Soft Frosted Sugar Cookies (Copycat Lofthouse Cookies)

These Soft Frosted Sugar Cookies are just like the Lofthouse cookies in your grocery store, except WAY better! Soft cake-like texture sugar cookies topped with a rich buttercream frosting.

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Why You’ll Love These

These soft frosted cookies are pillowy soft, delicious, and a fun, easy cookie for Valentine’s day.

My daughter begs for these cookies every time we go to the grocery store. So I decided to make homemade Lofthouse cookies.

Simple yet delicious.

Perfect for any occasion, just use seasonal cookie cutters. Or use round cutters when you just want a treat without a celebration.

Some of our other favorite cookies recipes to make are chewy snickerdoodle cookies, monster eye cookies, old fashioned peanut butter cookies, and Hello Dolly cookies.

Key Ingredients for the Cookies

See the recipe card below for the full list of ingredients.

• Cookie Base – All-purpose flour, unsalted butter, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
• Sour Cream – Sour cream is the key to making this super soft sugar cookie recipe. You will have fluffy cookies with a slightly tangy flavor. The sour cream also helps keep them moist.

Buttercream Frosting Ingredients

• Unsalted Butter – If you are using salted butter omit the salt in the recipe.
• Shortening – Don’t panic, we are only using 2 tablespoons of shortening in the frosting. It helps to form a slightly firmer crust on the frosting.
• Powdered Sugar (Confectioners’ Sugar) – The basic ingredient in most frostings. It creates a smooth, creamy consistency and sweetens the icing.
• Heavy cream and Vanilla Extract – The heavy cream thins the frosting just a bit and the vanilla extract adds flavor.

How to Make Soft Frosted Sugar Cookies (Lofthouse Cookies)

In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the room-temperature butter and sugar at medium-high speed until light and fluffy. Add sour cream, eggs, and vanilla extract. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.

Whisk the dry ingredients together, then add to the wet ingredients. The cookie dough will be sticky.

Divide the dough in half and form them into disks. Wrap each piece tightly in plastic wrap, and chill the dough overnight.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.

The next day, on a floured surface, roll out the dough to 1/4 inch thickness and cut it into as many desired shapes as possible. Repeat with the remaining dough as necessary.

I used two different-sized heart cookie cutters for ours.

Place on the cookie sheets. Bake for 8-10 minutes. Do NOT over-bake! Remove the cookies from the oven just before the edges turn golden.

Allow cookies to cool completely on a wire rack.

Mix up the frosting and choose your food coloring.  The shortening added in this frosting helps it to develop a slightly firmer crust once set.

Decorate the cookies with the frosting and sprinkles of your choice, just like Lofthouse frosted sugar cookies.

You can pipe the icing on and then spread it out, or just spread the icing on with an offset spatula or butter knife.

Enjoy! My husband and daughter raved about these soft frosted sugar cookies. They have already requested I make them again.

I personally think this copycat recipe is better than the original Lofthouse cookies recipe.

Tips

• Make the dough one day before you are ready to bake and decorate. It needs to refrigerate overnight.
• Measure the flour correctly. Aerate, spoon, and swoop level.
• Use room-temperature eggs, sour cream, and butter.
• Make sure you cream the butter until light and fluffy in both the cookies and the frosting.
• Don’t overmix the dough. Mix in the dry ingredients just until combined.
• Be sure to chill the dough. The cold dough holds its shape during baking, resulting in a fluffier, thicker cookie.
• Do not over-bake, or the cookies might dry out. These cookies don’t brown and should be a pale color. Remove the cookies from the oven just before the edges turn golden. Allow cookies to cool completely on a wire rack.

Variations

• Use seasonal cookie cutters or use a round cookie cutter to make them look exactly like Lofthouse cookies.
• Use seasonal colored sprinkles and colored icing. I like gel food coloring for a truer brighter color.
• Try adding 1/2 teaspoon of almond extract.

FAQs

More Cookie Recipes

Cut-Out Sugar Cookies

Lemon Sandwich Cookies

Italian Butterball Cookies

Soft Frosted Sugar Cookies Recipe (Lofthouse Cookies)

Pillowy soft sugar cookies loaded with perfectly sweet frosting! Lofthouse copycat but way better!

5 from 3 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Cookie, Dessert

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes minutes

Servings: 24

Calories: 331kcal

Author: Don’t Sweat The Recipe

Ingredients

 

1x2x3x

Cookie

• 1 cup unsalted butter softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 2 large eggs room temperature
• 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Frosting:

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter room temperature
• 2 tablespoons shortening (optional – helps develop that harder crust)
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 2 1/2 – 3 cups powdered sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3-4 tablespoons heavy cream
• food coloring to color frosting (optional)
• candy sprinkles to decorate (optional)

US Customary – Metric

Instructions

Cookies

• In a medium size bowl whisk together the all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
  3 cups all-purpose flour, 1/2 teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon salt
• In a large mixing bowl cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy (about 4-5 minutes). Add sour cream, eggs, and vanilla. Whisk the dry ingredients together, then add to the creamed mixture. The dough will be sticky. Cover, and chill dough overnight.
  1 cup unsalted butter, 1 cup sugar, 1/2 cup sour cream, 2 large eggs, 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• Preheat an oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• On a floured surface, roll out the dough to 1/4 inch thickness and cut into desired shapes.
• Place cookie sheets. Bake for 8-10 minutes. Do NOT over-bake! Remove the cookies from the oven just before the edges turn golden. Allow cookies to cool completely on a wire rack.

Frosting

• Cream the butter and shortening together in a stand mixer or using your hand mixer for 3 minutes. Add salt, vanilla then slowly add 2 cups of powdered sugar and beat until smooth. Add heavy cream, 1 tablespoon at a time then add the remainder of powdered sugar until desired consistency and taste is reached (you may not need it all) and continue to beat until smooth.
  1/2 cup unsalted butter, 2 tablespoons shortening, 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract, 2 1/2 – 3 cups powdered sugar, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 3-4 tablespoons heavy cream, food coloring to color frosting, candy sprinkles to decorate

Notes

The number of cookies yielded will depend on the cookie cutter size you use.

Make Ahead – You can make the dough and keep it tightly covered in the refrigerator for up to 48 hours. Or you can bake the cookies, let them cool completely, and freeze them unfrosted for up to 2 months for the best quality.

Storing – The cookies will keep well in airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week.

Freezing – I recommend freezing unfrosted cookies. But you can freeze them frosted. Flash-freeze them by placing them in a single layer on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet and freeze until hard. Then place them in a freezer-safe airtight container, layered between parchment paper, and freeze for up to 2 months.

Nutrition

Calories: 331kcal | Carbohydrates: 48g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 15g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Cholesterol: 53mg | Sodium: 176mg | Potassium: 49mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 35g | Vitamin A: 437IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 22mg | Iron: 1mg

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