Oatmeal Lace Cookies are a thin, chewy oatmeal cookie with a deliciously sugary taste, that are stackable for easy gifting. They are made with just 7 staple ingredients and are so quick and easy to make!
Lace Cookies are named after their lacey appearance they receive when the sugar bubbles and creates tiny little gaps. They’re thin, crunchy cookies that caramelize as they bake!
Oatmeal lace cookies are dropped onto a lined cookie sheet by teaspoonful or with a cookie scoop and as they bake, they become flat, giving them their thin, chewy body.
These cookies are made by browning the butter which gives them a rich, nutty flavor. If you’re a fan of all things sweet and salty, you’ll LOVE these cookies! PS you can read more about brown butter here!
Lace Cookies are intricate and delicate, which makes them so deceiving because they couldn’t be easier to make! It’s no wonder why they’ve become a Pinterest sensation!
The brown sugary, chewy texture of these Lace Cookies is out of this world – and addicting! If you loved my popular Better than Pecan Pie Cookies, I know you’ll be a fan of these, too.
Oatmeal Lace Cookies are gluten free (just substitute rice flour) and low calorie, too!
They keep incredibly well, making them perfect for gifting! They’re so beautiful you don’t even need to decorate them! They’re also often referred to as Eyelet Lace Cookies.
They’re of course amazing on their own, but also make a beautiful accompaniment to an ice cream sundae!
Lace Cookie Ingredients
These cookies are made with just a few staple ingredients and take just a few minutes to make!
- Butter – I always use salted butter in baking, but you can use salted or unsalted. It’s completely your preference! Since we’re browning it, it can be used straight out of the fridge! Use real butter, not margarine.
- Brown Sugar – Brown Sugar gives these cookies they’re thin, crispy quality you can’t resist. It also offers a hint of irresistible molasses flavor!
- Rolled Oats – This gives the cookies their texture and adds a little body. Oats are gluten free, but do often face cross-contamination. If you’re gluten intolerant, oats are just fine. If you have celiac, you want to opt for Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free Old Fashioned Oats.
- Vanilla – Just a hint of vanilla takes them over the top! You can use store bought our homemade vanilla.
- Salt – Salt is completely optional, if you use salted butter, you may want to reduce if you’re not a fan of sweet and salty. However, I am and use both!
- Egg – The essential ingredient to bond it all together.
- Flour – These ingredients are I always use all purpose flour, but if you would like a slightly healthier alternative, you can make them with white whole wheat flour or substitute one for one with rice flour to make them gluten free.
How to Make Lace Cookies
They’re incredibly fast and easy to make in just one dish. A pot, in fact! No need to soften the butter when you’ll be browning it to perfection to caramelize the brown sugar.
You can see just how easy they are by watching the video in this post!
- Brown butter in a saucepan until it turns brown in color and nutty in aroma.
- Remove from heat and mix in brown sugar, oats, vanilla and combine.
- Add egg.
- Stir in salt and flour.
- Drop onto parchment lined cookie sheets and bake.
- Allow to cool to set. You’ll see them bubble as they cool creating lacy air pockets!
You don’t even need to refrigerate the dough!
Variations
- Drizzle chocolate over the top or sandwich two together with chocolate!
- Reduce oatmeal to 1 3/4 c rolled oats and add 1/2 c almonds to make Almond Lace Cookies!
- Substitute vanilla with almond extract.
- Add orange or lemon zest.
- Dissolve 1 teaspoon instant coffee with sugar to add a hint of coffee flavor.
- Add 2 tablespoons diced crystallized ginger for a nice ginger flavor.
- Add chocolate chips to make them chocolate lace cookies!
- Deglaze the brown butter pan with a tablespoon of whiskey – a reader suggestion we loved, too!
How to Store Oatmeal Lace Cookies
These cookies are best when crisp. When stored properly, they keep for 1-2 weeks at room temperature or refrigerated and up to 3 months in the freezer!
- Cool cookies before storing.
- Do not store with soft cookies. They’ll absorb the moisture.
- Glass or covered containers are ideal for storing crispy cookies (do not store in plastic as it will create moisture).
- Store with wax paper.
- Refrigerating cookies will also help keep them crisp.
- Freeze in a tin (to keep them from crumbling) for up to 3 months. Bring to room temperature to thaw.
