I had a baking urge, so I flipped (virtually) through my recipes tonight to see if there was a recipe I hadn’t tried yet that I had all the ingredients for, and saw these lace cookies. They’re notoriously difficult to bake exactly right so I was interested in the challenge. I love the look of these and can see them stacked up against each other on a platter at a nice party.

I don’t know where I originally got this exact recipe so I’ll post it at the end of this post.

Observations:

It took a bit longer than the recipe stated to get it cooked, but I’ve mentioned before my oven is finicky. The second batch was much more evenly cooked because I rotated them more often, so I recommend that. Keep a close eye on them.

I thought the ones that were light with golden brown edges would be the best, (I love underbaked cookies) but I actually really liked the ones that were pretty much all golden brown. The former are more chewy and the latter are crispy.

These are very very sweet, so I like the dark chocolate drizzle to temper the sweetness. I look forward to trying other versions with chunks of nuts, even dried fruit.

I tried dipping them face down but it didn’t really work (wasn’t pretty); I think I didn’t melt the chocolate enough and I was impatient. I put the chocolate in a piping back to get this nice delicate drizzle.

To get the chocolate to set faster, so you can store them, stick them in the fridge or freezer for a couple minutes.

You want the parchment paper to be completely flat on the pan so the cookies can spread without hinderance. I have no idea how to get them circular like all the bloggers, but this will prevent them from having straight lines of un-laced cookie at least.

I measured my ingredients instead of weighing them purely out of laziness.

Things I Might Change:

I think adding a little vanilla would be nice. I’d add it probably right before taking the dough off the heat.

Swapping out for brown sugar might give it some nice caramelization.

Like I said, I would like to try more complicated versions of these cookies, now that I know how to make the basic version. They are delightful when they’re crispy.

Rating:

4.5/5

I like them, but I think they’re slightly too sweet. Plus, I don’t know if it’s my oven, but these probably took closer to 10-12 minutes to cook.

Blanching Almonds:

This recipe calls for blanched almonds. If you have regular almonds, it’s super easy to blanch them! Here’s how:

1. Bring a small pot of water to a boil
2. Toss the almonds in and let them boil for a minute.
3. Drain them and run cool water over them to stop them from cooking.
4. Pinch each almond to remove the skin. (Cup your hands over them because they can come flying out of the skins fast!)
5. Dry on a towel.

Recipe:

Lace Cookies

⅔ cup (85g) blanched almonds
¼ cup unsalted butter
½ cup (100g) sugar
4 tsp (10g) all-purpose flour
Pinch of salt
4 tsp (20g) milk

Preheat oven to 350.

Pulse almonds in a food processor until their texture resembles coarse cornmeal. If you process them too much, they’ll start forming into a paste (not desirable).

Slice the butter and melt in a small skillet over low heat. Add the sugar, flour, and salt. Stir just until the ingredients are completely incorporated. Add the almonds and milk, continuing to stir until everything is combined and the mixture thickens a bit, about 5 minutes.

Remove from heat and let cool for 1-2 minutes. Line two large cookie sheets with parchment paper while the batter cools.

Drop a teaspoon of batter onto the baking sheet. Space each cookie at least three inches apart.

Bake 6-8 minutes until golden brown, rotating the sheets top to bottom and front to back halfway through baking. Let them cool on the baking sheet for about 5 minutes, until they firm up enough to be lifted without distorting their shape. Use a thin metal spatula to transfer them to a cooking rack.

The cookies can be stored at room temperature in an airtight container.

Enjoy! Let me know if you try this recipe and your thoughts on it!