Made from only 6 ingredients, these easy lace cookies are ready in 30 minutes and they taste like sweet brown butter and caramel. Sandwich with a little chocolate for an extra special treat. Everyone loves these and they’re gluten free too!
Welcome to day 7 of Sally’s Cookie Palooza! If you’re just joining us, here are all the recipes published so far:
- Peppermint Bark Cookies
- Spritz Cookies
- Christmas Cookies in a Jar (with free printable!)
- Santa’s Whiskers Cookies
- Iced Oatmeal Cookies
- Gingerbread House (December Baking Challenge!)
Day 7 calls for something easy. So easy you’ll think you’re doing something wrong. Made from only 6 ingredients, these lace cookies are ready in 30 minutes and they taste like sweet brown butter and caramel. As if you took caramel, mixed it with brown butter, and made it into a thin and crispy cookie. THEY’RE HEAVEN.
What are Lace Cookies?
Lace cookies are very thin and crunchy cookies made from butter, sugar, salt, and other ingredients. The other ingredients vary depending on the recipe. Some recipes use oats and flour, other lace cookie recipes use nuts. Lace cookies get their name from their delicate and see-through appearance. My mom always used to make these—they’re a beautiful cookie!
They’re also one of my favorite gluten free dessert recipes. It’s nice to have a gluten free option among your spread of Christmas cookies!
How to Make Lace Cookies
In an effort to keep these gluten free AND to add elevated flavor, my lace cookie recipe uses almond flour. In addition to almond flour, you’ll also need: butter, brown sugar, salt, milk or corn syrup, and vanilla extract. That’s it!
- The cookie dough is prepared on the stove. And I use the term “cookie dough” loosely as this is more like a cake batter. All the ingredients, except for the vanilla extract (stirred in later), are cooked for a few minutes in a saucepan before spooning onto the baking sheet. This cooking stage melts the ingredients together, while baking in the oven will create caramelized sugar and brown butter flavors.
- No chilling the cookie dough. But let it rest for about 5 minutes. The cookie dough will slightly thicken, making spooning onto the baking sheets easier.
- Only 1 scant teaspoon of cookie dough per cookie. Because they’ll spread!
- Short baking time – only 8 minutes. The cookies won’t spread out at first, but around the 4 minute mark, they’ll begin their spreading journey! Listen to the butter sizzling around the edges. I love these unique cookies!
Forget everything I taught you about how to prevent cookies from spreading. You want lace cookies to be extra thin and crisp because that’s where all the caramelization happens. 🙂
Be Extra
Though lace cookies have the most interesting flavor and texture, it’s Christmastime which means we can add a little flair. Sandwich your lace cookies with a generous spread of Nutella or melted chocolate and prepare for the cookie sandwich of a lifetime. Can you truly think of a better flavor combination than butter, caramelized sugar, vanilla, almond, and chocolate?! Nutella can get a little messy, so if you’re gifting or traveling with the lace cookies—I suggest melted chocolate. Unlike Nutella, melted chocolate will set. I have instructions for chocolate in the recipe notes below.
If you love adding a little chocolate to your cookies, give your chocolate ginger cookies and pinwheel cookies a dip in chocolate, too!
With an ingredient line up like this, how can lace cookies not taste good?
I just love how quick and simple these are—much appreciated during the busy holiday season and PERFECT if you want a unique cookie recipe to serve alongside the classics like Christmas sugar cookies and shortbread. This recipe also joins 30+ others in my collection of Quick Dessert Recipes—ready in 1 hour or less!
Easy Lace Cookies
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 8 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 30-32 cookies or 15-16 sandwiches
- Category: Cookies
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
Made from only 6 ingredients, these lace cookies are ready in 30 minutes and they taste like sweet brown butter and caramel. Sandwich with a little chocolate for an extra special treat. Everyone loves these and they’re gluten free too!
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup (8 Tbsp; 113g) unsalted butter
- 2/3 cup (130g) packed light or dark brown sugar
- 3/4 cup (75g) almond flour
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 Tablespoon (15ml) light or dark corn syrup or milk*
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- optional: 1/2 cup Nutella or melted chocolate (see note)
Instructions
- Melt butter in a medium saucepan on low heat. Once melted, add the brown sugar, almond flour, salt, and milk/corn syrup. Cook and whisk until sugar has dissolved and ingredients are completely combined, around 3-4 minutes. (Note: If melted butter is separating from the mixture, remove the pan from heat and vigorously whisk until it is all combined again. It will eventually come back together.)
- Remove from heat and whisk in vanilla extract. Mixture will be grainy and shiny. Allow cookie dough to sit and thicken for about 5-10 minutes as the oven preheats. The mixture will thicken as it cools down.
