Thursday, June 25, 2009

Soft Sugar Cookies

***Dec 2011 Update*** I found another tutorial for these cookies on Jillie's Blog. The pictures Jillie posted of the done vs. overdone cookies are great! This is still my go to recipe for sugar cookies, they are the best! Back in October, I made 400 of them for my grandma's 60th birthday party! I used a 1M tip to pipe the frosting onto the cookies, I was trying to make them look like flowers but I got a bit sloppy frosting 400 cookies fast and furiously ,-)


***Oct 2010 Update*** I tried making these cookies using cookie cutters for Halloween and they were not as good (they were hard and tasted like normal sugar cookies... not Lofthouse)! You need to cut the cookie in a circle shape to keep the cookie soft! Also, don't let the cookies brown, pull them out of the oven as soon as they look cracked and flaky, this too will keep them soft! If you're looking for a cookie cutter sugar cookie recipe try my Sugar Cookies with Royal Icing

Sugar cookies are so much fun to make, and you can't eat a sugar cookie without smiling! Walmart has these amazing packaged sugar cookies by Lofthouse. They are so soft, they melt in your mouth, and they are the first cookie to disappear at potlucks. Have you had them? Well, I found this soft sour cream sugar cookie recipe and thought I would give it a try. I didn't have high expectations and I was a little put off by the sour cream the recipe called for; but, this recipe is an exact match to the Lofthouse packaged cookies! These cookies are AMAZING! So soft and melt in your mouth delicious!

Sugar Cookie Ingredients
1 cup shortening(I use Crisco)
2 cups sugar
1 cup sour cream
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs
4 1/2 - 5 cups all-purpose flour
Pinch of salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder

Cookie Directions
Mix the shortening, sugar, sour cream, vanilla, and eggs together. Stir 4 1/2 cups flour, salt, baking soda and baking powder together in a separate bowl. Add dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix. Now, the dough works best if cooled, so refrigerate the dough (in the bowl no need to cover the bowl) for 45 minutes. Generously flour your counter top and roll out the cookies. I had to flour the dough as well to keep it from sticking to my rolling pin. Don't roll the dough too thin, I shoot for a little over 1/4" thick. Cut the cookies (I used the rim of a drinking glass to cut my cookies).
I was able to roll and cut 48 cookies total. Make sure you use non-stick foil or butter/flour your pan and bake them at 400 degrees until just barely light golden brown on the bottom, for me this was 9-10 minutes. After cookies have cooled you can frost and decorate.
Butter Cream Frosting Ingredients
2 pound bag powdered sugar (I added an additional cup to get the thicker consistency I wanted)
1/2 cup butter, melted
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
1/2 cup evaporated milk
1/4 teaspoon salt
Food coloring, if desired

Frosting Directions
Beat all ingredients together until smooth. Generously frost the sugar cookies! Top with sprinkles for extra fun :-) Now, because I lost a bet... Justin, you are awesome! I never thought you would be able to frost a cookie using two colors, but you did it! You are a supreme decorator, so superb in fact that I think you should do all decorating from now on, lol :-P

39 comments:

Amy said...

Carrie, I am glad that you enjoyed the cookies!! I don't make them very often...because when I do, I can eat the entire batch by myself:) I love your blog and will be adding it to my list of fav food blogs:)
~Amy

Marianna said...

I can't wait to try these. My husband doesn't eat sweets but one of his few favorites is sugar cookies. He will love these. thanks girl!

Katy ~ said...

My Ole Sweet-Pi loves sugar cookies. I'll have to give these a try. Love that they're frosted!

justjoycee said...

Those cookies look delicious and I just love butter cream frosting. I can't wait to make this for my grand babies.

Laura said...

Those do look just like those cookies!

Heidi said...

We love those cookies. Can't wait to try this!

Melody said...

These are the best cookies in the world! They are always calling my name as I make my way to the checkout stand at the grocery store. Can't wait to try these!

Creative Classroom Core said...

Ive never heard of sour cream in a sugar cookie recipe before, but I think it sounds like a great idea! They look fantastic! Love the sprinkles!

Coleens Recipes said...

I'm so excited about this recipe. My 4 year old granddaughter LOVES those Walmart cookies. She calls the pink ones princess cookies, because she is SURE it is what any good princess would eat lol. I can't wait to make these for her.

Donna-FFW said...

