Soft Homemade Lofthouse Cookies are the classic grocery store cookies made from YOUR kitchen, using ingredients you can pronounce, customized by your preference and occasion! These cookies are soft, have a touch of almond flavoring, and are so simple to make! These are the perfect cookies to make with kids, are so easy to decorate, and will surely be a crowd-pleaser!
Soft Homemade Cookie Dough Overview
The dough is one of the simplest doughs! It's basically a sugar cookie dough with just a few extra ingredients to make these lofthouse cookies! These "extra" ingredients are below-
Sour cream: Sour cream adds moisture to these cookies! Even though they are not intended to be moist cookies (have you ever taken a bite and thought of them as moist?), the sour cream keeps them from being dry and crumbly!
Almond Extract: I have recently fallen in love with almond extract. This special ingredient adds that classic hint of flavor in the base of Lofthouse cookies! According to one of my taste testers, this is the ingredient that made these cookies taste "just like the real thing"!
Cream of Tartar: Normally, people combine baking soda with cream of tartar in recipes to create a mix between baking soda and baking powder. However, you'll notice that all three ingredients are in this recipe. This is because cream of tartar is used to ensure sugar does not crystalize. These cookies are SOFT, almost air-like, and cream of tartar helps to do the trick!
Corn Starch: Corn starch, to me at least, is not an uncommon ingredient. However, ¼ cup of corn starch is a bit alarming if you haven't worked with it before! Corn starch also helps to create a light and airy cookie. It also helps to stabilize the cookies by providing some structure! That seems contradictory, but that's the magic of corn starch (my favorite ingredient).
Lofthouse Cookie Frosting
The frosting is a classic American Buttercream, but it has a bit of vegetable shortening. Vegetable shortening creates a more stable frosting, keeps the frosting light and creamy, and doesn't affect the flavor of the frosting!
The trick to this frosting is using heavy whipping cream as opposed to milk and whipping on high speed for at least two minutes. This creates a light, bright, silky frosting!
The best part about the frosting- besides its sweet taste- is the fact that it is totally customizable in color! This means that you can really make this cookie fit for your occasion. Birthdays, holidays, and celebrations will be made much sweeter with these!
Storing and Serving Homemade Cookies
These cookies, though I think are best when fresh, actually taste really nice on the second and third day after the flavors set! The frosting adds a bit more moisture to the cookies as they sit, which I know some people enjoy!
They are best stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days. You can freeze these cookies unfrosted for up to 3 months, though I would do so in an airtight container rather than a plastic bag to ensure that they do not break! They are fragile cookies!
Other Recipes
Print Soft Homemade Lofthouse Cookies
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Chill Time: 2 hours:
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 2 hours, 30 minutes
- Yield: 14 cookies 1x
- Category: Cookies, Soft Cookies, Lofthouse Cookies, Buttercream
Description
Soft Homemade Lofthouse Cookies are the classic grocery store cookies made from YOUR kitchen using ingredients you can pronounce, customized by your preference and occasion! These cookies are soft, have a touch of almond flavoring, and are so simple to make! They are perfect to make with kids, are so easy to decorate, and will surely be a crowd-pleaser!
Ingredients
For the Cookies
- ½ cup butter, room temperature
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 1 large egg yolk, room temperature
- ⅓ cup sour cream, room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon almond extract
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- ¼ cup corn starch
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
For the Frosting
- ½ cup unsalted butter
- ¼ cup vegetable shortening
- 2 ⅓ cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ½ tablespoons heavy cream
- optional: food gel
Instructions
For the Cookies
- In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, cream room temperature butter and granulated sugar together until light and creamy. Add egg and egg yolk to the batter, mixing until fully combined.
- Add sour cream, vanilla extract, and almond extract to the dough, scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl to ensure mixture is combined.
- In a medium bowl, whisk all purpose flour, corn starch, baking powder, baking soda, and cream of tartar together.
- Slowly add dry ingredients to the wet, mixing until smooth. Do not overmix. Dough will be incredibly sticky.
- Refrigerate dough for at least two hours or overnight.
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Form dough balls into 2-tablespoon balls. Place balls at least 2.5 inches apart on baking sheets, as the cookies puff up heavily.
- Bake for 7-10 minutes until centers of the cookies are set. Tops will not be golden or colored in the slightest. Cookies should resemble a half or a sphere. The middle should feel firm when touched- not wet or dense.
- Let cookies sit for 2 minutes before transferring to a wire rack or plate to continue cooling. If you leave cookies on the tray, the bottoms will be too brown.
For the Frosting
- In a large bowl or in the bowl of your stand mixer, whip butter and vegetable shortening together until smooth over medium speed.
- Slowly add powdered sugar to your mixture, beating until smooth and fully incorporated.
- Add vanilla extract and heavy whipping cream. Mix on high speed for 2-3 minutes until frosting becomes light in color and fluffy!
- Frost cooled cookies with about 1 tablespoon of frosting!
Keywords: Buttercream Frosting, Homemade Lofthouse, Copycat Lofthouse, Soft Cookies, Cookies, Icing Cookies
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