Maple Oatmeal Cookies

Pile of oatmeal cookies topped with brown maple icing.

Soft and chewy oatmeal cookies flavored with maple and brown sugar and topped with brown butter maple icing.

Course Dessert

Cuisine Dessert

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 10

Chill time 30

Total Time 1

Servings

Calories 209kcal

Author Allison - Celebrating Sweets

Ingredients

Cookies:

1½ cups quick oats
1 cup all purpose flour
¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup unsalted butter softened but still cool
⅔ cup light brown sugar packed
¼ cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
½ teaspoon maple extract
¼ cup finely chopped pecans optional

Icing:

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
⅔ cup powdered sugar sifted if lumpy
1-2 tablsepoons pure maple syrup
1-2 tablespoons half and half, cream, or milk
2 drops maple extract

Instructions

Cookies:

In a food processor, pulse the oats several times, until broken down but not powdery. Add flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt and pulse a few more times until combined.
Using a hand mixer or stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment., beat butter, brown sugar, and granulated until creamy and combined. Add egg, syrup, and extract and beat until combined, scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl as necessary. Add the dry ingredients and pecans (if using) and beat until fully combined. Transfer the bowl to the refrigerator to chill for 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 350°F with a rack in the upper third and lower third of the oven. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
Following the 30 minute chill time, scoop the dough into 1½ tablespoon balls (I use a cookie scoop) and place a couple inches apart on the baking sheet. If you'd like your cookies on the thinner side you can flatten the dough balls just a bit to encourage spreading (see more in the notes).
Bake for 9-11 minutes, until the edges are set but the center is still underdone (the cookies will still be fairly light). Place the baking sheets on wire racks and allow the cookies to cool completely, they will firm up as they cool.

Icing:

Place the butter in a saucepan set over medium-low heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until browned bits form on the bottom of the pan and the butter begins to turn golden and smell nutty. Immediately transfer into a bowl along with any accumulated brown bits. Cool for about 5 minutes. Whisk in powdered sugar, 1 tablespoon syrup, 1 tablespoon milk, and maple extract. Whisk vigorously, until smooth and combined. Adjust the consistency by adding more powdered sugar to thicken or more milk to thin. Drizzle or spread the icing onto the cooled cookies. Allow the icing to firm up a bit before serving.

Notes

Note:

Because the oats will begin to absorb some of the wet ingredients the amount that your cookies spread will depend on a few factors. 1) How long the dough chills 2) How wet/dry your environment is. If you notice that the cookies are not spreading as much as you’d like you can flatten the dough balls prior to baking. If they’re spreading too much (unlikely) you can chill the dough longer.

Tips:

Underbake the cookies. You should remove these cookies from the oven when the edges are just set but the centers are still undercooked. They should be so soft that you cannot pick them up off the baking sheet without them falling apart. They will firm up as they cool on the baking sheet.
Once the cookies come out the oven use the back of a spoon to gently push the edges inward to create clean edges and a perfect round shape.

Serving and storage:

Store tightly covered at cool room temperature and serve within 3 days. Cookies can be frozen up to 3 months (with or without icing). If you plan on freezing them with icing I recommend placing the cookies in a single layer and freezing briefly (just until the icing hardens) then layering and double wrapping them for freshness.

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