These gluten-free oatmeal lace cookies are light, crisp, and simple to make. Their buttery cinnamon flavor makes them perfect for snacking. Whether you need these cookies for a holiday cookie platter or a quick snack, this easy recipe will surely be a hit. You won’t even notice they’re gluten-free!
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❤️ Sandi’s Recipe Summary
The Quick Bite: These gluten-free oatmeal lace cookies are thin, crisp cookies with a buttery brown sugar flavor. They are easy to make with simple ingredients. It is very important to use gluten free oats that are grown under the purity protocol.
This cookie recipe was created for my reader, Sally, who requested a crispy gluten free cookie recipe. It is tricky to bake gluten free cookies that turn out crispy because of all of the starch in gluten free flour blends. After chatting with Sally and learning she was okay with gluten free oats, this recipe took shape.
I am in love with the crisp, sweet flavor of these oatmeal lace cookies. This is an easy, beginner-level cookie recipe that is sure to please any oatmeal cookie fan. Oatmeal lace cookies are special because of their unique texture and delicate appearance. Classic lace cookies do not include ground cinnamon, but I add it to my cookie recipe because it pairs so well with the buttery flavor.
You can dress up this cookie with a chocolate drizzle or enjoy the cookies plain. They are delicious either way!! If you love baking cookies, be sure to check out all of my delicious gluten-free cookie recipes. If you love a more traditional cookie, these Gluten-Free Oatmeal Raisin Cookies get rave reviews.
Recipe Ingredient Notes:
For the full list of ingredients and amounts, please go to the recipe card below.
- Gluten-Free Quick Oats – As I mentioned below, it’s important to use gluten-free oats grown under the purity protocol. I used Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free Quick Oats in this recipe.
- Gluten-Free Flour Blend – You can use any gluten free flour blend in this recipe. I tested King Arthur Measure for Measure and Namaste Organic Gluten-Free Flour Blend. Both performed well. There isn’t enough flour in this recipe to make a huge difference in flour blends.
- Binder – If your flour blend doesn’t contain a binder, add 1/2 teaspoon of xanthan gum to the dry ingredients. This helps to hold your cookies together. Read Why Binders Matter in Gluten Free Baking to learn more.
- Egg – I tested this recipe with large eggs.
- Butter – I recommend using unsalted butter so you can better control the salt level. You can make these cookies dairy-free by using Earth Balance or another plant-based butter.
It is important to use gluten-free oats in this recipe because oats are commonly cross-contaminated with wheat during growing and processing. This means regular oats are not safe if you have Celiac or are gluten-intolerant. Please note that gluten-free oats are not available in all countries, including Australia.
A Note From My Kitchen
If you love crispy cookies, this recipe is for you. I tested this recipe several times to make sure these cookies turn out thin, lacy, and perfectly crisp. The flour blend doesn’t seem to matter in this cookie recipe. I tested two, and there was no difference. Just adjust your cookie dough depending on the moisture. Add in more flour and oats if the dough is too wet, and add more butter if it is too dry. Adjustments should be made one tablespoon at a time.
Please read my notes about oats above. It is very important to use oats grown under the purity protocol if you are Celiac. It is important to stay safe to avoid getting glutened.
How to Make Gluten-Free Oatmeal Lace Cookies (Step-By-Step)
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Step 1: Preheat the oven to 350º F. Heat the butter in a microwave-safe dish for 30 seconds, until partially melted. Add the egg and vanilla extract. Whisk for 20 seconds.
Step 2: Add the flour, oats, sugar, baking powder, ground cinnamon, and salt to a large mixing bowl. Whisk to blend.
Step 3: Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Mix well.
👀 Sandi Says: Do not chill the cookie dough. Lace cookies get their pattern from the butter melting and the sugar caramelizing rapidly in the oven. Chilling the dough slows this process and prevents the spreading that creates the lacy texture. Room temperature dough spreads quickly, which is exactly what you want.
Step 4: Let the batter sit for 5 minutes so the oats can absorb the liquid.
Step 5: Place a piece of parchment paper on a cookie sheet. Use a cookie scoop to drop cookie dough balls onto the parchment paper. Do not put the cookie balls close together. Space them out about 2 inches apart in all directions so they do not overlap.
Step 6: Bake the cookies for 12-13 minutes until they are spread and golden on the edges. Remove them from the oven. Let them sit on the pan for 5 minutes, then slide the parchment paper off the pan to a cooling rack.
TIP: If your cookies came out thicker than expected, rather than thin and lacy, the dough was likely too cold or too dry. Next time, make sure your butter is warm, and do not add extra flour unless the dough is genuinely too wet to scoop.
