These copycat Lofthouse sugar cookies are delicious and melt in your mouth. Frosted in a layer of buttercream, they are the perfect texture and rival any purchased from the grocery store! This post contains affiliate links.
You might also like our bakery-style cutout soft sugar cookies, lemon sugar cookies, or sprinkle cookies.
Watch our Step By Step Video!
Sugar cookies are my jam. I love making them all year long, but there’s something about not having to roll and cut out shapes. This copycat recipe for Lofthouse cookies is quick and easy to whip up and totally hits the spot. The perfect amount of sweetness, buttery texture, and flavor.
Lofthouse Cookies
What are Lofthouse cookies? They are the delicious sugar cookies that almost all grocery stores sell. The ones that are soft melt-in-your-mouth texture, like a cloud, and frosted in colorful buttercream that changes with the seasons. Sold in plastic clamshell containers, they are often brought to class parties! My 16-year-old LOVES Lofthouse cookies, so I wanted to make a homemade version for her. I married this recipe, and this recipe tinkered with baking time and temp and frosted them with my classic buttercream frosting.
What Makes This Lofthouse Sugar Cookie Recipe A Keeper
No Chill: No need to chill the dough. The dough comes together beautifully and isn't sticky to work with.
Basic Ingredients: No need to go out and buy cake flour or anything you might not already have on hand. This recipe uses basic pantry and refrigerator ingredients. Lofthouse cookies and copycat versions are generally made with margarine, but I always bake with butter and use a combination of butter and oil in this recipe. You can use whatever you'd like.
Easy to customize: I use vanilla and almond extract in mine, but if you don’t care for almond extract simply leave it out. I highly recommend trying this combo though---it tastes amazing.
Lofthouse Cookie Ingredients
Cookies
- 1 cup butter, softened
- 1 ½ cups powdered sugar
- 2 large eggs
- ⅓ cup vegetable oil
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon almond extract (my secret ingredient for the best-flavored sugar cookies. Don't leave this out!)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 Tablespoon corn starch
- 3 ¾ cup all-purpose flour
Frosting
- ¾ cup (1 ½ sticks) butter
- 4 ½ cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 4-6 Tbsp. milk (start with 4 and work your way up, if needed)
- food coloring, if desired
How To Make Copycat Lofthouse Cookies
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line baking sheets with parchment paper.
In the large bowl of a stand mixer, beat butter and powdered sugar until fluffy using the paddle attachment (can also use an electric hand mixer). Beat in eggs, oil, and extracts.
Add dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until just combined.
Scoop dough using a 2 Tbsp. cookie scoop and place on baking sheets (6-8 cookies/sheet). Roll each cookie dough ball using your hands until smooth then place it back onto the baking sheet. Flatten cookie dough balls slightly with your fingers or palm (they should look like little hockey pucks).
Bake cookies for 8-10 minutes. Do not overbake! These cookies aren't supposed to be golden or brown at all. When they no longer look glossy they are ready to come out of the oven.
Let stand on baking sheets for 3-5 minutes then transfer cookies to cooling racks to cool completely.
Beat frosting ingredients together with an electric mixer. Start with 4 tablespoons of milk then add up to two more tablespoons of milk, until desired consistency is achieved.
Frost cookies with an offset spatula or frosting spreader.
Add sprinkles.
Frequently Asked Questions
How To Store Lofthouse Sugar Cookies
Store the frosted sugar cookies in an airtight container on the counter at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Can You Freeze Lofthouse Cookies?
Yes! You can make and freeze these cookies to enjoy on another day. Freeze the baked and frosted cookies on the baking sheet for 90 minutes then place the frozen cookies in gallon-sized freezer bags.
Copycat Lofthouse Sugar Cookie Recipe (Printable Version)
LOFTHOUSE COOKIES RECIPE
Ingredients
COOKIES
- 1 cup butter softened
- 1 ½ cups powdered sugar
- 2 large eggs
- ⅓ cup vegetable oil
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 Tablespoon cornstarch
- 3 ¾ cup all-purpose flour
FROSTING
- ¾ cup (1 ½ sticks butter)
- 4 ½ cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 4-6 Tbsp. milk
- food coloring if desired
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Cream butter and powdered sugar until fluffy using an electric mixer. Beat in eggs, oil, and extracts.
- Add dry ingredients and mix until just combined.
- Scoop dough using a 2 Tbsp. scoop and place on baking sheets (6-8 cookies/sheet). Roll each ball using your hands until smooth then place it back onto the baking sheet. Flatten each cookie dough ball slightly with your fingers or palm (they should look like little hockey pucks).
- Bake cookies for 8-10 minutes. Do not overbake! These cookies aren't supposed to be golden or brown at all. When they no longer look glossy they are ready to come out of the oven.
- Let stand on baking sheets for 3-5 minutes then transfer cookies to cooling racks to cool completely.
- Beat frosting ingredients together with an electric mixer. Start with 4 tablespoons of milk then add up to two more tablespoons of milk, until desired consistency is achieved.
- Frost cookies with an offset spatula or frosting spreader.
- Add sprinkles.
Brandy says
Hi everyone! Brandy here, this recipe is still one of my favorites. So rich and buttery, and the cookies stay delicious and fresh for several days. I hope you enjoy them too!
Kayleigh says
Made these yesterday and they turned out phenomenal. I also thank you for the tidbit about the cookies losing their gloss once baked. I had to do a few substitutions. I was out of all purpose flour so I used whole wheat flour. I also did not have cream of tartar so I used extra baking powder. I also went dye free. No dyes in the frosting just kept the natural creamy white color. Frosting set up for me just fine. I used 6 oz oat milk in the frosting. Absolutely delicious! 10/10 would make again.
Brandy says
So glad to hear!!
Anneliese Wenden says
Easy to make and looked great. I appreciated the little details in the recipe, like how to see when they were done as they lose their gloss (I saw that happen, thank you). However, the frosting never set firm enough to pack these into a container. I left them flat beside each other on a cookie sheet in the fridge. Kids devoured them, so 4 stars. My daughter (who is 16) told me never to make them again, because she is trying to cut down on sweets, and she ate them from breakfast and after school and before bed. I wish I had a better recipe for the frosting so that I could send these with the kids to school.
Brandy says
Hi! They always crust over for me which makes them stackable (only two cookies tall, I wouldn't stack more than that). Your kitchen could be a little more humid than mine or other factors could come into play. You can also add a bit of meringue powder to make a more stable buttercream frosting. I'd add a couple of teaspoons, but might want to google a recipe to make sure! I'm glad you liked them!
Brandy says
Hello! My name is also Brandy
Is there an easy way to shape the cookies, I think it’d be cute to make some heart shaped for friends but if it’s a difficult process round is fine!
Thanks for any help 🙂
Brandy says
Hi Brandy! They keep their shape pretty well so I don’t see why you couldn’t roll and cut with cookie cutters! Try to bake a few. If they spread too much you can chill the rest of the dough for an hour then roll out and bake. 🙂
Scarlett says
I want to make this but for the life of me can’t figure out how much butter to use in the frosting.
Brandy says
1 and 1/2 sticks (3/4 cup).