Homemade Pink Lofthouse Cookies
on Jun 10, 2020, Updated Jul 17, 2024
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Soft, chewy, and perfectly sweet, these homemade pink Lofthouse cookies are reminiscent of the grocery store version but so much more delicious!
These are SO much fun to make and enjoy, especially if you have little ones who adore the store-bought version of these super-soft sugar cookies. If you enjoyed these, give these Chocolate Shortbread Cookies, or these Banana Oatmeal Cookies a try too!
We all know them and most of us love them! Lofthouse cookies are a sort of guilty pleasure. They are just so irresistible, with the super moist and chewy texture, the best sweet sugar cookie flavor, and pillowy, thick frosting. Plus, sprinkles make everything better, and you can’t have Lofthouse cookies without sprinkles. You just can’t!
You’ve likely seen the original Lofthouse cookies at your grocery store — pretty much every one stocks them. They’re often topped with different colored frostings, but you can’t miss the signature golden, round cookies with generous icing on top. Kiddos love them, and let’s be real, adults do, too.
I love to make them from scratch because they are way easier than you’d expect, and I know exactly what’s going in them. As good as the grocery store ones are, there’s just something extra special and delicious about the homemade version. It makes them less of a guilty pleasure, and more just a plain and simple pleasure. That, I can get behind!
Table of Contents:
Table of Contents
What Are Lofthouse Cookies?
Everyone’s seen Lofthouse cookies at the grocery store I’m fairly certain! They’re the super soft, chewy sugar cookies usually on display in see-through plastic containers at the front of the store — at least when I’ve seen them! They’re a hit with kids (okay, and adults, too), and they’re just the softest, best sugar cookies with creamy, thick, colorful frosting on top.
Ingredients:
- Butter: All good cookie require butter!
- Sugar: And of course, sugar is necessary for sugar cookies. 🙂
- Egg: An egg will help to bind the dough and help the cookies to rise.
- Sour cream: Sour cream is unexpected but adds great moisture and just a touch of tartness to balance the sweet.
- Vanilla extract: Vanilla adds warmth.
- Almond extract: Almond is optional but recommended for an extra dose of nutty flavor.
- Flour: Flour is the base starch in these cookies.
- Cornstarch: Cornstarch makes the cookies more crumbly, but not fall apart.
- Baking powder and soda: This duo helps the dough to get nice and puffy as it bakes.
- Cream of tartar: This gives the cookies a distinct tangy flavor and keeps them soft.
- Salt: Salt brings out the sweetness and balances the other ingredients.
For the Frosting:
- Butter: Butter makes this frosting extra creamy and rich.
- Vanilla extract: Vanilla gives it a touch of warmth so it’s not all sugar.
- Almond extract: Almond isn’t mandatory but recommended for a warm and nutty kick.
- Powdered sugar: This is what flavors the frosting and makes it thick.
- Cream: Cream smooths and lightly thins the frosting.
- Food coloring: Use a few drops of red food coloring to get a pretty pink frosting like the photos in this post. You can also use any other food coloring instead if you prefer!
- Sprinkles: Sprinkles are necessary and oh-so-much fun!
See recipe card below for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Tips for the Best Cookies:
Lofthouse cookies are the best! Here are some simple tips to remember when you make them:
- Use the almond extract: Technically it’s optional, but almond extract adds the best, subtle nutty flavor to the cookies and frosting both. Use it if you have it!
- Don’t skip chilling the dough: Chilling the dough is necessary because it helps the cookies not to spread out too much as they bake, keeping them puffy and soft.
- Sprinkles aren’t optional: Sprinkles make these so much fun and like the cookies you’d find at the store! Don’t skip them. 🙂
Decorating Ideas:
You can’t go wrong with the classic frosting + sprinkles combo to decorate your Lofthouse cookies. But if you want to get even fancier, you can try:
- Multiple colored frostings: Separate the white frosting into different bowls and add various food coloring colors to the different bowls for multicolored cookies.
- Fun designs: Use a variety of colored frosting and edible decorations to make silly faces, game balls, or animals out of the cokies.
Frequently Asked Questions:
These cookies store well in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. If you stack them, be sure to only stack up to two layers, and don’t press the top layer down onto the bottom layer. You don’t want to squish the frosting or stick the cookies together.
If there is too much flour, the cookies will not be able to spread as well, and will be much drier. Be very careful with measuring the flour.
Wait until they are completely cooled; at least 5 to 10 minutes. If you frost them too soon the frosting will melt.
More Cookie Recipes to Consider:
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Homemade Pink Lofthouse Cookies
Ingredients
For the Cookie Dough:
- 1/2 cup butter, at room temperature
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/8 teaspoon almond extract, optional but recommended
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
For the Frosting:
- 1/2 cup butter, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 drops almond extract, optional but recommended
- 2 1/4 cups powdered sugar
- 2 to 3 tablespoons cream
- red food coloring
- sprinkles
Instructions
- In a large bowl or in the bowl of your stand mixer, add the butter and sugar, and beat until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
- Add the eggs, and beat until well combined, about 1 minute.
- Add the sour cream, vanilla, and almond extract if using, and stir to combine.
- Add the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, cream of tartar, and salt. Mix until combined.
- Scrape down the sides of the bowl, and cover the top of the dough with plastic wrap. Place in the fridge until chilled, about 1 hour.
- After the dough has chilled, preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a baking mat.
- Scoop a heaping tablespoon of dough into your hands, and roll it into a smooth ball between your palms.
- Place the ball on the cookie sheet, and repeat with remaining dough, placing the cookies about 2 inches apart, about 12 to a sheet.
- Using the bottom of a glass or a measuring cup, gently press the dough flat (I sprayed the bottom of my glass with just a bit of cooking spray so that the dough didn’t stick to it). Flatten each ball of dough until it’s about 3/4 of an inch thick.
- Bake the dough until puffy and golden around the edges, about 10 minutes.
- Let the cookies rest on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, and then remove to a cooling rack. Repeat with remaining dough.
- Let the cookies cool completely before icing.
- To make the icing, add the butter, vanilla, and almond extract to the bowl of your stand mixer or a larger mixing bowl, and beat until creamy.
- Add the powdered sugar and 1 tablespoon of cream. Beat until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
- Beat in the red food coloring, a few drops at a time, scraping down the sides as needed, until you reach your desired pink color.
- Add additional cream, a bit at a time, until mixture is the consistency you like. I like it thick but spreadable and usually add 2 tablespoons of cream total.
- When the cookies are cooled, spread the top of the cookies with icing, and then decorate with sprinkles.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container.
Notes
- You can sub butter-flavored shortening in this recipe for the butter if you prefer.
