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Lovely Florentine Lace Cookies – these delicate, crisp lace cookies are easy to make and incredibly delicious! These thin cookies are a holiday favorite and this small batch cookie recipe yields 4-5 cookies.
Craving a variety of small batch cookie recipes? Explore our delightful selection, including chewy Oatmeal Cookies, spicy Ginger Cookies, classic Chocolate Chip Cookies, buttery Shortbread Cookies, and rich Peanut Butter Cookies.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- So easy to make: Lace cookies are surprisingly easy to make – just 7 ingredients are needed!
- Beautiful cookies: They look so pretty on a dessert table.
- Bake quickly: The cookies bake in just 8 minutes.
- Incredibly delicious: Lace cookies are very thin and the longer they bake, the crispier they become. I love the buttery toffee-like flavor and brittle candy-like texture. They’re almost too pretty to eat!
Small Batch Lace Cookies: A Delicate Treat With Global Appeal
Lace cookies, also known as Florentines, are exquisitely thin and delicate cookies renowned for their crisp texture. This delightful confection typically features a blend of sugar, cream, corn syrup, butter, vanilla, and flour, with variations including finely chopped almonds and oats.
Originating from Italy during the Renaissance, these cookies have a fascinating history. Intriguingly, Ireland boasts a similar recipe for oatmeal lace cookies, using almost identical ingredients. Further exploration reveals that the French have their own version of this cookie, underscoring its widespread popularity across various cultures.
RELATED: The Best Cookie Recipes For One
Ingredients
If you have any ingredients leftover from this lace cookies recipe, check out our Leftover Ingredients Recipe Finder.
- Oats: Use old-fashioned oats to achieve the best texture in these cookies. Use leftover oats in Strawberry Crisp, Baked Oatmeal, or Baked Apples.
- Flour: All-purpose flour is used in these oatmeal lace cookies. To make gluten-free lace cookies, I recommend using King Arthur Gluten Free Measure For Measure Flour instead of all-purpose flour.
- Sugar: Regular granulated sugar is perfect for sweetening these cookies.
- Heavy cream: Either heavy whipping cream or heavy cream works well in this recipe, as they both contain over 36% milk fat. The choice between them usually depends on the brand. We use heavy cream in many of our single serving and small batch recipes like Mini German Chocolate Cake, Banana Pudding, or Mini French Silk Pie.
- Corn syrup: You can use either light or dark corn syrup, depending on your preference. Consider using extra corn syrup in a small Pecan Pie.
- Butter: Both salted and unsalted butter are suitable for this recipe.
- Vanilla extract: This ingredient enhances the cookies with its delightful flavor.
How To Make A Small Batch Of Lace Cookies
See the recipe box below for ingredient amounts and full recipe instructions.
- Preparing the Batter: Begin by combining sugar, cream, corn syrup, and butter in a saucepan. Heat the mixture over medium heat, stirring until the butter melts and the mixture reaches a gentle boil.
- Cooking the Mixture: Once boiling, reduce the heat to low. Continue to cook the mixture for 1 minute, stirring occasionally.
- Adding Flavor and Texture: Remove the saucepan from the heat. First, stir in the vanilla for added flavor. Then, mix in the oats and flour to create the batter.
- Resting the Batter: Let the batter sit for 10 minutes at room temperature. This step is crucial as it thickens the batter, making it easier to handle, without the need for chilling.
- Shaping the Cookies: Use a medium-sized cookie scoop (about 1.5 tablespoons) or a large tablespoon to drop the batter onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Ensure there is at least a 2-inch space between each cookie to allow for spreading during baking.
- Baking the Cookies: Bake in a preheated oven at 350° F (177° C) for 6-8 minutes. Keep a close eye on them to avoid overbaking; the cookies should turn a light brown color.
- Cooling: Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 1 minute. Then, gently transfer them with a spatula to a baking rack to cool completely, ensuring they retain their delicate shape.
This small batch lace cookie recipe will yield 4-5 delicate lace cookies.
RELATED: 15 Easy Dessert Recipes For One
Expert Tips
- Only bake a few cookies at a time on a baking sheet. Lace cookies spread out quite a bit so leaving 2 to 3 inches between each cookie is a good idea.
- Use a nonstick baking liner, such as Silpat. It makes it so easy to remove the cookies from the baking tray. Since lace cookies are very delicate, they break easily.
- After the cookies have cooled on the baking sheet for 1 minute, use a wide spatula to transfer them to a cooling tray. If the cookie bunches or tears when you try to remove it, leave the cookies on the cookie tray and let them continue to cool for another minute.
- Consider spreading a layer of Nutella or melted chocolate over a few of the lace cookies and top them with another cookie to make a sandwich. I have included the instructions for melting chocolate in the “Frequently Asked Questions” section below.
Frequently Asked Questions
Store these cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days.
You can freeze lace cookies in an airtight container for up to 3 months.
