Lofthouse Sugar Cookies are those mouthwatering, addictive, oh-so-soft sugar cookies that you can never seem to pass up when you go for a grocery run. Pillowy-soft sugar cookie dough is baked to perfection and topped with a melt-in-your-mouth buttercream frosting.
If you aren’t already aware that these are the best cookies in the world, try this Lofthouse Sugar Cookie recipe and you’ll see why!
Reasons You’ll Love This Recipe
Softest Cookies – If you’re on the right side of history – AKA you prefer soft cookies over crunchy, then you’re not going to believe how incredibly soft these delightful treats are!
Versatile – These are perfect for any event – birthday, bake sale, you name it! They’re also just great to have around for when you want an after dinner treat.
Kid Friendly – Kids LOVE these cookies. Heck, adults love them too! They are great reminders of childhood and just plain delicious.
Sprinkles – Any excuse to use a concerning amount of sprinkles is a recipe I can get behind.
The Lofthouse Sugar Cookie. Need I say more? If that’s not reason enough to throw on your apron and preheat your oven, then I don’t know what is! But really, you don’t need a good reason to make these. Just because you want to is the best reason there is!
Ingredient Info
- Cake Flour – It is VERY important that you use cake flour to achieve that light & soft cookie base. Highly recommend using Swan’s Down Cake Flour. You *can* use all purpose flour, but the cookie will not taste the same. It will be more dense, and doughy.
- Sugar – White granulated sugar is the best option for the sugar cookie dough.
- Egg – Make sure the egg has come to room temperature before adding it to the recipe. If you need to, you can place the egg in a glass of warm water for a few minutes and it will come to room temperature quicker.
- Sour Cream – If you don’t bake with sour cream, you are missing out on some soft, moist, baked goods! I don’t recommend substituting or leaving this ingredient out.
- Cornstarch – Cornstarch will help achieve the texture, and fluffiness of the famous Lofthouse cookie.
- Almond Extract – This extract is commonly used in sugar cookies, and gives it that familiar taste you know and love. If you really like the flavor of almond extract, you can use 1 teaspoon instead of 1/2 a teaspoon.
- Cream – This is for the frosting. You can use heavy cream, or milk. Whatever you have on hand will work perfectly fine.
- Butter – Make sure to use softened, unsalted butter for both the cookie batter and the frosting.
- Powdered Sugar – This is the best sugar option when making a frosting.
- Food Coloring (Optional) – If you want your cookies have the fun colored frosting that they have at the grocery stores, you can add a few drops of food coloring to the frosting recipe.
- Sprinkles – It wouldn’t be a Lofthouse cookie without the sprinkles! Pick your favorite, colorful sprinkles or jimmies for this recipe.
Step By Step Instructions
- In a medium sized mixing bowl add the cake flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and salt. Whisk that together until evenly combined. Set that aside.
- In a separate, large mixing bowl, add the softened butter, and granulated sugar. Use an electric hand or stand mixer to cream them together until smooth. Add the room temperature egg, vanilla extract and almond extract to the butter. Beat that together until combined. Last, add the sour cream and mix well until combined.
- Grab the dry ingredients and add it to the wet ingredients. Mix everything together until just combined, and scrape the sides of the bowl to get all the dough together. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and store in the fridge for at least an hour.
- When you’re ready to bake, take the dough out of the fridge and preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Before you roll the dough into balls, dust your hands with powdered sugar so the dough won’t stick to your hands. Each ball should be about 3 tablespoons. Roll the dough balls evenly and place them on the baking sheet 3 inches apart.
- Coat the bottom of a glass, measuring cup, or something round and flat in powdered sugar, then use it to press gently into the tops of each cookie ball. The cookie should be about ½” to ¼” thick. Once flattened, let them bake in the oven for 9-11 minutes, or until the edges of the cookie turn a slightly golden brown. Take it out of the oven and let them finish cooking on the cookie sheet while they cool. Let the cookies cool completely before frosting.
