Chocolate Lofthouse Cookies
A chocoholic spin on everyone’s favorite Lofthouse sugar cookie is here! Chocolate Lofthouse cookies are sure to be your new favorite.
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Chocolate Lofthouse Cookie Recipe
I haven’t kept how much I love classic Lofthouse sugar cookies a secret. So it should come as no surprise that I needed to put a chocolatey spin on them! Just so you’re forewarned, your taste buds are going to praise me for making Lofthouse cookies chocolate!
Boasting the same perfect Lofthouse cookie texture (read: soft & pillowy and topped with sweet frosting and sprinkles), fans of chocolate and the classics are going to flip over these. If you thought the plain Lofthouse sugar cookies were indulgent and sweet, just wait until you try one of these delectable chocolate lofhouse cookies. You may never go back (I know, it’s a lofty promise).
Ingredients in Chocolate Lofthouse Cookies
Chocolate Frosting
- Margarine, softened – Do not use imperial margarine. Get the cheapo, store brand. Imperial has a higher water content which will make the cookies spread like crazy. If they can not find something that is 80% vegetable oil, just use butter.
- Powdered sugar – Powdered sugar makes these cookies so soft with the perfect melt-in-your-mouth texture.
- Egg
- Vanilla extract
- Butter extract
- Cake flour – This also makes these cookies extremely soft and melt-in-your-mouth good.
- Dutch processed cocoa powder cocoa powder – I love Ghirardelli dutch processed cocoa but Hershey’s dark will work as well.
- Baking powder
- Salt
Frosting
- Margarine
- Powdered sugar
- Dutch processed cocoa powder
- Heavy whipping cream – You can sub for milk if you prefer, just use significantly less because it is thinner.
- Vanilla extract
- Butter extract – I know it sounds weird, but butter extract nails that perfect buttery lofthouse cookie flavor. I like to use Lorann Oils. You can use my code KARLI20 for 20% off your order through their website.
How to Make Chocolate Lofthouse Cookies
Chocolate Cookie
- Preheat the oven to 350° F (180° C) and line your cookie sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, or with an electric hand mixer, cream together the margarine and powdered sugar until smooth and creamy.
- Add the egg, vanilla and butter extract. Mix on a high speed until everything is mixed evenly and the mixture is creamy and smooth.
- Add the cake flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt. Mix until a soft dough forms.
- Allow the dough to rest for 10 minutes to make it easier to roll the dough.
- Scoop the dough using a #24 scoop (approx 3 tbsp of dough) and then roll into a ball until no cracks are seen in the dough and then gently flatten the ball so it looks like a hockey puck.
- Arrange on your cookie sheet and repeat with the remaining dough.
- Bake at 350° F (180° C) for 9-11 minutes or until the cookies spread slightly and no longer look wet in the center of the cookie. Remove from the oven before they start turning brown.
- Allow the cookies to cool on the pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire cooling rack. Wait until the cookies are completely cool to frost them.
Chocolate Frosting
- To make the frosting, use your stand mixer or electric hand mixer to cream the margarine until smooth.
- Alternate adding in 1/2 cup of powdered sugar and then just a tiny splash of heavy cream, mixing until the powdered sugar is completely mixed in with the margarine.
- Repeat this step until all of the powdered sugar has been added. Your frosting should stay thick throughout this process.
- Mix in the cocoa powder, vanilla extract and butter extract.
- You can now slowly add more heavy cream to the mixture to thin the frosting to your desired consistency.
- Frost each of the cookies and immediately add sprinkles to the top.
- Enjoy! Store in an airtight container for up to 4 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
How should I store my chocolate lofthouse cookies?
Store your frosted cookies in an airtight container for up to 4 days! These cookies also freeze really well and can be stored in a resealable freezer bag for up to 3 months (see below).
How do I freeze Lofthouse cookies?
These cookies freeze super well. I freeze them with the frosting on and everything. Just arrange your frosted cookies on a cookie sheet and then freeze the entire cookie sheet for 1 hour. At that point you’ll be able to toss all of the cookies into a freezer zip top bag without the frosting being crushed or the cookies sticking together.
What makes Lofthouse Sugar Cookies so soft and pillowy?
The answer is powdered sugar and cake flour! There is absolutely NO granulated sugar in this recipe. The powdered sugar in combination with cake flour (which is formulated perfectly to give us a softer, more cake like texture) gives us that classic melt in your mouth texture.
Other Copycat Recipes to Try
Chocolate Lofthouse Cookies
Ingredients
Chocolate Cookie
- 1 cup (222g) margarine, softened Do not use imperial margarine. Get the cheapo, store brand. Imperial has a higher water content which will make the cookies spread like crazy. If they can not find something that is 80% vegetable oil, just use butter.
- 1 1/4 cup (137g) powdered sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp butter extract
- 2 1/4 cups (295g) cake flour
- 1/3 cup dutch processed cocoa powder
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
Chocolate Frosting
- 1/4 cup (55g) margarine
- 1 1/2 cups (165g) powdered sugar
- 2 tbsp dutch processed cocoa powder
- ~1/4 cup (60ml) heavy whipping cream
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/8 tsp butter extract
Instructions
Chocolate Cookie
- Preheat the oven to 350° F (180° C) and line your cookie sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, or with an electric hand mixer, cream together the margarine and powdered sugar until smooth and creamy.
- Add the egg, vanilla and butter extract. Mix on a high speed until everything is mixed evenly and the mixture is creamy and smooth.
- Add the cake flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt. Mix until a soft dough forms.
- Allow the dough to rest for 10 minutes to make it easier to roll the dough.
- Scoop the dough using a #24 scoop (approx 3 tbsp of dough) and then roll into a ball until no cracks are seen in the dough and then gently flatten the ball so it looks like a hockey puck.
- Arrange on your cookie sheet and repeat with the remaining dough.
- Bake at 350° F (180° C) for 9-11 minutes or until the cookies spread slightly and no l longer look wet in the center of the cookie. Remove from the oven before they start turning brown.
- Allow the cookies to cool on the pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire cooling rack. Wait until the cookies are completely cool to frost them.
Chocolate Frosting
- To make the frosting, use your stand mixer or electric hand mixer to cream the margarine until smooth.
- Alternate adding in 1/2 cup of powdered sugar and then just a tiny splash of heavy cream, mixing until the powdered sugar is completely mixed in with the margarine.
- Repeat this step until all of the powdered sugar has been added. Your frosting should stay thick throughout this process.
- Mix in the cocoa powder, vanilla extract and butter extract.
- You can now slowly add more heavy cream to the mixture the thin the frosting to your desired consistency.
- Frost each of the cookies and immediately add sprinkles to the top.
- Store in an airtight container for up to 4 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
