These soft buttercream cookies are the perfect Lofthouse copycat recipe! These thick and soft cookies are covered in a creamy pink frosting and sprinkles. If you're like me and maybe don't love spending hours in the kitchen, decorating intricate cookies, then these buttercream cookies are for you!
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As a kid, I was obsessed with lofthouse cookies at the grocery store! They just looked SO pretty to me, but I guarantee that these soft pink frosted sugar cookies are so much better. Super thick and tender vanilla almond cookies covered in the best buttercream frosting.
These soft frosted cookies are so soft thanks to a combination of butter, cornstarch and sour cream - no dry cookies here!
If you're looking for cut out cookies, I recommend taking a look at my no spread sugar cookie recipe! But if you aren't too confident with icing intricate cookies, frosted sugar cookies are your best bet!
When I was recipe testing these buttercream cookies, I wanted them to be extra soft and tender. I added some sour cream for texture and cornstarch, and now we have the perfect soft cookie! I also added a bit of almond extract to get that Lofthouse cookie taste, but you can always leave it out.
Test Kitchen Tip 👩🏻🍳: Swap out the frosting color and sprinkles depending on the holiday! I love red and pink for Valentine's Day and black and orange for Halloween!
Just Simple Pantry Ingredients
- Using cornstarch or cornflour is going to make your cookies super soft, so don't skip this out!
- To get that Lofthouse cookie flavor, I like to add a little bit of almond extract to both the cookies and the frosting. Feel free to leave this out if you don't have almond extract on hand!
Let's Make Some Cookies!
Step 1: In a large bowl, whisk the flour with the cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
Step 2: In another bowl or in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the butter with the sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg, vanilla extract and almond extract and mix until combined. Add the sour cream and mix once more.
Step 3: Pour all of the dry ingredients into the wet and mix until just combined. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill for 1 hour.
Step 4: Preheat your oven to 350ºFahrenheit and line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Scoop out 2 tablespoons of the chilled cookie dough and place the cookie dough balls 3-4 inches apart on the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until the edges are set and a light golden brown and the middles are still slightly underbaked. Let them cool on the baking sheet for 15 minutes before removing to a wire cooling rack.
Step 5: In a large bowl with a hand held electric mixer or in a stand mixer, whisk the butter with the confectioners' sugar. It is going to look dry and crumbly at first which is fine!
Step 6: Add the heavy cream, vanilla extract, almond extract and salt. Mix until soft and creamy, then add a few drops of food gel.
To frost, I like scooping out the frosting with a small or medium cookie scoop and placing it in the middle of the cooled cookie. Then I use a small offset spatula to spread the frosting around and create swirls, before adding sprinkles.
Bakery Style Cookies
Want to know the secret to getting that perfectly round cookie shape? Cookie scooting! As soon as the cookies are out of the oven, use a large glass or biscuit cutter to gently scoot the cookies into a perfectly round shape.
I also recommend chilling the cookie dough; that way, they don't spread too much in the oven while baking.
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Thank you!
Ella
Recipe
Buttercream Cookies
Ingredients
Soft Sugar Cookies
- 2 ¾ cups (330 grams) all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 cup (226) unsalted butter room temperature
- 1 cup (200 grams) white sugar
- 1 large egg room temperature
- ¼ cup (60 grams) sour cream room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon almond extract optional
Sugar Cookie Buttercream
- ½ cup (113 grams) unsalted butter room temperature
- 2 cups (240 grams) confectioners' sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ⅛ teaspoon almond extract
- pinch salt
- 2-3 tablespoons heavy cream
- soft pink food gel
Instructions
Cookies
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cornstarch, salt, baking soda and baking powder. Set aside.2 ¾ cups (330 grams) all purpose flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder, ½ teaspoon baking soda, ½ teaspoon kosher salt, 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a large bowl with a handheld mixer, cream the butter with the sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg, vanilla extract and almond extract (if using), mix until combined. Add in the sour cream and mix once more.1 cup (226) unsalted butter, 1 cup (200 grams) white sugar, 1 large egg, 2 teaspoons vanilla extract, ¼ teaspoon almond extract, ¼ cup (60 grams) sour cream
- Pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and stir until just combined. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill for 1 hour.
- Preheat the oven to 350℉/175℃ and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Scoop out 2 tablespoons of cookie dough and roll into a ball. Place on the baking sheet, keeping the cookie dough balls 3-4 inches apart.
- Bake the cookies one sheet at a time for 8-10 minutes. The edges will be set but the middles might look slightly underbaked. Take a large biscuit cutter or glass to scoot the cookies into a perfect round shape.
- Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 15 minutes before transferring to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
Frosting
- In a large bowl with a hand mixer or in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the butter with the powdered sugar. It will look dry at first which is fine!½ cup (113 grams) unsalted butter, 2 cups (240 grams) confectioners' sugar
- Add the vanilla extract, almond extract, salt and 2-3 tablespoons of heavy cream. Mix on medium-high speed and it should become super soft and creamy. If it isn't as soft as you like, you can add more heavy cream.1 teaspoon vanilla extract, ⅛ teaspoon almond extract, pinch salt, 2-3 tablespoons heavy cream
- Add a few drops of food gel and mix until the frosting is the color you want.soft pink food gel
- Frost the completely cooled cookies and enjoy.
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