These Soft and Chewy Frosted Sugar Cookies are the perfect sweet treat that’s easy to make and tastes just like your favourite Lofthouse sugar cookies!
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It’s been a hot minute since I shared my favourite Soft and Chewy Sugar Cookie Bars recipe with you here on the blog and since I posted it over a year ago it has turned into one of my most popular posts! And since you guys love it so much, I knew it was time to share these Soft and Chewy Frosted Sugar Cookies with you! They’re truly sugar cookie royalty – so soft and chewy with the fluffiest whipped frosting you’ll ever try!
If you’ve followed thebusybaker.ca for awhile now you’ll know that I love sharing all my favourite healthy, family-friendly recipes with you with the occasional decadent treat. I’m sure you can imagine which category these Soft and Chewy Frosted Sugar Cookies fit into… They’re certainly not diet food and they’re not the healthiest choice, but they are just so unbelievably delicious as a once-in-awhile treat that I had to share them. I’ve been making them for years for birthday parties, get togethers with friends, and even for the holidays (with green frosting, of course!), and they’ve never failed me!
Looking for even more delicious cookie recipes? You’ll LOVE these Best Ever Ginger Molasses Cookies or these Best Ever Chocolate Chip Cookies!
Trouble in sugar cookie paradise? Here are my best sugar cookie baking tips:
- Sift those dry ingredients! – Nobody likes clumpy, lumpy cookies, or cookies that don’t rise properly. To ensure your sugar cookies are soft and fluffy, sift together your flour with the leavening agents (baking powder, etc.) to ensure the perfect rise!
- Soft butter! – If your butter is too cold you’ll end up with hard cookies. If your butter is too soft you’ll end up with cookies that melt all over the baking pan (and nobody wants that!). Remove your butter from the fridge only about 30 minutes before baking (in a normal, room-temperature kitchen) and make sure it’s not rock hard and not so soft it’s practically melting either. Firmly spreadable is a good texture to go for when making sugar cookies
- Don’t over-bake! – If the edges of your sugar cookies start to brown, they’re over-baked. Watch the top of the cookies as they bake to judge the doneness – if the cookies lose their shine on top, they’re done!
- Cool your cookies on the baking pan! – Cooling your sugar cookies on the baking pan will ensure they don’t lose their shape if you try to move them to a cooling rack too soon. The cookies continue baking on the inside even after you’ve removed them from the oven and it’s best not to move them until the baking process is completed (you’ll know they’re ready to move if they’re cool and firm to the touch.
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I hope you love these Soft and Chewy Frosted Sugar Cookies as much as we do! Let me know in the comments below, what’s your favourite kind of cookie? I’d love to know!
KITCHEN PRODUCTS I RECOMMEND:
Looking for even more delicious cookie recipes? You’ll LOVE these:
-
Mini Eggs Chocolate Chip Cookies
-
Soft and Chewy Sugar Cookie Bars
-
Best Ever Ginger Molasses Cookies
-
Earl Grey Shortbread Cookies
-
Double Chocolate S’Mores Cookies
-
Best Ever Monster Cookies
-
Pumpkin Spice Chocolate Chip Cookies
-
Soft and Chewy Red Velvet Sugar Cookies
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Soft and Chewy Frosted Sugar Cookies (Lofthouse Copycat)
Ingredients
For the cookies:
- 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
- 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- a pinch of salt
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter, slightly softened
- 1 cup white sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 egg, plus one egg white
For the frosting:
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 3-4 cups powdered sugar, sifted to remove lumps
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2-4 tablespoons heavy cream (or half and half)
- food colouring and sprinkles, if desired
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and prepare 2 baking sheets by lining with parchment paper. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, sift the flour, cornstarch, cream of tartar, baking powder and salt together through a sifter or sieve at least twice. This will ensure ultra fluffy cookies.
- Using a stand mixer or hand mixer, beat the butter on high speed until it's light and fluffy and very creamy.
- Beat the sugar into the butter until the mixture is creamy.
- Add the vanilla, egg and egg white and mix just until combined.
- With the mixer running on low speed, add the flour mixture slowly, mixing as you go. Stop mixing when no streaks of flour remain (don't forget to scrape down the bowl to ensure everything is incorporated!).
- Using a cookie scoop or your hands, scoop out approximately tablespoon-sized amounts of dough and roll them into balls, placing them spaced out on the prepared baking sheets.
- Flatten the dough balls down with a flat-bottomed drinking glass or measuring cup.
- Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for about 9-10 minutes, or until the cookies just lose their shine on top.
- Let the cookies cool on the pans until they're firm enough to move to cooling racks to cool completely.
- While the cookies are cooling prepare the frosting by whipping the butter and powdered sugar together until smooth and creamy.
- Beat in the vanilla and add the heavy cream one tablespoon at a time just until the frosting reaches the perfect thick-but-spreadable consistency.
- Add some gel food colouring, if desired, and mix until the desired colour is reached.
- When the cookies have cooled, use a small offset spatula or the back of a butter knife to frost the cookies with a generous dollop of frosting.
- Top them with sprinkles and serve!
Notes
Nutrition
*I adapted this recipe from Oh Sweet Basil’s version to make them slightly softer and chewier with a fluffier frosting, just the way we like them!
Demeter says
These cookies look so good! Love all the tips and tricks to getting them perfect, thanks!
The Busy Baker says
Thanks!Enjoy!
Jeanne says
I didn’t see where eggs added
Chrissie says
Add the eggs after beating the butter and sugar together, with the vanilla. 🙂
Jamielyn says
I love these cookies so much! Look just like the originals!
Chrissie says
Thanks so much!!
Amy says
I love a good sugar cookie! My boys are going to love these I know that!
Chrissie says
Thanks! Our kids love these too!
Katerina @ diethood .com says
My kids would absolutely LOVE these!! They look fantastic!
The Busy Baker says
Thanks!
Anna says
We love frosted sugar cookies! A whole dozen goes quickly here!
The Busy Baker says
So glad you love the them!
Jacque Hastert says
I can see why these are so popular on your blog. It’s hard to turn down a soft chewy cookie.
The Busy Baker says
Thanks!I hope you give them a try!
EmilyLynn says
I love frosted sugar cookies, you can decorate them any way for all occasions! Thanks for the recipe!
Chrissie says
Thanks so much!
Ron says
Can you use this for Christmas cutout cookies?
Chrissie says
No, this is a drop cookie recipe. This dough does not roll out well 🙂
Ziona says
These are amazing cookies!! Can you freeze them for a few days? I wanted to make some to give as gifts because they are just that good, but would need to freeze them in order to do so they stay fresh….just wondering how they would handle that?
Thank you!
Chrissie says
Yes, the freeze well. For best results freeze before frosting them!
Karen R says
These are the best sugar cookies I’ve ever had! I’m not usually one for super sweet cookies, especially when they have icing on top… but WOW these cookies are phenomenal. I didn’t have any cream of tartar so I used about a teaspoon of lemon juice instead, which gives them a nice lemony flavour. I also only made half of the icing, which was loads for the amount of cookies I had!
Excellent recipe and easy to follow!!
Chrissie says
So glad you loved the recipe! Thanks for the great feedback!! 🙂
Lisa says
I made these using a GF all purpose flour, vegan butter and 1/2 tsp of lemon juice instead of the cream of tartar as I didn’t have any! Fluffy and delicious!
The Busy Baker says
Thanks so much for letting us know! Glad you liked them!!
Lola says
Your recipe sounds good. I’m going to try it this weekend.
I love your site but a suggestion, if you don’t mind……please don’t use yellow font on your webpage. It is so hard to see.
Thanks.
Chrissie says
Thanks for your feedback!
Mistery says
Can we freeze these
Chrissie says
Yes! Freeze them before frosting for best results. Then thaw, and put the icing on once they’ve thawed.
Johanna says
Made these awhile back and brought them into work, everyone loved them! Cant wait to make them again
The Busy Baker says
So glad you all loved them! Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a comment! 🙂
Jenk says
Hi! Are you able to store the raw cookie dough in the fridge overnight before baking or should they be baked immediately?
Chrissie says
You can store the dough overnight, but let it come to room temperature again before baking.
Annie says
Just a note for those interested in cut-out cookies–we had good success with this recipe! We made the recipe as written and then wrapped the completed dough in plastic wrap and froze for 20-30 minutes. Next we rolled the dough to about 1/8 an inch thickness and used holiday cookie cutters. We baked for the suggested 9 minutes. The shapes did soften a little during the bake but were still obviously recognizable. The cookies themselves tasted delicious! I would not recommend extremely intricate designs, but this recipe worked very well for our holiday cookies!
Kathryn Unger says
Lovely recipe. Made heart shaped cookies for Valentine’s. Next time I made the icing I need to sift it.
The Busy Baker says
I’m so happy you enjoyed them! Thank you for taking the time to leave your feedback!