Lofthouse Cookies

February 4, 2022

Lofthouse cookies are those light, fluffy frosted cookies that can almost always be found on the bakery shelves of your local grocery store. We all love how puffy and perfectly sweet they are and now, you can bake them up in your own kitchen.

Let’s get started…

Begin by gathering 1/2 cup of room temperature butter, 1 cup of granulated sugar, 1 large egg, 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract, 1/4 teaspoon of almond extract, 1/3 cup of sour cream, 1 cup of cake flour, 1 1/3 cups of all purpose flour, 1 tablespoon of cornstarch, 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda, 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder and 1/4 teaspoon of salt.

In a large bowl, whisk 1/2 cup of room temperature butter with 1 cup of granulated sugar until fully combined.

Add 1 large egg, 1 teaspoon on vanilla extract and 1/4 teaspoon of almond extract and whisk until creamy.

Add 1/3 cup of sour cream and whisk to combine. Sour cream helps add a beautiful layer of tang to these cookies and helps to keep them moist and super soft.

Place a mesh sifter over the bowl and add 1 cup of cake flour, 1 1/3 cups of all purpose flour, 1 tablespoon of cornstarch, 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda, 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder and 1/4 teaspoon of salt in it. Gently sift the dry ingredients into the bowl and use a silicone spatula to mix until all of the ingredients are combined.

Grease a cookie dough scoop with non-stick spray and portion the dough out onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Chill the dough for 1 hour in the refrigerator or 20 minutes in the freezer.

Place the chilled balls of dough 2 inches apart onto parchment lined or non-stick baking sheets. Use a flat bottomed water glass to press the dough out into a thick disk and bake the cookies in a 350 degree oven for 8-9 minutes or until the cookies are puffed and no longer look glossy on the top.

Allow the cookies to cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheets and then carefully transfer them onto cooling racks. They are quite soft at first, so I recommend using a flat turner that is as wide or wider than the cookies, so they don’t bend when you pick them up.

Allow the cookies to cool fully before frosting…

Lofthouse cookies should be frosted with a fluffy frosting, but the frosting needs to set, so you can stack your cookies in an airtight container for storage or stack them in gift baggies to give to your lucky friends. This frosting a fluffy, but will set in about 15 minutes… just enough time to add your sprinkles…

To make the frosting, use an electric hand mixer to whip 4 tablespoons of room temperature butter, 3 tablespoons of vegetable shortening, 1/2 cup of whole milk, 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract and a few drops of almond extract in a large bowl until fully combined.

Gradually add up to 5 cups of confectioners sugar until you have a thick, fluffy frosting.

If you want to dye your frosting, add a drop or two of food coloring and mix to evenly distribute. I wanted a few different colors today, so I divided the frosting between several small bowls and added 1 drop of pink food coloring to one of the bowls and then 3-4 drops to another bowl giving me a soft pink and a hot pink. I did the same thing with some purple food coloring and left a bit of the white frosting un-dyed in the original mixing bowl. So, with just 2 dyes, I had 5 different colors of frosting…

Once the cookies are fully cooled, spread your frosting and add your sprinkles…

These cookies are so light and fluffy and that little bit of almond extract adds the classic bakery flavor of those grocery store lofthouse cookies that we all know and love…

The addition of the cake flour and sour cream to this cookie dough creates such thick, soft, fluffy cookies that just melt in your mouth and that creamy, fluffy frosting adds just the right amount of texture and sweetness to make these cookies perfect.

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