Totally addicting old-fashioned Iced Vegan Oatmeal Cookies! They have soft centers with chewy edges and are topped with a simple icing that sets so you can stack and gift them if you want.
These remind me so much of those packaged iced oatmeal cookies I used to eat as a kid, except they are made with real ingredients and taste a million times better! Iced Oatmeal Cookies make such a wonderful gift come the holiday season, and are perfect for bringing to parties, school fundraisers and more.
I think you are going to love these cookies! They are:
- Soft, with chewy edges
- So pretty with the icing!
- Easy to make
- Full of spice and warm flavors
How to make Iced Vegan Oatmeal Cookies
Start by making a flax egg. (FOR THE COMPLETE RECIPE, SEE RECIPE CARD BELOW. THIS IS JUST AN OVERVIEW WITH PHOTOS)
Next, pulse the oats 6-8 times using a blender or food processor until you have some oat flour and some chopped oats. This really helps with the texture of the cookies. Mix the dry ingredients in a medium bowl, then mix the wet ingredients with a hand mixer in a large bowl. Add dry to the wet and mix by hand until just combined.
Let the cookie dough chill in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Place heaping tablespoons of the dough on a parchment lined or lightly greased pan, leaving a few inches in between cookies. Press the dough down to flatten a bit, using moist hands if the dough is sticky. Bake for 11-13 minutes, until golden brown.
The middle will still appear soft, but they firm up as they cool. Make sure to let the cookies cool completely before icing.
The trick for pretty iced oatmeal cookies
It’s actually very simple! You just need the icing to be very thick, and then you gently dip the tops of the cookies into it. They will set so pretty with the icing.
The icing is simply 1 cup powdered sugar, 1/4 teaspoon vanilla and about 1 tablespoon of non-dairy milk. Whisk in a small bowl with a fork until smooth. If it’s really too thick, add another tablespoon of milk. The icing should be thick and smooth, but not runny and thin.
If you would rather, you can just drizzle the tops of the cookies with the icing. Either way is just fine!
How long do they stay fresh? 2-3 days at room temperature, or a week in the refrigerator.
Can they be made gluten free? Yes, just make sure to use gluten free oats and an all purpose gluten free flour in place of the white flour.
Whole grain? Sub whole wheat pastry flour for the white flour.
Can you freeze the cookies? Yes, they can be frozen, with or without the icing.
Want more vegan cookie recipes?
- Perfect Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies
- The Best Vegan Sugar Cookies
- Vegan Ginger Cookies
- Vegan Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
- Ultimate Chocolate Cookies
- Classic Vegan Peanut Butter Cookies
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Iced Vegan Oatmeal Cookies
Ingredients
Flax egg
- 1 tablespoon ground flaxseeds
- 2.5 tablespoons water
Dry ingredients
- 1 cup rolled oats
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
Wet ingredients
- 1/2 cup softened vegan butter
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 tablespoon molasses
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Icing
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon non-dairy milk
Instructions
- Make the flax egg: Mix the ground flaxseed and water in a small bowl and set aside to thicken.
- Using a blender or food processor, pulse the rolled oats 6-8 times until you have some oat flour and some chopped oats.
- Add the processed oats to a medium sized bowl, along with the rest of the dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon). Mix to combine and set aside.
- In a large bowl using a hand mixer, beat the softened vegan butter, brown sugar, molasses and vanilla until smooth and creamy. Mix in the flax egg as well. Now add the dry ingredients and mix with a large spoon until just combined. The dough will be thick and rather sticky. Cover the bowl, and chill the dough for about 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and lightly grease a baking sheet (or line with parchment paper).
- Scoop heaping tablespoons of dough (about 1.5 tablespoons each) and place 2-3 inches apart on the baking sheet. Press down slightly with your hands. If the dough sticks, get your hands a little bit wet first. Bake for 11-13 minutes, until golden brown. They will still look soft in the middle.
- Allow the cookies to cool completely before icing.
- Make the icing: Add the powdered sugar, vanilla and non-dairy milk to a small bowl and use a fork to whisk until combined and smooth. You want this icing to be very thick, so add more powdered sugar if needed, or a little bit more milk if it won't come together. It should be smooth but thick, not runny.
- Once the cookies have cooled, dip the tops of each one lightly into the icing. The icing will take an hour or so to set completely, then you can stack them if desired. Enjoy!
Notes
- For gluten free, make sure to use gluten free certified rolled oats and a gluten free all purpose mix instead of the white flour.
- These cookies will stay good at room temperature for 2-3 days or a week in the refrigerator. You can freeze them as well.
Can I use coconut oil instead of
Vegan butter?
I haven’t tried it, but it would probably work quite well.
These cookies are so good!! Amazing, amazing, amazing!!