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Line 2-3 large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
- Drop scant teaspoonfuls (1 scant teaspoon of mixture per cookie, not Tablespoon) 3 inches apart onto prepared baking sheets. Bake for 6-8 minutes until golden brown around the edges. The edges and centers will sizzle and bubble as the cookies bake!
- Allow cookies to cool for 5 full minutes on the baking sheets before transferring to a rack to cool completely. Cookies dry and crisp up as they cool.
- Once cool, enjoy cookies or sandwich with Nutella or melted chocolate. To sandwich, spread either Nutella or melted chocolate onto the bottom of one cooled cookie and sandwich with another. See recipe note if using chocolate.
- Cookies without Nutella/chocolate filling will stay fresh covered at room temperature for 1 week. Cookies with Nutella/chocolate will stay fresh covered at room temperature for 3 days or in the refrigerator for 1 week.
Notes
- Make Ahead Instructions: Baked cookies, with or without Nutella/chocolate filling, freeze well up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and bring to room temperature, if desired, before serving. You can prepare the cookie dough in steps 1 and 2, cover tightly once cooled, and refrigerate for up to 3 days. Bring to room temperature, then continue with the recipe.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Saucepan | Whisk | Baking Sheets | Silicone Baking Mats or Parchment Paper | Cooling Rack
- Almond Flour: I like using Bob’s Red Mill brand almond flour, found in the baking aisle of major grocery stores. If you can’t find almond flour in the store, you can make your own by simply pulsing almonds until they reach a gritty and rough flour-like consistency. Instead of almond flour, you can use the same amount of oat flour. (Buy oat flour or pulse whole oats into a flour.) All-purpose flour isn’t ideal because the cookies will not spread or caramelize. Some readers have used coconut flour, but note that the taste and texture is off. I strongly recommend almond flour.
- Either 1 Tablespoon of milk or corn syrup works in this lace cookie recipe. You need a liquid and the resulting cookie tastes exactly the same no matter which you choose. I prefer corn syrup because I find it makes the cookies just a *little* crispier.
- Nutella can get a little messy, so if you’re gifting or traveling with the lace cookies—I suggest using melted chocolate for sandwiching the cookies. Unlike Nutella, melted chocolate will set. Instead of sandwiching, try dunking the cookies in melted chocolate or drizzling the chocolate on top. Whichever way you prefer, use about 6-8 ounces of chopped semi-sweet chocolate. (I like Ghirardelli or Bakers brand, both found in the baking aisle.) Melt the chopped chocolate in a double boiler or in the microwave in 15-second increments, stopping and stirring after each until completely smooth. Sandwich, dip, or drizzle onto cooled cookies. Allow chocolate to set completely in the refrigerator for 20 minutes or at room temperature for 30 minutes.
Reader Comments and Reviews
They are absolutely addictive!!! Easy to make, can’t stop eating them!
These didn’t work so well for me 🙁 They all spread together (I definitely put too many on each sheet). But more importantly they were very sticky/chewy and hard to get up off the sheet. What could have caused that? Did the dough need more time to rest or chill? No adjustments to the recipe, I did use milk over corn syrup and store brand almond flour. No additives, but maybe it was less fine?
Hi Rachel, we’re so sorry to hear you had troubles with this recipe. They are a bit sticky—that is the nature of these cookies—they may become a little sticky as they sit. But if they dough seemed a bit too sticky as you were making it, it could be that the pot is too big. Do you have a smaller pot you could try to use? Also, try turning down the heat. That could help too. Thank you for giving these a try!
I want to try this but I have a nut allergy. Any suggestions for a substitute for almond flour?
Hi Dan, all-purpose flour isn’t ideal because the cookies will not spread or caramelize. Some readers have used coconut flour, but note that the taste and texture is off. This is a recipe that we strongly recommend almond flour. Here is our collection of nut-free recipes if you want to browse!
Love all your recipes I’ve tried. Thank you! Because the instructions are so precise, for the most part, most everything I’ve tried has come out great.(But, I do need to become more adventurous and try some of the yeast-enhanced items and layer-cakes.
LACE COOKIE QUESTION:
How much melted chocolate, per pair, to properly sandwich them, please? These appear to be similar to one of my favorite cookies—“Florentines”.
Thank you, in advance, for your help!
Marcie
Hi Marcie! Thank you so much for your kind words! I’m happy you’ve enjoyed the recipes, and let us know if you ever need extra help with any of the yeast bread recipes. For sandwiching the lace cookies, I typically use about 1 to 2 teaspoons of melted chocolate per pair. This amount creates a nice, thin layer that holds the cookies together without overpowering their delicate texture. Feel free to adjust a little based on your preference.
