Lofthouse Sugar Cookies

Lofthouse Sugar Cookies that are soft and tender, made with sour cream, and topped with a sweet frosting just like the ones you love at the grocery store!

You may already be loving our Rolled Sugar Cookies topped with Sugar Cookie Frosting but these sugar cookies take it to the next level how soft and tender they are!

 Lofthouse Sugar Cookies

Lofthouse Cookies are those frosted sugar cookies at the grocery store that come in all different holiday sprinkle combinations (popular options are Valentine’s Day, Easter, Christmas, Halloween, and July 4th – depending on the color of sprinkles you choose). These are the classic American grocery store cookie favorites second only probably to Oreo Cookies.

You know these cake-like soft sugar cookies, when you take a bite they completely melt in your mouth? Yes, those lofthouse cookies are my official favorite cookies ever (even more than these Jaques Torres Chocolate Chip Cookies which take 3 days to make).

So what is the secret to a lofthouse style cookie? Cornstarch, sour cream, lots of chilling time and creaming the butter and sugar together until it is SUPER fluffy before just barely adding in the dry ingredients. So do not substitute ingredients in this cookie recipe. Most sugar cookie recipes are pretty standard, this one requires a very specific flavor and texture so the first time you make it be sure to follow the directions well.

Tips for Lofthouse Cookies:

• Be sure you chill this dough for at least two hours since you’re using room temperature butter.
• Cover your cookie dough well in plastic wrap to avoid it drying out.
• Your cookie dough needs structure or it will melt in the oven, so make sure your dough is well chilled.
• Cool baked cookies on a wire rack completely before frosting with buttercream frosting.
• Use a silicone mat or parchment paper on your cookie sheet to protect the bottom of the cookies from browning too much.
• Use the bottom of a glass to flatten your cookies, dip it in powdered sugar to keep the dough from sticking to it instead of using a rolling pin or cookie cutters.
• When adding in your food coloring keep the mixer going and add in one drop at a time 5 seconds apart until you get to the color you like.
• Sour cream is not an ingredient you can skip in this recipe, do not use light or non-fat versions.
• If you choose to skip using a stand mixer use a hand mixer and be sure you cream the butter and sugar together very well on medium-high speed.

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HOW TO STORE YOUR COOKIES:

Store your cookies in a tightly closed container for up to one week. If you find your cookies are going stale faster than that, try including a slice of bread in the container with them to absorb any excess moisture that is making it’s way into the container.

Can you freeze Lofthouse Cookies? Yes, you absolutely can, just freeze them with parchment paper between layers, in an airtight container to prevent freezer burn.

Copycat Lofthouse Frosting:

The closest frosting copycat will have you use heavy cream instead of the water I call for. If you are serving the cookies immediately after baking I recommend using heavy cream in place of water, but if you are frosting these then leaving them out at room temperature use water to make these cookies shelf stable.

More Christmas Cookies:

• Linzer Cookies
• Turtle Cookies
• Peanut Butter Blossoms
• Hershey’s Kiss Cookies
• Red Velvet Kiss Cookies

HOW TO MEASURE FLOUR CORRECTLY:

When measuring flour for making this sugar cookie recipe do not put your measuring cup directly into your flour container. This is not an accurate way to measure flour as the scooping packs in more flour than you need and if you add too much flour to this recipe the cookies will be much tougher than you are used to. This is important to note.

To measure flour correctly, use a clean spoon to spoon flour into your measuring cup, then level it off.

Do not use any utensils in measuring ingredients before using them with your flour, this can cause cross contamination in your flour container according to FoodSafety.gov.

5 from 6 votes

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Lofthouse Sugar Cookies

Lofthouse Sugar Cookies that are soft and tender, made with sour cream, and topped with a sweet frosting just like the ones you love at the grocery store!

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword Lofthouse Sugar Cookies

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Cooling Time 2 hours

Total Time 20 minutes

Servings 24 servings

Calories 193 kcal

Author Sabrina Snyder

Ingredients

Cookie

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter , softened
• 3/4 cups sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Frosting

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter , softened
• 3 cups powdered sugar
• 1/4 cup water
• 8 drops pink food coloring

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

1. Add the butter and sugar to a stand mixer on medium speed for 2-3 minutes until fluffy then add in the egg, sour cream and vanilla until fully combined.

2. Sift together the flour, cornstarch, baking powder and baking soda then add it to the stand mixer until just combined then refrigerate the cookie dough for 2 hours until completely chilled.

3. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and using a tablespoon scoop add the cookie dough to a baking sheet on a silicone mat and press the dough down with a cup that's been dipped in powdered sugar.

4. Bake for 8-10 minutes then let cool completely.

5. To make frosting add the butter and powdered sugar to your stand mixer on low speed until mostly combined then raise speed to medium and add in water 1 tablespoon at a time until creamy enough to spread before adding in the pink food coloring.
6. Frost completely cooled cookies and if desired add sprinkles.

Nutrition Facts

Lofthouse Sugar Cookies

Amount Per Serving

Calories 193 Calories from Fat 72

% Daily Value*

Fat 8g12%

Saturated Fat 5g31%

Cholesterol 31mg10%

Sodium 31mg1%

Potassium 26mg1%

Carbohydrates 27g9%

Sugar 21g23%

Protein 1g2%

Vitamin A 280IU6%

Vitamin C 0.1mg0%

Calcium 14mg1%

Iron 0.4mg2%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.