This Small-batch Oatmeal Cookies recipe makes six big and beautiful cookies, perfectly sweet and spicy, packed with cinnamon and a bit of nutmeg and drizzled with vanilla icing.
I have a question for you: Do you like oatmeal cookies?
I’ll be honest, on oatmeal cookies in general, I’m pretty meh. Give me a big doughy oatmeal cookie, barely sweet, and stuffed full of raisins, and I’ll happily give it right back to you (bleh!).
But these oatmeal cookies? These wonderful, lovely, perfect oatmeal cookies I’m sharing today? These oatmeal cookies I LOVE. And you should make a batch as soon as is humanly possible.
These oatmeal cookies are a little chewy and a little crunchy and can be more of either depending on how long you bake them. They’re perfectly sweet and spicy, packed with cinnamon and a bit of nutmeg, drizzled with vanilla icing and best of all, NOT A RAISIN IN SIGHT!
See Also: Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies
This is my favorite type of cookie recipe, the type that uses melted butter and requires no dough chilling, so you can decide to make oatmeal cookies and be eating one warm out of the oven within 30 minutes.
Bake up a batch on a cold, drizzly day and they’ll make your house smell amazing and your day feel five times cozier. And since this is a small-batch recipe, it makes just six big beautiful cookies. Plenty to share, or just the right amount to keep tucked away for yourself and enjoy for a few days.
And look, sharing is great, but I definitely won’t judge you if you decide to go with option two. 😉
This post may contain affiliate links, which means I receive a small commission if you make a purchase using them. There is absolutely no additional cost to you.
Small-batch Oatmeal Cookies Recipe Notes
- In the recipe, I have you partially grind your oats in a food processor before adding them to your dough. If you don’t have a food processor, this step is optional, but I recommend it, as unprocessed oats make for a pretty rustic and “oaty” cookie.
- If you have a chopper/grinder attachment for your immersion blender like this one, they also work great for this and is what I usually use.
- To make these cookies, you can use old-fashioned oats (also called rolled oats or whole oats) or quick-cook oats. You cannot use steel-cut oats.
Looking for more Small-batch Cookie Recipes? Try these Small-batch Cut-out Sugar Cookies, Small-batch Chocolate Chip Cookies, or Small-batch Shortbread.
Small-batch Oatmeal Cookies with Icing
Ingredients
Small-batch Oatmeal Cookies
- 1/2 cup (40g) uncooked oats quick-cook or old-fashioned
- 1/2 cup (60g) all-purpose flour
- 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
- 4 tablespoons (2oz) unsalted butter melted and slightly cooled
- 1/4 cup (50g) granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons (25g) brown sugar
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Vanilla Icing (Optional)
- 1/3 cup (40g) powdered sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1-2 teaspoons milk
Instructions
Small-batch Oatmeal Cookies
- Preheat your oven to 350°F and line 1 baking sheet with parchment paper or silicone baking mat.
- In a food processor, pulse oatmeal 5 or 6 times, until oats are partially chopped, but not completely ground. Set aside.
- In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and processed oatmeal.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together melted, slightly cooled butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar until smooth.
- Whisk in egg yolk and vanilla until well-combined. Add flour and oatmeal mixture and use a spoon to stir together until well-mixed.
- Drop 6 rounded spoonfuls (about 1.5-ounces each) on prepared baking sheet as far apart as possible (these cookies spread) and bake until cookies look just set: 12 minutes for softer cookies, 14 to 16 minutes for crunchy cookies. Cool on the baking sheet until cool enough to handle. If icing, cool completely.
Icing
- In a small bowl, stir together powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and 1 teaspoon of milk. Add just enough milk, up to 1 teaspoon more, to get a drizzling consistency. Spoon over cooled cookies. Allow icing to set for at least 15 minutes, and enjoy!
Notes
Adapted From Shugary Sweets
This post may contain affiliate links, which means I receive a small commission if you make a purchase using them. There is absolutely no additional cost to you.
Denise says
I am thrilled to find the small batch cookie recipes. I love cookies to make and eat homemade cookies. It’s just my husband and I now so he might eat 2 or so and that’ leaves me to eat the rest. Which I enjoy but I know that isn’t the best thing for me. With everything going on I’ve been dying to make cookies! Now, I can with the recipes you posted. Trust me, I will try every recipe but gradually Thank you!
