Best Copycat Lofthouse Sugar Cookies Recipe
This recipe for Lofthouse Sugar Cookies is IDENTICAL to the real thing. They are sweet with a soft and fluffy texture then topped with that iconic creamy frosting and sprinkles. Literal perfection in every way.
Pillowy soft Lofthouse Cookies Recipe
As a self-proclaimed cookie monster, I have a soft spot for Lofthouse sugar cookies. These pillowy, frosted treats are the perfect indulgence for any sweet tooth, and the good news is that you can make them at home with my (seriously identical) copycat recipe!
I based my recipe off of the ingredient list on an actual Lofthouse Cookie package so it’s no surprise that these cookies are soft, tender, and melt-in-your-mouth delicious with a subtle vanilla flavor that pairs perfectly with the sweet, creamy frosting.
Plus, they’re incredibly versatile and can be decorated with any color of frosting or sprinkles to fit any occasion. If you’re looking for a crowd-pleasing cookie recipe that’s easy to make and sure to impress, look no further than this recipe for Lofthouse Cookies.
What you’ll need for Lofthouse Sugar Cookies
Like I mentioned above, to create this recipe, I essentially looked at the Lofthouse Cookie package ingredient list, took out all of the preservatives and then used the exact same ingredients. The result was nothing short of amazing. Full ingredient amounts will be listed in the recipe card below.
- Margarine– I know, I know. I am a butter girl, too. But TRUST me. This is what Lofthouse uses so that’s what I used, too. This is in both the cookie base AND in the frosting (which is how that frosting will crust and harden but still be creamy!) DO NOT use imperial brand of margarine. It has a much higher water percentage than most margarine sticks. Look for something that is 80% vegetable oil.
- Powdered Sugar– This is what sweetens the frosting, yes, you probably guessed that BUT did you guess that this is the sugar that goes into the cookie dough, as well? That is half of the equation to getting that super soft, melt in your mouth cookie base that we know and love.
- Egg
- Vanilla extract– my favorite is either Watkin’s or Lorann Oils brand for Vanilla.
- Butter extract– This is the secret to that iconic Lofthouse Cookie Flavor that we know and love. Butter extract is what you taste but can’t put your finger on. Again, trust me on this!
- Cake Flour– Yes, cake flour. This is the other half of that super soft, melt in your mouth equation. While you can use all purpose, the cake flour really does make ALL the difference in the texture so if you are wanting an exact replica, use cake flour.
- Baking powder
- Salt
- Heavy Cream– This is in the frosting!
How to make Lofthouse Cookies
- Preheat your oven to 350° F and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer or with an electric hand mixer, cream together margarine and powdered sugar. This will whip up into an extremely smooth and creamy mixture.
- Next, add in the egg and your flavorings, mix on a high speed until completely incorporated, smooth and creamy.
- Lastly, add in the cake flour, baking powder and salt. Mix until your dough forms. The dough will be soft and almost feel like a cloud dough of sorts.
- Allow the dough to rest for 10 mintues– while this isn’t essential, this will help the dough to not be so sticky when it comes to rolling out the cookies.
- Use a #24 scoop (holds 3 tbsp of dough) to portion out the cookie dough into equal sized portions.
- Roll into a ball until there are no cracks in the dough and then gently flatten the dough slightly to make it look like a hockey puck.
- Arrange on your prepared baking sheet and bake at 350° F for 9-11 minutes- mine where done right at 10 minutes. Do not overtake these, they shouldn’t turn brown at all. They will spread slightly, puff up and no longer look wet and glossy on the top when they are ready to come out of the oven.
- Allow the cookies to cool on the pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack.
- Once the cookies have cooled, make the icing.
How to Make Lofthouse Sugar Cookie Frosting
- To make the frosting, gather your ingredients of margarine, powdered sugar, heavy cream, vanilla extract and butter extract.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer or with an electric hand mixer, cream the margarine until smooth
- Then alternate adding the remaining ingredients– a little powdered sugar and then a little bit of heavy cream in order to allow the powdered sugar to mix completely with the margarine. Use just enough heavy cream to mix the powdered sugar and margarine together, the frosting should stay thick.
- Repeat step number 2 until all of the powdered sugar is added to the margarine. At this point, the frosting should be quite thick.
- Add the vanilla and butter extracts and mix until combined. At this point, you can add more heavy cream to adjust the consistency of your frosting to your liking.
- Dye the frosting your desired color using food coloring. I like to use gel food coloring because it yields a deep color without having to use a lot of food dye.
Lofthouse Cookie Recipe variations
Can I make Lofthouse sugar cookies without cream of tartar?
Yes, in fact, my recipe already doesn’t include cream of tartar. You are welcome. 🙂
Can I use different flavors in my Lofthouse sugar cookie dough?
Certainly!! I LOVE all of Lorann Oils bakery emulsions. The Lemon would be ta-die-for in this cookie!
Lofthouse Cookie storage
How long do Lofthouse sugar cookies stay fresh?
My homemade loft house sugar cookies will stay fresh for up to 4 days in an air tight container at room temperature.
Can I freeze Lofthouse Cookies?
