Perfectly soft and chewy and topped with a thick layer of frosting, these Easy Soft Sugar Cookies are just like the Lofthouse cookies you find in the stores. Quick and easy to make and there’s no need to chill the dough!
These are my kid’s FAVORITE sugar cookies. Here’s why.
- Lofthouse cookie copycat. Lofthouse cookies are those sugar cookies with frosting and sprinkles you find in a 12 pack in the bakery of a grocery store and these cookies are just like like!
- Soft and chewy. The texture of these cookies is really what sets them apart from other recipes. They have that iconic soft and chewy center with very slightly crispy outsides.
- Ready in 30 minutes. These soft sugar cookies require no chilling, which means you can enjoy them in less than 30 minutes. Just remember to allow for extra time if you want to frost them!
Looking for cut out sugar cookies for decorating? Make sure to try my Easy NO CHILL Cut Out Sugar Cookie Recipe! I also really love these Brown Sugar Cookies.
What You’ll Need
This easy soft sugar cookie recipe is made with just a few pantry staples. Scroll down to the recipe card below to see measurements.
- Butter & shortening – See notes below for why both are used.
- Granulated sugar – You can’t make sugar cookies without sugar!
- Eggs
- Vanilla – Gives the cookies their classic flavor.
- Baking powder – Helps the cookies rise a bit in the oven.
- Salt – Balances out the sweetness.
- All purpose flour
- Powdered sugar – The base of the sugar cookie frosting.
- Milk – Thins the frosting.
Why Use Both Shortening and Butter?
You’ll notice that I use a combination of butter and shortening to make these soft sugar cookies. The shortening is key to create the soft texture. Here are a reasons why I use both:
- Spread. Shortening has a lower melting temperature which means the cookies won’t spread as much compared to using butter only.
- Flavor. Shortening has a very neutral flavor, and if you’ve had the supermarket frosted cookies, you know that the cookie itself is actually pretty bland. BUT the combo of butter and shortening gives you a subtle buttery flavor while still being mild.
- Texture. Shortening aids in the cakey texture of this cookie. It has no water, so no steaming occurs during baking, creating less gluten. Less gluten = a more tender texture. You could go all the way and use all shortening in this recipe to make an even cakier texture, but I like the sweet spot that the butter and shortening combination provides.
Here’s a quick overview of how to make these soft sugar cookies. Scroll down to the recipe card for more detailed instructions.
- Make the dough. Mix the shortening and butter for 2 minutes, then add the sugar and mix for another minute. Add in the eggs, vanilla, baking powder, and salt. Mix until smooth then turn the mixer to low and beat in the flour.
- Bake. Drop balls of dough on a cookie sheet, 2 inches apart. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, until the edges just start to get golden. Cool for 3 minutes on the baking sheet then transfer to the wire rack to finish cooling.
- Make the frosting. Mix the butter and powdered sugar until it looks like coarse sand. Add in the milk and vanilla. Mix for 2 minutes, until smooth and fluffy.
- Decorate. Add food coloring if desired and pipe onto the cooled cookies.
Tips for Success
Here are a few things I’ve found helpful to keep in mind when making these soft sugar cookies.
- Do not overmix. Once you add the flour to the dough, continue mixing just until combined.
- Avoid overbaking. These cookies bake quickly and you want to pull them from the oven just as the edges are starting to turn golden. They will continue to bake and firm up on the baking sheet.
- Cool for a few minutes on the baking sheet. Before you transfer these to a wire rack, give them about 3 minutes to continue baking and to cool on the cookie sheet.
- How to easily fill a piping bag. If you decide to pipe the frosting on to your cookies, I recommend placing the piping bag in a large glass, folding the edges over the side, and filling it to just halfway with a spoon in the glass.
Proper Storage
- Room temperature. These soft sugar cookies will stay fresh for up to 5 days in an airtight container on the counter.
- Freezer. Unfrosted cookies can be frozen for up to 3 months in a ziploc bag. Thaw on the counter then frost or enjoy as-is.
- Pressed Sugar Cookies
- Amish Sugar Cookies
- Cream Cheese Cut Out Sugar Cookies
- White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies
- Salted Chocolate Cookies
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 36 cookies 1x
- Category: Cookies
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Dessert
Description
Perfectly soft and chewy and topped with a thick layer of frosting, these Easy Soft Sugar Cookies are just like the Lofthouse cookies you find in the stores. Quick and easy to make and there’s no need to chill the dough!
Ingredients
Scale
Cookies
- 10 tablespoons butter, room temperature
- 2/3 cup vegetable shortening
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 tablespoon vanilla
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoons kosher salt
- 3 1/3 cups all purpose flour
Frosting
- 1/2 cup butter
- 4 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/4 cup + 1 tablespoon milk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment mix the shortening and butter together for 2 minutes on medium speed until smooth. Add in sugar and mix for 1 minute.
- Add in eggs, vanilla, baking powder, and salt and mix until smooth, scraping the sides of the bowl as necessary.
- Turn the mixer to low and mix in the flour until just combined.
- Using a medium (2- tablespoon) cookie scoop, drop dough on the prepared baking sheet 2- inches apart.
- Bake for 8-10 minutes or until the edges just start to get golden.
- Allow to cool on baking sheet for 3 minutes and then transfer to wire rack to continue cooling.
Frosting
- In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment mix the butter and powdered sugar together. Mixture will look like course sand.
- Slowly add in milk and vanilla and mix for 2 minutes until smooth and fluffy.
- Tint the frosting with a few drops of food coloring if desired and spread or pipe onto the cooled cookies.
Notes
Store airtight at room temperature for up to 5 days.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 233
- Sugar: 33.4 g
- Sodium: 71.1 mg
- Fat: 9.9 g
- Carbohydrates: 36.4 g
- Protein: 0.8 g
- Cholesterol: 25.6 mg
Hi, I love this recipe (and all of your recipes), but I was just wondering – can you roll this cookie out to make shapes or does it really only work as a drop cookie?
If you used them as roll out cookies they would work, but they wouldn’t give you sharp edges after they baked. They’d puff up a bit.
Made these and we loved them. I used a buttercream frosting recipe ,but did not alter the cookie recipe. These were perfect. Thanks for sharing your recipe.
Can you freeze these cookies with the frosting on? Making these today!
Yes! Absolutely!
If I wanted to replace the shortening in both the cookies and the icing with butter, how much would I use in each?
The same amounts!
I made these last night and they are absolutely delicious. I’m glad you finally shared the recipe with us. Hmmm…any other favorite recipes you’re holding out on?? 🙂
OK, tonight I am making 3 batches of these for my momma and daddy’s Marine Corps League BB-Q tomorrow…These go with BB-Q right…lol
My baby is turning 2 this week and we are having a “if you give a Kimball a Cookie” party!! I’m making a test batch of these today and am SO excited. They are easy and looking good.
Those cookies look fantastic, better than any store-bought sugar cookies I’ve seen.
This is the first food blog post I have read in three months due to being soooo sick! I can’t wait to feel well enough to try out these cookies. Sugar cookies are my fav 😉
I found these rather disspapointing, although the frosting saved them.