Iced Maple Oatmeal Cookies

My grandparents used to have the sweetest morning routine. They woke up early in the morning, made a fresh pot of coffee, then enjoyed their coffee with some cookies while reading the paper in bed. They lived in the hills of Santa Barbara so I imagine the views overlooking Santa Barbara as the sun rose must have been beautiful!

I was never able to partake in their full routine (because I couldn’t understand the superpowers they probably possessed in order to awake so early), but sometimes I would sneak in towards the end and quickly snack on some cookies. They usually rotated through a couple types of cookies - lemon or vanilla sandwich cookies and iced oatmeal cookies. These cookies have thus always felt very homey to me, so naturally I wanted to make one of these cookies with my own twist.

These Iced Maple Oatmeal Cookies have a similar taste to the store-bought ones, and yet are very different. Unlike the store-bought ones, these cookies are not hard and crunchy, but rather, they are soft and moist. The maple flavoring is distinct without being overpowering, and works wonderfully with the cinnamon and nutmeg spices to create the PERFECT spiced, fall treat. Once baked, the cookies are dipped in a powdered sugar icing to add additional flavoring and sweetness. These cookies are easy to make, and makes 3 dozen cookies - so this recipe works great for large groups.

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Iced Maple Oatmeal Cookies

Prep time: 20 minutes

Bake time: 11 minutes

Serves: 36

Ingredients:

• 1 cup (16 Tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup brown sugar, packed
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 Tablespoons maple syrup, divided
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 cups flour
• 2 cups oats
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 2 Tablespoons milk
• 1 Tablespoon water

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicon mat, set aside.
2. In a large bowl using a handheld mixer or a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium speed until smooth and creamy.
3. Add the brown sugar and granulated sugar, continue beating on medium speed until light and fluffy.
4. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating until just combined into the dough.
5. Lightly beat in the vanilla extract and 1 Tablespoon maple syrup. Set batter aside.
6. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, oats, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, and nutmeg.
7. Add a third of the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, and mix on low speed until just combined. Repeat until the flour mixture is fully incorporated.
8. Roll the cookie dough into balls, about 1 1/2 Tablespoons of dough per cookie, and place 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheet.
9. Bake for 11-13 minutes, or until the edges are golden. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to the cooling rack. Allow cookies to cool completely.
10. In a shallow bowl, make the icing by whisking together the powdered sugar, milk, 1 Tablespoon maple syrup, and water.
11. Dip the tops of the cookies into the icing, then return to the cooling rack, allowing the excess to drip off.

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