Soft, pillowy Lofthouse-style sugar cookies topped with an easy strawberry frosting. These melt-in-your-mouth cookies are ultra-sweet and just like the beloved store-bought cookies!

Lofthouse Soft Sugar Cookies

Ah, the grocery store sugar cookies that we all hate to love (or love to hate). You know the ones. They’re thick, soft, and so sweet they make your mouth hurt. But we wouldn’t have it any other way! After all, there’s just something about a big, frosted cookie that puts a smile on my face.

So I took my favorite sugar cookie recipe, replaced the granulated sugar with powdered sugar, and (with a few other swaps) landed on these homemade Lofthouse-Style Cookies! And let me tell you, the texture is so good –  tender and soft, just like the ones from the store!

The powdered sugar is key to the pillowy texture of these cookies. As well as chilling the dough for the perfect cookie thickness. I made these cookies big and topped them with a pink strawberry frosting for maximum Lofthouse-ness, because it seems the store-bought cookies always have pink frosting. If you’re not fond of strawberry, you can flavor the frosting any way you’d like. Lemon and orange would both be amazing. Whatever flavor you choose, I have no doubt you will love these!

Here’s What You’ll Need:

• Plant-based butter adds moisture and buttery flavor to the cookies + makes up the bulk of the frosting.
• Powdered sugar gives these cookies their soft, tender texture. You absolutely must use powdered sugar in order to get the right cookie texture. Plus, you’ll need it for the frosting!
• Egg binds the ingredients together.
• Vanilla extract adds flavor to both the cookies and frosting. Feel free to replace it with another extract – orange, lemon, strawberry, etc.
• Salt 
• Baking powder
• Baking soda
• Corn starch helps create a more cake-like cookie.
• All-purpose flour is my go-to cookie flour for classic cookies.
• Freeze-dried strawberries are ground up into a powder to flavor and color the frosting. If you plan to make a different flavor of frosting, you’ll omit the strawberries.

Yield: 16 Cookies

Lofthouse Soft Sugar Cookies with Strawberry Frosting

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Soft, pillowy Lofthouse-style sugar cookies topped with an easy strawberry frosting! These dairy-free cookies are melt-in-your-mouth good!

Prep Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 24 minutes

Additional Time 1 hour

Total Time 1 hour 54 minutes

Ingredients

Cookies

• 2/3 cup plant-based butter, softened (see Note 1)
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup corn starch
• 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

Strawberry Frosting

• 1/2 cup plant based butter, softened (see Note 1)
• 3 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 2/3 cup freeze-dried strawberries, crushed and sifted (see Note 2)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 3-4 Tbsp plant-based milk

Instructions

1. Make the Cookies: in a large bowl, beat together the butter and powdered sugar until fluffy and totally mixed. Beat in the eggs and then the vanilla extract. Beat in the baking powder, baking soda, salt, and corn starch. Use a large spoon or spatula to gently mix in the flour until well incorporated. Cover and chill the dough for 2-3 hours, or until it's firm enough to roll up.
2. Preheat your oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet (or 2) with parchment paper. Scoop dough balls (I baked 6 per batch/baking sheet) 3 Tbsp in size. Roll dough balls smooth and flatten to a hockey puck shape. Return the leftover dough to the refrigerator.
3. Bake the cookies at 350°F for 6-8 minutes or just until the middles no longer look wet. If desired, immediately use the back of a spoon to gently re-shape the cookies to "perfect" circles. Transfer the cookies to a cooling rack.
4. Continue the rolling, flattening, and baking process until all cookies are baked, being sure you always bake on a room temperature baking sheet. Allow the baked cookies to cool completely before making the frosting.
5. Make the Frosting: in a medium bowl, beat together the butter, freeze-dried strawberry powder, and vanilla extract. Add the powdered sugar and 1-2 Tbsp of milk. Beat until combined, adding more milk as necessary to get a spreadable frosting.
6. Begin frosting the cooled cookies, adding sprinkles along the way, if desired. The frosting will begin to set a bit as you frost, so you'll need to add sprinkles as you go along.
7. Store cookies in a single layer in an airtight container. I found these cookies to be softer the day after baking (as long as they're sealed up)!

Notes

1. You can use plant-based butter in stick or tub form. When using tub "butter", you won't need to set it out at room temperature for very long as it will soften very quickly - I've even used it straight from the refrigerator!
2. Blend or crush 2/3 cup of freeze-dried strawberries. Sift it through a mesh sifter and use the fine powder in the frosting. Toss out the chunky bits.

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