Lofthouse Style Soft Frosted Sugar Cookies
These homemade Lofthouse sugar cookies are soft and fluffy with a thick and creamy icing on top!
I knew I had to have a great recipe to kick off the 12 Days of Christmas Treats 2011, so I’m starting with one of my absolute favorites!
Are you familiar with those soft Lofthouse sugar cookies that pop up in grocery stores around all the holidays? The kind with colored icing and sprinkles? If you are a fan of those, you are going to LOVE this homemade version!
I used to (and still do!) love the Lofthouse cookies. I remember having them as snacks at our tennis matches in college and how I always grabbed a cookie after I was done playing, even if we were headed straight to dinner. 🙂
I’ve been looking for a homemade version for awhile now and I’m so happy to tell you I finally found it! These sugar cookies are so close to the grocery store staples that I almost couldn’t believe it. From the soft and fluffy cookie to the thick and creamy icing…these cookies are good!
I love making them for Christmas but they’re perfect for any holiday – just change the color of the icing and adjust the sprinkles. I won’t tell you how much money I spent on Christmas sprinkles this year, but looking at these happy festive cookies, I think it was worth it. 🙂
P.S. You can see all of my Christmas treat recipes from over the years at this Christmas Cookies tag. Enjoy! And, as always, let me know if you try any and how you liked them.
Lofthouse Style Soft Frosted Sugar Cookies
Yield: 2-3 dozen large cookies
These homemade Lofthouse sugar cookies are soft and fluffy with a thick and creamy icing on top!
Ingredients:
Cookies:
- 4½ cups all-purpose flour
- 4½ tsp. baking powder
- ¾ tsp. salt
- 1½ cups (3 sticks) butter, at room temperature
- 1½ cups sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 5 tsp. vanilla extract
Frosting:
- 5 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
- 1/3 cup (5 1/3 tbsp.) unsalted butter, melted
- 1 tbsp. vanilla extract
- 7-8 tbsp. milk (plus more, as needed)
- Food coloring (optional)
- Sprinkles (optional)
Directions:
- To make the cookies, preheat the oven to 350˚ F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. In a medium bowl combine the flour, baking powder and salt, and whisk together to blend. In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the butter and sugar and beat together on medium-high speed until soft and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Beat in the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition and scraping down the bowl as needed. Blend in the vanilla. With the mixer on low speed, add in the dry ingredients mixing just until incorporated and evenly mixed. Cover and chill the dough for 1 hour.
- When you are ready to bake the cookies, scoop a scant quarter cup of dough and roll into a ball. Flatten the ball slightly and place on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining dough, spacing the cookies at least 2-3 inches apart. Bake about 10-12 minutes or just until set. (Do not overbake! The edges should be no more than very lightly browned if at all.) Let cool on the baking sheet for several minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
- To frost the cookies, place the confectioners’ sugar in a medium bowl. Add the melted butter, vanilla, and milk to the bowl and whisk until smooth. Whisk in additional milk as necessary, 1 teaspoon at a time, until you reach your desired consistency. Tint with food coloring if desired. Use an offset spatula or spoon to frost the cooled cookies. (If the frosting begins to thicken as you decorate, just continue to whisk in small amounts of milk to keep it workable.) Top with sprinkles if desired. Store in an airtight container.
from Hostess with the Mostess via Annies Eats
View All 12 Days of Christmas Treats here!
Welcome! I'm Megan and it's my hope that here you'll find food that has been made with love and recipes that are shared with joy. Thanks for stopping by! 
Oh yum—love these! I’m always tempted by them at the store; a make at home version would be extra dangerous!
Wow! My boyfriend adores the lofthouse cookies but I’m so picky about my frosting that I can’t justify buying them. This will be the perfect solution! I can’t wait to surprise him with these 🙂
I might have to make these and hide them from the family so I can have them all to myself!!
these are YUMMY!! i can attest as I work w/ Megan and am lucky enough to be a taste-tester 🙂
These are so pretty! Love the bright frosting and sprinkles…perfect!
Can’t wait to try these Megan! It has been ages since I’ve had one of those “grocery store cookies” due to allergies… now I can make them at home 🙂
Just started reading your blog and am really enjoying it. I’m looking forward to reading the rest of your 12 days of christmas treats this year! I’ve already gotten some fabulous ideas for gifts (homemade peppermint patties?? Genius!). Thanks again!
omg!! I love these. My sister and I call them cupcake cookies. They remind us of eating a cupcake.
YUM! The colors look wonderful!
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These look so good. Has anyone tried to freeze them. (before frosting?) just wanted to get a jump start on my baking. Thanks.
I froze them after they were iced and they defrosted fine. I would think you could freeze them either before frosting or after. Good luck – I hope you like them! 🙂
I made these yesterday and they are amazing!! I am loving all of your Christmas treats, thanks for sharing! Only problem I have is deciding which ones to try lol.
Hi Emma, thanks for the comment. I’m so glad you liked the cookies! 🙂
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going to make these today. I have tried many sugar cookie recipes and they have never turned out. These are one of my favorite cookies so I hope they turn out. They are going to go in the freezer after I frost and decorate them.
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Megan…just frosted the cookies…don’t think they will make it to the feezer, they are so, so good. Thanks for all the great cookie ideas, the hardest thing for me now is to decide which to make for Christmas. Uh…decisions, decisions!
I’m so glad you liked them! Mine never made it to the freezer either 🙂
made them today and happy to say that they turned out great. I had one and the rest went in the freezer for Christmas baskets
I’m glad you liked them! 🙂
Looking forward to making these. Does anyone know if this will work to make cutout cookies….or will rolling the dough compress it too much, so that they don’t turn out right? Thanks!
Oh my, these were amazing as was the carmilk fudge I made tonight. Wow, keep em coming 🙂
Thanks so much for the comment – I’m so glad you liked these cookies and the fudge! These kind of comments make my day 🙂
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did they work? cause they be lukin yummy..i hope these tatse lik the ones in the grocery store(;
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These taste like butter cookies not loft house I’m REALLY disappointed!!!
Making these right now!!!! They look delicious!!!!
I hope you liked them! 🙂
I love the way you have put this site together thanks to you I have several new favorites!! (not complaining here just wondering) I noticed that some of the recipes do not have a …makes so many per batch…. to give people an idea of what they will end up with. Was wondering if you had an estimate for this recipe in particular thanks in advance.
I just made these for Easter and they were ABSOLUTELY delicious!!!! The funny thing is, I don’t even like sugar cookies and I couldn’t put them down. Thanks for the great recipe!!
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