{ Lofthouse Style Frosted Sugar Cookies }

You have all seen these little frosted gems when you stroll through the bakery section at your local grocery store. You swear that you won’t buy them and then you do. You swear that after you buy them, you will eat just one. You swear that after you eat one, you won’t eat another. You swear that after two, you will stop. You swear that you will never buy these again. After all that “swearing” you probably have finished three or four. Sound familiar?

These cookies are addicting to say the least. They are soft, buttery, sweet and irresistible. Each festive season, the frosting color changes and you are even more apt to purchase to bring to the office, bunko night, book club or simply to eat at home. The folks at Lofthouse are geniuses and have millions of cookie addicts around the country coming back for more.

As stated on their fun website, the brand was born in 1994 in a makeshift bakery in the back of a garage. It was old family recipe passed down from generations that is a moist and delicious sugar cookie with sweet, fluffy frosting. This already iconic cookie had humble beginnings from being delivered from the back of a pickup truck and now commercially delivered to a grocery store near you.

After seeing this cookie featured on Pinterest from Sweet Pea Kitchen, I knew that I had to make it. She also adapted the recipe from, recipesecrets.net . I used the recipe from sweet pea kitchen with the addition of more vanilla.  Found that chilling the dough and working with small batches of the dough works best and using flour to prevent sticking.

I brought these cookies to a couple of my offices this week and they were an overwhelming success. One person, who shall remain nameless, admitted to eating five in one day. Love it! I call myself a self-proclaimed “food pusher”. (It's a good thing)  It brings me such joy to make things for other people and see the instant smile on their face.

I decided on the traditional pink frosting, but you can get as creative as you want. What color would your frosting be? Enjoy!!!

Lofthouse Style Frosted Sugar Cookies

Cookies:

6 cups all purpose flour
1 t. baking soda
1 t. baking powder
1 c. butter, at room temperature
2 c. granulated sugar
3 eggs
2 t. vanilla extract
1 1/2 c. sour cream

Frosting:

1 c. butter, room temperature
1 t. vanilla extract
4 c. powdered sugar
6 T. heavy cream
Several drops food coloring
Multi-colored Sprinkles

Directions:

In the bowl of a stand mixer with the flat beater attached, cream the butter and granulated sugar at medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. Add the eggs, one at a time beating until each is incorporated. Add the vanilla and sour cream and beat at low speed until combined.

Add the dry ingredients and beat at low speed until just combined, scraping down the bowl as needed. Dough will be a bit “sticky”. Divide dough into two sections. Flatten into rectangles about 1 1/2 inches thick, then wrap with plastic wrap. Chill in the refrigerator overnight or at least two hours until firm.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper or spray them with nonstick cooking spray, set aside.

Use the plastic wrap that you chilled the dough in. Dust the top of the dough and then flip and flour the other side, keeping it on the plastic wrap. With a rolling pin, roll the dough out to 1/4-inch thickness. Using a 2 1/2-inch round cookie cutter, cut out circles and transfer to a baking sheet. Bake for 7 minutes, until pale golden. Immediately transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool. Best to work in small batches while keeping the remainder of the dough chilled.

To make the frosting, in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and vanilla. Slowly beat in the powdered sugar. Once smooth and creamy, add in heavy cream, 1 tablespoon at a time until the desired spreading consistency is achieved. If desired, add food coloring and beat until combined.

Once cookies have cooled completely, frost and add sprinkles. Allow frosting to set, then store in an air-tight container. Let cookies sit for several hours before serving to allow the flavors to develop.

Makes approximately: 5 to 6 dozen cookies (will vary on the thickness of the dough)

NOTE: These cookies are pretty darn close to the ones you buy in the store however, I am sure that original lofthouse recipe is under "lock and key" so we may never be able to completely duplicate it 100%. I used the recipe that I found (as noted in the body of the post) and basically increased the amount of vanilla and working the dough in small batches, while keeping the rest chilled, works best.  It is a very soft dough. I thought they were quite tasty, but I know that they may not appeal to everyone, since they do taste a bit different than the ones in the store but pretty close.

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