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soft sugar cookies

Peppermint Lofthouse Sugar Cookies

December 16, 2021 by Rachael Ng Leave a Comment

Soft, Lofthouse-style sugar cookies flavored with festive peppermint! These sweet, cakey cookies are topped with a peppermint buttercream and tons of sprinkles!

Peppermint Lofthouse Sugar Cookies

If you’re looking for a homemade version of the soft, cakey grocery store cookies, then I’ve got the recipe for you! With a festive, holiday twist, my Peppermint Lofthouse Sugar Cookies are big, sweet, and all decked out with the perfect peppermint frosting (and, of course, sprinkles, too!). The secret to the pillowy soft texture of these cookies is simple: powdered sugar + corn starch. Instead of using a granulated sugar, you’ll sweeten the dough with light, soft powdered sugar. The corn starch helps keeps things soft so these cookies stay tasting fresh for days.

Not a fan of peppermint? You can replace it with your favorite extract to get the exact Lofthouse-style cookie you’re dreaming of. Orange, lemon, and vanilla are a few classics that would taste amazing in this cookie dough. Flavor the frosting the same as your cookies, and then top it all off with your favorite sprinkles!

Ingredients You’ll Need + Substitutions

  • Plant-based butter helps make these cookies buttery soft (and delicious!). If you aren’t dairy-free, regular butter will work just fine in this recipe. For the frosting, plant-based or regular butter will work as well.
  • Powdered sugar is a key ingredient to get the cakey, soft texture we want in these cookies. You won’t want to use any other sugar. Same goes for the frosting – only powdered sugar will work.
  • Eggs bind the ingredients. I haven’t tested this recipe with any egg replacers.
  • Peppermint extract brings that festive, holiday flavor to both the cookie and frosting. Feel free to use your favorite extract in its place: orange, lemon, maple, vanilla, etc.
  • Baking powder + baking soda work together to perfectly leaven these cookies; I don’t recommend any substitutes.
  • Corn starch keeps these cookies fresh and soft for days. You should be able to use arrowroot or tapioca starch in its place, though I haven’t tested either of these myself.
  • All-purpose flour is part of the cookie dough base. I like to use an unbleached variety when I bake. A gluten-free all-purpose flour may work here, but I haven’t personally tested it.
  • Plant-based milk thins out the frosting to make it smooth and easy to spread. You can use your favorite “milk”, water, or regular milk.

More Peppermint Recipes

Peppermint Brownie Sandwich Cookies

Peppermint Hot Cocoa Brownies

Chocolate Peppermint Cupcakes with Marshmallow Mint Buttercream

Yield: ~17 Cookies

Peppermint Lofthouse Sugar Cookies

Peppermint Lofthouse Sugar Cookies

Deliciously soft & cakey, Lofthouse-style sugar cookies topped with a peppermint buttercream and festive sprinkles!

Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Additional Time 30 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 30 minutes

Ingredients

Peppermint Sugar Cookies

  • 2/3 cup (75g) plant-based butter (or regular butter), softened (see Note 1)
  • 2 cups (240g) powdered sugar
  • 2 large eggs, room temperature
  • 1 1/2 tsp peppermint extract (see Note 2)
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1/4 cup (32g) corn starch
  • 2 3/4 cup (358g) all-purpose flour

Peppermint Frosting

  • 1/2 cup (57g) plant-based butter (or regular butter), softened
  • 2 tsp peppermint extract
  • 3 cups (360g) powdered sugar
  • ~1 Tbsp plant-based milk (or regular milk)

Instructions

  1. Preheat your oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet (or two) with parchment paper. Bring your eggs to room temperature by placing them in a glass of warm water for around 10 minutes.
  2. In a large bowl, beat together the butter and powdered sugar until fluffy. Beat in the eggs and extracts. Next, beat in the baking powder, baking soda, and corn starch. Finally, add the flour and use a large spoon to mix until the dough comes together.
  3. Scoop and roll dough balls 3 Tbsp in size - it's important to roll them smooth. Add 6-8 dough balls to your prepared baking sheet. Slightly flatten the dough balls. Bake at 350°F for 8-11 minutes. Allow the cookies to cool for 2 minutes on the baking sheet before transferring to a cooling rack. Repeat until all cookies are baked.
  4. Once the cookies are baked and totally cooled, you can make the frosting. It's important for the cookies to be totally cool so the frosting doesn't melt. In a medium bowl, beat together the butter and peppermint extract. Add in the powdered sugar and milk and beat until all is combined. If you find the frosting too thick, add more milk; if it's too thin, add a bit more powdered sugar.
  5. Frost the cookies using your preferred method - I used a small, angled frosting spatula. While you're frosting the cookies, top each one with sprinkles immediately after frosting. Make sure you add the sprinkles as you go along, or else the frosting will be too stiff for the sprinkles to stick.
  6. Store cookies in an airtight container in a single layer.

Notes

  1. Butter: you can use plant-based/vegan butter or regular butter for this recipe. Stick butter must be softened before beating, while tub "butter" can be used straight from the refrigerator (it's already soft).
  2. Peppermint: make sure you buy peppermint extract for these cookies - not mint extract.

