Easy Lace Cookies (Florentine Cookies)
If you’ve been searching for a lace cookies recipe that turns out thin, crispy, and perfectly lacy every single time, you’re in the right place. These cookies are buttery, caramel-y, and so pretty on a cookie tray. They’re sometimes called almond lace cookies or Florentine cookies, and once you try them, you’ll understand why people get obsessed.
Delicate Lace Cookies
Lace cookies are thin, delicate, and beautifully crisp cookies with a lovely caramel flavor – unlike any other type of cookie. When baked, the butter and brown sugar melt into a toffee-like base that spreads into lacy, golden discs dotted with tiny holes, giving them their signature “lace” appearance.
The almond flour adds a subtle nuttiness that balances the sweetness, and once cooled, the cookies harden into a crisp, brittle-like texture that crunches and then melts the minute you bite into it. This nostalgic recipe is simple to make, but tastes so indulgent.
Why You’ll Love Lace Cookies
- Quick and easy: This easy recipe uses a handful of simple ingredients and minimal effort, with no chilling time or complicated steps.
- Fast to bake: Lace cookies come together quickly and bake in just minutes.
- Thin and crispy texture: You’ll use very little flour compared to traditional cookies, which helps create that signature delicate crispness.
- Caramel flavor and snap: Melted butter and brown sugar create the toffee-like base that gives these cookies their rich caramel flavor and brittle crunch.
- Just enough structure: A blend of all-purpose flour and almond flour holds the cookies together without making them dense or cakey. The result is perfect lace cookies.
- Consistently beautiful results: The finished cookies bake up perfectly crisp, golden, and lacy every time.
Tools Needed
- Cookie sheet
- Parchment paper
- Medium saucepan
Ingredients
These ingredients are common pantry staples and you may already have them in your kitchen.
- Butter
- Brown sugar
- Milk
- Vanilla extract
- All-purpose flour
- Almond flour
- Salt
How to Make Lace Cookies
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and set it aside for now.
- In a medium saucepan, melt the butter and brown sugar in the milk over low heat for 3-4 minutes, or until the butter and sugar have fully melted and no sugar granules remain. Increase the heat to medium temperature and cook until bubbles begin to break the surface of the caramel.
- Remove from heat and add the vanilla extract and dry ingredients (all-purpose flour, almond flour, and salt). Stir until no streaks of flour remain.
- Let the cookie dough stand for a few minutes to cool down and thicken slightly. It will be quite runny.
- Spoon the batter in teaspoon-sized dollops on the lined cookie sheet. Leave at least 3 inches between each cookie. They will spread significantly.
- Bake for 5-7 minutes in a preheated oven. The cookies will be flat, spread out, and bubbling. **See the note below.
- Let them cool on the pan completely so they harden up. It doesn’t take long for them to cool down, only 8-10 minutes. Move to a wire rack.
- Enjoy!
**Note: don’t rely too heavily on the bake time with these cookies. Because they’re so thin and sugar-based, they can go from pale to perfectly golden (or even overdone) very quickly, and every oven bakes a little differently. Watch them closely and pull them as soon as they’re evenly golden brown and lacy.
Pro Tips
- Try to avoid humidity when storing these cookies. Moisture will make the cookies chewy instead of crispy. If the cookies do soften, you can crisp them up by placing them in a 300°F oven for 2-3 minutes, then cool them again.
- Watch these cookies closely when baking, they can go from perfect to burnt in just a few seconds.
- Watch your fingers when pulling these cookies out of the oven. The brown sugar is like hot lava when it first comes out of the oven.
- The “dough” for lace cookies is more like a thin batter. It will look loose and runny when it’s warm, and that’s normal. The looseness of the batter/dough is exactly what helps the cookies spread into that delicate lace texture.
- Use multiple baking sheets so you can rotate batches in and out of the oven. This keeps the process moving and prevents you from scooping batter onto a hot pan (which can make the cookies spread too fast).
Storage Directions
Store leftover cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days. If you are stacking them, I suggest placing parchment paper between the cookies to prevent sticking.
You can freeze these cookies in an airtight container for up to 2 months. Be sure to place parchment paper between layers to keep the cookies from sticking together. Thaw at room temperature when you are ready to serve.
If these delicate cookies are soft and flexible, you can crisp them up by placing them in a 300°F oven for 2-3 minutes, then cool them again.
Serving Suggestions
Use as a garnish. These cookies also make wonderful cake and cupcake toppers or serve them atop ice cream. It is fantastic!
Chocolate, please. Traditional Florentine cookies are often served as a sandwich cookie with a thin layer of melted chocolate between two cookies. Once the chocolate sets, it creates the perfect contrast to the crisp, caramel-like cookie: buttery and crunchy on the outside, with a smooth, rich chocolate layer in the middle. It’s an elegant bakery-style touch that’s surprisingly easy to do at home.
Serve with milk or coffee: These cookies are delicious with a cold glass of milk or a hot cup of coffee, since the crisp caramel flavor pairs perfectly with both.
Easy Lace Cookies (Florentine Cookies)
- Total Time: 24 minutes
- Yield: 36 1x
Description
If you’ve been searching for a lace cookies recipe that turns out thin, crispy, and perfectly lacy every single time, you’re in the right place. These cookies are buttery, caramel-y, and so pretty on a cookie tray. They’re sometimes called almond lace cookies or Florentine cookies, and once you try them, you’ll understand why people get obsessed.
Ingredients
- 6 tablespoons butter
- 2/3 cup (135g) brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup (50g) all purpose flour
- 1/2 cup (70g) almond flour
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and set it aside for now.
- In a medium saucepan, melt the butter and brown sugar with the milk over low heat for 3-4 minutes or until the butter and sugar have fully melted and there are no sugar granules left. Increase the heat to medium temperature and cook until bubbles begin to break the surface of the caramel.
- Remove from heat and add the vanilla extract, all purpose flour, almond flour and salt. Stir until no streaks of flour remain. Let the batter stand for a few minutes to cool down and thicken slightly. It will be quite runny.
- Spoon the batter in teaspoon-sized dollops on the lined cookie sheet. Leave at least 3 inches between each cookie. They will spread significantly.
- Bake for 5-7 minutes in a preheated oven. The cookies will be flat, spread out and bubbling. Cool on the pan completely so they harden up. It doesn’t take long for them to cool down, only 8-10 minutes. Enjoy once cooled.
Notes
- Don’t rely too heavily on the bake time with these cookies. Because they’re so thin and sugar-based, they can go from pale to perfectly golden (or even overdone) very quickly, and every oven bakes a little differently. Watch them closely and pull them as soon as they’re evenly golden brown and lacy.
- Try to avoid humidity when storing these cookies. Moisture will make the cookies chewy instead of crispy. If the cookies do soften, you can crisp them up by placing them in a 300°F oven for 2-3 minutes, then cool them again.
- Watch these cookies closely when baking, they can go from perfect to burnt in just a few seconds.
- Watch your fingers when pulling these cookies out of the oven. The brown sugar is like hot lava when it first comes out of the oven.
- The “dough” for lace cookies is more like a thin batter. It will look loose and runny when it’s warm, and that’s normal. The looseness of the batter/dough is exactly what helps the cookies spread into that delicate lace texture.
- Use multiple baking sheets so you can rotate batches in and out of the oven. This keeps the process moving and prevents you from scooping batter onto a hot pan (which can make the cookies spread too fast).
- Prep Time: 15
- Bake Time: 5
- Cook Time: 4
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
