New York is freezing this week, and according to my weather app, the entire northern hemisphere is one chilly blue blob. If there were ever a time for a baking project, it’s now. And we have just the thing…
Melina Hammer’s oat lace cookies.
I’ve always loved oatmeal lace cookies but assumed they were too tricky to make myself. Anything that delicate and caramel-y had to be complicated, right? Wrong.
“They’re super easy!” swears Melina Hammer, cookbook author and writer of the newsletter Stories from Catbird Cottage. “Whatever your schedule, there’s room in it to make this cookie.” I can personally confirm the recipe’s doability, having made a batch this past Monday — aka, 72 hours into a long weekend, along with my six-year-old who’d been cooped up with two boring, working parents all day. A more involved recipe could’ve ended in tears and flour all over my keyboard, but these were so quick and delicious that I almost made a second batch right then and there.
Melina’s recipe calls for a few grinds of cracked pepper — to add a little complexity and zing to the straightforward sweetness — but she notes that there are many ways to riff. “You could use your favorite chili powder, or you could try a teaspoon of finely grated orange zest, minced candied ginger, or toasted sesame seeds.” I’m looking forward to playing around with these additions, but for now, I’m enamored with the original recipe. Here it is:
Oat Lace Cookies
by Melina Hammer
Makes 24
3 tbsp salted butter
1/2 cup rolled oats
2 tbsp plus 1 1/2 tsp slivered almonds
1/4 tsp freshly cracked black pepper
1 small egg
1/4 cup cane sugar
1/2 tsp honey
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
pinch kosher salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tbsp all-purpose flour
Preheat the oven to 350F. Add the butter, oats, and almonds to a small saucepan set over medium-low heat. Melt the butter, agitating the pan to incorporate it into the mixture. Add the freshly ground pepper and stir all together.
As the butter melts, whisk the egg and sugar in a medium bowl until pale. Add the honey and vanilla, and whisk to incorporate. Add the butter-oat mixture to the beaten sugar and egg, then the kosher salt, baking powder, and flour. Stir together until uniform.
Place teaspoon-sized portions onto parchment-lined sheet pans, keeping 2 inches between each mound to account for spreading as they bake. You can get up to 12 cookies on a sheet at one time. Bake for 8 minutes or until pale golden at the center and caramelized golden around the edge.
Pro tip from Melina: “As the batter spreads while baking, cookie shapes can go a little wonky. I like to pull them out around the 6-minute mark — when they’ve spread, but not fully caramelized — and nudge them back into round shapes, using a silicone spatula (be mindful not to touch the hot pan). Return them to the oven to bake for the last couple minutes to get them caramelized, and voilà, you have gorgeous cookies!”
Allow them to cool on the sheet pan for 5-7 minutes, until they free easily with a spatula. Store cookies in a parchment-lined sealed container on the counter, up to 5 days.
Melina Hammer is a chef, food stylist, recipe developer, and the award-winning author of A Year at Catbird Cottage. Her recipes have appeared on Bon Appétit, Food52, Cooking Light, and Edible. You can follow her newsletter, Stories from Catbird Cottage, if you’d like.
Thank you so much, Melina! Anyone else in a baking mood this week? What are we making?
P.S. Three-ingredient butter cookies, monster cookies, and morning cookies for the backpack. Plus, Toby’s cookies that blew us all away.
(Photos courtesy of Melina Hammer.)
