Oatmeal Lace Cookies are light, crispy, and extremely moreish. And, you can bake them in just 15 minutes from start to finish!
Reader Review:
This is my third year coming back for this recipe. It’s my go-to cookie now, that the entire family loves! Delightfully thin and crispy with a delicious taste (and I’ve forgotten the AP flour before with good results!). I make batches (and 1 batch makes a lot!) to give away at Christmas and now people look forward to getting them! Thanks for sharing this recipe!
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ - Danielle
The first time I tried Swedish oatmeal lace cookies, I instantly knew I had to reverse-engineer the recipe and make a homemade version! After lots of delicious testing, I came up with this version that will knock any store-bought cookie out of the park. This recipe is so quick and easy to make, and it bakes the most delightfully crispy oatmeal cookies. I have to warn you, it is almost impossible to only eat one!
My oatmeal lace cookie recipe is totally foolproof and will give you the most perfect delicate cookie to serve up to last-minute guests or to enjoy all by yourself with a coffee!
Jump to:
- Why You'll Love This Oatmeal Lace Cookies Recipe
- What Are Oatmeal Lace Cookies?
- Ingredients for Oatmeal Lace Cookies
- How to Make Oatmeal Lace Cookies
- Video of Oatmeal Lace Cookies Recipe
- Troubleshooting
- Lace Oatmeal Cookies Variations
- How to Store Oatmeal Lace Cookies
- Crispy Oatmeal Lace Cookies FAQs
- More Easy Cookie Recipes
- Recipe
Why You'll Love This Oatmeal Lace Cookies Recipe
- It only takes 15 minutes, including baking time.
- Homemade cookies that outshine the store-bought version every time.
- Perfect snack to go with tea and coffee.
What Are Oatmeal Lace Cookies?
Oatmeal lace cookies - also known as Havreflarn in Sweden- are super thin, crispy oatmeal cookies that spread out as they bake into delicate, lacy rounds with golden caramelised edges and the perfect crunch. So you can see little holes of light shining through the cookie.
The pattern reminds me of brandy snaps, but the flavor is more like sweet oatcakes. They were made popular by IKEA who often sell them in their stores, dipped in chocolate.
Ingredients for Oatmeal Lace Cookies
- Sugar - Regular granulated white sugar is great for these cookies. You could use brown sugar instead if you want more of a caramel taste to your cookies, or a mixture of the two.
- Egg - You'll need a large egg for this recipe, and always use free-range if you can.
- Vanilla - Vanilla extract rounds out the flavor of these oatmeal cookies. Try to use a good-quality brand of vanilla as you will really taste it with such few ingredients.
- Butter - Use unsalted butter, or use salted butter and leave out the extra salt. No need for it to be room temperature as it will be melted.
- Oats - I used quick oats, but you could also use rolled oats for chunkier cookies and more visible pieces of oat flakes. Alternatively, you can use instant oats for finer cookies. If you're unsure about the different kinds of oats, basically anything but steel-cut oats will work. You could also ask in your local natural foods store or check out this article about the different kinds of oats.
- Flour - All-purpose flour is best here. The flour just helps with texture and to form a usable dough, but if you wanted to you could leave it out to make these gluten-free, or you can replace with oat flour.
See recipe card for quantities.
How to Make Oatmeal Lace Cookies
These are seriously the easiest cookies to make - this process is so fast, you won't even feel like you were baking! There is no need for any mixers or fancy equipment, just a bowl, a whisk, and a spoon.
Whisk the Eggs
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and preheat the oven to 320°F / 160°C.
Combine sugar, egg, and vanilla in a large bowl and whisk together until pale and foamy. This should happen pretty fast, you'll see the color change as you are whisking, it should take about 20 seconds of vigorous whisking.
Butter and Dry Ingredients
Melt the butter in a small bowl in the microwave, then pour the melted butter into the egg/sugar mixture and whisk it a little bit more, just until combined.
Add the remaining dry ingredients to the mixture; this includes the oats, flour, baking powder, and salt.
Stir with a wooden spoon until combined.
Prepare Cookies
Scoop a heaped teaspoon of oat mixture onto your cookie sheet to make small balls of dough. It doesn't have to be neat or perfectly shaped as the cookie batter will spread out into nice circles as it bakes.
Make sure your spoonfuls of the batter have enough space between them as the cookie dough will spread in the oven. You may need to do multiple batches.
Bake
Place in the oven for a bake time of 12 minutes, or until the edges of the cookies turn golden brown. When you take them out of the oven, the middle of the cookies may still look a little pale and underbaked, but will continue to bake on the baking sheet as they cool.
Cool
Let the cookies cool and firm up on the cookie sheet for about 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Video of Oatmeal Lace Cookies Recipe
See my full video tutorial on how to make these oatmeal cookies:
Troubleshooting
- Why didn’t my cookies spread? - If your lace cookies don't spread, it's usually because there was too much flour added, the batter got too cool, or the oats are extra thick. For accuracy, try to measure your ingredients with a kitchen scale to avoid adding too much flour. If the batter is too thick, you can try flattening it out a little on the cookie sheet before baking.
- Why did my cookies spread out too much? - This can happen if there is too much butter in the cookie batter. Make sure you measure it accurately, preferably with a kitchen scale.
