Oatmeal Lace Cookies are crisp, delicate, buttery and delicious! This lace cookies recipe is a family favorite and makes a large quantity of cookies!
Oatmeal Lace Cookies have always been one of my husband’s favorite cookies. I’ve known that but quickly forget from time to time as they aren’t a cookie I have regularly made. So, the other night I asked him, “what’s a favorite special cookie that you’d like for me to make for you?”
His immediate reply, “Lace cookies.”
His Mama has always made them, especially at Christmas. And they are amazing!
Oatmeal Lace Cookies
Which isn’t hard to believe, because let me just tell you, I have never, ever, ever tasted one thing that my mother-in-law cooked that was not absolutely out of this world scrumptious.
You know, I have truly been blessed to be surrounded by phenomenal cooks in my life with my Grandmothers, Mama, and aunts. I count myself even more blessed to be able to learn even a little bit about recipes, cooking, entertaining large crowds, and many other life lessons from my mother-in-law. What an honor to learn from all these wonderful ladies!
So, back to these oatmeal lace cookies. Lace cookies get their name because as they bake, they spread and bubble and bubble and bubble and form little holes in the cookies.
There are so many recipes for lace cookies, but my mother-in-law’s recipe actually originated from a local restaurant where special parties and luncheons were often held. They’ve since closed, but thankfully shared this recipe with her before they did so.
This oatmeal lace cookie recipe makes a LOT of cookies. I mean a whole lot of cookies, close to six dozen. That’s what makes this lace cookie recipe so perfect for Christmas cookies, luncheons, showers, parties and more! There are plenty to share and still have a few to enjoy!
Come to think of it, maybe that’s why my mother-in-law makes them each year for her huge family.
Here’s the Oatmeal Lace Cookie recipe my family loves. One warning though, they are buttery and oh so addictive.
Oatmeal Lace Cookies Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup (226 g) butter
- 2 1/4 cups (479 g) light brown sugar, packed
- 2 1/4 cups (200 g) rolled oats
- 3 tablespoons (23 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon (3 g) kosher salt
- 1 large (50 g) egg, lightly beaten
- 1 teaspoon (5 g) vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375º F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicon baking mats. Set aside.
- Heat butter and brown sugar in a 2-quart saucepan over medium heat, stirring frequently with a wooden or silicon spoon, until butter has melted and mixture is smooth. Stir in oats, flour, salt, egg, and vanilla.
- Drop cookie batter by the teaspoon onto prepared baking sheets, leaving at least 2 inches between each cookie to allow them to spread.
- Bake for 5 -7 minutes, watching closely to prevent them from over-baking. The lace cookies should be golden brown.
- Allow to cool on the cookie sheet for 30 seconds and remove onto racks to cool completely.
- Store in an airtight container.
Notes
You can prepare the dough and store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3 to 5 days. When you are ready to bake, drop the dough by teaspoons onto parchment lined baking sheets 2 inches apart and follow the recipe baking instructions. Freezing Oatmeal Lace Cookie dough: Drop dough by teaspoons onto a parchment covered baking sheet. Cover and place in the freezer for 1 hour or until the dough is frozen. Remove from the freezer and place the cookie mounds into airtight containers or freezer bags. Label the bag with the date and name of the cookies. When you are ready to bake the cookies, remove the container from the freezer. Remove the number of cookies from the container that you wish to bake and place them at least 2 inches apart on a parchment lined baking sheet. You will not need to thaw the dough before baking. Bake as directed in your recipe but you will probably need to add a couple of extra minutes to the baking time. Storing baked cookies: Cool the baked cookies thoroughly. Layer cookies between pieces of parchment of waxed paper and place into an airtight container. These cookies should keep up to 1 week.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Enjoy!
Robyn xo
I’m not much of a baker, just a mid 20s year old with occasional time to kill. I usually make more idiot-proof things like biscotti and shortbread, but thought I’d challenge myself this time.
….Of course, I ended up with an entirely different cookie. First off, I used instant cooking oatmeal, because it was what was at home and I didn’t want to buy some just for this. Second of all, I used 1 cup of brown sugar, because like someone else in the comments, I didn’t feel comfortable adding that much sugar.
However, I think it’s the high amount of sugar that makes this cookie what it’s originally intended to be – a thin, brittle-like cookie. Basically oats crisped up in a brittle base. Also because I used instant, I think my oatmeal actually cooked a bit… so instead of baking a brittle mixture with oats in it, I was baking little lumps of cooked oatmeal flavored with butter, sugar, and vanilla.
That being said, I still ended up with a perfectly edible batch of cookies, just thought I’d add my experience in case other n00bs like me want to try it out. I’ll probably try it again someday, but I ate a horrifying amount of cookies while baking this so maybe not for a while.
Did your mother – in – law get this from Dodsons in Oklahoma?
Hi Jennifer,
It was a restaurant in Georgia.
I have been hunting for a recipe to make these. So many recipes for oat biscuits when it was these. Perfect. So much for the diet! Thank you
Delicious recipe!! A tiny bit sweet for my taste and I left out some sugar, but really, a very pretty cookie! Following the above comments to use parchment and let it cool completely, they came out perfectly. THANKS!
I just made these and they came out great. The only thing I’ll change is I’ll lessen the amount of sugar since I find them too sweet – and I already have an unusually high tolerance for sweetness. My question, though, is how do you know when it’s time to take the melted butter and sugar off the heat? I was waiting for the sugar to melt but it didn’t so it reached a point when my butter was boiling and the sugar was separating. I quickly took it off the heat and dumped in the rest of the ingredients. Still came out looking like the ones in your picture. I also experienced the same as one of the commenters here mentioned: those that I baked on silpat came out chewier than those baked on parchment.
I’m in the process of making a menu for an event at our winery. I plan to make these cookies and make some with pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, and almonds added to the mix. Thank you for this base to jump off from. I too am glad your mother-in-law managed to get the recipe!
Paullett De Moura
Is there a gluten free substitute for the flour? Thank you!
You can actually omit the flour completely. I’ve found that it doesn’t change the cookie except when storing them. The ones with flour are less sticky than the ones without. Nobody notices when I leave it out.
Hi robyn, thanks for the recipe. I tried it and it was a success. My kids love it. I made some changes with the sugar coz i thought it would come out too sweet for our taste. I put 1 cup only but still it was sweeter than what i expect. Next time,i will lessen the sugar to just 3/4 cup 🙂 thanks again
These taste delicious but as others have commented i had very big issues as they stuck to the paper. Maybe there’s something we’re doing wrong here…
You may have luck using some of Kaitlin’s tips from her comment above.
I can’t wait to try these this weekend! Thanks for sharing … love your site 🙂