Oy. This bitter cold is driving me batty. I always feel like a day spent entirely indoors is not a day well spent, but with little kids and temperatures below zero, trudging outside is just no fun for anyone. So, we are keeping busy indoors as best as we can, which is another way of saying we’re baking a lot.

Yesterday the kids and I made a double batch of Almond Oat Lace Cookies from BonAppetit.com.  It was a simple enough recipe to put together, and the resulting cookies are thin and crispy and buttery. Their delicate deliciousness was worth the mess that happened when the flour container tipped off the counter…

This recipe really is fail-proof, but I can’t stress enough the importance of using parchment paper on the baking sheets. I don’t even want to imagine the the horrible, nightmarish, awful sort of mess if baked directly on an unlined baking sheet! If you don’t have parchment paper, tuck this recipe away for a time when you do.

Almond-Oat Lace Cookies (from Bon Appetit)

1/2 cup whole natural unsalted almonds with skins

2 tablespoons old-fashioned oats

6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter

6 tablespoons superfine sugar

2 tablespoons (packed) light brown sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons honey

1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, melted (I do not use chocolate because these cookies are perfectly sweet on their own)

Arrange racks in lower and upper thirds of oven; preheat to 350°. Line 2 rimless baking sheets with parchment paper. Pulse almonds and oats in a food processor until coarase meal forms. Set aside.

Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add both sugars and honey; whisk until blended and sugar dissolves, 1–2 minutes. Remove from heat. Add nut mixture, flour, and salt; stir until well blended.

Spoon batter by 2-teaspoon portions onto baking sheets, spacing 2 1/2″ apart. Using your fingertips, pat cookies down to 1/4″-high rounds; push in any jagged edges to form smooth circles. Bake, rotating sheets after 6 minutes, until dark golden brown and cookies spread out into a thin layer, 10-–12 minutes. Slide cookies on parchment onto a wire rack and let cool.

Using a pastry brush, brush half of each cookie with melted chocolate. Let stand until the chocolate is set, about 2 hours. DO AHEAD: Can be made 2 days ahead. Store airtight in between sheets of parchment or waxed paper.