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These thin and crispy Lace Cookies are an easy dessert, perfect for your Christmas cookie tray. They’re sweet, buttery caramels in crispy cookie form!
- Light and crispy. Every bite of a lace cookie is like eating crispy cooked caramel. I just love how thin and dainty they are. This light dessert is perfect for those nights when you’re still full from dinner but want something sweet.
- Super simple to make. Lace cookies are made with simple ingredients – butter, sugar and few other things that vary depending on the recipe. This means you can make them on a whim without having to run to the grocery store. Better yet, they come together in half an hour.
- Great for the holidays. You can make this lace cookies recipe any time of year, but as mentioned above, they look particularly beautiful on a Christmas cookie tray!
A lace cookie is a very thin, crispy cookie that gets its name from its see-through, lace-like appearance. Some recipes use oats or chopped almonds. This one sticks with just flour, but it uses a mix of all-purpose and almond flour.
Combining the two flours resulted in the best lace cookies. Using only all-purpose flour produced a thinner cookie that lacked texture and flavor. Using all almond flour gave inconsistent spreading results upon baking. The two mixed together were just right!
Ingredient Notes
The ingredient lineup for this recipe couldn’t be simpler. Everything you need is probably already stocked in your kitchen! Check out the recipe card below for a printable list with exact amounts.
- Unsalted butter
- Packed brown sugar – Don’t use regular granulated sugar; it’ll brown, but it really lacks flavor. If you want that caramel-y taste, you need the brown sugar.
- Milk – You could also use corn syrup, if desired. I made these cookies with both and didn’t notice a difference between them.
- Vanilla extract
- Flour – I highly recommend sticking with a mix of all-purpose flour and almond flour.
- Salt
This recipe is refreshingly easy. All you need to do is make your batter over the stove, bake the cookies for up to 10 minutes, and let them cool. Scroll down to the recipe card for the full set of directions.
- Melt the butter and sugar. In a medium-sized saucepan, cook the butter, brown sugar, and milk over low heat. Stir the mixture regularly until the butter and sugar have melted.
- Bring the pan to a boil. Turn the heat up to medium and cook the mixture just until it begins to boil.
- Add the vanilla, flours, and salt. Remove the saucepan from the heat and add in the vanilla extract, flours, and salt, stirring until completely combined.
- Let the mixture sit. Allow it to cool for about 5 minutes, then scoop it in 1 1/2 teaspoon portions (half a tablespoon) onto the prepared cookie sheet.
- Bake. Bake for 7-10 minutes, or until the cookies are golden in color. Finally, allow the cookies to cool for 3-4 minutes, or until they’re firm enough to move, then transfer them to a cooling rack.
Tips for Success
- Don’t make the cookies too big. Lace cookies will spread out to become super thin as they bake, so be sure not to use more than 1 1/2 teaspoons of batter per cookie.
- Don’t over-bake. Watch your cookies carefully after they’ve been baking for 5 or 6 minutes. Because they’re so thin, they’ll burn very quickly if you leave them in the oven for too long. Once they turn a nice golden color, they’re good to go.
- Use real butter. Avoid using margarine or another butter substitute for lace cookies. The butter is what gives them their thin, crisp texture.
- Don’t worry if the batter looks a little thick. The cookie dough mixture will thicken as it cools, but that won’t affect the outcome of the cookies.
- Space the cookies 2-3 inches apart. They will spread quite a bit in the oven, so giving them some space is important.
Proper Storage
- Countertop. Store your leftover lace cookies in an airtight container at room temperature. (Airtight containers are best, otherwise they’ll soften.) They’ll stay fresh and crispy for up to a week. Let the cookies cool completely before storing them.
- Freezer. These cookies are freezer-friendly, too! Just freeze them in an airtight container, and they’ll last for up to 3 months. If you’d like, you can thaw them in the fridge and bring them to room temperature on the counter before serving.
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Cook Time: 7 minutes
- Total Time: 32 minutes
- Yield: 40
- Category: Cookies
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Description
These thin and crispy lace cookies are a quick and easy treat made with just 7 ingredients. They’re sweet, buttery caramels in crispy cookie form!
Ingredients
- 6 tablespoons (84g) unsalted butter
- 2/3 cup (150g) packed brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup (43g) all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup (50g) almond flour
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
- In a medium-sized saucepan, combine butter, brown sugar and milk. Cook over low heat, stirring regularly, until butter and sugar have melted.
- Once butter and sugar are melted, turn heat up to medium and cook mixture just until it begins to boil.
- Remove from heat and add vanilla extract, flours and salt, stirring until completely combined.
- Allow to cool for about 5 minutes, then drop by 1 1/2 teaspoons (half a tablespoon) onto prepared cookie sheet. Space cookies about 2-3 inches apart. The cookies will spread quite a bit in the oven. The cookie dough mixture will thicken as it cools, but that won’t affect the outcome of the cookies.
- Bake for 7-10 minutes, or until the cookies are golden in color. Keep an eye on them towards the end of baking because they can burn quickly.
- Allow cookies to cool for 3-4 minutes or until they are firm enough to move, then transfer to a cooling rack to finish cooling.
