This oatmeal lace cookie recipe makes cookies that are thin and chewy with a crisp edge and buttery brown sugar flavor! For a thicker cookie, try my one bowl chewy oatmeal chocolate chip cookies next.
What are lace cookies?
Lace cookies get their name because of their lace-y appearance. They are also typically very thin, crisp cookies made with little to no flour. And while I enjoy them, I wanted these to be chewy!
I’ve never been the biggest fan of super delicate cookies because it means I’m going to make a mess when I eat it. Cookie crumbs all over the shirt, kinda mess.
You want these oatmeal lace cookies to be as thin as possible, but without letting there be gaps. As they bake, the batter caramelizes and the sugar bubbles to create very small gaps.
They’ll be super thin
They’re going to spread even more during baking, and be super thin cookies. I’m serious. Really thin. If you weren’t expecting it, you might think you’ve done something wrong.
But you haven’t. You’ve done it perfectly. If you let them bake for about 8 minutes (may vary, based on your oven performance), they’ll be chewy with a crispy edge.
These lace cookies are chewy!
If you want them to be less chewy and more crisp overall, bake them another couple minutes. Totally up to your personal preference. They might be more crisp this way, but they still won’t be snappy if you bite into it – if you know what I mean. I didn’t develop the recipe for that.
Ingredients for lace cookies
Some lace cookie recipes call for little to no flour, and some call for almond flour (aff link). In the case of my recipe, we’re going to use a small amount of all purpose flour as well as old fashioned oats.
- Unsalted butter
- Dark brown sugar
- All purpose flour (can substitute 1:1 gluten free flour)
- Pure vanilla extract
- Salt
- Egg
- Rolled oats, also known as old fashioned oats (can substitute gluten free oats)
- Dark chocolate, for drizzling (optional, but highly encouraged!)
Leave room for the cookies to spread
Since you’re only doing a handful of cookies on a baking sheet for each batch, you’re going to want to make plenty of room on your counters for them to cool.
As you can see in the picture below, my C-Rex (Cookie Rex, thank you very much) is gleefully awaiting the cooled cookies.
Why not add a little chocolate?
The next talking point: a chocolate drizzle. I am a very big fan of these cookies with a light drizzle of chocolate on top. It adds a little somethin’ somethin’.
I thoroughly enjoy them without it, but there’s something about getting a little bit of chocolate in each bite that takes it up a notch for me.
Even if you’re not Team Chocolate, you can’t deny that it’s fun to fling a pastry bag around when you’re drizzling said chocolate onto cookies. It’s just fun.
Stack them up high, and challenge yourself not to eat ten of them in one sitting. You’ll try to rationalize it because they’re so thin, but I promise you’ll regret it.
They’ll be delicious, for sure, but your stomach will not be a happy camper if you consume that much butter and sugar at once.
After you’ve made this recipe, please consider coming back to share your experience with others by leaving a comment below with a star rating!
Chewy Oatmeal Lace Cookies
Equipment
Ingredients
- ½ cup unsalted butter
- 1 cup dark brown sugar, packed
- 2 tablespoons all purpose flour, can substitute 1:1 gluten free flour
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 egg, room temperature
- 1 ½ cups rolled oats, also known as old fashioned oats - can substitute gluten free oats
- Dark chocolate, for drizzling (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper, and set aside.
- In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine butter and brown sugar. Whisk frequently until just combined and thick.
- Remove pan from heat and add flour, vanilla and salt. Whisk to combine and let cool slightly for about 10 minutes.
- Add egg and whisk to combine.
- Add oats and whisk until well combined and all the oats are coated.
- Using a small cookie scoop (1 tablespoon), drop batter onto prepared baking sheets. Use the back of the scoop or a spoon to spread the batter into a thin layer.Note: You want to make sure you leave plenty of room for the cookies to spread while baking, so I never do more than 6 cookies per baking sheet to be on the safe side. You're going to need a fresh sheet of parchment paper each time, so just keep alternating baking sheets until you've used all the batter.
- One sheet at a time, bake for 8 minutes or until the edges have just started to turn a golden brown.
- Let cool completely on the parchment paper (but you can slide the baked cookies on the paper over to wire racks to cool completely while you reuse the baking sheet for your next batch).