Actually a question… i’m thinking of quarantine I found with candied orange or ginger or cherries, and I’m wondering if you have ever Incorporated any of those into this recipe and if so, if you have any tips or questions against doing so thank you so much!
Hi Cynthia, we haven’t tested those ingredients in this recipe, but let us know if you do any experimenting!
These are delicious!!!!! However I’m not sure I will make them again because they are fairly sticky & I feel I have to have hand wipes near by because more than a napkin is needed to make one’s hands not sticky. They are crispy, which is not a problem IMHO.
1) They are VERY delicate but making them into “sandwiches” helps a little.
2) Because they are quite sweet, I used a combination of semi sweet & unsweetened chocolate for the filling. The chips were Ghiradelli and the unsweetened chocolate were Giradelli squares. I had no problem melting them together in the microwave for a very short time., cooling them for about 20 mins. (depending on the amt. of filling you have) in the fridge, then frosting one side of the cookie & then placing another cookie on top. Don’t spread chocolate to the edge.
3) I used salted butter & should not have bothered even using only about 1/8t. salt.
4) I used a combination 1 T of 1/2 & 1/2 & skim milk for the “milk”. I don’t know how much of each I used. Whatever the amount of each, it added up to 1 T. I never use corn syrup in any recipe.
5) When the recipe says “scant” it means SCANT! I placed 12 VERY small dollops of batter on the cookie sheet. They spread a lot. IF I make them again I will only place 9 on the sheet. It’s surprising how much each tiny dollop spreads. After baking your first batch you can then decide the amt. of batter to make the size cookie you want and also how many you want to place on the sheet. It’s not easy to separate cookies where they run into each other like a chocolate chip cookie is.
6) I baked mine for about 6-7 mins. On the last batch I went over that time by very little & they burned. : ( All ovens are not the same so you must watch them, so you don’t end up with burned cookies.
The end. : )
These cookies, turned out delicious! I was concerned when the batter looked like it had much more clumps in it, but they baked out wonderful! The baking time was tricky to get right, most of them were a bit on the burnt side, but they all still tasted amazing! Some of the cookies spread a little strange, I left those withought chocolate spread and sandwiched the rest, and they actually taste very good with some cream cheese on top!
I made the easy lace cookies exactly by the recipe but they are chewy and not crispy! Where did I go wrong?
Hi Jan! Could they have been under-baked? Did the edges turn golden brown? They will also crisp up as they cool.
Love all your recipes so far many thanks. Cate
Couldn’t get this recipe to work at all. Followed the exact steps and measurements but the sugar and almond flour never dissolved. Ended up with something that looked like play doh that still never dissolved even after 3x the recommended cooking time and ended up burning while I was waiting for it to dissolve which never happened. Was out of ingredients so I can’t try again. Ruined my week.
Did 50% ground almond and 50% oat bran (by weight) obly because i ran out of almond flour on my second batch.
Only very slightly different but just as good as full ground almonds.
Great recipe, will certainly do this one again
Just love them so good and easy to make.
I made them, they where so good; will be making them again for sure.
I did exacly what you said to do turn out perfect.
thanks for all the nice recipes.
If I want to make these dairy-free, can I substitute margarine for the butter?
Hi Susan, we’ve never tested margarine here. Let us know if you do!
I have a question about using corn syrup in this recipe. Corn syrup is not widely used in Australian baking and there’s a note in the ingredients that milk can be used. Has anyone used milk instead? How did it work? Were you happy with it?
Hi Jill, Either 1 Tablespoon of milk or corn syrup works in this lace cookie recipe. You need a liquid and the resulting cookie tastes exactly the same no matter which you choose. We prefer corn syrup because we find it makes the cookies just a *little* crispier. Let us know if you try the cookies!
do i need almond flour or can i use all purpose flour.?
Hi Patricia! All-purpose flour isn’t ideal because the cookies will not spread or caramelize. Some readers have used coconut flour, but note that the taste and texture is off. We strongly recommend almond flour.
I added the almond flour and vanilla after the sugar and butter cooked. I had no problem with separation. These were delicious!
Looks like others had this same issue, but my butter definitely separated from the other ingredients in the pan part of the recipe. No matter how hard I whisked (making a big mess haha) or even used a spatula to try to clump it all together, it never came together. BUT I carried on and kind of created little balls trying with my hands to smush the butter and the rest together, and they came out INCREDIBLE. They took right at 7 min in my oven, and you def need to let them sit for 5… although a bite of one while still chewy was pretty incredible too. So even if it seems like a flop, go on and bake little balls and I bet they’ll be delicious.