Tracy says
Yay!! I hope you enjoy every single one, Denise!! 😉
Liz says
Super tasty! I was looking for a small batch oatmeal cookie recipe without chocolate chips and these were delicious. I didn’t pulse the oats because I’m lazy but still turned out great. I also added cinnamon to the icing!
Tracy says
Thanks, Liz! I’m so happy to hear it!
Debi says
Absolutely great!! Love your small batch recipes works great for me. I’ve tried your brownies and shortbread omg love them.
Tracy says
Thanks, Debi! I’m so glad you’ve enjoyed them!!
Gina says
Hey there! The texture of my dough was really crumbly and the cookies did not spread . What did I do wrong?
Tracy says
Hi, Gina. Sorry these gave you some trouble! This dough should be easy to work with, so not sticky and wet, but not crumbly. You might have had a little too much flour in there–for best results with baking, measure flour by weight or use the spoon and sweep method (stir the flour in your container to fluff it up and then spoon it into your measuring cup, sweep excess off with the flat of a knife). You might also have gotten a particularly small egg yolk so there wasn’t enough liquid in there. If this ever happens to you again, you can add milk or water by the half teaspoon until you get a dough that’s not so crumbly. Hope that helps!
Celeste Nuernberger says
I love this recipe! It tastes amazing and I haven’t even used the icing yet. I’ve made this recipe 3 times so far, and only on the third did I notice that it just asked for the egg yolk, though I still completely ignored it. I just put the whole egg in there for a delightfully cake-y texture!
Jane says
Tracy I wanted to write and say how much I like you website. I just made oatmeal cookies and they taste great ( I put butterscotch chip in mine). I always use your website with my grandkids it just the right amount. I have made a lot of you recipes.
Tracy says
Thank you so much, Jane! This makes me so happy to hear!
Nikki says
I’ve baked this recipe two times in two days…it’s UHmazing! I love THEFLAVOR and texture. GEEZ. I’m so glad I tried it, thank you so much.
Cookie Monstress.
Tracy says
LOL, thanks, Nikki! So glad you are enjoying the recipe!
Tasha says
I just made these and they were absolutely amazing! Perfect texture. Thanks so much for the recipe 🙂
Tracy says
So glad you enjoyed them, Tasha!!
Melinda says
I searched small batch oatmeal cookies for my son who just moved out and loves oatmeal cookies. Thought I would surprise him … he was lucky the cookies even made it to his place!!!! They were by far the best oatmeal cookies we have ever eaten. I am making them again tonight but am going quadruple the recipe lolololol
Tracy says
LOL! So sweet of you to bake cookies for your son. Even sweeter to share them with him. 😉 So glad you two enjoyed them!!
Jean Ferrario says
Hi, I’ve meaning to write for months and tell you how much I love the recipe. I think the real discovery is processing the oatmeal before you put the dry ingredients together. It makes for a beautiful, more crisp texture to the cookies which I love. I intend to give a little grind to the oatmeal no matter which cookie recipe I use. Thanks for the tip!!
Tracy says
Thanks so much, Jean! I’m so glad you enjoyed these. And yes! Processing the oats makes such a difference. It totally changed my cookie game when I learned to do that. 😉
Karly says
I’ve fallen in love with a cookie recipe. It’s as simple as that. Love how simple these are too– so perfect for late night cravings!
Tracy says
Hehe, thank you, Karly!
sue | theviewfromgreatisland says
You had me at nutmeg, it’s my favorite spice and I can’t get enough of it. This recipe takes oatmeal cookies to a whole new level!
Tracy says
Thanks, Sue! I agree, nutgmeg is the BEST.
Leslie says
The small batch concept is perfect. It makes much more sense if you are planning on baking 10 different kinds of cookies. I also love that these use the melted butter and no chilling. Perfect for impulse baking!
Tracy says
Yes! Impulse baking is so much more fun when you don’t have to stop and wait for dough chilling, etc. 🙂
Lisa Huff says
Love the idea of making a small batch. I always make WAY too many cookies!
Tracy says
Hehe, story of my life. 😉
Katie | HealthySeasonalRecipes says
It’s funny to hear you say you’re not a huge oatmeal cookie fan because I am the kind of person who never turns down an oatmeal cookie. And these would certainly be no exception. The texture on the outside looks perfect to me.
Tracy says
Thank you, Katie!
Ayngelina says
I love plain oatmeal cookies but I must admit the icing does make them look so much more tempting.
Tracy says
I know! It doesn’t even change the flavor *that* much, but it makes me want to eat them so much more! 😉