You can get the full printable Oatmeal Lace Cookies recipe below! If you make these, please leave a 5 star review in the comments below, I love hearing from you!
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Tips for Making Lace Cookies
- These are large cookies (and you deserve it!), should you choose to make them smaller, reduce baking time so the edges don’t burn.
- Use real butter, not margarine. Margarine doesn’t brown and caramelize.
- Allow to cool to set.
How to Gift Lace Cookies
They’re one of my favorite Christmas cookie recipes. They’re the perfect cookie to bring to a cookie exchange.
To gift, simply stack them in a cellophane bag and tie with a ribbon to gift to friends, family, neighbors and coworkers!
More Oatmeal Cookie Recipes You’ll Love
- Oatmeal Coconut Cookies (with Brown Butter)
- No Bake Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies
- Oatmeal Brickle Cookies
- Chocolate and Oatmeal No Bake Cookies
- Kitchen Sink Cookies
If you love oatmeal cookies, try my Oatmeal Cookie Shot.
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Lace Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter
- 2 1/4 cup brown sugar packed
- 2 1/4 cup rolled oats
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3 tablespoon flour all purpose
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- In a small saucepan over medium heat, brown butter until it turns brown in color and nutty in aroma. Remove from heat.
- In a mixing bowl or mixer, combine brown sugar, oats, egg and vanilla. Add brown butter. Mix until combined.
- Stir in salt and flour.
- Using a cookie scoop, drop onto a parchment lined cookie sheet leaving ample room to spread. Bake 6 minutes or until golden brown.
Video
Notes
Variations:
- Drizzle or fill with chocolate.
- Substitute some oatmeal with nuts or almond slices.
- Substitute all purpose flour with rice flour to make them gluten free.
How to Store:
- Cool cookies before storing.
- Do not store with soft cookies. They'll absorb the moisture.
- Glass or covered containers are ideal for storing crispy cookies (do not store in plastic as it will create moisture).
- Store with wax paper.
- Refrigerating cookies will also help keep them crisp.
- Freeze in a tin (to keep them from crumbling) for up to 3 months. Bring to room temperature to thaw.
Do not use a cookie scoop for these cookies, they will be too big!! A tablespoon is better. These are so good!!
These by far were the best, and turned out just like the picture . Thank you so much 😊
THANK YOU, Debbie! It truly means the world to me that you would come back to share. So glad you enjoyed them!
These, by far, are my Danny’s favorite !!!!!
What size cookie scoop did you use? These look soooooo amazing. Thanks!
A medium sized scoop or a large tablespoon. Enjoy!
I was not sure what to expect when I found this recipe but I am so glad I tried it. Everyone loved them!!! I will be making them again very soon
Yay! Thank you so much for sharing!
Wanted to try this recipe but not so many cookies. So I divided it in 2 to bring 12 each to two friends. I still used 1 egg but removed one tablespoon once beaten. Also, a little less than one cup of light brown sugar, not packed.
The result : scrumptious! Nutty yummy flavor, perfect.
Thank you.
Came out exactly how I’d hoped! Delicious!
So glad you enjoyed them! Thank you for sharing!
These are one of the best cookies ever! So stinking good!
YAY! So glad you love them, too!
These are so pretty! The perfect homemade gift!
These look like the perfect companion to my afternoon coffee break. Love how light they are.
We loved making these cookies – so delicious and pretty!
Absolutely love these, so light and so delicious!
Loved making this recipe and it really brought me back to childhood! I substituted smoked sea salt and deglazed my butter browning dish with a tablespoon of whiskey for a little hint of adult flavors. So good!
Sounds like a delicious twist – I can’t wait to try!
Much tougher recipe than anticipated. Brown sugar still seems a little grainy and cookies seem greasy. Also worth noting is they need to set on the cookie sheet for a few before you remove them. I was really looking forward to these and while the flavor is good they sit heavy after eating.
We look forward to these sweet, crunchy cookies every Christmas! A family favorite!
Going to try these recipes
These look so pretty and sound just amazing! I love them packaged up as a gift – so sweet!
Thank you, Cyd!
These are the classiest cookies ever! LOVE that packaging!
From the queen of class herself!
Lovely! I love your understated style.
Thank you, Elle!
These look delicious Julie! Such a pretty cookie.
Thank you, friend!