Small Cookie Sunday: Iced Oatmeal Cookies
ICED OATMEAL COOKIES
Bake up some deliciously simple cookies that can be ready instantly for lunches and after school snacks. The secret is to bake them and package them up in advance, and have them waiting in the pantry. There’s nothing like an oatmeal cookie for its buttery goodness and soft chewy texture, and the icing on top really makes them perfect. Although these cookies are not tiny, they are definitely small by today’s standards. It’s helpful to remember that less is good, with food as with everything else. Just a few nice bites will sweeten a child’s lunch or their afternoon return from school.
This recipe gives you two types of oatmeal cookie. Un-iced, they are unbelievably crispy so you get that type of crunch that’s hard to find. If you want to ice them – which is oh so easy – you get a slightly chewy texture along with the pretty icing. You will have to explain to people that you made them, because when they are iced, they look store bought. I will tell you how to ice them so they look absolutely professional. It’s really fun to display these on a tray, because people truly think you bought them!
For school lunches, package them all up in small glassine envelopes with a label that tells the world who made them. Once they are packaged up, keep them in a box or jar and take them out as needed to add to lunches, etc. Your kids will enjoy unwrapping them, and you will enjoy how quick and easy they are to add to a lunch. You can make up to 60 in advance and hand them out for a month or more!
- [b]Ingredients for the cookies:[/b]
- 1 – 3/4 sticks butter, melted and cooled
- 1 – 1/4 cups sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
- 1 Tbsp molasses
- 1 cup flour
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp soda
- 3/4 tsp baking powder
- 2 – 1/2 cups quick (minute) oats
- [b]Ingredients for the icing:[/b]
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 – 1/2 Tbsp water
- Soften butter until it just barely loses its shape, do NOT allow to get hot. Allow to cool if needed to bring it to room temperature. Add the sugar, vanilla, egg and molasses and stir well. In a separate, large bowl, stir together the flour, salt, soda and baking powder. Add the butter mixture, stir well, then stir in the oats. Mix just until blended.
- Your dough is now at room temperature and slightly soft from the melted butter; it is the perfect consistency to bake. Scoop out one-tablespoon size balls of dough. Be careful not to make them too big! Smooth out any large bumps so the balls are fairly round. Place on cookie sheet with lots of room between them – they will spread out a lot.
- Bake at 350% for 12 – 14 minutes, until they just begin to get brown on the edges. Do not allow to get too brown, you want the cookies to keep their light golden color on the top.
- Allow the cookies to cool completely before icing them. To make icing, mix the powdered sugar and water together until smooth. Pour into a small, flat dish or bowl. Carefully dip the top of each cookie into the icing, then place right side up on a cooling rack. It will take a little bit of practice to get the technique down to dip just the right amount so they all look the same. You might have to eat the first couple of practice cookies. Allow to rest on the cooling rack until the next morning, so the icing has a chance to set.
- I made a double batch, and baked up half into cookies. The remainder, I made into balls of dough and froze them, which I will bake later as we need cookies. Or maybe I will just eat cookie dough from time to time until it disappears….
- A single batch makes about 36 cookies
Items needed for packaging:
• 1 – 1/2 inch circle label
• small rectangle glassine envelopes, frosted, 2.75” x 3.75”
Packaging instructions:
• place each cookie in a small glassine envelope
• tuck the flap inside
• seal with a round label
Jeanne and her husband David launched My Own Labels in January of 2000. It was a spin-off of their successful graphic design firm, plus it allowed Jeanne to incorporate her love of baking, making, sewing and creating. Today David and Jeanne continue to be the heart of the operation both creatively and practically.
Please list the size of these labels! Hard to tell in the photo. Thank you.
Hi Christie, they are our Shape 38 labels (1.5″ circle labels)