Iced Sourdough Oatmeal Cookies

Sourdough Oatmeal Cookies stacked on top of each other with one leaning against the stack.

5 from 1 vote

These Sourdough Oatmeal Cookies are soft and chewy and topped with a sweet vanilla bean icing. Easily customize with raisins or chocolate chips.

Prep Time30

Cook Time12

Total Time42

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Servings: cookies

Author: Emily Christensen

Equipment

Ingredients

114 grams butter ½ cup
165 grams brown sugar ¾ cup
120 grams sourdough discard ½ cup
1 egg 50 grams
6 grams vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract 1 teaspoon
2 grams cinnamon 1 teaspoon
135 grams rolled oats 1 ½ cup
140 grams all purpose flour 1 cup
3 grams salt ½ teaspoon
5 grams baking soda 1 teaspoon

Vanilla Bean Icing

180 grams powdered sugar 1 ½ cups
6 grams vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract 1 teaspoon
40 grams milk 2 ½ Tablespoons

Instructions

First, make the brown butter. Take the butter and cut it into cubes. Add it to a light-colored pan, if you have one, so that you can easily see when the butter has browned. Heat over medium heat, stirring consistently to prevent the butter from burning. Heat for about 5 minutes or until the milk solids have turned a golden brown color and you can smell the nutty aroma.
114 grams butter
In a large bowl, whisk together the browned butter and brown sugar.
165 grams brown sugar
Add in the wet ingredients and mix until incorporated.
120 grams sourdough discard, 1 egg, 6 grams vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
Mix in the dry ingredients.
2 grams cinnamon, 135 grams rolled oats, 140 grams all purpose flour, 3 grams salt, 5 grams baking soda
Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Use a 2-tablespoon cookie scoop to scoop the cookie dough onto the baking sheet. Each cookie sheet should have 12 dough balls evenly dispersed on the pan.
Bake at 350°F for 12 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through, until the edges are lightly golden and the tops lose their sheen. Be careful not to overbake, as this will result in a crunchier texture.
After they have cooled slightly, add the baked cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.
Once the cookies are cooled, whisk together the icing ingredients. You want the icing to be thin enough to drizzle easily off a spoon, but thick enough to hold its shape for a few seconds in the bowl before blending back in. Once the icing is made, work quickly as the icing will get hard as it sits.
180 grams powdered sugar, 6 grams vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract, 40 grams milk
To ice the cookies, hold each cooled cookie upside down and dip the top into the icing, allowing the excess to drip back into the bowl. Lift and gently shake or tap your wrist to remove any extra icing, then flip the cookie upright and place it on a wire rack or parchment-lined sheet tray. For a thin glaze, give the cookie a quick dip; for a thicker coating, dip and let it sit a moment before lifting.
Let the cookies sit out for an hour or two before storing them to allow the icing to set.

Notes

If you would like an oatmeal raisin or oatmeal chocolate chip cookie you can remove the icing and add 1 cup of raisins or chocolate chips to the dough.
Cookies will continue to bake after coming out of the oven, so resist the urge to bake these after the sides start lightly browning. Overbaking will result in crunchy cookies.
Wait for the cookies to cool and set before adding the icing, or they will fall apart as they are dipped.
The brown butter adds a beautiful nutty flavor, but if you are short on time or prefer to skip this step, you can. Instead of browning the butter, cream softened butter with the sugar instead, using a stand mixer or hand mixer but note the texture of the cookies will change.
If you don't want to dip the cookies in icing you can also drizzle the icing over the top.

Nutrition