Iced Oatmeal Cookies

icedoatmealcookiesEveryone my age (let’s say young Generation X) ate store-bought iced oatmeal cookies as a kid. There were several brands, from (what seemed like fancy) Archway to generic, but they all had a similar flavor and crunchy texture.

These aren’t nearly as crunchy, but they’re pretty delicious; I added nutmeg to my dough to give it a little extra flavor. You could easily double the recipe; I cut the original one down, but used a generous 1-inch scoop of dough for each cookie to get 22 treats.

Ingredients

For the cookies

  • 1 cup flour
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
  • 8 tablespoons butter, at room temperature but still cool
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup white sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons old-fashioned oats

For the icing

  • 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
  • 2 tablespoons water
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preparation

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line several baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a small bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, and nutmeg; set aside. Cream together butter and sugars until light and fluffy; add egg and vanilla and beat to combine. Add flour and beat until just combined, then stir in oats.

Scoop generous 1-inch balls of dough and place about 2 inches apart on the baking sheets; I baked six cookies per sheet. Bake for 10-11 minutes, until edges are golden brown. Remove from oven and cool on the baking sheets for about 5 minutes; place on a wire rack to cool completely.

To make the icing, combine powdered sugar, water, and vanilla extract in a small bowl and stir until smooth. Place about 1 teaspoon of icing on each cookie and spread with a spoon or small spatula; I covered my cookies a bit more than the store-bough versions were covered, but you can leave them a little more bare (or use thinner icing by adding a bit more water to your mixture) if you prefer. Allow icing to set; store between sheets of waxed paper at room temperature for 2-3 days. Makes 22.

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