Lofthouse Sugar Cookies Recipe - Frosted Sugar Cookies (2024)

FAQs

Why are Lofthouse cookies soft? ›

What Makes Lofthouse Cookies So Soft? Unlike a standard sugar cookie, Lofthouse cookies are made with both baking soda and baking powder for a softer, less crumbly texture. The dough also includes sour cream to keep the cookies moist. The texture is soft and airy, like a cross between a cookie and a cupcake.

For the icing, you need confectioners' sugar, water, vanilla extract (replace with water to keep the icing stark white, or use clear vanilla extract), a touch of corn syrup, and a little salt. The icing dries firm with a very slight crisp, so you can easily stack your decorated sugar cookies and travel with them.

Tips for baking soft sugar cookies

If there's too much flour, the cookies will turn out dry and they will not spread. If possible, measure the flour with a food scale. Otherwise, to ensure the exact amount, gently spoon the flour into the measuring cup and level if off with a flat edge.

“Cornstarch is a game changer for cookie baking,” confirms Brian Hart Hoffman, editor in chief of Bake from Scratch. “You can count on [it for] a softer and more tender crumb.”

“To keep cookies soft, store them in an airtight container and not in a cookie jar,” Amanda recommends. “While cookie jars are cute, they usually don't have airtight lids.

They are not mass produced. Custom cookies are expensive because they are highly labor intensive. There are many, many steps to creating them. The average set of cookies can take hours from start to finish.

Frosting is the thickest of these confections and is ideal for spreading or piping on cakes, cupcakes and cookies. Icing is a little thinner than frosting and is often poured or piped over coffee cakes, pound cakes, doughnuts and cookies—and it usually hardens when it dries.

Cookie icing can be used in the same way that royal icing can; however, it doesn't dry as hard as royal icing does. It's great for flooding cookies or piping designs into wet icing. To thin the consistency of cookie icing, just pop it in the microwave for about 20 seconds.

Choose to store them at room temperature or in the freezer instead of the fridge. If you can store your cookies at room temperature or in the freezer - do it. The fridge should be your last resort because of the moisture that can make your cookies soggy. Store the cookies in an airtight container.

Unless a recipe tells you otherwise, you should always store sugar cookies at room temperature to make sure that they taste as good on day three as they did on day one. Keep them in a cool, dry area of your kitchen; any additional humidity may change their texture, particularly with frosted sugar cookies.

How do you frost sugar cookies without a piping bag? ›

Plastic bags

1 gallon or 1 quart disposable freezer bags are great to use as piping bags. They are thick, easy to use and when you're done, just throw them away. I love using these, especially when working with sugary fillings like icing and meringue.

Allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before decorating. I like to decorate cookies directly on baking sheets so I can stick the entire baking sheet in the refrigerator to help set the icing.

Soft cookies have a water concentration of 6% or higher – moisture being the variable in texture. To make cookies crispy, add less liquid or bake it in the oven for longer to dry out the dough.

Lofthouse cookies are typically made from a mixture of flour, sugar, margarine, eggs, leavening agents, and flavorings. The signature frosting is often made with powdered sugar, margarine, and flavorings.

Soft-baked cookies are often made using a solid fat with a higher melting point, which prevents the cookie from spreading while baking. The result is a thicker, softer, chewier cookie. Another simple trick for softer cookies is to use chilled dough.

If you've ever shopped in an American grocery store, you've seen Lofthouse Cookies, or some sort of bargain equivalent. You know the ones I'm talking about. Their soft, crumbly texture, the sprinkles, the thick, fluorescent icing—these are all essential parts of why people love this cookie.