Soft Frosted Sugar Cookies (Lofthouse Copycat!)

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We are taking it back to childhood today with these Frosted Sugar Cookies…aka copycat Lofthouse Cookies! A soft sugar cookie made with cake flour, a splash of almond extract, and two secret ingredients that create the perfect cookie. Then, after baking, these cookies are frosted with the sweetest pink buttercream frosting and finished with rainbow sprinkles. These cookies taste even better than the classic cookie! Bonus? These cute cookies do not require any refrigeration and are ready in less than 30 minutes!

About The Recipe

I think everyone has fond memories of Lofthouse Cookies from childhood. Whether they were something your family bought, friends brought to school, or just a treat you enjoyed on the weekends!

For me, they were cookies that my friends almost always had in their house, plus treats that people brought to school had during holiday’s.

It wasn’t something I got often, but it was something that I absolutely loved!

But, to be honest, it hasn’t been something I’ve thought about since my mom and I started the blog. It wasn’t until I saw them EVERYWHERE last month during Valentine’s that I remembered them!

Immediately, I knew it was something we had to do! I figured it would be something relatively simple, but I’ll be honest…getting this recipe just right was really difficult!

I think my mom and I test baked this recipe 4 or 5 times. We wanted to make this cookie as simple as possible, while also trying to recreate the flavor. In the end, we finally achieved it!

Not only are these cookies are a simple scoop and roll with no refrigeration required, but the flavor is so similar to what you remember from the classic cookie.

What we figured out was a combination of almond extract, corn starch, and some dried milk powder create the perfect flavor AND texture!

Then, of course, each cookie is finished with the cutest buttercream frosting. We chose to dye it pink because that was always my favorite, but can really dye the frosting any color you wish!

Honestly, you could even leave it plain and it will still be super cute!

Either way, they are the perfect treat for any occasion. Birthdays, holidays or simply weekend baking! So. GOOD.

What Are Lofthouse Cookies?

The iconic grocery store cookie! Though, if you’ve never had one, I’m sure it can be a little confusing. A Lofthouse cookie is a soft and cake-y sugar cookie, topped with a sweet buttercream frosting, and brightly colored sprinkles!

Reasons You Will Love These Frosted Sugar Cookies

• No refrigeration or rollout out cookie dough!
• Quick to make. Ready in less than 30 minutes!
• Perfect for any and every occasion.
• A soft and perfectly cake-y cookie.
• Can be made in-advance.
• Tastes even better than the cookies you buy in the store!

Equipment Needed

• Mixing Bowls
• Hand Mixer
• Sheet Pans
• Parchment Paper
• Medium Cookie Scoop
• Offset Spatula

Ingredients

(Full ingredient amounts and instructions can be found in the recipe card at the bottom of the post)

For The Cookies:

• Salted Butter – For this recipe, we like to use salted butter, as it adds the right amount of salt to the cookies.
• Granulated Sugar – Adds the perfect sweetness to these cookies.
• Large Egg – Remember to set out the egg ahead of time to allow it to come to room temperature.
• Vanilla Extract – A splash of vanilla adds a delicious undertone.
• Almond Extract – Adds that “store-bought” and “artificial” flavor to these cookies!
• Cake Flour – For these cookies, you will need cake flour to achieve the perfect structure!
• Corn Starch – Just a dash of corn starch creates the perfect texture in these cookies.
• Dry Milk Powder – One of our secret ingredients in this recipe to give these cookies that classic flavor and texture we all know and love.
• Baking Soda – Adds the perfect amount of rise to these cookies.

For The Frosting/Topping:

• Powdered Sugar – A must-use for buttercream!
• Salted Butter – Using salted butter in this frosting helps cut some of the sweetness.
• Heavy Cream – Not only does cream loosen the frosting slightly, but it also keeps it light and fluffy!
• Vanilla Extract – A splash of vanilla adds so much flavor to this frosting.
• Red Food Coloring – All you need is a drop of food coloring to create the perfect pink!
• Rainbow Sprinkles – We found that using rainbow jimmies are the best sprinkles to use for this recipe, as the colors don’t bleed into the frosting.

How To Make Frosted Sugar Cookies

Step 1: Prepare cookie dough

With an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes.

Beat in egg, vanilla, and almond extracts.

Add flour, corn starch, milk powder, and baking soda. Mix only to blend.

Step 2: Scoop and bake

Use a 1½ Tablespoon cookie scoop to portion dough. Roll each dough scoop between your palms until it forms a smooth ball. Place on prepared pans. Flatten slightly and bake for 12 minutes, or until cookies have lost their shine. Allow to cool on baking sheet.

Step 3: Make frosting

With an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar until smooth.

Add cream, vanilla, and food coloring. Beat until blended in completely.

Step 4: Decorate

Spread frosting onto cooled cookies.

Top each cookie with sprinkles.

How To Get a Perfectly Round Cookie

The best way to achieve this is using a cookie scoop, as the dough balls will already be in close-to-perfect round. Then, when you’re rolling them in your palms, be sure to try and keep them as round as possibe!

As they bake, the cookies will spread slightly into a perfect round shape!

Though, sometimes the cookies can get a little wonky-shaped while spreading, but no worries! You can still fix it.

Using a biscuit cutter that’s larger than the cookie, bump the cookies while they’re still very hot to fit inside the cutter and circle around them to create the perfect round shape!

How To Store

The best part about these cookies? They can be frozen for up to 3 months! Oh, yes, that’s right. After baking and cooling, you can place the baked cookies in an airtight freezer safe zip top bag and put in the freezer.

Though, if you’d like fresh baked cookies, you can actually freeze the cookie dough itself! Follow the directions all the way to step 10. From there, place a few inches apart on a lined sheet pan and place in the freezer for 1-2 hours, or until the cookie dough is frozen solid. From there, place the frozen cookie dough balls in a zip top bag and keep in the freezer for 1-2 months.

You can also keep these cookies in an airtight container or zip top bag in the fridge for about a week!

Looking for more recipes like this? Here are a few you may like: Funfetti Cookies, Cosmic Brownies, Homemade Hostess Cupcakes, Oatmeal Cream Pies, Homemade Ding Dongs

Expert Tips

• Make sure all of your ingredients are room temperature!
• Be careful to not over-mix the cookie dough.
• Roll each cookie dough ball in-between your palms to ensure the perfect shape.
• Use a light colored sheet pan to bake these cookies.
• The cookie dough can be frozen and baked at a later date!
• You can dye the frosting any color you like, especially to a color to fit the season/holiday.

When you make these Soft Frosted Sugar Cookies (Lofthouse Copycat!), leave a comment down below! We love hearing from you and answering any questions you might have! Also, be sure to tag us on social media and hashtag it #BakersTable.

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