© Rachael | Sugared & Stirred
Cuisine: American / Category: Cookies

Did you make this recipe? I would love to see!

Tag @sugaredandstirred on Instagram and hashtag #sugaredandstirred

Filed Under: Cookies, Dairy-free Tagged With: Christmas lofthouse cookies, Christmas sugar cookies, frosted sugar cookies, holiday cookies, holiday sugar cookies, homemade lofthouse cookies, lofthouse cookies, lofthouse cookies recipe, peppermint lofthouse cookies, soft sugar cookies

Lofthouse Soft Sugar Cookies with Strawberry Frosting

February 12, 2021 by Rachael Ng Leave a Comment

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

Lofthouse Soft Sugar Cookies with Strawberry Frosting

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.

© Rachael | Sugared & Stirred
Cuisine: American / Category: Cookies

Did you make this cocktail?

Tag @sugaredandstirred on Instagram and hashtag #sugaredandstirred

Filed Under: Cookies, Dairy-free Tagged With: dairy free cookies, frosted sugar cookies, lofthouse copycat cookies, lofthouse style cookies, lofthouse sugar cookies, soft sugar cookies, strawberry cookies

Chai Spice Brown Sugar Cookies (dairy-free)

October 26, 2020 by Rachael Ng 5 Comments

These soft-baked Chai Spice Brown Sugar Cookies are the prefect little Autumn cookie. Cozy, warm spices – like cardamom and cinnamon – pair wonderfully with the sugar cookie base that we all love this time of year!

Chai Spice Brown Sugar Cookies

I woke up this morning to the first snowfall of the year – eek! For us, this means that Fall is in full swing, and the holiday season is nearing – my toddler genuinely thought that snow meant it was Christmas today! This is the first year she has really understood how to be excited for something so far in the future, and she can’t wait. What it does mean? Cookie season is almost among us!

Along with all the pumpkin and apples are the familiar spices of Autumn that we all love in our muffins, pastries, and cookies this time of year. These Chai Spice Sugar Cookies are lightly spiced with an easy mix of familiar spices – if you don’t have ground cardamom in your pantry, I’m going to just say that you need it. It’s one of my favorite baking spices, and it’s really necessary for the full chai spice experience! You’ll use brown sugar in these cookies for extra moisture and flavor. Bake them a day in advance, seal them up in an airtight container, and you’ll have wonderfully soft, spicy sugar cookies that will stay soft for days!

Yield: 18 Cookies

Chai Spice Brown Sugar Cookies

Chai Spice Brown Sugar Cookies

Soft-baked brown sugar cookies lightly spiced with warm chai spices. Start the holiday cookie season early with these simple, glistening cookies!

Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Additional Time 2 hours
Total Time 2 hours 40 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 3/4 tsp baking soda
  • 3/4 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp ground cardamom
  • 1/4 tsp ground ginger
  • 1/8 tsp ground cloves
  • Pinch of finely ground black pepper
  • 1/2 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
  • 1/4 cup coconut sugar (or more brown sugar)
  • 1/3 cup light olive oil (or other liquid vegetable oil)
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 large egg + 1 large egg yolk
  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar for rolling (optional)

Instructions

  1. Bring your eggs to room temperature by placing them in a glass of warm water for around 10 minutes. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and spices; set aside.
  2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the sugars, oil, vanilla, egg, and egg yolk until totally combined. Add liquid ingredients to the dry and stir until a dough forms. Cover and chill the dough for at least two hours.
  3. Preheat your oven to 350°F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Add 1/4 cup of granulated sugar to a small bowl.
  4. Scoop cookies (six at a time) 1.5 Tbsp in size. Roll into smooth balls (the dough will be sticky!) and toss into the bowl of sugar, coating each dough ball with sugar. Carefully place dough balls on prepared baking sheet, re-shaping as necessary.
  5. Bake cookies at 350°F for 6-8 minutes or just until the edges are slightly brown. Allow cookies to cool on the sheet for 2 minutes before removing to a cooling rack.
  6. Repeat steps 4 & 5 until all cookies are baked, alternating between your cookie sheets so that the cookies are baked on a room temp sheet.
  7. Store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature.

Notes

  • For a spicier cookie, double the spices!
  • The chill time for the cookie dough is necessary! Without it, the dough will be far too soft to scoop and roll
  • These cookies will be softer the day after baking - make sure to store them in an airtight container

© Rachael | Sugared & Stirred
Cuisine: American / Category: Cookies

Did you make this recipe?

Tag @sugaredandstirred on Instagram and hashtag #sugaredandstirred

Filed Under: Cookies, Dairy-free Tagged With: brown sugar cookies, chai spice cookies, dairy free cookies, dairy free sugar cookies, soft sugar cookies

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Meet Rachael

Hi! I’m Rachael, a home baker who creates dairy-free, indulgent treats. As a sweets lover and former candy addict, I believe we shouldn’t have to give up everything we love in pursuit of wellness. That’s why I create delicious and approachable desserts that you can enjoy, in moderation, no matter your goals! Because, let’s face it, sometimes you just need a giant slice of frosted cake, sans guilt! Read More…

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