Oatmeal Lace Cookies. So pretty. So crispy. They get their name from the fact that they are so delicate, you can almost see through them – like lace. Fancy!
These oatmeal lace cookies have always had a hallowed place in our holiday gift-bag lineup, along with pecan crescents and English toffee with chocolate. They’re a lot of fun to make and are always a great hit.
I actually have two different recipes that I use for Lace cookies (I’ll blog the other one another time) but I prefer this version for the holidays because it makes a slightly less fragile cookie. That means you can actually give them as gifts without worrying that they will become a pile of oat dust by the time someone receives them. “Happy Christmas, friend! Enjoy!” (Friend opens box, sees a mound of crumbs). “Um…thanks?” (friend gives cookies to dog).
Oatmeal Lace Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup 1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 1/2 cups old-fashioned oats
Instructions
- Using electric mixer, beat sugar and butter until well blended. Beat in flour, vanilla extract, and salt. Stir in oats. Cover and refrigerate cookie dough 1 hour.
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Roll 1 tablespoon of dough into a ball. Place dough ball on baking sheet, spacing 3 1/2 inches apart (cookies will spread during baking). Repeat until sheet is full. Use the bottom of a drinking glass or a measuring cup to flatten cookies to 1 1/2-inch rounds.
- Bake until cookies are golden brown, about 11 minutes. Let cookies remain on sheets 1 minute. Using spatula, transfer cookies to racks and cool completely. (Can be made 3 days ahead. Store cookies between sheets of waxed paper in airtight container at room temperature.)
After a grand fairy cake failure on Sunday, I think I need something this simple to reassure me my cooking skills have not vapourised. Going to make these on New Year’s Day. They will make a nice sweet change to the endless cheese straws I baked before Christmas.
Ha, a grand fairy cake failure sounds like a great title for a rom-com. I’m sure it wasn’t fun though. I’m sure these will go better.
Looks delicious.
Hi there, would love to try out the recipe but can’t see it. Can you pls highlight the link? Thanks
Oops! Technical hitch, should be all working now. Enjoy the cookies!
they look yummy!
Baked these today. A grand biscuit! My only question is the vanilla extract. I used a teaspoon, not a tablespoon, and they are still a bit more vanilla flavoured than I’d expect. Is this a US/UK spoon translation failure, or is US extract weaker? This is the stuff I use: http://www.lakeland.co.uk/5650/Vanilla-Extract . I still love them, but would probably halve or even leave out the vanilla next time. Thanks for the recipe. 🙂
Hi Julie,
Glad you liked them. They are definitely meant to have a subtle vanilla flavor since they are so simple (no chocolate, nuts, jam etc) but our batch didn’t have a very strong vanilla taste. It’s definitely possible that uk extract is stronger. I’m going to do a little research and possibly adapt the recipe.
Thanks for the feedback!
1 cup of sugar seemed like a lot, i did 1/2 cup and it was still super sweet. Will try 1/4 cup next time. I think needed more butter too
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