Old Fashioned Oatmeal Lace Cookies

Ooey, gooey and packed with delicious flavor, these old fashioned oatmeal lace cookies are perfect year round, but particularly special for a fall treat. A recipe to be passed down and enjoyed every year!

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Lace Is My Language

So I’m a little obsessed with all things lace. My house is filled with lace curatins, white lace doilies and table runners, lace or crochet edge bedding and even my closet is filled with lace! I just love it.

So when I heard there was a lace cookie, it absolutely positively had to be made. That was several years ago, and now I make them every fall and never miss it.

I’m a fall girl. I love spring too, almost as equally. Parts of summer and winter are ok. But I was born in fall and all the fall flavors I just love. These to me, are very fall flavored. They’re gooey (or crispy, really depending on how you like them) and caramally and full of rich flavor. So I usually only make these for fall time treats.

What is an oatmeal lace cookie?

Oatmeal lace cookies are well, a deliciously thin oatmeal cookie with the flavor of caramel that can be either soft and chewy or crispy, however you like it! Oatmeal lace cookies are made with brown sugar, butter, and oatmeal with just a touch of flour to hold them together, but because they are higher in sugar than flour, they spread and bubble up in the oven, creating little holes to create a “lace” look. They are beautiful and delicious.

Old Fashioned Oatmeal Lace Cookies Video(s)

Old Fashioned Oatmeal Lace Cookies Tools

Mixing Bowl

Wooden spoon or rubber spatula

Cookie Scoop

Old Fashioned Oatmeal Lace Cookies Ingredients

1/2 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup oats
1/4 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla

How To Make Old Fashioned Oatmeal Lace Cookies

1. Add butter and brown sugar to a pan and heat to a slow simmer. Allow to simmer for a minute or two. Remove from heat and allow to cool a bit.
2. Add oats, flour, salt, and cinnamon to the pot. Stir in the vanilla and egg.
3. Chill the dough in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
4. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment or foil. If you use foil, be sure to grease it well.
5. Use a cookie scoop to place tablespoon size balls onto the tray, spaced a few inches apart. Give them room to spread.
6. Bake for 8 minutes, or until golden around the edges. For a softer cookie, pull a little early. If you want them them crispy once cooled, let them bake until dark brown but not burnt around the edges.
7. While still hot and fresh out of the oven, use a round cookie cutter or cup to shape the edges into a circle. Allow to cool before removing from cookie sheet.

Are lace cookies healthy?

Well, not by nature however, the ingredients could easily be swapped for healthier! We have made these oatmeal lace cookies with coconut sugar and gluten free flour, as well as swapping the flour for fresh milled, whole grain flour. Coconut sugar is unrefined and reacts better with our bodies while whole grain flour adds fiber, protein and is far less processed and fresh than white. And these are perfect made gluten free if needed! Just be sure to find certified gluten free oats. Otherwise, these cookies have very few ingredients and can easily be made healthier without a change to the texture or flavor.

What makes lace cookies so delicate?

The high sugar content compared to the flour content. This makes them bubble and get little lacy holes in them. If not cooked long enough, they can be difficult to remove from the baking sheet and eat because they will be so soft and chewy. Delicious still, and sometimes I do this on purpose! But if baked a little longer, they will crisp up and have a bit to them, making them easier to eat but still, delicate!

Are lace cookies difficult to make?

No, absolutely not. No mixer needed, just a few ingredients and very simple! They are easiest if you make them ahead of time and freeze the balls of dough, then bake from frozen. When baking, be sure to watch for them to get dark brown around the outside and only do 1-2 tablespoons of dough per cookie. 1 tablespoon is best so the center flattens and bakes up before the outside burns but I use a 2 tablespoon cookie scoop and they do just fine!