Lace Cookies

Recipe by Brinna Sands
10 Reviews 4.6 out of 5 stars

These gossamer cookies have just enough flour in them to keep them from flowing off the cookie sheet. Butter, brown sugar, and oats undergo a transformative alchemy in the oven, spreading in all directions to become crisp, lacy, and tasting of butterscotch. Like snowflakes, they should be a winter phenomenon, as they will become totally limp in any but the driest weather. Roll and fill them, or let them cool flat for a simpler snack.

Prep
20 mins
Bake
5 to 7 mins
Total
25 mins
Yield
4 dozen 3" cookies
Lace Cookies

Instructions

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  1. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment. Have on hand a greased offset spatula and a large-handled wooden spoon or greased cannoli molds if you plan to make filled cookies.

  2. In a large mixing bowl, mix together the flour, oats, brown sugar, and salt. Mix in the melted butter. Add the egg and vanilla and mix to combine.

  3. Drop the dough by the heaping teaspoonful (or use a teaspoon scoop) onto the prepared baking sheet, leaving 4 inches between each. It’s best to bake no more than three of these at a time. Press the balls of dough to be 1/2 ̋ thick.

  4. Bake for 6 to 8 minutes, until the cookies are flat and bubbly-looking; the centers should be golden brown and the edges a bit darker. Remove from the oven and let sit on the pan for 3 minutes, until you can get under the cookies with a thin spatula without tearing them. Roll the cookies around the molds or spoon, then transfer to a rack to finish cooling completely. Repeat until all of the cookies are baked.

  5. To make flat cookies, transfer the cookies to a rack after their 3-minute wait and allow to cool.

  6. For the filling: Place the freeze-dried fruit and confectioners’ sugar in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until the mixture is deep pink. Whisk through a mesh strainer to remove any lumps or seeds.

  7. In a medium bowl, combine the cream cheese and butter until smooth. Add the fruit/sugar mixture and vanilla, mixing until smooth. Place in a piping bag fitted with a 1/2 ̋ round tip and use to fill the shaped cookies.

  8. Filled cookies should be eaten on the day they're made; flat cookies can be stored in a cool, dry, airtight container for up to 5 days.

Tips from our Bakers

  • For shaped cookies, omit the oats from the recipe and increase the flour to 1/4 cup (28g). Lift them off the baking sheet when they've cooled enough to hold together but are still warm enough to be flexible. Wrap around greased tube forms or drape into the greased wells of a muffin tin to make an edible bowl for fruit or pudding fillings.

  • These cookies will release most easily if you use a silicone baking mat.

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