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These are an exact replica of the Christmas Lofthouse Cookies. Insanely pillowy sugar cookies topped with creamy frosting and cute sprinkles, but way better than the grocery store’s version.
Loft House Sugar Cookies
I am obsessed with these Christmas sugar cookies. They are the PERFECT copycat of the grocery store Loft house sugar cookie. With the most tender, pillowy-soft texture and sweet thick frosting, they’re utterly addictive. Customized with any color frosting or sprinkle combo you’d like, they’re the perfect holiday treat. I seriously cannot get over the white frosting and Christmas sprinkle combo.
Here’s my pro tip for the sprinkles: get them from the bakery at your local grocery store. You can choose what colors you’d like and make a custom mix for a fraction of the price of the pre-made mixes in the baking aisle.
Ingredients
*Exact quantities and specific instructions can be found in the recipe card at the bottom of the post.
- Margarine, softened – DO NOT use imperial brand of margarine. It has a much higher water percentage than most margarine sticks. Look for something that is 80% vegetable oil. I typically use the brand ‘I Can’t Believe it’s Not Butter’ sticks.
- Powdered sugar – That is half of the equation to getting that super soft, melt in your mouth cookie base that we know and love.
- Egg
- Vanilla extract – I use my super-strength Vanilla extract and it add the perfect flavor.
- Butter extract – This is the secret to that iconic Lofthouse Cookie Flavor that we know and love. Butter extract is what you taste but can’t put your finger on. Again, trust me on this!
- Cake flour – Yes, cake flour. This is the other half of that super soft, melt in your mouth equation. While you can use all purpose, the cake flour really does make ALL the difference in the texture so if you are wanting an exact replica, use cake flour.
- Baking powder
- Salt
Frosting
- Margarine, softened – This is what will make the frosting crust and harden but still be creamy! Again, DO NOT use imperial brand of margarine. It has a much higher water percentage than most margarine sticks. Look for something that is 80% vegetable oil.
- Powdered sugar
- Heavy whipping cream
- Vanilla extract
- Butter extract – Again, this is key to the iconic flavor.
- Holiday sprinkles
How to Make Frosted Sugar Cookies
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C) and line your cookie sheet with parchment paper.
- In a bowl, cream the margarine and powdered sugar until smooth and creamy.
- Add the egg, vanilla and butter extract. Mix until everything is combined evenly.
- Add the cake flour, baking powder and salt. Mix until a soft dough forms.
- Allow the dough to rest for 10 minutes. Scoop the dough into 3 Tbsp portions and roll into a smooth ball and then gently flatten the ball so it looks like a hockey puck. Arrange on the cookie sheet.
- Bake for 9-11 minutes or until the cookies spread slightly and no longer look wet in the center. Remove from the oven before they start turning brown.
- Allow the cookies to cool on the pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire cooling rack. Wait until the cookies are completely cool to frost them.
- To make the frosting, cream the margarine until smooth.
- Alternate adding in 1/2 cup of powdered sugar and then just a tiny splash of heavy cream, mixing until the powdered sugar is completely mixed in with the margarine.Repeat this step until all of the powdered sugar has been added. Your frosting should stay thick throughout this process.
- Mix in the vanilla extract and butter extract.You can now slowly add more heavy cream to the mixture to thin the frosting to your desired consistency.
- Frost each of the cookies and immediately add sprinkles to the top.
Christmas Lofthouse Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup (222g) margarine*, softened
- 1 ¼ cups (141g) powdered sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ½ tsp butter extract
- 2 ½ cups (300g) cake flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp salt
Frosting
- ¼ cup (55g) margarine*, softened
- 1 ½ cups (165g) powdered sugar
- 1/4 cup (60mL) heavy whipping cream
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ⅛ tsp butter extract
- holiday sprinkles
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C) and line your cookie sheet with parchment paper.
- In a bowl, cream the margarine and powdered sugar until smooth and creamy.1 cup (222g) margarine*, softened, 1 ¼ cups (141g) powdered sugar
- Add the egg, vanilla and butter extract. Mix until everything is combined evenly.1 egg, 1 tsp vanilla extract, ½ tsp butter extract
- Add the cake flour, baking powder and salt. Mix until a soft dough forms.2 ½ cups (300g) cake flour, 1 tsp baking powder, ½ tsp salt
- Allow the dough to rest for 10 minutes. Scoop the dough into 3 Tbsp portions and roll into a smooth ball and then gently flatten the ball so it looks like a hockey puck. Arrange on the cookie sheet.
- Bake for 9-11 minutes or until the cookies spread slightly and no longer look wet in the center. Remove from the oven before they start turning brown.
- Allow the cookies to cool on the pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire cooling rack. Wait until the cookies are completely cool to frost them.
- To make the frosting, cream the margarine until smooth.¼ cup (55g) margarine*, softened
- Alternate adding in 1/2 cup of powdered sugar and then just a tiny splash of heavy cream, mixing until the powdered sugar is completely mixed in with the margarine.Repeat this step until all of the powdered sugar has been added. Your frosting should stay thick throughout this process.1 ½ cups (165g) powdered sugar, 1/4 cup (60mL) heavy whipping cream
- Mix in the vanilla extract and butter extract.You can now slowly add more heavy cream to the mixture to thin the frosting to your desired consistency.1 tsp vanilla extract, ⅛ tsp butter extract
- Frost each of the cookies and immediately add sprinkles to the top.holiday sprinkles
Nutrition
How long do Frosted sugar cookies stay fresh?
My homemade loft house sugar cookies will stay fresh for up to 4 days in an air tight container at room temperature.
Can I freeze Christmas Sugar Cookies?
YES! They freeze super well. I freeze them with the frosting on and everything. Just arrange your frosted cookies on a cookie sheet and then freeze the entire cookie sheet for 1 hour. At that point you’ll be able to toss all of the cookies into a freezer zip top bag without the frosting being crushed or the cookies sticking together.
What makes Lofthouse Sugar Cookies so soft and pillowy?
The answer is powdered sugar and cake flour! There is absolutely NO granulated sugar in this recipe. The powdered sugar in combination with cake flour (which is formulated perfectly to give us a softer, more cake like texture) gives us that classic melt in your mouth texture.
Karli’s Kitchen Faves
Here are a few of my favorite kitchen tools that I used to make this recipe!
- Offset spatula – I love using an offset spatula to frost cookies because it’s so much easier to get the perfect swirl on top without getting extra frosting on the side of your hand.
- Kitchenaid Mixer – I really love this thing. It’s not necessary for making good cookies, but I love the size of the bowl and the power. This Hand Mixer is an excellent option for when you don’t want to mix things by hand. They both save me a lot of arm aches!
- Cookie scoop set – These are sturdy and won’t break when it, you know, scoops dough. I love these for making pretty + even cookies.
- Cookie Sheet – These cookie sheets have put in WORK in my kitchen. If you’re looking for a brand that will stand the test of time (and cookies), this is my recommendation.
- Silicone baking mat – I love using this or parchment paper to line my cookie sheets to make it easy-peasy to get cookies off of the pan without sticking.
I accidentally burnt them… and i tried finding butter extract at the grocery store but couldn’t find any. Other than that, it turned out tasty. Even though its black at the bottom, its still edible.
I was skeptical in the beginning because the dough was like batter so i kept adding more and more flour thinking i did something wrong… (i did half the recipe) but it turned out fine.