One of my most favorite cookies are lace cookies. They’re a delicate see-through toffee-like cookie that melts in your mouth when you bite into them. You can leave them flat, or shape them in a few different ways and no matter what you choose, they’ll be as beautiful as they are delicious. These cookies are incredibly easy. The batter only requires a very small list of ingredients (that you probably already have in your cupboard) and comes together in one pan in minutes. These are sure to impress!
Start by melting butter, brown sugar, and corn syrup in a sauce pan.
When it melts into a silky caramel, you’ll stir in a little flour and oats.
The batter is a more runny consistency the warmer it is. As it comes off the heat and cools a little, it becomes a little thicker. You’ll drop teeny tiny little mounds on a baking sheet covered in parchment and you’ll need to space them out quite a bit. It will feel weird because you wonder how that tiny thing can turn into a large cookie!
But as they cook, they spread out super thin and the sugar caramelizes. One big tip here: If you’ve never made these before, try just one before you do a whole pan. These are not hard to make, but I think they do take a few to get the hang of how they look and feel. If you overcook them, they’ll crisp up super fast when they come off the pan and can break easily, and if you undercook they’ll be soft and chewy. Just right creates a cookie that literally melts in your mouth, like a thin, crisp toffee.
There are a variety of ways you can shape and serve these. If you want to simply try the flat disks, they are delicious plain, or drizzled in chocolate.
If you’ve ever had the Florentine cookies they sell at Costco, you can replicate those by sandwiching these with melted chocolate in the middle. Florentines are usually made with ground almonds in place of oatmeal, but these will taste very similar! It will spill out the little holes, but just place on parchment until it dries and hardens.
The other popular shape for this type of cookie is the classic cigar roll. The trick with rolling is that it has to be at just the right temperature. After they come out of the oven, you have a short time before they harden up, but they’ll also be piping hot! You’ll need to wait until they’re cool enough to touch, and then roll them over a spoon handle (or something similar) to shape. Again, try this with just one before you do a whole pan so you get the hang of it!
You can leave them plain, or drizzle with chocolate like I did.
When they cool they become delicate little crisps that are beautiful to package and serve.
Oatmeal Lace Cookies
Description
“Made from a batter that spreads and separates as it bakes into lacy, brittle, see-through wafers, these fancy-looking cookies crunch when you bite into them and immediately melt in your mouth with the rich taste of butter and brown sugar” – America’s Test Kitchen
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 6 tablespoons packed (2 2/3 oz) light brown sugar
- 1/4 cup dark corn syrup
- 1/2 cup (1.5 oz) quick oats (NOT old fashioned)
- 1/4 cup (1 1/4 oz) flour
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 teaspoons heavy cream
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
Instructions
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
Combine butter, brown sugar, and corn syrup in medium saucepan; cook, stirring constantly, over medium heat until boiling. Off heat, add oats, flour, vanilla, cream, and salt and whisk until well combined.
Using 1-teaspoon measure, drop scoops of batter 3 inches apart on prepared sheets. Bake until golden and no longer bubbling, 6 to 8 minutes. Let cookies cool on sheets for 1-2 minutes if shaping cookies or 10 minutes if leaving flat. Gently remove cookies from parchment and repeat with remaining batter. Serve.
Shaping: To make a rolled cigar shape, flip the warm cookie upside down and then roll it around the handle and let it cool completely.
Notes
This recipe yields 36 cookies. However I suggest you double the batter just because it’s so easy to, and then you’ll have some wiggle room to test out a cookie or two before cooking the whole batch, just to get the hang of it!
Questions & Reviews
I don’t have heavy cream. Can I use almond milk?
No you will definitely want to use heavy cream here.
How long do these stay fresh? I would like to make in advance for a party. Thank you!
You could make them a day in advance, as long as you’re not in a humid environment!
I’ve made a variation of this with crushed ginger snaps in the cookie. Then after the cookies are rolled and cooled, I piped in some white chocolate ginger mousse. So good! These are fun to experiment with fillings.
Oh my gosh yum!
For shaping these, do you have to leave it on the handle until it’s cool?
No, it just takes a few seconds. I actually find it easiest to use 2 spoons. Roll one and immeditely set it down and move to the next. Then go back to the other spoon. It works pretty great!
I’m in the middle of making these and the mixture is thickening up. Is that ok or do we need to keep it semi warm?
Totally fine!
Is there something I could use to replace the corn syrup? Honey or maple syrup? Sugar syrup (the sugar dissolved in water kind)? I’m assuming it gets a lot of its texture from the corn syrup so it might not be an easy replacement 🙂
You’d have to experiment, I’ve never used a sub- let me know!
I just finished making these and they are great! I subbed molasses with a bit more brown sugar for the corn syrup and the only difference I notice is that they are darker than the pictures.
Sounds like a fun cookies to try. Thank you for sharing the recipe! Can’t wait to try it.
Could you sub half and half for whipping cream? Just cause i usually always have some. I can’t wait to try these!
I’m not sure- you’d have to try it!
Oatmeal lace cookies? This sounds so delicious! Can’t wait to try it myself =)
I love lacy oatmeal cookies! They remind me of my childhood, my mom always made them. Thanks for reminding me about them. They are delicious!
What do you use to make the chocolate drizzle? Chocolate chips? Candy melts?
any of the above!
What kind of chocolate do you use?
I just used chocolate chips!
These look beautiful! What’s your trick to getting your chocolate to drizzle in such a fine line?
Add just a tiny bit of oil when you melt it and then put it in a zip-top bag with the tip snipped off to drizzle!
These are so pretty! How many does this recipe make? And could we use dark brown sugar in place of light brown sugar in this recipe?
Sorry I meant to include that! Makes 36 cookies, but I feel like I don’t get quite that many. I actually suggest doubling the batter just because it’s so easy to, and then you have a few to experiment with.