If you’re a fan of those soft, pillowy, and delightfully frosted Lofthouse cookies that you find in bakeries and supermarkets, you’re in for a treat today! After a few recipe tests I officially cracked the code on how to recreate these delicious treats in your own kitchen. Because we are in the middle of spooky season I easily switched up the decorations by using white sprinkles and a piping tip to decorate them like mummies. They are honestly perfect for any occasion, from birthdays to holidays, so feel free to get creative!
RECIPE TIPS:
Room temperature ingredients: This is important because room temperature ingredients incorporate evenly into doughs. Simply set your butter, eggs and sour cream on the counter 30 minutes – 1 hour prior to baking!
Sprinkles: These cookies were made specifically for Halloween but there are so many cute sprinkle options at stores and online around this time so get creative! I used white nonpareils, but some of my favorite sprinkles to decorate with are confetti quins and you can find some of my other favorites on my Amazon storefront.
Underbaking the cookies: This is essential to getting the texture right. I bake my cookies for 9 minutes on the dot and then remove from the oven and let cool on the cookie sheet. Letting them cool on the hot pan will keep cooking them but at a lower temperature, not drying out the cookie entirely.
Corn starch: Do not skip the corn starch in this recipe! Corn starch gives the cookies that chewy texture (along with baking for the correct time) and makes them soft on the inside.
This recipe is an incredible homemade version of the store bought Lofthouse cookies. Feel free to use this decorating idea or use different cookie cutter shapes, dye the frosting or different sprinkles to make them your own! If you end up trying the recipe please leave a rating and review below 🙂
Halloween Lofthouse Cookies
Ingredients
For the cookies:
- ½ cup salted butter room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 egg room temperature
- ¼ cup full fat sour cream room temperature
- 2 ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 tbsp corn starch
- ½ tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp baking soda
- ¾ tsp salt
For the buttercream:
- ½ cup salted butter room temperature
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2-4 tbsp milk or heavy cream room temperature
- 1 cup white nonpareils
- eye sprinkles
Instructions
For the cookies:
- In the bowl of a stand mixer cream the butter, granulated sugar and vanilla until light and creamy, between 3-5 minutes. Then add in the egg and sour cream and mix on medium until combined. With the mixer on low, add in all of the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Pour the dough out onto some saran wrap and shape into a disk. Wrap tightly and chill for 1 hour.
- Preheat the oven to 375° and remove the dough from the refrigerator. Roll the dough to about ¼ inch thickness and use a 2 1/2 round cookie cutter to punch out the cookies. Place on a cookie sheet, about 2 inches of space in between, and bake for 8-9 minutes, or until the edges are just set. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 3 minutes on the baking sheet before transferring to a cookie sheet to cool completely.
For the frosting:
- In the bowl of the stand mixer beat the butter, sugar, vanilla and milk until smooth, about 2 minutes. Add half of the frosting to a piping bag fitted with a petal tip.
- Once the cookies have completely cooled, spread a thin layer of frosting onto each cookie and dip into the nonpareil sprinkles. Add a dot of frosting to two eyes and stick them to the cookie. Then use the piping bag to pip 4-6 lines of frosting across the cookies.
Can you omit the cornstarch?
You can but they may not be as soft!