- To make the frosting, add softened butter to a large mixing bowl. Beat the butter for 1-2 minutes, or until light and smooth. Add the powdered sugar, salt, and vanilla. Add a tablespoon of heavy cream and whip everything together until smooth. If you desire a lighter frosting, add another tablespoon of heavy cream until you reach the consistency you like. Add food coloring if you’d like. Once the cookies have cooled, frost the tops of the cookie and leave room around the sides. Add your favorite sprinkles, and enjoy!
Tips and Advice
Storage – Store the baked, frosted cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for 3 days. If you don’t frost your cookies just yet, and want to save them, you can store them in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Cooling The Cookies
It is very important to chill your dough before baking. This is because it’s a very soft dough, and can be difficult to work with if you don’t. Chilling for at least an hour is important, but you can keep it in there for longer, that would be even better.
Smaller Cookies – If you want to make smaller cookies, you can use about 2 tablespoons of dough per cookie. Bake these for 8-10 minutes instead of the normal baking time.
Equipment
You may want or need a few of these items to make these wonderful Lofthouse Cookies!
- Whisk
- Baking Sheets
- Parchment Paper
- Mixing Bowls
- Hand Mixer or Stand Mixer
- Cookie Scoop (Optional)
FAQs
These cookies are known for being so delicious because of their light, and fluffy texture that almost tastes like biting into a cloud. This is accomplished by using a light dough made with baking powder, cornstarch, and sour cream.
Yes! These you can make and leave at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Recipes You’ll Love
If you love big, fluffy cookies like these Lofthouse Sugar Cookies, then you’re absolutely going to love some of these other similar and just as fantastic recipes!
- Raspberry Crumble Cookies
- Holiday Sugar Cookies
- Twix Cookies
- Carrot Cake Cookies
- Strawberry Cookies
- Christmas Sugar Cookie Bars
- Check out my post on How To Freeze Cookies
More Recipes You’ll Love!
Lofthouse Sugar Cookies
Ingredients
Cookie Dough:
- 2 cups cake flour
- 1 ½ Tablespoon cornstarch
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ cup unsalted butter (softened)
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg (room temperature)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon almond extract
- ¼ cup sour cream (room temperature)
Frosting:
- ¼ cup unsalted butter (softened)
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Dash of kosher salt
- 1-2 tablespoons of heavy cream or whole milk
- Food coloring for tint (optional)
- Sprinkle or jimmies to decorate (optional)
Instructions
Cookies
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk cake flour, cornstarch, baking powder and salt together. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, using a hand mixer, cream butter and sugar together until combined.
- Add in egg, vanilla and almond extracts.
- Stir in sour cream and mix until well blended.
- Add in dry ingredients and mix until just combined, using a rubber spatula to scrape down the sizes. Do not over mix.
- Cover with plastic wrap and chill for a minimum of 60 minutes.
- When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350℉. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- To portion the dough, scoop about 3 Tablespoons out, dust hands with powdered sugar, and roll into a ball. Place on a baking sheet, about 3 inches apart. Flatten with the bottom of a glass or flat measuring cup, dipped in powdered sugar. Cookies should be between ½” and ¼” thick.
- Bake for 9-11 minutes; rotating the baking sheet halfway through. Cookies should be just lightly golden – NOT BROWN. Cookies will continue to bake on the cookie sheet while cooling. Cool completely before frosting.
Frosting
- For frosting, beat butter for 1-2 minutes, or until it has lightened in color and is creamy.
- Add in the powdered sugar, vanilla, salt and heavy cream, a Tablespoon at a time, until the desired consistency is reached. Add food coloring to tint, if desired.
- Frost cookies, leaving a small rim of the cookie exposed. Top with sprinkles or jimmies.
Notes
Nutrition
The nutrition facts provided are calculated using a third-party tool and are estimates only. Actual nutritional content may vary based on the ingredients and brands you use, as well as portion sizes. For accurate results, please consult a registered dietitian or nutritionist.
Meet Christi, Love From The Oven
I’m Christi I love sharing easy & delicious recipes that your family & friends will love. I’m a mom, baker, cookbook author and lover of sprinkles.
