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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.
I was really looking forward to trying out this recipe. However, I think some of the measurements may be incorrect. It seems like there was too much flour. I had to add a significant amount of water to get them to spread. After baking, these seemed like normal cookies and didn’t “lace”. Because so much water was needed the batter didn’t have the dark brown, glossy look any longer. I may try again only adding about 1/4 to 1/2 of flour.
Hey Carolyn,
Thanks for giving this recipe a try and sharing your feedback. All of the measurements are correct. What kind of flour did you use? Let me know how I can help! xT
My cookies spread out, but did not give me the “lace” look. Would this have been caused by adding too much water?
Hey Ashlyne,
Thanks so much for giving this recipe a try!! Hmmm, possibly…what did they look like? How much water did you add? Let me know how I can help! xT
hi there – do you think you can substitute coconut cream for heavy cream?
Hi Julia,
That should be okay for you to use! Let me know if you give this recipe a try, I hope you love it! xT
Unfortunately these cookies did not turn out for me. The dough never thinned even when I added several drops of water. Not sure what I did wrong when I followed the instructions fully.
Hey Monique,
Thanks for giving this recipe a try, so sorry for the trouble! Sounds like the batter just needed more water:) Let me know if I can help in any other way! xT
These were so hard for me! I tried and failed twice… ending up with small, puffy cookies. They didn’t spreqd at all! Posting for anyone else having problems. I scoured the web for fixes and omitted the egg white and added milk to make it a more liquidy consistency at the end for my third attempt. I needed more than the tablespoon of milk suggested. They spread after this. The filling was great.
Hi there,
Thanks so much for making these cookies and sharing your feedback, sorry to hear you had such a hard time with them. I think if you added the milk into the batter to thin it out that would have worked best for you! xT
Not sure what I did wrong, but zero of these lace cookies turned out. Even at 9 minutes, they never spread out into a thin lacy cookie. They were a little poofy instead, and the centers were sticky when biting into it.
Hey Andie,
Thanks so much for giving these cookies a try and sharing your feedback, so sorry to hear you had some issues. It sounds like you may have needed to thin your batter a bit! Let me know if that helps at all! xT
These were the perfect addition to the Christmas treats I make each year. SO delicious and decadent and addicting. Only half of them actually made it out of the house. I had to play around with the size of each scoop because my first batch came out quarter-sized. I didn’t have any issues with the parchment sticking. Let it cool completely. Thank you so much for this recipe.
Hey Daniele,
Happy Holidays!! Thanks so much for making this recipe, I love to hear that it turned out well for you!🎁🎅
I couldn’t edit my older review so re-posting. It took me a lot of tries to get this one right but it was worth it. My takeaways are: cook the caramel in step one slowwwwwwly, use a decent quality almond flour, watch your bake time (these will burn in a space of 30 seconds), and let them cook a bit on the parchment paper and they’ll pop right off. They’re worth the time! A new fam fave. Oh, and store with as little air as possible so they stay crisp. I legit put them in a big bag then used a straw to suck the air out and sorta vacuum seal them Haha after all my effort I’m making sure they stay fresh!
Cool on the parchment paper*
Thank you so much for sharing all of your tips Meredith! I bet this will be helpful for others. Also, thanks for continuing to give these a try! Happy Holidays! xT
These were so easy and scrumptious!! Thank you!!
Hey Meg,
Happy Holidays!! Thanks so much for making this recipe, I love to hear that it turned out well for you!🎁🎅
I can’t wait to make these! Does the recipe make 16 “sandwiches” or 16 individual cookies?
Hey Olivia,
This recipe will make 16 sandwiches. I hope you love these cookies, please let me know if you give it a try! xx
Extremely finicky, but man, when you nail them they are FANTASTIC! Such a wonderful caramel flavor. A few tips that worked for me: cook the butter/sugar mixture over medium-high, work quickly when mixing, go ahead and add that tbs of water, use a good chocolate bar instead of chips, and err on the slightly-browner side than the light brown side to ensure crispiness.
Hey Aislinn,
Happy Holidays!! Thanks so much for making this recipe, I love to hear that it turned out well for you! Thanks for sharing what worked well for you!🎁🎅
Wow! The flavor and texture of these cookies are the best. They’ve been dubbed ‘crack’ cookies by my friend who previously pronounced the brown butter oatmeal cookies the best she’d every eaten. Seriously, I only had one (half after baking shared with my husband and half of the last one also shared with hubby) because the recipe doesn’t yield many cookies. That is my only complaint. Even doubled, they were gone in a flash. They are almost candy like but somehow not overly sweet. These could be served in place of a fancy dessert and people would be satisfied and beg for the recipe.
Hey Karen,
Happy Holidays!! Thanks so much for making this recipe, I love to hear that it turned out well for you!🎁🎅
My friend is allergic to nuts, can i substitute the almond flour for regular flour?
Hi Melanie,
So sorry, the almond flour is a must for this recipe. You could give this one a try though:
https://www.halfbakedharvest.com/nutella-oatmeal-lace-cookies/
I hope this helps! Happy Holidays! xx
I was excited to make these, the recipe was easy to follow and I followed exactly as-is. My issue was that the cookies stuck to the parchment, I couldn’t get them off and had to throw them all out as they broke or had paper stuck to them. Tried adding cooking spray and that didn’t work. Any ideas?
Hey Jessica,
Thanks so much for giving these cookies a try! Are you sure you used parchment and not wax paper? You really shouldn’t have sticking issues with parchment! Let me know:) xx
After making this recipe MANY times (like, 5) because I couldn’t get it right, I had this happen and it was because I didn’t let the cookies cook enough. They need to be almost completely cooled and they should pop right off.
Thanks for sharing Meredith!!
They were absolutely delicious!!! Mine did not spread that much either but they were outstanding!! I need to double the batch because my family ate all of them!
Hey Patrice,
Happy Monday!❄️🎄 I appreciate you making this recipe and sharing your review, so glad to hear it was enjoyed! xT
Happy Holidays! I tried to send you a picture but it wouldn’t work. I made a them again. Cooked the butter for a minute, baked 11 minutes but they still do not get lacy and crisp but rather chewy and sticky. They are so good I still served them on Christmas. Any ideas? I do live in South Florida ( but we actually had 40 degree weather when I made them). Thank you!
Hi Patrice,
Thanks for giving these another try! Sorry, we don’t allow photos here. Is the batter thin or thick? Sorry, it’s hard to say, it could be the humidity in Florida! xx