These Lace Cookies are thin, flat cookies with a toffee-like flavor and a brittle candy-like texture. They’re super simple to make and the dough (batter?) can be prepped in just fifteen minutes. It’s impossible to just eat one!
I ate about 200 of these Lace Cookies while developing this recipe and I’m still not completely decided if they’re more of a cookie or more of a candy.
They look a bit more like cookies (with their round shape and the fact we use a cookie scoop to portion out the batter) but the taste and texture reminds me more of candies like my peanut brittle or toffee recipe. They’re flat and thin with a crisp, brittle texture that shatters against your teeth and the cookie starts to melt on your tongue on contact. The flavor is certainly toffee-like and caramelized thanks to the fact that the base of the cookie dough is made by melting together butter, sugar, and corn syrup.
Essentially they’re like a candied potato chip. Absolutely addictive and neither Zach nor I can stop eating them. I’m not exactly sure yet how baking with a baby will go, but one way or another these are going to have to make an appearance on my Christmas cookie tray.
What You Need:
- Butter.
- Light corn syrup. I’ve mentioned this before in my sugar cookie frosting recipe and my pecan pie, but corn syrup is not the same as high fructose corn syrup and you really can’t leave it out of this recipe.
- Sugar. We’re using granulated and light brown sugar here.
- Salt.
- Vanilla extract.
- Flour. Just a bit (¼ cup) helps bind the cookies together. Make sure to measure your flour correctly or your cookies could come out soft instead of brittle.
- Almonds. You’ll measure these out and then finely chop them. Let’s talk more about this briefly.
Preparing the Almonds
Measure out your almonds and then finely chop them. I’ll usually do this with a large knife the same way I would mince garlic. At least, that’s how I used to do it. Now I just toss the almonds into my food processor and pulse until they are finely chopped (see photo above).
Take care that if you are using a food processor you do not over-process the almonds, or you will end up with a paste or almond butter. That won’t work for your Lace Cookies!
Some people recommend starting with blanched almonds (ones that don’t have the brown skin on them). I tried these lace cookies with blanched and unblanched almonds (as seen here) and couldn’t tell a difference (except that blanched almonds were a pain in the butt to find!).
Is There a (Nut-Free) Substitute for Almonds in Lace Cookies?
I tried this recipe substituting ⅔ cup of old fashioned oats for the finely chopped almonds and had success making them that way! No other substitutions were needed.
How to Make Lace Cookies
Lace cookies are simple to make, and it all starts by caramelizing a few ingredients in a saucepan on the stovetop.
- Melt together butter, sugars, and corn syrup.
- Cook the sugar has melted (stir constantly so it doesn’t burn!). Bring to a boil, then immediately remove from heat.
- Stir in remaining ingredients.
- Allow the batter to cool for about 5 minutes, this will allow it to thicken a bit and will just make it easier to scoop.
- Scoop batter by 1 ½ teaspoon (yes, teaspoon!) sized scoop onto parchment paper lined baking sheet.
- Bake for 9 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through.
Keep an eye on your cookies as they bake (especially the first batch, in case you need to make any adjustments to subsequent batches). As they bake they will bubble, flatten, and spread. They are usually finished when they are a light golden-brown color and the bubbling has stopped.
Be careful, even a minute too long in the oven can end up burning them, and if they don’t bake long enough they won’t crisp up properly as they cool.
How to Store
Store lace cookies in a cool, dry place in an airtight container for up to one week. Because of their candy-like texture you will want to keep away from humidity, and I also recommend separating layers of cookies with parchment paper to keep them from sticking together.
Most importantly you want to store them carefully. Lace cookies are extremely thin and brittle, after all. I took a bag to share to Zach’s softball game over the summer (in preparation for baby Luke I did a lot of the development and testing for the recipes you’re seeing now earlier in the year) and dropped it about 3 feet and every single cookie was completely shattered, so pack with care.
More Recipes to Try:
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Lace Cookies
Ingredients
- 4 Tablespoons unsalted butter
- ½ cup (100 g) light brown sugar firmly packed
- ¼ cup (50 g) granulated sugar
- ¼ cup (60 ml) light corn syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup (31 g) all-purpose flour
- ⅔ cup (90 g) finely chopped almonds¹
Recommended Equipment
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F and line cookie sheet with parchment paper.
- In a medium-sized saucepan, combine butter, sugars, and corn syrup.4 Tablespoons unsalted butter, ½ cup (100 g) light brown sugar, ¼ cup (50 g) granulated sugar, ¼ cup (60 ml) light corn syrup
- Cook over medium heat, stirring contantly, until sugar has melted and mixture just begins to boil.
- Once boiling, remove from heat and stir in vanilla extract, salt, flour, and finely chopped almonds, stirring until completely combined.1 teaspoon vanilla extract, ¼ teaspoon salt, ¼ cup (31 g) all-purpose flour, ⅔ cup (90 g) finely chopped almonds¹
- Allow to cool for five minutes, then drop by 1 ½ teaspoon onto prepared cookie sheet, spacing cookies at least several inches apart (cookies will spread quite a bit in the oven, so give them some space!).
- Bake on 350F for 9 minutes, rotating halfway through baking. You can usually tell the cookies are finished baking when they stop bubbling and are a light golden brown in color. Keep an eye on them because they can burn quickly.
- Allow cookies to cool completely on baking sheet. They won't be crisp until cooled.
- Keep in mind that the lace cookie batter/dough will thicken as it cools, that is completely fine and won’t affect the outcome of the cookies.
Notes
Nut-Free Substitute
I've successfully made these lace cookies nut-free by substituting ⅔ cup of whole oats (I do not put them in the food processor) for the almonds.Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more.