YES! They 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.
Lofthouse Sugar Cookies Recipe FAQs
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.
Lofthouse cookies are named ‘lofthouse’ because it was the Mother’s Maiden Name of David Stone who started the cookie company.
Lofthouse cookies are known for their soft and cake-like texture, paired with deliciously sweet frosting. This combination creates a melt-in-your-mouth treat that many find irresistible.
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.
More like this Lofthouse Cookie Recipe:
Lofthouse Cookies Recipe (Copycat Lofthouse Sugar Cookies)
Ingredients
Lofthouse Sugar Cookie
- 1 cup (222g) margarine** softened
- 1 1/4 cup ( 137g) powdered sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp butter extract
- 2 1/2 cups (295g) cake flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
Lofthouse Sugar Cookie Frosting
- 1/4 cup (55g) margarine
- 1 1/2 cups (165g) powdered sugar
- approx 1/4 cup (60ml) heavy whipping cream
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/8 tsp butter extract
Instructions
Sugar 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.1 cup (222g) margarine**, 1 1/4 cup ( 137g) powdered sugar
- Add the egg, vanilla and butter extract. Mix on a high speed until everything is mixed evenly and the mixture is creamy and smooth.1 egg, 1 tsp vanilla extract, 1/2 tsp butter extract
- Add the cake flour, baking powder and salt. Mix until a soft dough forms.2 1/2 cups (295g) cake flour, 1 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp salt
- 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.
Sugar Cookie Frosting
- To make the frosting, use your stand mixer or electric hand mixer to cream the margarine until smooth.1/4 cup (55g) margarine
- 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.1 1/2 cups (165g) powdered sugar, approx 1/4 cup (60ml) heavy whipping cream
- Repeat this step until all of the powdered sugar has been added. Your frosting should stay thick throughout this process.
- Mix in the vanilla extract and butter extract.1 tsp vanilla extract, 1/8 tsp butter extract
- You can now slowly add more heavy cream to the mixture the thin the frosting to your desired consistency.
- Use gel food coloring to dye the frosting your desired color.
- 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.
Can I substiture butter for margarine ? I never have margarine in the house but if i must I will go get some.
You can, but it will impact the final texture of the cookies! For best results (and to be a true Lofthouse copycat) you need to use margarine.
I’m a pastry chef, and one of my clients wanted these kind of cookies. So she found this recipe, and sent it to me.
The butter extract is non negotiable, that definitely helps with the flavor.
You do have to use cake flour. If you don’t have any, take one full of flour, take out 2T , and add 2T cornstarch mix well.
It works perfectly fine, I used it in both batches of cookies with great success!
Over all not a bad recipe.
I made the recipe correct the 2nd time, but the first time I did I doubled the recipe but accidentally used imperial brand margarine! I’m leaving this comment to save anyone else from this mistake. don’t worry, bake the batter as a cake, and make the frosting, when the batter is fully cooked crumble it with the frosting and make cake pops!!! I dipped mine in milk and dark chocolate and drizzled white chocolate on them. good luck!
Hello, can I not use butter extract? Will it change the taste?
Hi, the butter extract is the key to the iconic Lofthouse taste, but it will still taste nice without it.
what can i use instead of butter extract?
There isn’t a great sub for the butter extract. It’s the secret to that iconic Lofthouse Cookie Flavor that we know and love. Butter extract is what you taste but can’t put your finger on.
This is a fantastic recipe but all butter extracts are NOT created equal. In the past I have used Wilton butter flavor but I couldn’t find it locally. The store had McCormick. I do NOT recommend it. There is almost a chemical flavor. It reminds me of the smell of bug spray. The 2nd time I made them I also added just a touch of almond extract t as well. So good!
Hi Jeanie! I agree that not all butter extracts are created equal! A chemical taste is NOT the vibe. I actually developed a butter extract for that reason. You can find my flavorings here: https://shopcookingwithkarli.com/collections/flavorings .
yes! the McCormick butter extract is terrible!
These cookies are the best sugar cookies I’ve ever had. They even work amazingly well for cut cookies. They did not spread out any bit at all. I did double the recipe no and didn’t have enough margarine so I had to add a little butter in the cookies. My only suggestion is slightly less butter extract as it was really strong but again I added real butter in my cookies so I should have cut it in half.
I’m allergic to dairy, does your butter extract contain dairy?
No, it does not!
Can I use crisco butter flavor instead of butter flavored extract?
I haven’t tried making these cookies with butter-flavored crisco, but I imagine it would work!
Can I substitute the egg? Think applesauce would be ok?
Hi! I have a post with egg substitutes here: https://cookiesfordays.com/egg-substitutes-for-baking/. I would recommend cream cheese for this one!
I’ve always used a similar recipe. The only difference is it didn’t call for butter extract. The rest is nearly the same. I’m not a big fan of vanilla in frosting so I use Almond. This recipe is great and the cookies are amazing. we make them with spoons of dough then rolled into a ball. I’ve never been able to get the dough back out of the scoop!
I use a flour bottomed drinking glass to tap the doughballs down. Cake flour is a MUST!