I can’t say enough about how wonderful these cookies are! I only had about 1/3 brown sugar on hand so I substituted about 1/4 cup maple syrup for it and also the molasses since I didn’t have that on hand either. I also used instant oats. And oat milk for the icing. All the men at my job absolutely LOVED them. This recipe yielded me 7 goodsized cookies that were so soft and terrific. Wonderful recipe! Thank you!
Kookie
I’m so glad everyone enjoyed the cookies, thank you!
These are awesome!!we love these cookies. I have made at least 25 batches of these. They are a good cookie with coffee or tea, I cut back on the brown sugar by a 1/8 of a cup and they were the perfect sweetness for me.
That’s great!
These are amazing ! I love all your recipes ! Can this recipe be doubled?
Thank you so much!! Yes, it can definitely be doubled.
I have made theses at least a dozen times and today they are being made for the American Red Cross (my husband donates platelets often). Like all your recipes , these are terrific!
That is great to hear, thank you so much!
This are delicious. My husband is a truck driver and shared one of these cookies with his loader one day. Apparently his loader could not stop raving about how good these cookies were. Definitely a keeper1
I’m not a cook not a baker AT ALL! However, I followed this oatmeal cookie recipe and it came out absolutely delicious! Thanks for sharing! I am a forever fan.
You’re so welcome!!
These cookies are absolutely DELICIOUS! I’ve tried so many oatmeal cookie recipes but they always turn out dry and hard. These were the opposite: so moist and chewy! I didn’t have molasses or flaxseed so substituted those with aqafaba and honey respectively and it turned out great. I didn’t use the icing either, as I found they were sweet enough. Amazing!!
I’m so glad to hear that! Thank you.
Hi Nora, I’ve made these 3 times already and my only problem is that every time, we end up eating them all in 48 hours (“we” meaning.. just me and my dad!) Any tips on self-control would be much appreciated! lol
An outstanding recipe that I’ll definitely be using for a long time. Thanks so much!
LOL I’m so glad you are enjoying the recipe! Thank you!
I’ve now made these 3 x! Second time I was multi tasking with working at home and accidentally forgot over half the brown sugar. So basically made them with only about 2 TBLS brown sugar. STILL AMAZING!
I’m so glad you like them!! Thanks for the comment!
This recipe is amazing! Oatmeal cookies have always been a favorite of mine and these are excellent. I love how they are still soft and chewy the next day. Delicious! Thank you, Nora!
You’re so welcome!!
Can I use maple syrup instead of molasses?
You probably could, yes, though they will be missing that molasses flavor. Should be fine though!
Hi, is there any substitutes for the molasses? Like syrup or honey?
It’s possible that maple syrup or maybe honey would work, but I haven’t tried it so I can’t be sure! They will taste different without the molasses.
The best vegan cookie recipe I’ve tried to date! So moist and chewy!
Thanks so much!!
Another winner! Made these as directed and they were a hit with the family. Thank you!
You’re welcome! Glad they were good!
I just made your recipe yesterday. I wanted to make a cake pan sized cookie to make a double layer cookie cake. I doubled this recipe and it made 2 thick and perfect cookie cakes. They were delicious and we were able to cut them into “cake” slices. Made a vegan buttercream/marshmallow fluff (with aquafaba) frosting and the whole thing was amazing! Thank you!
You’re welcome! That sounds amazing!
I’ve had trouble getting vegan cookies just right but these come out perfect every time! I am so in love with this recipe and my whole family(who aren’t vegan) are just as obsessed.
Oh good, I’m happy to hear that! Thank you!
I just made these and they are delicious!! My granddaughter will enjoy them for Christmas and I (I’m vegan)can too!!!
Fantastic! I’m so glad they are delicious. 🙂
Hey Nora, can I use applesauce instead of vegan butter in these cookies?
Sorry, I don’t think it would work, they would just be soft and floppy. Oil free cookies need some sort of fat in order to be crisp and not just soft. I haven’t tried an oil free version of these.
Excellent! Delicious! Thank you for sharing!!
Delish and reminds me of gingerbread cookies. Next time I’m adding ginger.
These are amazing!! Love them. Thank you!
Wanted to let your readers know these cookies are amazing. Even after adding flax egg in at the end. They are chewy crispy heaven. Thanks so much for the recipe.
Hi. I’m making your cookies now and I had them all mixed up and was thinking it seemed very dry and then realized I hadn’t added the prepared flax egg. I was following your directions and it never says to add it. Silly me for not seeing it on the counter haha. added after and they are resting in the fridge now.
Thanks so much Debbie, and sorry about that; I have fixed that error! I’m so glad they turned out well for you, and thank you for commenting!
I love your recipes but I truly wish you would post some with aqua faba as an egg replacer. I am going to try making these oatmeal cookies and guess at the amount I need.
Thanks Sue! I personally haven’t had much luck using aquafaba in cookie recipes. I actually tested it in a version of these and they came out way too soft. Is there a reason you don’t like flax eggs?