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My iced oatmeal cookies are soft, chewy, and topped with a sweet vanilla glaze. This easy one bowl recipe is perfect for lunchboxes or enjoying with a tall glass of ice cold milk.

3 soft iced oatmeal cookies topped with a vanilla glaze on a red checkered tablecloth.

I could eat cookies every day. From my Copycat Lofthouse Cookies to my Birthday Cake cookies, and even my Peach cookies I love them all. Another family favorite are these iced oatmeal cookies Unlike the flat crispy variety from the store, these are thick and SO chewy. We love them for bake sales, cookies trays, or anytime you're craving something sweet. They're fantastic on their own or mix in up to a cup of dried raisins, cranberries, or chocolate chips.

Why Our Recipe Is the Best: A Sprinkle of Food Science

We Chill the Dough: This allows the oats to hydrate for thicker and chewier cookies and prevents the dough from spreading.
We Use Brown Sugar and White Sugar: Brown sugar gives a rich molasses flavor and helps them stay moist for days, while the whit sugar helps the edges crisp up.
We Add An Extra Egg Yolk: This adds richness and moisture.
We Process the Oats: Most cookie recipes just throw oats in the dough and hope for the best. We process ours so you get some chunky, some chopped, and some fine oat flour for a thick cookie that holds its shape.

Ingredient Notes and Shopping Tips

ingredients including rolled oats, cinnamon, flour, brown sugar, eggs, sugar, butter, molasses, and powdered sugar.

Butter: Use room temperature butter. You should be be able to press your finger into it and leave a mark but it shouldn't feel greasy. About an hour at room temperature should do the trick. I like using unsalted butter so I can control the salt level. However, if you only have salted butter just leave out the added salt.
Molasses: I like using unsulfured Molasses for the best flavor. Grandma's is my go to brand. Avoid blackstrap molasses which is very bitter.
Flour: Measure your flour correctly by spooning it into your cup and leveling with a knife. Avoid scooping your cup into the flour as you'll overmeasure leading to dry, dense cookies.
Baking Soda: Replace every 6-12 months as it does lose its effectiveness. To test if it's still fresh drop a pinch in hot water. If it bubbles you're good to go!
Eggs: Room temperature eggs are easier to mix in. Leave on the counter for about 30 minutes. If you forgot about 5 minutes in a glass of warm (not hot) water works too.
Cinnamon: Grab Ceylon cinnamon if you can find it. It is milder and sweeter than Cassia. I grabbed mine at Walmart.
Oats: Make sure to use old fashioned rolled oats. Quick cooking oats are smaller and will give you less chew. Avoid Instant oats as well and steel cut oats as well. The latter will not soften during baking.

Krystle's Tips: Steal My Culinary School Secrets

Do not over mix: Overmixing can develop too much gluten leading to a tough, gummy cookie.
Use a Cookie Scoop: This helps them look great and also ensures they bake at the same rate so they're all done at the same time.
Do not overbake: Pull them when the edges are set and starting to brown, but the center still looks glossy and underdone. They will continue to cook on the hot pan and firm up as they cool. Overbaking will make them dry and crumbly.
Bake On a Light Colored Pan: Dark baking pans retain more heat and can cause the bottoms to burn.