These delicate Lace Cookies look fancy, but are easy to make and all but melt in your mouth, with a light and delicious butterscotch flavor.
If you love the flavor of these oatmeal lace cookies, you will love our Butter Pecan Cookies and Brown Sugar Cookies, too!
Easy Oatmeal Lace Cookies
Not only are these Florentine lace cookies absolutely irresistible, they are pretty to look at and easy to make. Lace cookies get their name because as they cook, the batter spreads and separates into delicate thin rounds with tiny holes resembling lace.
The base of the cookies is made up of oats, brown sugar, and salt, with just a small amount of flour added. The flour provides sturdiness and prevents the lace cookies from spreading too much while the other ingredients are what allow the cookies to spread and create the thin, lacy texture.
Unlike many soft and chewy cookies, lace cookies are meant to be thin, brittle, and crispy. They taste like butterscotch and melt in your mouth, wonderful with a cup of tea and beautiful on cookie platters.
What You’ll Need
These simple cookies are made with just a handful of pantry ingredients.
(Scroll below to the printable recipe card for details and measurements.)
- Quick-cooking Oats: Be sure to use quick-cooking oats. Other varieties will not provide the desired texture.
- All-purpose flour: Just a small amount of flour is needed to stabilize the cookies.
- Butter: There’s no need to soften the butter as it will be melted in the recipe.
- Light brown sugar: The molasses in the brown sugar helps create the butterscotch flavor.
- Egg: Provides structure so the cookies don’t fall apart.
- Vanilla: For flavor.
- Salt: This heightens all the other flavors.
- Melted chocolate (optional): This can be added as a filling to make lace sandwich cookies.
How to Make Lace Cookies
Unlike many other cookie recipes, the dough for these lace cookies is prepared on the stove. Then you’ll need just 6 minutes of baking time.
(Scroll below to the printable recipe card for complete details.)
- Prepare the cookie mixture. Melt the butter and brown sugar, stirring frequently, until melted and smooth. Stir in the remaining ingredients. Remove from heat and cool for 5-10 minutes.
- Bake. Drop 1 to 1 1/2 teaspoons (yes, teaspoons, not tablespoons!) onto the prepared baking sheets at least 3 inches apart. Press down gently. Bake for 6 to 8 minutes.
- Cool. Allow the cookies to cool on the pan for 5 minutes, until firm enough to move. Transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.
- Enjoy. Enjoy the cookies as-is or spread melted chocolate on the bottom of one cooled cookie and sandwich with another for lace sandwich cookies.
Tips for Success
There are just a few things to know about these easy cookies before diving in to make them yourself.
- Don’t burn the butter and sugar. It’s important to stir the butter and sugar mixture continuously to avoid it burning or sticking to the bottom of the pan.
- Don’t crowd the cookie sheet. Be sure you’re using just a teaspoon of dough for each cookie – NOT a tablespoon as called for in many other recipes. And make sure that the dough balls are each 3 inches apart. These cookies will spread significantly when baking.
- Flatten the dough balls just a bit. After scooping the dough onto the lined sheet, press each one down just slightly. If you don’t, the edges will cook long before the middle.
- Keep an eye on the cookies during baking. For chewier cookies, cook them just a minute or two less than instructed. Either way, keep a close eye on the oven towards the end of baking, since they can burn quickly.
How to Store
- Make the dough ahead: You can prepare the dough and store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Or freeze the dough by dropping teaspoons onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Cover and place in the freezer for 1 hour or until the dough is solid. Remove from the freezer and transfer the dough mounds into airtight containers or freezer-safe bags. They’ll keep frozen for about 1 month.
- How to store lace cookies. Once baked, these cookies need to be kept away from humidity and moisture. Otherwise, they will lose their crispness and become limp. Cookies without any chocolate filling will keep covered at room temperature for up to 1 week. Cookies with melted chocolate will keep covered at room temperature for 3 days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
- Can I freeze the baked cookies? Yes, you can freeze baked and cooled lace cookies (with or without the chocolate filling) for up to 3 months. Allow to thaw in the fridge overnight, then bring to room temperature.
More Cookie Recipes:
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Lace Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter
- 2 1/4 cups packed light brown sugar
- 2 1/4 cups quick-cooking oats
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 large egg , beaten
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 8 ounces melted chocolate (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a few baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats; set aside.
- In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt butter and brown sugar, stirring frequently with a wooden spoon until melted and smooth. Stir in the oats, flour, salt, egg, and vanilla.
- Remove from the heat and allow mixture to cool 5-10 minutes. (As it cools, the mixture will thicken – that's ok.)
- Drop dough by 1 to 1 1/2 teaspoons (not tablespoon!) onto prepared baking sheets, leaving at least 3 inches apart – they spread quite a bit while baking. Press each one down slightly.
- Bake 6-8 minutes or until golden brown around the edges. Keep a very close eye on them towards the end of baking, since they can burn quickly.
- Allow cookies to cool on the parchment paper for 5 minutes or until they are firm enough to move, then using a spatula, gently transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely and continue to crisp up.Enjoy as is, or spread some melted chocolate onto the bottom of one cooled cookie and sandwich with another for sandwich cookies! (See note below)
Made these for teacher gifts and they loved them. These are extremely easy and yes, delicate. I did include the chocolate as sandwich cookies so you do need to be careful so they don’t break. Thank you for the great recipe and all the tips!
This is perfect. Will be making this week. I love these. Thank you and Merry Christmas.
Can finely chopped nuts be added to this recipe?
This recipe hasn’t been tested with nuts, so I can’t vouch for the results, but you could try replacing a 1/4 cup of the oats with 1/4 cup finely ground nuts. Let me know if they turn out!
I love the oatmeal lace cookies