Dorothy Kern
Lofthouse Cookies are a copycat sugar cookie that’s soft with a thick layer of sweet frosting. These cookies are also called sour cream sugar cookies and they’re perfectly soft!
If you or your kids can’t resist those packaged cookies from the grocery store, try this recipe – you’ll never need to buy them again!
Every single time we go to the grocery store Jordan begs for those soft frosted sugar cookies you see in the baking department. I think they’re called Lofthouse Cookies and they’re actually really good: they are a soft cake-like cookie topped with a sugary sweet frosting. They’re almost always colorful and have lots of sprinkles and they always call out to me.
Recently Jordan was asking for them and I wondered if I could make them at home. Sugar cookies are kind of my weakness when it comes to cookie recipes (you probably know that from the amount of sugar cookie recipes I have on this site) so I decided I needed to add another to my repertoire.
At first I thought that Lofthouse Cookies must just be like my perfect sugar cookie recipe but with a sweeter frosting. I mean…aren’t all frosted sugar cookies the same? But I was wrong:
Lofthouse Sugar Cookies have a few special ingredients that make them unique…and is probably why they taste so darn delicious.
Table of Contents
What are Lofthouse Cookies Made Of?
There are a couple of things that set this easy sugar cookie recipe apart from all the rest:
- Baking powder and baking soda – the combination makes these cookies a little bit cake-like.
- Sour cream! That’s right – these sugar cookies are made with sour cream, not just butter!
I’d never thought of putting sour cream in cookies, but it’s such a great idea. Sour cream adds moisture and softness to the cookies and the acid helps activate the baking soda. If you’ve ever wondered how Lofthouse Cookies are so soft, it’s because of this combination (and the baking powder).
Lofthouse Sugar Cookies Recipe Ingredients
- Butter – you’ll need unsalted softened butter for both the cookie and the frosting.
- Sour Cream – hese are sour cream sugar cookies so you’ll need sour cream. Regular or low fat both work.
- Granulated Sugar – I just use granulated sugar in my sugar cookie recipes, instead of a combination of sugars.
- Baking Soda AND Baking Powder – both work together keep these cookies soft.
- Egg
- Salt
- All-Purpose Flour
- Vanilla
- Milk – milk is used to thin the frosting to spreadable consistency. You’ll use between 1-2 tablespoons whole milk. If using nonfat or low-fat milk or heavy cream, you’ll use less (or more). More fat content = more milk needed for consistency.
How do you make Lofthouse Cookies?
This easy sugar cookie dough comes together in minutes. There is no rolling and no chilling; just scoop, flatten, and bake them. They don’t even spread much!
The cookie recipe itself can be a bit underwhelming, which is why these cookies are best topped with a thick layer of sweet buttercream frosting. If the cookies were too sweet then the frosting would be too much for them, so these pair really well together, balancing each other out.
When you’re making these copycat Lofthouse Cookies, you have to be sure and flatten them. They don’t spread much at all, so if you want an ice flat cookie for the buttercream frosting, flatten them with the bottom of a glass.
Why are lofthouse cookies so soft?
Lofthouse Cookies are so soft because of a combination of sour cream, baking soda and baking powder. Baking powder makes a more cake-like cookie but the acid in the sour cream activates the baking soda giving these even more soft texture!
Are lofthouse cookies good?
I love the homemade cookies better than the store bought ones. I find the store ones cloying and too sweet whereas by making them at home they taste much fresher and more delicious.
Baking Tips for Lofthouse Frosted Sugar Cookies
When you’re baking these soft sugar cookies, be sure to not over-bake them. That is key to getting the soft cake-like Lofthouse Cookie taste and texture. I took them out when they were JUST no longer glossy and barely light golden. If you wait until you see the bottoms be golden, you’ve over-baked them.
Just a tip: depending on your oven, I highly recommend rotating the pans horizontally and vertically during baking.
My oven is new but the back cooks faster, so anything on the back of the cookie sheet will burn. Make sure to check your cookies halfway through baking.
This post was originally sponsored by Reynolds Kitchens Parchment Paper with SmartGrid in 2018. All opinions are 100% my own. Post updated: 2020.
We bake cookies a LOT in my house and I love using parchment paper on my cookie sheets. Parchment paper has a naturally nonstick surface so cookies won’t crack, stick, or fall apart, so it’s one of my baking staples. I recently discovered Reynolds Kitchens Parchment Paper with SmartGrid, which is my new favorite.
Not only does Reynolds Kitchens Parchment Paper with SmartGrid have all the benefits of regular parchment paper, but it also has a SmartGrid, which is a built-in gridline pattern so you can easily cut the paper to fit your cookie sheet or any pan.
