small either. Too many big ones and there won’t be enough spaces for the moisture to go, too many small and you’ll wind up with a delicate cookie. You want your mixture to look something like this:
OVERVIEW: HOW TO MAKE ICED OATMEAL COOKIES
Make the cookie dough: this is a quick cookie dough!
Scoop + bake: use a #50 cookie scoop for uniform cookies and even baking. I don’t recommend making giant bakery size cookies with this cookie dough as they will spread too much in the oven.
Allow cookies to cool: once the oatmeal cookies are finished baking, you’ll let them cool completely. Dip them whenever you’d like to, but keep in mind the icing will take about an hour to firm up.
Make the icing: this only takes a few minutes, so make the icing right before dipping. I don’t recommend making the icing too far ahead of time as it will start to harden.
Ice the cookies: see below about how exactly to do this.
Allow icing to set: these cookies will need about 1-2 hours to set up completely. After this, you’ll be able to stack them!
HOW TO ICE OATMEAL COOKIES
This molasses icing is very simple– a quick blend of heavy cream or milk, warm water, and a generous helping of molasses create this gorgeous, spiced glaze. But it doesn’t stop there!
To that you’ll add a cup of powdered sugar to make the most impossibly delicious icing for a cookie that you’ve ever had. No judgment if you double the icing batch and just eat it with a spoon…
We’re getting off track. Back to dipping.
STEP #1
Set up your dipping space so you have a bowl of icing and a place for the cookies to drip. I like to place a cooling rack over a baking sheet to catch drippings.
STEP #2
Lightly and quickly dip each cookie into the icing. These cookies are thin, so try not to totally submerge the cookie to prevent the icing from going around to the bottom of the cookies.
STEP #3
Allow the excess icing to drip off, then quickly but carefully flip the cookie over to set up on a cooling rack.
I prefer a fully coated cookie, but you may prefer some more cracks peeking through. The deeper you dunk your cookie, the more you’ll cover the cracks.
The longer a cookie sits, the harder the icing gets, and we find the perfect mash up of crunchy and chewy cookie to flaky icing on the second day. And I’ll tell you what, they rarely last much longer than that second day.
As an oatmeal cookie lover, I had high hopes for these cookies when I first developed the recipe in 2018, and I am happy to say that they exceeded my expectations then and continue to now. The cookie itself is simple yet flavorful enough to stand alone, but the added molasses icing on top is, quite literally, the icing on the cake cookie.
It’s one of my favorite cookies to make at Christmas and to give as gifts. Folks are always intrigued by their appearance and once they take a bite, I’m always met with “mmm”s and “oh my gosh”es and asking for the recipe. You won’t regret adding these cookies to your collection!
Molasses Iced Oatmeal Cookie Recipe
Ingredients
COOKIES
- 1 cup (120g) old fashioned oats do not use quick oats1
- 1 cup (120g) all-purpose flour be sure to measure properly
- 1 and ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 and ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup (113g) unsalted butter softened room temperature
- ¾ cup (150g) firmly packed light brown sugar
- 1 large egg room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
MOLASSES ICING
- 1 and ½ Tablespoons (22mL) heavy cream or milk
- 1 Tablespoon (15mL) warm water
- ½ Tablespoon (8mL) unsulphered molasses2 do not use black strap
- 1 cup (120g) powdered sugar
Instructions
COOKIES
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF (177ºC). Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Set aside.
- Add the rolled oats to a food processor and pulse about 15 times. Do not over process. You don't want the texture of quick oats for these cookies, but you do want them smaller than they come.1 cup (120g) old fashioned oats
- Pour the oats into a large bowl and add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Whisk until ingredients are combined. Set aside.1 cup (120g) all-purpose flour, 1 and ½ teaspoons baking powder, ¼ teaspoon baking soda, 1 and ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon, ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg, ½ teaspoon salt
- In a large bowl with a handheld mixer or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar on medium-high until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Add the egg and vanilla extract and beat again until combined, scraping down the sides as necessary.½ cup (113g) unsalted butter, ¾ cup (150g) firmly packed light brown sugar, 1 large egg, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Decrease the mixer speed to medium-low and slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Mix until batter just comes together.
- Using a cookie scoop (I use this #50 cookie scoop for all of my standard size cookies), drop scoops of dough onto the baking sheet, no more than 6 balls of dough at a time. Bake cookies for 10-11 minutes or until the edges just begin to brown. Centers may look underdone. Remove from the oven and allow cookies to rest on the baking sheet for at least 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Do not ice warm cookies.
MOLASSES ICING
- When the cookies are completely cool, in a small bowl, combine the cream or milk, water, and molasses. Stir or whisk until the molasses is incorporated. Add the powdered sugar and stir until a thick icing forms.1 and ½ Tablespoons (22mL) heavy cream or milk, 1 Tablespoon (15mL) warm water, ½ Tablespoon (8mL) unsulphered molasses2, 1 cup (120g) powdered sugar
- Working with one cookie at a time, quickly dip the tops of the cookies into the icing and let the excess drip off. The longer the icing sits, the thicker it gets, and the more cracks and spots will peek through the tops of the cookies. If you prefer smoother icing, heat the icing in the microwave for a few seconds to keep the desired consistency.
- Set the dipped cookie on a cooling rack until the icing has set, about 1 hour. Cookies stay fresh in an airtight container up to 5 days. Baked cookies freeze well, up to 3 months. It is preferable you not ice them before freezing. Rolled cookie dough can be frozen, up to 3 months. Do not thaw and bake from frozen for 11-12 minutes.
Notes
- Old fashioned oats: while we will be pulsing the oats a bit to break up some of the pieces, quick oats are overall too fine for this cookie dough. They will absorb too much moisture and the cookies won’t spread.
- Molasses: while I highly encourage the use of molasses in the icing, you can leave it out if you prefer.
Nutrition Disclosure
All nutritional values are approximate and provided to the reader as a courtesy. Changing ingredients and/or quantities will alter the estimated nutritional calculations.
I have never been more excited for a cookie recipe in my life! Thanks so much for sharing this, I cannot wait to make these!
Well that is just great news, Courtney! I hope you love them!
I used to avoid molasses, but now I love using it in spicy cookies. I’m sure it’s the perfect addition to these oatmeal cookies. Wishing you the happiest of holidays, Lynn!
Avoid molasses! What a travesty! SO glad you joined us in the molasses camp 🙂 happy holidays to you too, Megan!
In the words of my husband – “this cookie here…this is a cookie.” They are melt in your mouth, flavor explosion delicious!!
Haha, I love that! Thanks, D 🙂