Notes
- To store. Store lace cookies in an airtight container. They should stay fresh and crispy for 5-7 days.
- To freeze. Freeze these cookies in an airtight container, and they’ll last for up to 3 months.
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 40
- Sugar: 3.3 g
- Sodium: 16.1 mg
- Fat: 2 g
- Carbohydrates: 4.4 g
- Protein: 0.4 g
- Cholesterol: 4.6 mg
So glad you enjoyed them! I’m not sure about the air bubbles. I don’t remember that happening at all. If it happened only in the later batches, I wonder if it had something to do with that, although I didn’t notice that. Did you stir the batter up with the later batches? If it was stirred too much, that could have added some air to the batter, which could create air bubble during baking.
(Not sure where my comment went but I forgot to rate so Im typing this again.)
Hey Lindsay! I love love LOVE your cookies!
This is the best recipe I ever tried after multiple attempts, experiments or trial and errors.
But just wondering why my last few batches of cookies had air bubbles in them? I did not change anything to my cookie batter/dough. What caused my cookied to have air bubbles? How should I avoid them?
The taste is the same, but the texture of the airbubbles are bothering to me. Thanks!
I loved the recipe! The best recipe i got after how many experiments, and trial and error. But just wanted to ask why my–maybe– around last 3 batches of cookies had air bubbles. Same taste but i just did not like the texture eating those. What did i do to create those? How to avoid them?
I’m so glad you enjoyed them!
As for the air bubbles, I’m not really sure. Since it was just the last few batches, I’m wondering if something changed. Did you stir the batter a little more before those? Perhaps some air was added to the batter if it was stirred too much, creating air pockets that gave you air bubbles.
Sometimes perfect other batches don’t melt out … just remain as regular cookies… why?
It’s very hard to say without seeing what’s happening. There must be something different if they aren’t baking correctly sometimes.
Why did my 2nd batch not spread out. Did I add flour too early?
It’s hard to say for sure, but you may have added the flour too late. If you cook the mixture for too long it will actually thicken more.
The have become “crack” cookies with my family and friends. Making these for the 3rd time since the holidays.
I’m so glad to hear that!
Really taste and texture great. Mine just came out very buttery (greasy) on the bottoms, which is why I didn’t end up coating them with chocolate, like I wanted to. Is this normal? Can I use less butter in the recipe?
If I remember correctly, they were a little buttery, but not incredibly so and you could definitely still shape or dip them in chocolate. Using less butter would result in them spreading differently.
Hi Mrs. Lindsey! I am a big fan of you website, it has amazing recipes on it. But when ever I made the lace cookies something went wrong. Yes I am 10 years old but I had help of a great chef and cook, I also did follow the rules ecstatically! But they came out as crispy balls! But they still tasted good!
Love all your recipes! I have a nut allergy.
Love all your recipes! I have a nut allergy. Can I substitute more regular flour for the almond?
I actually tested that and talked about it in the post. I found that using all all-purpose flour made the cookies thinner and they didn’t have quite as much flavor. But you could certainly try it.
hey linsday! hopw you are all okay.
is your baby seriously over due because you said on the new addition post that it was due in early november??
She was over due, actually. But she was born almost 4 weeks ago and is very healthy and well. I’ve been waiting on our newborn photos to be able to share and then this past week I ended up in the ER with pneumonia and a plural effusion, so I’ve been recovering. I hope to have a post up later this week. Thanks for asking!
So a few things…
1. I LOVED the taste of this batter!
2. I used Anthony’s unblanched almond flour. Do not recommend doing this. Lol super hard to tell when they were golden brown, and it gave it a mealy texture (which I didn’t mind! It got me thinking of russian tea cakes…..) but I don’t think that texture was intended in this recipe.
3. I also used coconut milk, instead of regular. Not sure if that could have contributed to the following issues I had. 🤔
4. I just greased the pan with spray grease, like Pam. First pan I think was in the oven a little too long, and not greased enough. They ended up being a little too crunchy, and stuck horribly! And I only let them cool about 3 minutes before trying to move.
5. Second and third pan, I heavily greased, and didn’t bake as long. They still stuck, but not as bad. When I tried to transfer them, they ended up looking kind of scrunched. Lol I also may have greased them a little too much, as I could taste the Pam. 😂
Sooo…I’m guessing the parchment paper or silicone mat recommended, is a necessity for this. Lol
I would definitely try these again, using blanched almond flour, and parchment paper!!
Yes, because of the nature of these cookies, you’ll need something nonstick, like parchment paper or a silicone mat.
Great recipe to have on hand when emergency cookie requests are made by grands! Are these also able to be rolled up and then cooled in order to make a cigar shape to dip?
Yes, you should be able to roll them just fine.
Can you use dark brown sugar?
I didn’t test dark brown sugar, but I would guess it’d be fine.
Hi,
How much is 6 tbsps butter in grams ?
Also can you put a video of dropping the cookies it will be easier to understand if possible
Thanks
Mayanka
Can I use almond milk in the Lace cookies rather than regular milk? Thank you
I didn’t test that, so I’m not sure.