Lofthouse Copycat Sugar Cookies are one of my favorite soft sugar cookies that I’ve finally made at home!
I have a confession. I have a weakness for Lofthouse Sugar Cookies. You know what I’m talking about right? Those frosted cookies that sit on that table just inside the automatic grocery store doors. Ironically right next to the produce section, almost every time. You see pink, green, yellow, orange, red, and white depending on the season and they always have coordinating sprinkles.
They’re soft, melt in your mouth shortbread-esque sugar cookies smothered with frosting. They stick to the roof of your mouth and they’re piled high with frosting. What’s not to love? And until the not so distant past I picked up a package of them every time the frosting changed color. Without fail. But when I stopped eating almost all store bought sweets and bread I started to notice how weird they tasted. Almost chalky. Overly sweet. Not good.
And yet it still took me over a year to make my own from scratch version. But mine don’t taste chalky or overly sweet. They’re soft, melt in your mouth perfection. I sifted through probably half a dozen Lofthouse copycat recipes while figuring out what direction I wanted to go with these {there are a lot} and most of them used sour cream. They were like a sugar cookie but with sour cream and a little extra fat to keep them from firming up during baking.
But I didn’t want to use sour cream. Plus I didn’t have any when I went to make these cookies. And I opted for a straight shortbread base with a skosh more powdered sugar than what a traditional shortbread recipe would call for. That means these guys don’t puff up because there’s no leavening agent but they are wonderfully soft and still hold up quite well to as much buttercream as you can slather on there.
Lofthouse Copycat Sugar Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup salted butter,, room temperature
- 3/4 cup powdered sugar
- 2 cup flour
For the Frosting:
- 1 stick unsalted butter
- 1 1/2-2 cups powdered sugar
- 1/2 tsp vanilla
- sprinkles,, in desired color
- gel food color,, if desired
Instructions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer cream butter until light and fluffy. Add powdered sugar and mix well.
- Add flour and mix until dough forms a ball.
- Roll dough out between two sheets of parchment paper about 1/2" thick and cut with a 2" circle cutter.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 18-20 minutes or until just slightly browned around the edges. Allow to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a flat surface to cool completely.
- While cookies are cooling cream together butter until fluffy and pale. Add in powdered sugar 1/2 cup at a time until frosting reaches a spreadable consistency.
- Add in vanilla and beat well. If you want to add gel food color do it now.
- Frost completely cooled cookies and add sprinkles.