I’ve made these cookies twice now, and while they’re not nearly as pretty as in the pictures, they are an absolute smash hit with both events I brought them to. Both times they were the only dessert to be completely cleaned out, and both times I was asked for the recipe, and I happily referred them to this website. At one event a kid told me they were his favourite cookie of all time, and I may have accidentally made an enemy of his grandmother due to it. 🙂
Do you have any tips for getting these cookies to spread into even circles? Mine are delicious but oddly shaped which might be hard for making into sandwiches. Thanks!
Hi Stephanie! Dropping the batter into circles (not ovals, or other shapes) will help them spread evenly, but this just takes practice!
These are marvelous and hard to resist eating! I made these with Earth Balance baking sticks, but I am sure Myokos plant based butter would work as well. I also just used some 365 Almond flour I already had on had. I live in a warm and humid climate, so after sitting on the counter they started to lose their crispness. That just means we would need to eat them sooner. Not a bad problem to have. Thank you for sharing!
I made these and they taste amazing but something was off with the consistency of my dough – it was much denser and more of a thicker glob of dough…in the video yours looked more liquidy than mine. And the cookies came out a bit sticky and chewy. Any ideas?? Maybe I had the heat too low on the stove or something?
Regardless, these were so delicious and will def be trying again!
Hi Nina, They are a bit sticky—that is the nature of these cookies—they may become a little sticky as they sit. But if they dough seemed a bit too sticky as you were making it, it could be that the pot is too big. Do you have a smaller pot you could try to use? Also, try turning down the heat. That could help too. Glad you still enjoyed them!
These cookies are OUTSTANDING. They are perhaps the best cookie I have ever tasted and I cook for a family of food snobs and am a perfectionist. We couldn’t stop eating them! I followed the directions exactly, using the recommended brand of almond flour, which is Bob’s Red Mill. I think using a different brand could lead to this recipe not working but just my guess. I used Challenge Butter, light brown sugar and light Karo corn syrup. I cannot believe how easy they are to make! No waiting for butter to soften, it can be whipped up spontaneously. Be sure to use a regular-sized whisk and I used parchment paper.
I melted some Valrhona chocolate and made cookie sandwiches but just the lace cookie alone is satisfying too. The chocolate kicks it up a notch. Next time, I might just drizzle the chocolate so we can eat one cookie instead of two cookies in a sandwich. THANK YOU, Sally!
I always have great luck with your recipes but this one is a challenge. On my second attempt and I’ve added more almond flour and am baking them in a madeleine tin bc otherwise I get a puddle of “dough” on a baking sheet.
I followed the recipe exactly as written. Melted the butter on low heat, adding the other ingredients, whisking and the mixture never came together. I let it rest as you suggested and whisked again. A grainy mess, so disappointed. After reading other comments I see I’m not alone. Always follow your recipes to a tea and have had great success, not this time. Will not be trying this one again.
Made these as written and it was a disaster! My dough was a tough ball. After watching the video I realized Sally used two sticks of butter not one as written. Please fix this so other people don’t suffer like I did! All that said, once I used the right amount of butter they were amazing!
I looked at the video, I think she used 2 half sticks of butter. The width of the spatula is about the length of a half stick.
Hi, I was just wondering if you can use normal flour instead of almond flour? besides that, these look delicious.
Hi LaylaD, All-purpose flour isn’t ideal because the cookies will not spread or caramelize. Some readers have used coconut flour, but note that the taste and texture is off. We strongly recommend almond flour.
I made a similar recipe using all purpose flour and I just couldn’t get over the raw flour taste and smell. The almond flour works like a dream.
These are fantastic cookies! Is there a trick to getting the cookies to come out a bit thicker and are not so thin and delicate?
Hi Rachel, Lace cookies are very thin and crunchy cookies. They get their name from their delicate and see-through appearance.
I made these using oat flour in place of the almond flour since I’m allergic to nuts. They are so delicious and easy to make! They taste just like caramel! I drizzled mine with white and dark chocolate and they looked so elegant and delicate!
Great cookies, but I have a question. I have Nathan twice now and both times he’ll do the same result. The dough is absolutely swimming in melted butter. Next time I will cut it in half. Or is this how it is supposed to be?
Hi Erin, we’re happy to help troubleshoot. Make sure that your pan is set over LOW heat. Keep stirring until the butter comes together. If you decide to try this recipe again and the butter separates, remove the pan from the stove and whisk vigorously, the mixture will eventually come back together and give you a cohesive dough.
Awesome thanks! I really do love the cookies