Eggnog Iced Oatmeal Cookies

Set aside the boxed oatmeal cookie. These iced oatmeal cookies are the best copycat Mother’s Cookies made with a cheeky holiday twist. If you’re making your holiday cookie bake list, here all sorts of inspiration: My 12 Best Christmas Cookie Recipes!

Some cookies make me feel 3 feet tall – probably because that’s how old I was when I’d stand on my tippy toes to reach for them on the high shelf of the kitchen cupboard where my parents would tuck away special treats.  Tucked back on that shelf I’d find a box of Mother’s English Tea Cookies (an underrated and superior sandwich cookie) or a tray of Mother’s Iced Oatmeal Cookies which, with it’s speckled frosting, was my preference especially if they were slightly stale and soft.

Most store-bought cookies should stay store-bought cookies because they are perfect in their nostalgia, ease, and ability to eat by the row (ahem… OREOS).  But these iced oatmeal cookies skyrocket in charm when made from scratch.  They bake up crisp around the edges, with the most lovely chew through the center.  And we can play with the glaze according to the season. This December, I’m spiritually obligated to give these cinnamon spiced cookies an eggnog twist and I LOVE IT.

Get in here with me.  These are a *chefs kiss* cozy classic!

Here are the ingredients you’ll need to make these Eggnog Iced Oatmeal Cookies:

•  old fashioned rolled oats

•  brown sugar, though if all you have is granulated sugar, here’s how to make brown sugar from scratch

•  all-purpose flour

•  kosher salt

•  baking soda and baking powder

•  ground cinnamon and ground nutmeg

•  unsalted butter

•  one large egg separated into yolk and white

•  powdered sugar

•  vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract

•  eggnog (or water if you’re making these outside of the holiday season)

Instead of a mixer to bring this cookie dough together, we’ll use the bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade.

We’re looking for texture here, babes.  Grind old-fashioned oats into a coarse flour.  This will be the base to these wholesome, chewy, crisp cookies.

Can you use quick cooking oats instead of old-fashioned oats in these iced oatmeal cookies?

In a pinch.  Old-fashioned oats have the body you need from the grain.  Quick cooking oats don’t have the body but if that’s all you have in the pantry, throw them in the food processor and blend until just coarse.

After grinding the oats to a coarse powder, add the remaining dry ingredients – brown sugar, all-purpose flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and a good dash of cinnamon and nutmeg.  Whirl to combine.

Add room temperature cubes of butter and whirl into a sandy mixture before adding an egg yolk.

The cookie dough will be cohesive though a little shaggy coming out of the food processor. Tumble it onto a piece of plastic wrap of waxed paper and press and roll into a log – about 10-inches long and 1 1/2-inches wide.  Refrigerate the dough for 3 hours or overnight.

Rather than using a cookie scoop, we’ll slice the dough into 1/4-inch coins. Press and round out any flat edges to make round cookies.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or use my fave Goldtouch baking sheets from Williams Sonoma because they’re super nonstick and the cookies just slide right off.

Bake in the oven until the cookies are spread and golden around the edges.  Gently remove the cookies to cool on a wire rack before glazing.

While the cookies cool we’ll make the eggnog glaze.  In a medium bowl, whisk together an egg white, powdered sugar, vanilla bean paste (because it’s speckled with seeds and lovely) or vanilla extract.  Add a few tablespoons of eggnog to reach the perfect thick but drippy consistency.

Gently dip each cooled cookie into the glaze.  Just a kiss will give the cookies it’s speckled, surface of the moon appearance.

Before the glaze dries, sprinkle with ground nutmeg because what we love about eggnog is actually the nutmeg!

This oatmeal cookie recipe is worth printing, doubling and keeping close.  They’re instant favorites, just as Mother intended.

Eggnog Iced Oatmeal Cookies

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 4.8 from 4 reviews

• Author: Joy the Baker
• Prep Time: 3 hours 30 minues
• Cook Time: 12 minutes
• Total Time: 3 hours 45 minutes
• Yield: about 2 dozen cookies 1x
• Category: cookies, hoiday
• Method: baking

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Ingredients

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For The Cookie Dough:

• 1 1/2 cups (150 grams) old-fashioned rolled oats
• 3/4 cup (170 grams) firmly packed dark or light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup (64 grams) all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes
• 1 large egg yolk

For the Icing:

• 1 large egg white
• 1 1/4 cups (150 grams) powdered sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
• 1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
• A few splashes of eggnog
• Ground nutmeg to sprinkle on top

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Instructions

1. In the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade, grind the oats to a flour. Add the brown sugar, flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and nutmeg, and process briefly to blend. Toss in the butter cubes and process until the butter is well incorporated and the dough begins to clump and pull off the sides of the bowl. Add the egg yolk and pulse until the dough comes together with no dry pockets.  You may want to carefully use a spatula to shimmy any dry patches from the corners of the bowl.
2. Line a work surface with a large sheet of plastic wrap. Turn out the dough onto the plastic wrap and form it into a log about 10-inches and 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Wrap the dough tightly. Chill the dough until firm, about 3 hours in the refrigerator.
3. Position a rack to the center of the oven and preheat it to 350 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Use a thin, sharp knife to slice the dough log into 2 dozen rounds, each just shy of 1/2-inch thick. Place the dough rounds to the prepared baking sheets. Bake until golden and firm on the edges with a bit of give in the centers, about 12 minutes. Transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely—they will feel soft but will crisp all the way through as they cool.
4. In a small bowl, combine the egg white, powdered sugar, vanilla and salt. Mix with an electric hand mixer until smooth and thick. You could also do this in a medium bowl by hand. Whip in 1 teaspoon of eggnog until smooth, adding a bit more as necessary. To frost the cookies, working 1 at a time, kiss the tops lightly to the surface of the icing.  Don’t fully submerge the cookies to allow some golden cookie to show through the icing.
5. Let the excess icing drip off for a moment, and then set the iced cookie on a wire rack. Before the icing on the cookie sets, sprinkle with a pinch or two of ground nutmeg. If the icing in the bowl begins to firm while you’re dipping, loosen it with a few drops of water. Allow the icing to dry completely before serving, about 1 hour.
6. Store in an airtight container for up to 1 week.

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Notes

This recipe is inspired by one of my favorite bakers Shauna Sever and her cookbook Midwest Made.