Vanilla Brown Sugar Oatmeal Latte Cookies with Espresso Icing

Remember these beauties from last year? 2024 was the year of the famous brown sugar oat milk shaken espresso latte from big coffee shops, and after seeing so much hype, I knew I wanted to infuse those delicious flavors into a cozy, chewy cookie.

SO, for Day 3 of AK Cookie Week, I had to re-share one of the most popular cookie recipes from last year: the most incredible vanilla brown sugar oatmeal latte cookies with a light espresso icing. I couldn’t believe just how deliciously chewy these came out — they’re like your favorite oatmeal cookie with hints of vanilla, rich brown butter, and warm coffee notes.

Enjoy a latte cookie with a cup of coffee or even your shaken espresso for the ultimate duo!

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Ingredients in these vanilla oatmeal latte cookies

These gorgeous cookies have a super simple base, plus a few special ingredients that give them that true latte flavor. Here’s what you’ll need:

• Butter: you know we’re browning that butter for that rich, caramel-like flavor.  You’ll use a little brown butter in the icing as well!
• Sugar: another key to the flavor of these cookies is using all DARK brown sugar. No white granulated sugar in here! Dark brown sugar has more molasses than light brown sugar, so it adds a lovely depth of flavor and sweetness.
• Eggs: you’ll need 2 eggs to help the cookies bake properly.
• Vanilla: I actually used vanilla bean paste for an even more prominent vanilla flavor! If you don’t have any, you can simply use vanilla extract.
• Flour & oats: we’re using regular all-purpose flour and old-fashioned rolled oats as the base for these cookies.
• Espresso powder: because these are latte cookies, you’ll add some espresso powder to the dry ingredients for a nice coffee flavor.
• Baking staples: don’t forget the baking soda, salt, and a pinch of cinnamon.
• For the espresso icing: OMG the best part. It’s made with a little of the reserved brown butter from the dough, powdered sugar, vanilla extract, more espresso powder, and a little milk. So easy, too.

Choose your coffee flavor intensity

I ended up adding about 2 full tablespoons of espresso powder to my dough because I really wanted the coffee flavor to shine through. If you’re not a big fan of coffee flavors, feel free to use less espresso powder in the dough and/or in the icing.

I recommend using espresso powder (for baking) rather than instant coffee powder in order to get a nice, strong flavor!

Q&A on ingredient substitutions

As always, I recommend sticking to the recipe to get the best results:

• Can I make then gluten-free? I haven’t tested these cookies using a gluten-free flour, so I’m not 100% sure how they would turn out. If you want to give it a try, I suggest trying a 1:1 gluten-free all purpose flour.
• Can I make them dairy-free? Feel free to use a dairy-free butter substitute, but note that you cannot brown dairy-free butter. You’ll just want to melt it, then use it as directed in the recipe.
• Can I make them vegan? I haven’t tested these cookies using two flax eggs, but let me know in the comments if you do! You’ll also need to use dairy-free butter.

No stand mixer? No problem

If you don’t happen to have a stand mixer, feel free to use an electric hand mixer OR simply mix well by hand. Be careful not to overmix your dough!

Important tip on using the right oats

In order to ensure that the cookies don’t turn out too flat when they bake:

1. Make sure you don’t use quick oats.
2. I used Bob’s Red Mill old fashioned rolled oats for this recipe, but all oat sizes are different. If the dough is too wet, I suggest adding 1/4 cup more oats!
3. If you like a heartier/thicker cookie, I suggest using 2 cups of rolled oats total.

How to make oatmeal latte cookies

1. Brown your butter. You’ll start by browning the butter in a skillet, then add it to the bowl of your electric mixer to cool. Remove a tablespoon of the brown butter and add it to a separate bowl for the icing!
2. Mix the wet ingredients. Mix the brown sugar in with the cooled brown butter until it’s well combined, then mix in the rest of the wet ingredients until the mixture looks like caramel.
3. Whisk the dry ingredients. In a separate mixing bowl, whisk together all of your dry ingredients, then mix them into the wet ingredients until just combined.
4. Chill, then bake. Yes, this is essential! Chill the dough in the fridge for at least 30 minutes, then scoop your dough balls onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake until just slightly golden on the edges.
5. Ice & devour. While the cookies are cooling, mix together the espresso icing ingredients until smooth. Lightly dip each cooled cookie in the icing, then place on a wire rack or parchment paper to let the icing set before digging in!

My best cookie-baking tips

You’ll find all of my best tips & tricks for making perfect cookies in the Ultimate Guide to Cookie Baking e-book! A few key takeaways for these vanilla brown sugar latte cookies:

• Substitute at your own risk. Please be sure to follow the recipe as written unless substitutes are noted in the notes section of the recipe. Changing ingredients will likely change the texture and/or flavor of the cookies, so do so at your own risk.
• Use room temp ingredients. After you brown your butter, you’ll want to make sure that it’s completely cool so that it doesn’t coagulate the other ingredients. Be sure your eggs are at room temperature as well, so that they don’t coagulate with the butter. Simply run it under warm water for about a minute or place it in a bowl of warm water for a few minutes before adding it to your dough.
• Use fresh baking soda. Make sure your baking soda is fresh to ensure that these cookies bake up properly.
• Measure your ingredients correctly. I weighed the ingredients for these cookies, as you’ll see in the full recipe below. If you don’t have a scale, be sure to use this method for measuring flour!