To melt chocolate in the microwave for creating a lace cookie sandwich, start by ensuring the chocolate is in small, evenly sized pieces. Opt for high-quality chocolate chips or finely chopped baking chocolate from brands like Ghirardelli or Bakers.
Take about 2 ounces (roughly ½ cup) of chocolate chips and combine them with ¼ teaspoon of vegetable or canola oil in a glass bowl. Microwave the mixture in 15-second intervals, stirring after each burst. Initially, it may seem like the chocolate isn’t melting, but this is normal. By the third interval, stirring helps redistribute the heat, allowing the chocolate to melt more uniformly and quickly.
Once the chocolate is smoothly melted, use it to sandwich between two cooled lace cookies, or alternatively, dip or drizzle it over the cookies. Allow the chocolate to set completely, which takes about 20 minutes in the refrigerator or 45 minutes at room temperature.
Yes! If you’d like to make extra cookies, just double the ingredients and use a larger saucepan.
Other Small Batch Cookie Recipes
If you like this old-fashioned lace cookies recipe, you might also like to try these small batch cookie recipes:
Ways To Use Leftover Ingredients
If you have any ingredients leftover from this recipe, check out our Leftover Ingredients Recipe Finder or you might like to consider using them in any of these single serving and small batch recipes:
If you would like information on the cooking and baking dishes I use in our “recipes for one”, please visit our FAQ page.
For examples of the dishes used at One Dish Kitchen, please visit our Store page.
If you’ve tried these old-fashioned lace cookies or any recipe on One Dish Kitchen please let me know how you liked it by rating the recipe and telling me about it in the comment section below.
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Small Batch Lace Cookies
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons old fashioned oats
- 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
- 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons heavy cream
- 2 tablespoons light corn syrup
- 1 tablespoon salted butter
- ⅛ teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Heat oven to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C). Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or a silicon baking mat. Set aside.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the oats and flour. Set bowl aside.
- Heat the sugar, cream, corn syrup, and butter in a 1-quart saucepan over medium heat, stirring frequently until butter has melted and the mixture comes to a gentle boil.
- Reduce heat to low and cook, stirring occasionally for 1 minute.
- Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla.
- Stir in the oats and flour.
- Let the batter rest for 10 minutes.
- Using a medium cookie scoop which holds approximately 1.5 tablespoons of dough, drop the cookie batter onto the prepared cookie sheet, leaving at least 2 inches between each cookie to allow them to spread.
- Bake for 6-8 minutes, watching closely to prevent the cookies from over baking. Cookies should be a light brown color.
- Allow the cookies to cool on the cookie sheet for 1 minute, then remove them very carefully with a spatula and place them on a baking rack to cool completely.
Notes
- Only bake a few cookies at a time on a baking sheet. Lace cookies spread out quite a bit so leaving 2 to 3 inches between each cookie is a good idea.
- Use a nonstick baking liner, such as Silpat. It makes it so easy to remove the cookies from the baking tray. Since lace cookies are very delicate, they break easily.
- After the cookies have cooled on the baking sheet for 1 minute, use a wide spatula to transfer them to a cooling tray. If the cookie bunches or tears when you try to remove it, leave the cookies on the cookie tray and let them continue to cool for another minute.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
I am happy that you also include recipes for larger quantities. I also am enjoying your Cooking for One Cookbook.
No heavy cream or would have used this recipe tonight.
Love this group and thank you all for sharing your expertise.
First off – thank you very much for your scaled down recipes, it is so appreciated from this empty nester. My question about lace cookies is : at what point would I roll them so that I can fill them with a brandy cream – a cookie I tasted one time while on a holiday. Thank you
Thank you. I’m so happy you are enjoying the recipes.
To roll the cookies, bake them and leave the cookies on the baking sheet for about a minute or two, carefully tuck the edge of a spatula under the edge of the cookie and roll the cookies around a spoon or other mold.
Enjoy!
I love lace cookies. I am delighted with this recipe. As I only have a toaster oven, I bake 2 at a time on my small cookie sheet. Perfect. If I feel really decadent, when I take them out of the oven, I place a few chocolate chips on one edge to melt. so good.
I love the idea of adding a few chocolate chips – such a great idea!!
I melt about half a cup of milk chocolate chips then smear it on the bottom of one of the lace cookies and smash it onto the bottom of another one to make little chocolate sandwiches. They are incredible
Your cookies seems yummy and from above comment I also come to know its cosmopolitan recipe. Will surely try this recipe.
Your cookies had their origins in Italy. They traveled through the Catholic Europe, hence the recipes to be found in France and Ireland which are indeed similar. They have a Christmas origin although it is said it is more todo with the First Communion that they young people take hence the reference to lace.
Jonathan, thank you so much for letting me know. I find the history of foods we eat today so interesting. In fact, now that you mention it the cookies do remind me of a Communion wafer.
Have a great week!
Joanie