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.
Just wondering if you could use melted butter instead of butter extract? Having a hard time finding it! Thank you!
Hi Nancy – using melted butter will not work, unfortunately. It would throw off the consistency of the cookies! I have developed a concentrated butter extract that is excellent in these, you can find it here: https://shopcookingwithkarli.com/products/butter-flavor-cooking-with-karli-1-oz-bottle . Alternatively, I’ve been able to find butter extract in the baking aisle of my local grocery store. Happy baking!
can this dough be made in advance and kept in fridge? If so, how long would you recommend leaving out before scooping? and is the frosting able to be made and placed in frosting bags or an airtight bowl, and kept in the fridge before use? thanks!
Yes, you can make this dough and frosting in advance and store in the fridge! Because this recipe doesn’t call for chilling the dough, I recommend letting the dough sit out a bit before baking as normal (I would put them on the cookie sheet while the oven is preheating) and pull the frosting out while the cookies are baking.
How do you tell if the margarine has 80 vegetable oil?
It will be listed on the package!
just a hint….blue bonnet..imperial..they are NOT margarines…if you look at the label they say “spread”. look for pacakges that say “margarine”. Land o lakes is one…..
learned this the hard way. and while i normally use only butter, not margarine, there are some things, like the above, that just need margarine for the taste.
If you can find Land O’ Lakes!! i’ve searched high and low in my area, no luck!
Look Yummy..If I wanted to double or triple the recipe, would you recommend making each batch separately or I can just double or triple the ingredients in one batch? TY
You can double in one batch! I recommend baking a test cookie to make sure the batch is turning out how you’d like before baking all of the cookies.
I love, love, love these cookies. I’ve made them a bunch of times in different color variations. I have a favor, could someday you show your technique to how you get your frosting edges so crisp and clean? These cookies will forever be in my rotation but I would love them to look prettier. Thank you
I’ve searched high and low for stick margarine that’s not Imperial; it’s next to impossible to find near me. I live in the suburbs of a major metropolitan area, so I have my choice of at least 12 different markets. I’ve struck out at every single one. I’d luv to try this recipe as written, as I don’t think it’s fair to review a recipe without making it as the recipe creator intended. Any suggestions? Thanks!
What brand have you found that has the 80% oil? All the margarines I find are less than that. I’d like to try the margarine
I use my store’s generic brand (food club!).
Can you use milk instead of heavy whipping cream? I’m sure the consistency would be off but just wondering as I don’t have any whipping cream on hand!
Yes, you can. You will just use significantly less because the milk isn’t as thick.
can I use gluten-free flour for this recipe
Yes, you can! Bonus points if you can find a 1:1 gluten free cake flour sub. A regular 1:1 GF sub will also work, the final texture of the cookie just won’t be nearly as soft.