- If desired, drizzle with melted dark chocolate and let set completely. Enjoy!
Deborah
Very fast simple recipe. Mine only made 12 cookies , however , they are the size of my hand ! plus I can say , yes I only had one cookie. Great flavor , just overestimated the amount of batter
Leslie Kiszka
Haha, I like the justification of “it’s only one cookie!” :)
DJ Clem
Oh my, these turned out beautifully and so so good! My hubby’s new favorite; he likes them best without the chocolate, but I’ll take chocolate everytime! I have another recipe that calls for A LOT more flour, so I added just an extra tablespoon for good measure.
Amy Jo McCord
These cookies have a great flavor, however, even after 3 hours of cooling, they never got crisp. They have the texture of a fruit roll-up. Is this how they are supposed to be???
Leslie Kiszka
Correct, as I note in the description for these they’re intended to be chewy! Sorry that you felt it was only worth 2 stars, that’s never what I like to see.
Lyslee
Hi Leslie
Just made these for my husband , he wanted me to give you 2 thumbs up! He loves them!
These cookies are so easy to make, awesome cookies!
Leslie Kiszka
That’s so good to hear!
Lisa
Made these this morning. I loved them. I did not drizzle with chocolate, I decided they were rich enough without it. Would be great to make an ice cream sandwich with.
Leslie Kiszka
That sounds amazing!
Jeri
Do you use old fashion oats or quick cooking?
Leslie Kiszka
I note in the recipe card to use rolled oats (which are also known as old fashioned oats)! I’ve updated the name in the recipe card to include both so it’s not confusing.
Yvonne
Can I refrigerate the dough before baking ?
Leslie Kiszka
I wouldn’t recommend it – you want it to be a thin batter, and that would cause it to be more firm. You could try it, and then let it set out and come to room temperature before baking, but I’m not sure what your results would be.
Kasey
I am going to try some coconut in some, just cause it sounds good!
Linda Emerson
Hey, These are the cookies that I have been looking for! I cannot wait to make these cookies! They look amazing! So easy to make and I love that the ingredient list is simple .
Leslie Haasch
I’m so glad!
Heather
These look amazing! Super crisp and delicate but packed with so much texture and flavor. So easy to make and I love that the ingredient list is simple :)
Vanessa Vickery
These are the cookies that I have been looking for! I am looking for a cookie that I can make at the next cake & cookie stall at my kids school and these are going to be it!! They look amazing!! And PS your dog is so cute!
Kim @ Berly's Kitchen
I’ve been craving oatmeal cookies all weekend. These looked perfectly good and then I saw the chocolate drizzle. Now they’re even better!
Holly
Girllll! I cannot wait to make these cookies! They look amazing! They remind me of the oatmeal cookies my grandma would make and no one in the family has the recipe.
Claire | The Simple, Sweet Life
Hot, humid summers are the WORST as are pet troubles. :( Nothing breaks the heart quite like having to take them to the vet or seeing them in distress and not being able to let them know it’ll be ok. I feel ya girl! But these cookies look delish! I would totally stress bake AND stress eat the heck out of these.
Jenni LeBaron
Oatmeal cookies are my favorite so I’m glad to see them made in a new an interesting way I bet these lace cookies are supremely chewy in the best way! Bring on the milk!
Sharon
Oh, boy, do these cookies look amazing! Simple, easy, classic. I will take a dozen right now.
Ashley @ Big Flavors from a Tiny Kitchen
These cookies look SO good! That drizzle has me seriously swooning over here. And C-Rex is fabulous. What a fun way to stash away your goodies :)
Jessie
I love this recipe chewy and crispy sounds like a great way for cookies to be! Saving this to try later and I cant wait!
Veena Azmanov
I LOVE lace cookies and I usually use nuts but oats sound so good. Saving this for later. Can’t wait to try it. Love how simple and easy the recipe is. Looks so pretty
Aleta
YUMMY!!! These cookies look AMAZING!! I love how thin and crispy they are and your photography is simply stunning! Also, I have a retriever cross, they sure are special aren’t they?
Karly
These cookies look so delicious! Love that they are crispy and chewy at the same time. My fav!
Anne
These cookies look so good! I want one of them now. That dog is so cute, I can see how he pulls at your heart strings.