Copycat Mother’s Iced Oatmeal Cookies

When I was a little girl, my favorite packaged cookie was Mother’s Iced Oatmeal cookies. They were sweet, crunchy, and had the best icing. I thought they were discontinued, until I saw them at the grocery store a few weeks ago. I picked up the package, looked at the nutrition label, and put the package right back on the shelf.

Now, don’t get me wrong. In my book, all foods are on limits. Meaning, if I wanted that package of Mother’s cookies that bad, I would have purchased them and happily eaten them. But, because developing recipes is my job, I knew that I could come up with my own version that would give Mother’s a run for their money. And, with much better-for-you ingredients. 

There’s only one caveat with this recipe: you need to hide them from all your cookie-loving family members or they will disappear in under 24 hours!! Don’t say I didn’t warn you!

And if you’re looking for more cookie recipes that you may or may not need to hide from your family… then you absolutely need to try my Life Changing Tahini Chocolate Chip Cookies. They are just as addictive as this recipe is, and you will fall in-love with them!

Ingredients needed to make these cookies

• Vegan butter or butter: This recipe can be made using vegan butter or regular butter. I have tested this recipe both ways. If you are using a vegan butter, I highly recommend Miyoko’s Vegan Butter – it is fantastic for baking! 
• Coconut sugar: Depending on what kind of sugar you have on hand, you can use coconut sugar or brown sugar. Both are perfect in this recipe. You can use regular cane sugar, but you’ll get a much richer flavor if you use one of these two options.
• Egg: I created this recipe using 1 egg and 1 yolk, but if you are looking for a completely vegan option, you can replace the egg and yolk with two flax eggs.
• Molasses: Blackstrap molasses gives this cookie that true Mother’s cookie taste, so make sure to use it!
• Vanilla extract: Because I now have this rule that every baked good needs vanilla extract, so here we are!
• Gluten-free flour: I love using Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-Free 1:1 Baking Flour in this recipe. However, Trader Joe’s also makes a fantastic gluten-free flour, and its much cheaper too!
• Baking powder: We aren’t using too much baking powder in this recipe, because, if you recall, the classic Mother’s cookie isn’t very thick and puffy. In fact, it’s flat and on the crunchy side. 
• Cinnamon: Cinnamon gives these cookies the best flavor, so be sure to use it!
• Nutmeg: The same with nutmeg. You don’t need too much nutmeg because it’s super potent, but it gives the absolute best flavor.
• Gluten-free rolled oats: In this recipe, I love using gluten-free rolled oats because I find them to be easier to digest. But you don’t need to use gluten-free if you aren’t gluten-free! Regular oats are cheaper too!

Pro tips for making the best Copycat Mother’s Iced Oatmeal Cookies

Ok, so here’s the low down –

1. If you want very thin cookies (like Mother’s), be sure to use the palm of your hand to gently flatten them in the oven before baking. If you want a thicker cookie, you don’t need to flatten them at all.
2. For a crispy cookie, bake the cookies for 13 minutes. For a softer cookie, I find that 10-11 is more than enough, and they will still firm up a bit more as they are cooling.
3. Be sure to let the cookies completely cool before icing them. Why is this important? Because if you want the icing to stick to the cookies and not just melt/drip all over the place, let them cool completely!

Storage instructions

Store these cookies in an air tight container in the refrigerator for up to one week.

If you make this recipe, please be sure to leave a comment and rating below! And, since I practically live on Instagram, tag me in your creations so I can see them and repost on my IG stories! Cannot wait to hear what you think! Enjoy!

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5 from 4 votes

Copycat Mother’s Iced Oatmeal Cookies

• Gluten Free
• Nut Free
• Refined Sugar Free
• Vegan

Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 13 minutes mins

Total Time 23 minutes mins

Remember those classic Mother's Iced Oatmeal Cookies from your childhood? Meet the best copycat version – made with better-for-you ingredients and no refined sugars. And dare I say that they taste better than the original? They do!

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Servings: 16 cookies

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Ingredients

For the cookies:

• ▢ ¾ cup vegan butter (or butter)
• ▢ 1 cup coconut sugar (or brown sugar)
• ▢ 1 egg + 1 egg yolk (or sub 2 flax eggs), room temperature
• ▢ 2 tablespoons blackstrap molasses
• ▢ ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
• ▢ 1 cup gluten-free flour
• ▢ 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ▢ 1 tablespoon cinnamon
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
• ▢ ½ teaspoon sea salt
• ▢ 2 cups organic gluten-free rolled oats

For the icing:

• ▢ 1 ½ cups powdered sugar
• ▢ 3-4 tablespoons non-dairy milk of choice

Instructions 

1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
2. Using a stand mixer, add room temperature vegan butter and coconut sugar. If you don't have a stand mixer, you can mix everything together by hand in a large bowl
3. Mix on a low speed for about 1 minute until incorporated.
4. Next, add eggs, molasses, and vanilla extract, mixing for about 30 seconds more.
5. Add flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, sea salt, mixing for about 30 second more.
6. Finally, add the rolled oats. The dough should be pretty sticky.
7. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
8. Using a cookie scoop, form 12 cookies and spread them out, about 2 inches apart. If your baking sheet is small to accommodate all of the cookies, use two baking sheets or just bake them in two separate batches.
9. Gently flatten each cookie to about 3/4 inch thick. Bake for 12-13 minutes.
10. Remove from oven and let cool completely. This is VERY important!
11. Once the cookies have cooled cooled, make the icing.
12. In a medium bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar and water – it should be very thick.
13. Dip the top of each cookie into the icing and place it back on the baking sheet to set.
14. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to one week.

Nutrition Hide Nutrition

Calories: 227kcalCarbohydrates: 35gProtein: 2gFat: 10gSaturated Fat: 6gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0.3gCholesterol: 23mgSodium: 191mgPotassium: 83mgFiber: 2gSugar: 20gVitamin A: 279IUVitamin C: 0.2mgCalcium: 42mgIron: 1mg