Next Post
The Sweet and Spicy Cheermeister Cocktail.
This post may contain affiliate links, please see our privacy policy for details.
These delicious yet so easy Hot Chocolate Lace Cookies are the perfect holiday cookie. Made with double the vanilla and sweet brown sugar. These cookies are crisp, buttery, and perfectly sweet with hints of caramel throughout. They’re generously sandwiched with a sweet and creamy hot chocolate ganache that truly makes these cookies roll your eyes back delicious. The secret is in the combination of vanilla and brown sugar, which keep these cookies incredibly flavorful, crisp, and so delicious. Fun and easy to bake, delicious to eat, a great homemade gift, and a festive addition to your holiday cookie box!
Such an easy holiday cookie for you guys today! Sometimes I love a more involved cookie. But come December, I also like to have a few recipes on hand that really take no time at all.
Enter these lace cookies. I’ve literally been dreaming these up since last December. I had every intention of sharing them before the end of the holiday season, but as always December flew by. I never got the chance to share these delicious “hot chocolate” stuffed lace cookies so I decided to save them.
The idea and the inspiration.
Funny enough the idea for these cookies all came from a cookie I shared in 2012, Nutella Oatmeal Lace Cookies. If you love a good trip down memory lane…or just a laugh. Read through this blog post. It’s so crazy to see how much I’ve really grown up over the years!
I remembered those lace cookies as being delicious, especially with that Nutella filling. I wondered if I could create a similar cookie but without the oatmeal and with the addition of a creamy hot cocoa center.
The Details.
I tested them out…several times, and while these cookies took a while to perfect, I finally got them right. Honestly, they’re even more delicious than I had envisioned.
For any of you who might not be familiar, lace cookies are very thin cookies usually made from either nuts or oatmeal. They’re meant to be VERY thin and crisp and are often sandwiched with fillings like chocolate or buttercream.
It’s a classic Christmas cookie and one that’s so easy to make.
First, melt the butter on the stove, then stir in the brown sugar. Cook a minute, then add the vanilla. Stir in a bit of almond flour and a pinch of salt. Let this mix cool, then add an egg white.
And that’s your dough! It’s going to seem runny at first, but let the dough sit for ten minutes and it will stiffen slightly as it cools.
Now, these cookies are not like other cookies. For one, the dough is on the greasy side, so just be aware that a little butter around the sides of the dough is OK.
And second, we are making these dough balls small. One teaspoon dollops of dough to be exact. The cookies will spread a lot in the oven, thus the need for smaller size dough balls.
And lastly, stuff them with hot chocolate!
Well, kind of. Once the cookies cool completely, sandwich them with a thicker, creamier version of hot chocolate. It’s not quite hot chocolate, but all the same flavors.
And it makes for a truly delicious lace cookie filling!! Or keep it simple and spread each cookie with sweet milk chocolate. You can’t go wrong either way!
And trust me, these cookies are GOOD. Crisp and sweet on the outside, but the filling is soft and creamy. There are hints of browned butter and caramel, as well as sweet vanilla and even a touch of espresso.
All together they’re just delicious! Like grab a third…or fourth cookie (my mom says she did) kind of good.
As mentioned, these are the perfect easy Christmas cookie to bake up. You can enjoy them yourself or gift some to friends and family. No matter who you’re gifting them to, they will be loved.
These aren’t your average cookie, but such a nice switch up!
So with that, let’s bake cookies on a December Friday night and enjoy them while watching your favorite holiday movie. Then take the leftovers and share them with friends. You’ll make everyone’s day.
‘Tis the season for giving after all! And let’s be real, there isn’t much else to do these days anyway! Embrace it!
Looking for other holiday cookie recipes? Here are my favorites:
Slice n’ Bake Chocolate Covered Peanut Butter Cookies
Chai Spiced Santa Cookies with White Chocolate Frosting
Lastly, if you make these Easy Hot Chocolate Lace Cookies, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Hot Chocolate Lace Cookies
Servings: 16 cookies
Calories Per Serving: 317 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 1 stick (8 tablespoons) salted butter
- 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 large egg white
- 3/4 cup almond flour
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 12 ounces melted milk chocolate (optional)
Hot Chocolate Filling
- 8 ounces semi-sweet or milk chocolate chips
- 1/3 cup heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon espresso powder (optional)
Instructions
- 1. Melt the butter in a medium saucepan. Once melted, whisk in the brown sugar. Bring to a boil over high heat and cook 1 minute. Remove from the heat and transfer to a bowl. Whisk in the vanilla. Add the almond flour and salt mixing until combined. Let cool 5 minutes, then stir in the egg white. Let the dough sit 10 minutes to thicken. 2. Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.3. If you can roll the dough into balls, add 1 tablespoons water to thin. The dough should be thiner and look like my photo above. 4. Drop 1 teaspoons size amounts of dough on prepared baking sheet, placing each 3 inches apart. Bake for 7-9 minutes until golden brown around the edges. The butter will be bubbling up around the cookies, this is OK. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cook completely. 5. To make the filling. Combine chocolate and cream microwave-safe bowl and microwave, stirring every 45 seconds, until melted. Stir in the vanilla and coffee powder. Let cool 10 minutes, until slightly thickened and spreadable. 6. Sandwich each cookie with the chocolate filling or melted milk chocolate. Store cookies in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
Notes
Nut Free Cookie: try my Oatmeal Lace Cookies.
