Skip store-bought Lofthouse cookies, and try these Copycat Lofthouse Soft Sugar Cookies at home instead!
Copycat Lofthouse Soft Sugar Cookies
Nothing compares to a Lofthouse soft sugar cookie. You see them gracing the shelves of many grocers most times of year usually displaying whatever is trending at the time: Halloween, Christmas, Valentine’s Day, etc. This recipe for copycat Lofthouse soft sugar cookies will have you wondering why you ever bought the store-bought version in the first place. They are just that simple. A simple sugar cookie dough is made in advance and chilled for the best consistency for rolling. Trust me. It must be COLD, or else you will certainly have a mess on your hands. After you have cut out your shapes and baked them, you layer them with the most addicting buttercream frosting. It really is that simple. Get the recipe for these copycat Lofthouse soft sugar cookies below, and check out some frequently asked questions!
What will I need to make these copycat Lofthouse soft sugar cookies (see recipe below for entire ingredient list)?
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp kosher salt
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup softened unsalted butter
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
seeds from 1/2 of a vanilla bean (optional)
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 cup softened cream cheese
seasonal sprinkles (optional)
batch of buttercream frosting (see recipe below)
Copycat Lofthouse Soft Sugar Cookies
Do I really need to chill the dough for so long?
If you don’t want a giant mess on your hands, you need to chill this dough. Trust me. It is messy. This cookie recipe skirts the line between cake and cookie. The batter is thinner than your average cookie dough but thicker than your average cake batter. If you don’t chill it, it is extremely difficult to work with. It will be worth the wait. 😄
The bake time is so short on these cookies? Are you sure they are cooked through?
I promise these cookies are cooked through. With that being said, feel free to add a minute to the baking time for slightly different consistency…dare I say, homemade vanilla wafer? The few times where I have overcooked these cookies, that is exactly what I got — homemade vanilla wafer — and I was not sad about it!
Can I freeze these cookies?
Absolutely! These cookies freeze extremely well. Leave off the frosting if you wish. They tend to freeze better plain, and then make the frosting when you go to defrost.
Are you looking for more great cookie recipes on Cooking and Beer? Well, we have a ton of them! Check out some of my favorite cookie recipes!
Ingredients
Cookies
- 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour plus extra for dusting
- 3/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 3/4 tsp kosher salt
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup softened unsalted butter
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- seeds from 1/2 of a vanilla bean (optional)
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1/4 cup softened cream cheese
- seasonal sprinkles (optional)
Buttercream Frosting
- 1/2 cup softened unsalted butter
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 1/2 cups confectioner's sugar
- 4 tbsp half and half
Instructions
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- In the bowl of your stand mixer, with paddle attachment fixed, cream together the sugar and butter. One at a time, crack each egg separately into the bowl. Mix to combine. Once incorporated, add the vanilla extract, seeds from vanilla bean, sour cream and cream cheese. Beat again to combine until all of the ingredients come together. In 1/2 cup increments add the dry ingredients into the wet until you have added it all. Mix until everything comes together and a soft dough forms. It should be sticky, but slightly firm. If it''s too "runny" add a tablespoon more of flour at a time until you get this consistency. Dump the dough onto a sheet of plastic wrap and cover. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight.
- Once your dough has chilled, preheat your oven to 425 degrees F and line 2 large baking sheets with parchment. Set aside.
- Generously flour a work surface, unwrap your dough and place onto the floured surface. Dust the top of the dough with more flour. Taking a rolling pin, roll the dough out to about 1/4 of an inch thick. Cut shapes out of your dough with a cookie cutter (I used a circular cookie and Halloween shaped cookie cutters). Once you have cut as many shapes as possible, place the shapes onto your prepared baking sheets (I had a dozen and a half total, but this will vary depending on the cookie cutter you decide to use). Bake at 425 degrees F for 6-7 minutes until they begin to brown slightly around the edges and feel slightly firm to the touch. Remove from oven and immediately transfer to a wire rack to cool COMPLETELY.
- While your cookies are cooling, prepare you buttercream frosting. In the bowl of your stand mixer, with paddle attachment fixed, cream the butter until soft and fluffy, about 1 minute. Add the vanilla extract and mix again to combine. In 1/2 cup increments, while the mixer is on it''s lowest speed, add the confectioner''s sugar until it is all incorporated. Increase the speed to medium and beat for about 30 seconds until fluffy. Add in the half and half (or whatever you decided to use) and beat again for about 2 minute until light and fluffy once again.
- Once cool, frost the cookies with the buttercream frosting. Sprinkle with sprinkles (if desired). Once the buttercream has set, transfer to an airtight container where the cookies will keep for about a week. Enjoy!
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39 Comments
These turned out exactly like the Lofthouse cookies. My only advice is the bake time is somewhere between 6-7 mins if you are not a mile above sea level. Nothing a little trial and error couldn’t sort out. Thanks for the great recipe!
Julie – That’s a really good point! It always takes me a couple of minutes longer to bake anything. It may be a good idea to start mentioning this in the recipes. Thanks for the heads up! I’m super excited that you like them! Thanks for trying out the recipe! – Justine
Agree, at 8 minutes, the edges got a little burnt. 7 minutes was much better. Otherwise, the cookies are coming out great! Thanks for the recipe. I have seen many claiming to be lofthouse clones but this seems to be the closest.
Gordo – I’m happy that the cookies are coming out great! This seems to be a common theme with the timing for most people. I’m going to go ahead and change the timing in the actual recipe. Thanks for trying the recipe! Enjoy! – Justine
These look amazing! Could I make them as cookie bars instead of rolling them out? I have a tiny one who makes time in the kitchen very difficult.
