Lofthouse Cookies (Sour Cream Sugar Cookies)
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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!
This post is sponsored by Reynolds Kitchens Parchment Paper with SmartGrid – it makes it easy to line up your cookie dough perfectly.
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.
How do you make soft frosted sugar cookies?
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
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.
Once the cookies are baked and cooled, it’s time for the frosting.
This easy buttercream recipe is my favorite one: butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla get mixed with some milk for texture and 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!
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Lofthouse 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 1/3 cups all purpose flour
For the frosting:
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter — softened
- 2 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.
Nutrition Information
Amount per serving (1 cookie) — Calories: 210, Fat: 10g, Saturated Fat: 6g, Cholesterol: 34mg, Sodium: 115mg, Potassium: 37mg, Carbohydrates: 28g, Sugar: 17g, Protein: 1g, Vitamin A: 6.4%, Vitamin C: 0.1%, Calcium: 1.9%, Iron: 3.7%**Did you make this recipe? Don’t forget to give it a star rating below!**
I absolutely LOVE Sugar Cookie Bars!
Sprinkles go great on unicorn cupcakes too!
My favorite soft and chewy sugar cookie recipe!
This post has been sponsored by Reynolds. All opinions are 100% my own.
These are so yummy and I love the idea of grid lines on the parchment paper.
These are great looking and I love Lofthouse cookies. Totally right about the sour cream adding so much softness to them!
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…?
they are good but 7 to 9 mintues is not enough time will leave next batch for 12 to 13 mintues
My frostibnwas suuuuper buttery, is that normal? I put them in the fridge and they solidified to a better consistency. I’m guessing these aren’t meant to be stacked.
My frosting was suuuuper buttery in consistency. Is that normal? I put them in the fridge and they solidified to a better consistency. I’m guessing these aren’t meant to be stacked.