All-Purpose Flour: I did not have success when I tested all-purpose flour, so I would recommend sticking to a nut flour or using the Oatmeal Lace Cookies.
This post was originally published on December 4, 2020
Made these today and they are almost all gone! So easy and so good!
Thank you so much Ines! xTieghan
Fabulous!
Thank you Cindi! xTieghan
So excited to try this this weekend! Instead of heavy cream, can I sub for coconut milk?
Hey Audrey,
I would use coconut cream:) I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions. Happy Holidays! xTieghan
I found the cookies to be easy to make. I read some of the comments and did see some of the same sticky issues. I found that you need to make sure the cookies are teaspoon size (small) and fully cooked (brown edges). Then they do need time to cool before they will release from the paper. I found using parchment and “peeling” the cookies off the parchment worked well for me. I did half the chocolate amount, which was still a little more than what I needed. I used Lily’s, which doesn’t melt well but I found it’s texture to be easy to spread on the cookies immediately. It doesn’t taste off but the texture is more like heavily damp fine sand. All in all, it’s an easy, fast cookie that tasted great!
Hi Kim! I am really glad these turned out so well for you! Thank you so much for trying this one! xTieghan
These were AMAZING! I’m always excited to see a tasty gluten free cookie, thank you! My first batch came out just like yours (lace like) and my second batch came out more like a solid cookie and slightly thicker – any idea what I may have done to make them less lace like?!
Hey Abby,
Thanks so much for giving the recipe a try, I am so glad you enjoyed the first batch! Did you do anything differently in your second batch? xTieghan
Unfortunately this recipe didn’t work for me. The cookies didn’t spread as much as they should have and didn’t achieve the lace look. Looking at other lace cookie recipes I think the sugar amount here may be too low. Since the cookies didn’t spread like they should have I had a lot of filling leftover. I love your recipes but this is a miss for me.
Hi Monika! I am really sorry about that! Is there anything that changed while making this? I will look into it on my end as well! xTieghan
I had the same problem as everyone above. They didn’t spread and eventually burned around the edge and never crisped up. Just gooey blobs. Followed the recipe exactly. Not sure why these aren’t working for so many of us! Altitude? I’m in Portland.
Hey Ellen,
So sorry you had issues with the recipe. Next time try adding 1 tablespoon of cream to the batter to help it spread. I hope this helps! xTieghan
Tried making this twice, even opened up a fresh new bag of almond flour for the 2nd try. Both times they didn’t spread, not sure what I’m doing wrong. They still tasted great, just don’t look nearly as pretty. Any tips?
Hey Nancy,
So sorry you are having issues with the recipe. Have you adjusted anything? If you batter is thick try adding 1 tablespoon of cream to help thin it out. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions. Happy Holidays! xTieghan
These are so, so good and so easy. Made exactly as you described. Delicious. Your recipes never let me down!
Thank you so much Michelle! xTieghan
My 1 tsp cookies came out very small? Did you mean to say 1 TBSP? Maybe I did not heat the butter and brown sugar properly? Help!
Kim
Hey Kim,
Yes, 1 teaspoon is correct. If your batter was too thick I would recommend adding 1 tablespoon of cream. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions. Happy Holidays! xTieghan
Hi Tieghan! I inadvertently bought almond meal at Trader Joes, thinking it was almond flour-can I use it in this recipe? It looks fairly fine and I can see that skin on almonds were used in the processing! I don’t want to compromise the end result! Let me know your thoughts- I’m eager to dig into this awesome recipe;) tx-Ellen
ps- I could grind it further in my processor, but I’m afraid it may turn into butter with a few pulses
Hey Ellen,
So sorry I would not recommend almond meal, you really need to use almond flour here. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions. Happy Holidays! xTieghan
My lace cookies did not look like yours and I followed the recipe. Any tips?
Hey Jesse,
So sorry you had issues with the cookies, I need a little more information to help you. What did they look like? Was the flavor okay? How was the texture? Let me know how I can help! xTieghan
So excited to make this recipe! A great end to a stressful college finals! Can I substitute regular milk for the heavy whipping cream in the ganache?
Thanks!
Hey Gabriella,
Yes, that will be fine to do:) I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions. Happy Holidays! xTieghan
What type of almond flour do you use
For the lace cookies?
Thanks
Hey there,
I get my almond flour from Whole Foods or Thrive Market! I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions. Happy Holidays! xTieghan
Tieghan, What are your thoughts regarding using Rice Flour? Thank you! France
Hey France,
The almond flour is key in this recipe. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! Happy Holidays! xTieghan