Karie – Thank you! I think cookie bars would TOTALLY work. Actually, that’s a fabulous idea. I’ve never tried it, but I would think you would need to bake them just a little bit longer since it will be a whole “sheet” of cookie. I would go with a 9×13 baking dish perhaps? Keep an eye on them so that they don’t overcook and grease your pan =). Let me know how it works out for you! I may have to try this out myself! Good luck! – Justine
why does the cookies tend to shrink when cutting them out?
Hi Janie! They will tend to shrink when you cut them out because the dough tends to be on the elastic(y) side. It will also help to let the dough chill. This will help them hold their shape. They should bake up nicely either way. Just keep an eye on them as they are baking. Good luck! – Justine
Would it be awful if I didn’t put sour cream in and just put extra cream cheese? That’s quite a drastic change, but I don’t LOVE sour cream.
Hi Allison! No, it would not be awful if you left out sour cream and just put in cream cheese! The sour cream taste in the cookies is pretty non-existent, but I totally don’t blame you for not wanting to use it. There have been quite a few people who have tried to make them without the sour cream and substituted in extra cream cheese. You may have a little bit of a consistency problem with the dough (in that it may be a little on the thicker side), but if you just add a tablespoon or two of milk (or something similar) you should be ok. Nothing a little trial and error can’t fix =). I hope they work out for ya! Enjoy! – Justine
Thanks so much! I’ll have to try it out. These look too good not to try. :)
Is 12 hours the max it can sit in the fridge before baking?
Hi Melinda! No, not at all! You can let the dough sit in the fridge for 3-4 days if you wish. Just make sure that it is tightly covered with plastic wrap so that it doesn’t dry out. You could also freeze it for a couple of months. I do this often. Good luck! I hope this helps! – Justine
Words can’t stress enough to FLOUR YOUR SURFACE! This is one of the most difficult and sticky cookie doughs I’ve ever had the displeasure of working with. I’d even go so far as to say add an extra half cup of flour to the recipe before you refrigerate it and then LIBERALLY flour your surface. The resulting cookies are great but I had to re-work my dough at least three times to get it to cooperate.
Hi Maureen! I think you have a super important point here. This dough is extremely sticky and difficult to work with. I find that some batches work better than others, and sometimes I do need more flour. I just made another batch yesterday, and I found the dough more annoying to work with than ever. It is very important to flour everything (including the cookie cutter). I hope they were the worth the struggle, and I’m happy they at least tasted good even though they were a royal pain int he butt to make. =) – Justine
Why do sugar cookies get so hard after 1 day?
Sugar cookies will most certainly get hard and dry out if you don’t seal them up really, really tightly in an airtight container. I’ve had many batches of soft sugar cookies go hard if I don’t store them properly. I hope this helps!
Is it fine not to refrigerate the dough if you are not cutting shapes in the dough?
Hi Stephanie! I would definitely advise chilling it somehow, even if it’s just sticking the dough in the freezer for a half hour to speed up the process. Even if you don’t plan on cutting shapes out of it, you run the risk of the the cookies spreading awkwardly (as well as getting an iffy consistency). Chilling the dough helps to solidify the fat (in this case butter). You can totally give it a shot on a tester cookie or two and see how the consistency turns out. If you are in a rush and have access to a freezer, I think this would be the second best option. Just don’t leave it in there too long or you will have to wait for it to thaw ;). Good luck! – Justine
These cookies are amazing! We refrigerated the dough for about 5 hours and rolled out in two batches (to keep the dough cool while we were rolling out the first batch). We didn’t have any problems with the dough being too sticky and did keep the rolling surface and the pin generously floured. The cookies stayed nice and soft and really do taste like the Lofthouse cookies. Thanks for the great recipe Justine!
I am so happy that you guys loved the cookies =). They are definitely one of my favorites and don’t last very long around here ;). Happy Holidays to you and your family!
These cookies were perfect. Not too sweet, just the right amount of flavor. Added about 2-3 Tbsp more flour, baked them for 7 mins at 425F. Amazingly soft. Best sugar cookie recipe ever. Thank you!!! Took the advice of using extra flour for the work area & utensils, it helped a lot.
I’m so happy they worked out for you! A lot of flour certainly helps. The dough can get on the sticky side. I hope you and your family have a wonderful Holiday season! Happy Holidays!
I’m IN LOVE with this idea of using powdered sugar instead of flour to “flour” the surface. Brilliant! I am so happy you enjoyed them ;).
These are dangerously delish….this will be my go to recipe for sugar cookies from now on.
I’m so happy you enjoyed them, Janie! They are soooo dangerous!
I make these every year at Christmas and people love them. I think they are not too sweet but yet they remind me of an old recipe. We LOVE them!!
They’re great aren’t they! Thanks for stopping by Alina!
I know his is a late answer but just wanted to give an idea… If I want cookies to be less crisp, I throw a piece of fresh white bread into the container with the cookies (not touching though) for at least 8 hours and the cookies will soften right up! I believe an apple slice will work as well but I always use bread : )
Thank you. BTW,. they have been soft when i took them out of the oven, but got hard and crisp as they cooled. I’ll try less time . thank you again.
Oh no the recipe isn’t showing up and I mistakenly just had the page bookmarked for future reference! Is your site having issues?
I can’t seem to open the link to the recipe.
What happened to the recipe? It’s not showing up at all