I absolutely love the gridlines because it makes the parchment paper fit my pan and the lines are straight when I cut them. I have the hardest time cutting straight and this way I can maximize my cookie to pan ratio.
Not only do the gridlines help with cutting, but they also help with spacing. It’s easy to space your cookies just right so they won’t be too close. This is especially helpful when my daughter is baking with me; she has a hard time not stacking cookies too close together.
Another thing I love about Reynolds Kitchens Parchment Paper with SmartGrid is that you can reuse it up to three times, which results in less waste and less time. I baked these cookies 8 at a time so I had to reuse the parchment three times and it was perfect all three!
Best Frosting for Sugar Cookies
Once the cookies are baked and cooled, it’s time for the frosting.
This easy buttercream recipe is my favorite one:
- Butter
- Powdered sugar
- Vanilla
- Milk
Simply mix the butter and powdered sugar, then add the vanilla and enough milk for spreadability.
Once the frosting is made you can decide if you want a colorful frosting or not. Blue, yellow, pink…which color will you make? But don’t forget the sprinkles – they’re required!
Other Favorites
- I absolutely LOVE Sugar Cookie Bars!
- Sprinkles go great on unicorn cupcakes too!
- My favorite soft and chewy sugar cookie recipe!
- Gingerbread Cookies are my favorite holiday cookie.
Have you made this recipe?
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Lofthouse Sugar Cookies
Ingredients
For the cookies:
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter softened
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup sour cream room temperature
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
For the frosting:
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter softened
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1-2 tablespoons milk
- Food coloring if desired
- Sprinkles
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line two cookie sheets with Reynolds Kitchens Parchment Paper with SmartGrid.
- Mix butter, sugar, and sour cream in a hand or a stand mixer until smooth. Mix in egg, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and vanilla. Mix in flour until cookie dough forms, being sure to scrape the bottom and sides of the mixing bowl.
- Scoop two tablespoons of dough per cookie, placing on the guides on the parchment paper so they are at least 2 inches apart. Use the bottom of a glass to press the cookies flat. (If the cookie dough sticks to the glass, spray it first with nonstick cooking spray for easy removal.)
- Bake cookies for 7-9 minutes or until they JUST loose the glossy sheen and are barely light golden around the edges. Do not over bake these! Err on the side of underdone.
- Make the frosting: mix the butter and powdered sugar with a hand or stand mixer slowly until crumbly. Add vanilla, salt, and 1 tablespoon of milk and mix until frosting is smooth, adding more milk as needed for spreadable consistency. Tint with food coloring, if desired.
- Top each cookie with about 1 tablespoon of frosting. Smooth and sprinkle with sprinkles, if desired.
- Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
Recipe Video
Recipe Notes
Nutrition Information
Nutritional information not guaranteed to be accurate
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Make Copycat Lofhouse Cookies with this easy soft frosted sour cream sugar cookie recipe! They’re homemade with the best frosting recipe! You can also make these into bars!
All text and images © DOROTHY KERN for Crazy for Crust. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If you want to republish this recipe, please re-write the recipe in your own words, or link back to this post for the recipe. Disclaimer: Nutrition information shown is not guaranteed to be accurate.
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Published on: July 26, 2020
These are good, but they’re best made with cake flour. They really don’t taste anything like the Lofthouse cookies, although they are very soft and fluffy. Could use more sugar, I think? Recipe needs tweaking, but I’m not sure how just yet.
Unfortunately I made these in a 9×13 for Christmas and they came out just like cake – not sure how I screwed it up! Maybe over or under mixing?
The cookies themselves are cake-y by design so I assume that’s what happened when you made them as bars.
Tasted like bread to me… cooked for an extra minute, so possibly that is what went wrong. Usually my tried recipes turn out well, but with this one I will stick to buying them at the store.
I just baked these cookies this afternoon. It was a day of thunder and monsoons so a good day to bake cookies. I must say they are yummy!!
I will definitely make these cookies again. I didn’t have any food coloring on hand to color the icing but it was just delicious all the same.
I must say I really appreciate all your recipes. You are my ‘ Go To’ source for tried and true recipes that come out perfect the first time. I just wish I could get a picture of them on this post. They look really good !
hi,is this a dough that can be rolled out and have a cookie cutter used on?im making teeth shaped cookies and i havent found a sugar cookie recipe i like so thought i’d try this.
they are good but 7 to 9 mintues is not enough time will leave next batch for 12 to 13 mintues
Hello, can these be made into bars? The dough seems a little wet and I’m wondering if that’s normal…I don’t want them sticking to my hands as I roll them. Figured putting in a 9×13 pan would be easier…?
These are so yummy and I love the idea of grid lines on the parchment paper.