Esther
Hi,
Could I substitute golden syrup for light corn syrup? 😊
Sam
Hi Esther! I haven’t tried it but I think it should work. 🙂
Linda
Made these yesterday and added chopped cranberries. They are superb and so easy to make👍
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed them so much, Linda! 🙂
Misty S. Boyer
I didn’t have brown sugar so I modified the recipe. I used all white sugar for the sugars (so 3/4 cup) and this real maple syrup in place of corn syrup, and the recipe came out gorgeously. The maple syrup was coffee infused so each of these cookies ended up packing quite a punch! Everyone in the house was devouring these cookies like chittering wide eyed chipmunks. Such an easy recipe to modify. Thank you!
Sugar Spun Run
I am so glad that the cookies were a hit, Misty! Thank you so much for sharing! 🙂
Ms. Derrelle Craft
I made these cookies at Christmas time and shared them with my co-workers. When one of the upper management came into our area, we offered him some of the cookies. He calls them “crack” cookies as they are just as addictive as crack. Every time we have VIPs coming to our facility, he request that I make more cookies. He then brings them to my desk to advise them that I am the woman that makes the “crack” cookies.
THEY HAVE BEEN A BIG HIT!
Sugar Spun Run
I love it, Ms. Derelle! I am so happy that everyone has enjoyed them and that you have now been known as the “cookie lady.” Thanks so much for sharing. 🙂
Ritu Bhola
Hi. I used almonds and dried cranberries in the mix. So tasty except they got stuck to the wax paper. How can I avoid that? Thanks
Sam
Hi Ritu! You don’t want to use wax paper here, you need parchment paper. They shouldn’t stick to parchment paper. 🙂
Sarah
I’ve tried other lace cookie recipes and have discovered that the recipes vary greatly…more variations than a basic chocolate chip cookie, for instance. Your recipe is BY FAR the BEST recipe for lace cookies that I’ve tried! The absolute only problem with your recipe is that I can’t stop eating these cookies! They are just delicious and crisp and caramel-y and nutty and… I could go on and on. Thanks for sharing!
Sugar Spun Run
Thank you so much, Sarah! I am so glad that your cookies turned out perfectly and were enjoyed. I appreciate your feedback. 🙂
victoria
Hi Sam! thanks for the recipe. I want to know if i can replace the corn syrup with honey.
Thanks
Sugar Spun Run
Hi, Victoria! I personally have never tried it, but I think that it SHOULD work fine. If you try it, let me know how it turns out. Happy Baking. 🙂
Katrina F
These came out amazing & better than the bakery ones. Thanks so much for sharing, you are very talented.
Sugar Spun Run
Thank you so much for your kind words, Katrina! I am so glad that you enjoyed the recipe. Thanks for commenting! 🙂
Jairo Sosa
We just made them and they were amazing.
Sam
I am so glad everyone enjoyed the lace cookies, Jairo! 🙂
Lynne Ham
Sam,
I have to do a substitute for corn syrup. I boil water with granulated sugar. Will this substitute work and if so, what will be my measurements of water to sugar to equal the corn syrup in your recipe? Thanks.
Sam
Hi Lynne, I’m afraid I don’t think that would work, that would be more like a simple syrup and I don’t think it would be thick enough to work with this recipe.
Mary Ellis
Can Gluten Free flour be substituted in this recipe? My daughter has celiac and i’m always trying to find cookie recipes that will work for her. thanks!
Sugar Spun Run
Hi, Mary! I have not tried it, so it’s hard to say. If you do, please let me know how it works for you! 🙂
Melodie
Hi Sam! Hope you are enjoying the holiday season with your baby! I’m planning on trying these cookies. They look delicious! Could you substitute pecans for almonds?
Sugar Spun Run
Thank you so much, Melodie! He has been such a joy this holiday season. Yes, substituting pecans should not be a problem. I hope that you enjoy the lace cookies. Let me know how they turn out. 🙂
SHARYN
is this a type of lace cookie that I could roll while warm then when cooled fill with either pudding or whipped cream?
Sam
Yes they can be rolled while warm! Enjoy 🙂
Megan
I thought I’d try these since might be a “lighter” cookie as opposed to the ones I have been making recently such as the peanut butter, oatmeal and chocolate chip ones. I’m reading they are supposed to be crispy and I am wondering if I did something wrong. I just tasted one and I definitely would not call it crispy. Still relatively chewy. I have another few batches to go in the oven, since I can’t put as many on a baking sheet as I normally would since they really do spread. I am hoping maybe just needs to cool some more and that as it cools it will firm up. I followed everything in the directions and I am definitely no baking slouch lol. I did notice there are a few that weren’t completely flat, one or two seems to have a lump in the center as though didn’t fully spread. I’m wondering if maybe I did a bigger scoop then what I had intended. I’m going to keep going to use up the batter and see how the rest turn out. I really wanted these to come out as I had hoped.
Sam
Hi Megan! They won’t be crispy until they have cooled completely, but if you are using larger scoops they will need a bit more time in the oven in order to cook properly and to be crisp when cooled. I hope you love them when all is finished! 🙂
Mikaru86
Interesting, I’ve never heard of these. By the way, there is a typo in your instructions for step 8, “cookie shave” should probably be “cookies have”.
Sam
Yikes! Thanks, I will get that fixed!
Sheryl K
Hi. These cookies have been around forever! My family and I started making these in the early 80’s. I have been thinking of them again, and think I will try this new recipe!! They are sooooo delish!
Sugar Spun Run
Hi, Sheryl! Lace cookies are a classic! I hope that you enjoy my recipe! Keep me posted on how they turn out! 🙂