How to store & freeze these vanilla latte cookies

• To store: store these cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
• To freeze: you can actually freeze the cookie dough OR the freshly baked cookies to enjoy later! Get all of my tips and tricks for freezing cookies here.

Tools you’ll need

• Skillet
• Whisk
• Mixing bowl
• Stand mixer or hand mixer
• Cookie dough scoop
• Baking sheet
• Parchment paper

Get all of my kitchen essentials here!

More cookie recipes you’ll love

• The Best Bakery-Style Soft Peanut Butter Cookies
• Salted Brown Butter Coffee Oatmeal Chocolate Chunk Cookies
• Mint Chocolate Cookies with Mint Frosting
• Soft Brown Butter Ginger Cookies with Lovely Lemon Icing
• The Best Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies You’ll Ever Eat

Get all of my cookie recipes here!

I hope you love these vanilla brown sugar oatmeal latte cookies! If you make them be sure to leave a comment and a rating so I know how you liked them. Enjoy, xo!

Vanilla Brown Sugar Oatmeal Latte Cookies with Espresso Icing

4.84 from 65 votes

byby :Monique Volz of AmbitiousKitchen.com

Leave A Review Print Recipe

Prep Time 1 hour hour

Cook Time 10 minutes minutes

Total Time 1 hour hour 10 minutes minutes

ServesServes 24 cookies

Incredible vanilla oatmeal latte cookies made with rich brown butter and brown sugar and topped with the most delicious espresso icing. These chewy latte cookies taste just like the famous brown sugar oat milk shaken espresso drink that everyone loves but in soft, warm cookie form!

Ingredients

• Wet ingredients:
• 1 cup (2 sticks, 226g) salted butter
• 1 ½ cups (320g) dark brown sugar
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 tablespoon vanilla bean paste (or sub vanilla extract)
• Dry ingredients:
• 2 cups (240g) all purpose flour
• 1 ¾ cups (158g) old fashioned rolled oats
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 to 2 tablespoons espresso powder, depending how much coffee flavor you like!
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
• For the espresso icing:
• 1 tablespoon reserved brown butter
• 1 cup (180g) powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ½ teaspoon espresso powder
• 2 to 3 tablespoons milk

Instructions

• Brown the butter: Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Once melted, whisk constantly; the butter will begin to crackle, then foam. After a few minutes, the butter will begin to turn a golden amber color. As soon as the butter turns an amber brown and gives off a nutty aroma, 5 to 8 minutes total, remove from the heat and transfer to the bowl of the electric mixer to allow it to cool for 5 to 10 minutes. Make sure you scrape all the yummy bits of brown butter from the pan into the bowl – that’s where the flavor is!
• Remove 1 tablespoon of the brown butter from the electric mixer bowl and add it to a medium bowl for the icing. Set aside as you won’t need this until later.
• Add the brown sugar to the bowl of the electric mixer with the brown butter. Using the paddle attachment, mix together the brown butter and sugar on medium speed until well combined, 1 minute. Add in the eggs and vanilla bean paste and mix again on medium speed until smooth and well combined and mixture resembles caramel, about 1 minute.
• In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients: flour, oats, baking soda, espresso, cinnamon, and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix on medium-low speed until just combined.
• Cover the dough with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes while you preheat your oven and clean up your kitchen. Don’t skip this step, a little chill time is good for the dough. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
• Use a medium cookie scoop to grab about 1 ½ tablespoonfuls of dough and drop onto the cookie sheet. Alternatively you can roll the dough into balls and place onto the prepared cookie sheet, leaving at least 2 inches of space between each dough ball.
• Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until just very slightly golden on the edges. I find 10 minutes to be perfect. Allow cookies to cool on the cookie sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to finish cooling completely.
• Once cookies are cool, make the icing: Make sure the 1 tablespoon of reserved brown butter is still melted. If it is not, warm it in the microwave for 10 to 20 seconds until it is warm. Add the powdered sugar, espresso powder, vanilla extract and 1 tablespoon milk to the medium bowl with the brown butter and mix with a fork or small whisk until smooth and there are no visible lumps. If icing is too thick, add more milk to thin, ½ teaspoon at a time until you reach a THICK but smooth icing. Remember, you want this to be a thick icing so it sets up nicely.
• Dip each cookie VERY lightly into the icing then return to the wire rack or to a sheet of parchment paper to let the icing harden. Makes about 2 dozen cookies.

Recipe Notes

I've had a couple of people say their cookie dough seemed too "wet" before baking. A few solutions for this:

1. Make sure you don’t use quick oats.
2. I used Bob’s Red Mill old fashioned rolled oats for this recipe but all oat sizes are different. If the dough is too wet, I suggest adding 1/4 cup more oats!
3. If you like a heartier/thicker cookie, I suggest using 2 cups of rolled oats total.

To store: store these cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.

To freeze: you can actually freeze the cookie dough OR the freshly baked cookies to enjoy later! Get all of my tips and tricks for freezing cookies here.