- Why are my cookies chewy instead of crisp? - If you end up with chewy oatmeal lace cookies, they were likely underbaked or weren't left on the tray to cool. The crisp texture develops as they cool - if they’re underbaked, they’ll stay soft.
Lace Oatmeal Cookies Variations
These crunchy oatmeal cookies are perfect as they are, but there's always room for some extra finishing touches!
- Spiced Oatmeal Cookies - Try adding some spices to your cookie batter, like ground cinnamon or ginger to bring some warmth. These make for the perfect Christmas cookies!
- Chocolate Oatmeal Lace Cookies - These oatmeal cookies pair really beautifully with chocolate. Drizzle some chocolate on top or dip half of the cookie into some melted chocolate to make a chocolate-dipped cookie. I recommend dark chocolate to offset the sweetness a little, but any kind of chocolate you like will work.
- Gluten-free Cookies - This recipe is almost gluten-free naturally, except for the flour. To make the cookies gluten-free, substitute the flour for oat flour, or just leave it out entirely. Leaving out the flour will not affect the flavor, it will just make the dough a little harder to handle when you are trying to scoop it out onto the cookie sheet.
- Sandwiched Cookies (IKEA style) - As I mentioned above, I found out in my research that IKEA sells something similar to these oatmeal cookies, but their's are sandwiched together with chocolate. To recreate this, just dip one of your cookies in chocolate, covering the top and sides of the cookie, then flip it and lay it down so the chocolate side is on top. Place another cookie on top of the chocolate and let them set.
- Iced Oatmeal Cookies - Dip or drizzle your oatmeal lace cookies in vanilla glaze for a touch of sweetness.
How to Store Oatmeal Lace Cookies
Your crispy oatmeal cookies should be stored in an airtight container or a cookie jar, and will stay good for a week. Do not keep them in the fridge as the humidity will make them go soft.
Lacy oatmeal cookies also make for a perfect edible gift - you can package them up in a cellophane gift bag and seal with a ribbon.
Crispy Oatmeal Lace Cookies FAQs
If you have a question about this recipe that isn't answered here, feel free to write it in the comment section and I will get back to you as soon as I can.
Yes! Oatmeal lace cookies make for perfect gifts. They are the perfect Christmas cookie too. Put them in a cellophane bag tied with a ribbon to make the ideal edible gift.
I used quick oats, but you could also use rolled oats for chunkier cookies and more visible pieces of oat flakes. Or you can use instant oats for finer cookies. If you're unsure about the different kinds of oats, basically anything but steel-cut oats will work. You could also ask in your local natural foods store or check out this article about the different kinds of oats.
Yes you can, I regularly use salted butter in my bakes. Just omit the extra salt you would have put in the recipe.
More Easy Cookie Recipes
If you loved how quick and easy these Oatmeal Lace Cookies are, you might enjoy baking these easy cookie recipes:
Recipe
Oatmeal Lace Cookies Recipe
Equipment
- Hand Whisk
Ingredients
- ¾ cup Granulated Sugar 150g
- 1 Large Egg
- ½ teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 1 stick Unsalted Butter 113g
- 2 cups Oats 200g
- 2 tablespoon All-purpose Flour
- 1 teaspoon Baking Powder
- 1 teaspoon Salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 320°F / 160°C and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Add the sugar, egg and vanilla to a bowl and whisk until pale and frothy (about 20 seconds of whisking by hand). There's really no need for a stand mixer or electric mixer for this recipe, as it comes together so easily.¾ cup Granulated Sugar, 1 Large Egg, ½ teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- Melt the butter in the microwave in 30-second increments, then add it to the sugar/egg mixture and whisk just until combined.1 stick Unsalted Butter
- Pour in the oats, flour, baking powder and salt and stir everything together. I recommend switching to a spoon for this so the mixture doesn't get stuck in your whisk.2 cups Oats, 2 tablespoon All-purpose Flour, 1 teaspoon Baking Powder, 1 teaspoon Salt
- Scoop a heaped teaspoon of cookie dough onto your baking sheet. It will look more like a blob than a perfect ball, but that's okay as it will spread out into a circle in the oven.
- Bake for 12 minutes. You'll know the cookies are ready as they will have spread out into a thin, lacy cookie and the edges will be golden brown. The middle will still look a little underdone, but they will continue to bake a little as they cool.
- Let the cookies sit on the cookie sheet for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
VIDEO
Notes
It really helps and I love hearing all your feedback!
Maria
These are fantastic! I also love that I have the ingredients on hand pretty much all the time. Will definitely make again!
Jules Grasekamp
Yay I'm so glad you loved them Maria!
They are a staple in our house too!
Jules
Jane Buttram
Followed your recipe to a “T” except I set my oven temperature to 325 instead of 320. I had no luck getting your shortbread cookies cooked till I raised the temperature of that recipe as well.
Both cookies are delicious and the Swedish Oatmeal Lace came out perfectly. I love how easy it is & this will go in my favorites file.
Jules Grasekamp
Hi Jane,
So glad to hear you love the cookies! If you are finding that happening a lot it might be worth getting an oven thermometer to calibrate your oven. The temperature in ovens can sometimes be totally different than what it is set to which can cause problems in baking!
Thank you for trying my recipes and thank you for letting me know!
Jules