These cookies will be soft out of the oven, and as the cookies cool, the caramelized sugar hardens, and the structure sets. In the oven, the sugar is still liquid, and the cookie is still soft. This is why they look and feel underdone when they come out, and why handling them too soon breaks them. Try not to handle the cookies until they are fully cooled.
Store the cookies the right way
Storing these cookies should be done after they are fully cooled. Because of their thinness, these cookies are more delicate than regular-sized cookies. Store flat in an airtight container. These cookies will keep fresh for up to 4 days. They will lose some crispness when stored. If you won’t eat them soon, it is best to freeze the cookies in a freezer-safe container. These cookies freeze very well. I lay them flat in a freezer-safe zipper bag and place them in the freezer.
More Gluten-Free Cookie Recipes:
If you enjoyed this recipe, here are some more incredible gluten-free cookie recipes:
- Gluten-Free Oatmeal Butterscotch Cookies – Infused with brown butter for incredible butterscotch flavor.
- Gluten-Free Butter Pecan Cookies – Buttery goodness and crisp pecans.
- Easy Gluten-Free Cake Mix Cookies – Easy to make with a box of cake mix.
- Gluten-Free Crumbl Copycat Snickerdoodles – Mr. Fearless Dining’s favorite.
- Gluten-Free Animal and Circus Cookies – A classic kid favorite!
Love This Recipe?
If you made and enjoyed this recipe, I would be incredibly grateful if you could leave a comment below. Please include which flour blend you used. This will help others know this recipe is delicious. Thank you!
Crispy Gluten-Free Oatmeal Lace Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup gluten free quick oats * see note
- ¼ cup gluten free flour blend * see note
- 1 cup cane sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder aluminum-free
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup unsalted butter
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
Method
- Preheat the oven to 350º F. Heat the 1/2 cup unsalted butter in a microwave-safe dish for 30 seconds until it is partially melted. Add the 1 large egg and 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract. Whisk for 20 seconds.
- Add the 1 cup gluten free quick oats, 1/4 cup gluten free flour blend, 1 cup cane sugar, 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon, and 1/4 teaspoon salt to a large mixing bowl. Whisk to blend.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Mix well. In this recipe, we want the cookies to spread, so I do not recommend chilling the dough. Let the batter sit for 5 minutes.
- Place a piece of parchment paper on a cookie sheet. Use a cookie scoop to drop cookie dough balls onto the parchment paper. Do not put the cookie balls close together. Space them out around 2 inches apart in all directions so they do not spread into each other.
- Bake the cookies for 12-13 minutes until they are spread and golden on the edges. (Note, the actual cooking time can vary depending on the size of cookies you make.) Remove them from the oven. Let them sit on the pan for 5 minutes, then slide the parchment paper off the pan to a cooling rack.
- The cookies will be soft until they cool and firm up. Try not to handle the cookies until they are fully cooled.
Nutrition
Notes
- I used King Arthur Measure for Measure and Namaste to test this recipe. You can use any gluten free flour blend in this recipe. Note: Using gluten-free oats grown under the purity protocol is critical. I used Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free Quick Oats in this recipe.
- I highly recommend using aluminum-free baking powder. This will eliminate any metallic aftertaste.
- Storage: Because of the thinness of these cookies, they are more delicate than regular-sized cookies. Store flat in an airtight container.
- These cookies freeze very well. I lay them flat in a freezer-safe zipper bag and place them flat into the freezer.
Private Notes
Tried this recipe?
Let us know how it was!
I truly hope you enjoy this recipe. I have been testing and creating gluten-free recipes for over 15 years. Creating gluten-free recipes that do not taste gluten-free is my goal for every recipe. Sometimes I only have to test a new recipe a couple of times, and others it takes multiple times. I do this so you get reliable, delicious results every time!
I am having a cookie baking party over the weekend. I want to male these and your ginger doodles. I was thinking about doing my batters on Friday for Saturday baking. Will that work for these cookies? Also, aprx how many cookies does this recipe make?
That should be fine to make the dough the day before. The size really depends on how large you make the cookies.
This was such an easy cookie recipe! My family absolutely loved it, cookies were all gone in one night! Note: I did have to add an extra egg. And we love cinnamon so I measured that w/ the heart! Will be making this for my Christmas cookie platter!
This cookie recipe is one of our favorites as well. I am so glad you loved them!
Hi Jaclyn, about how many cookies does this yield?
You should get 24 if you don’t supersize them.
Excellent taste, reminds of the ones my mother made. Quick and easy recipe. Very nice and lacey.
I am so glad these cookies brought back such lovely memories. Thank you so much for coming back to leave a review, Donna.
I just want to say I am so excited to find your site! the recipes look wonderful!
Thank you so much, Ardis. I look forward to hearing which recipe you make first.