I have got to try these. Your description has gotten to me. And they look so pretty.

Anj said...

Those cookies used to be my go to cookie when I was down. Like a birthday cake in a cookie! I've never looked for a recipe like them and so happy to know you have found one. Adding to my to-try pile for sure!

Chaotican said...

I just dropped off the bulk of them far, far away to get them away from me. Oh my goodness were these good! Even better than lofthouse, I think. Thank you so much!

Kathy said...

Those have been our favorite cookies for years!!! I remember eating them before Walmart started selling them - that's how long we've been devouring these!!! I can't wait to try your recipe. Your photos look like the real thing!!!

Marianna said...

I am making these today. I couldn't stop eating the dough!!

enterfunnynamehere said...

I made these cookies today. And they are delicious!! Thanks for the recipe. This will replace any an all sugar cookies I have tried in the past. Thank you, thank you and Happy New Year!

Carrie said...

I can't even begin to describe how excited I am to try this recipe. I have a friend who makes cookies that taste like the cookies at the store, but she won't share her recipe. I tried 4 different sugar cookie recipes around Christmas and could not find one that tasted as good. Thank You so much :)

Tyler said...

I finally tried this recipe! The cookies are really good and so is the frosting. But they aren't too close to the Lofthouse sugar cookies. They are a great soft sugar cookie though.

Laura said...

I'm going to make these tomorrow!!
Yumm!

Jessica said...

AND i have all the ingredients for this!

TexasBirdGirl said...
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TexasBirdGirl said...
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TexasBirdGirl said...

Made these for our church youth group last night. The kids said they were the bomb diggity!
They loved them!

I have to add, these are the EASIEST sugar cookies to roll. They make BEAUTIFUL cutouts! They hold their shape like none other. Roll them THICK! Most important,they should only be baked until they just start to brown on the bottom.
For me it is 6 minutes.
The only change I made was I used 1t Vanilla and 1/2t almond extract. The Lofthouse have a slight almond flavor.
Next time I am going to try peppermint!
THANK YOU SO MUCH for this recipe!!
This will be my Christmas cookie!
~~~Carrie

Anonymous said...

YUMMY!!!!

Viagra Online said...

I love when cookies' flavor is AMAZING! By the way, the idea of a so soft cookie that melts in my mouth in such a delicious way makes me feel so good!

Con said...

I am so excited to try your cookie recipe out!! I love those Walmart cookies.

Anonymous said...

I am SO happy that you have discovered and shared this recipe. I have looked everywhere and tried several recipes that were close but never quite right. I think this recipe is perfect! They are just like the ones at walmart!!! I moved to the UK and they don't sell those cookies here and I have missed them so much. THANK YOU!!!! YUM. I am so happy I just had to say thank you.

Anonymous said...

I just made these cookies. I altered the recipe a bit--changed the vanilla to 1 tsp and then added another generous tsp of orange flavoring. These turned out GREAT! Delicate, a little orange flavor, and soft. Even without the frosting! I think, however, without the extra flavoring, they might be a bit bland without the frosting--but I'm very happy with the results!

Mothermightask said...

Finally a recipe for the WalMart cookies! I'm going to try this out tomorrow and my 6 year old will let me know how they are. He's a WalMart Cookie Beast!!! Thanks so very much.

Anonymous said...

Dear Carrie,
I havent tried the cookir recipe yet but it is on my to do list. What i really want to know is what kind of dessert in on the top of your webpage. The one with all the color?

Anonymous said...

I made the cookies, adding the almond extract to the cookies as some have suggested. In hindsight, I would not add almond to the cookies, and I would use only about 1/4 of the almond extract called for in the frosting. The consensus at our house was "too much almond." They're still good, but more than a few drops of almond is just too much if they're supposed to taste like the Lofthouse cookies.

cindy said...

I made a successful batch of these cookies using a white cake mix. I added two eggs and 1/3 cup of vegetable oil. I let the dough cool for 45 minutes then rolled out on a floured surface and cut circles. Baked at 400 for 6-7 minutes. Cooled and frosted with Carrie's buttercrem icing.

Anonymous said...

How do u do it with whit cake mix isn't it runny

J-Designer said...

this looks ALOT easier than the other recipe I tried for these cookies!

Ivy said...

I have been looking for a recipie like this for ages.... hahah no not really but any way, i am on my way to the kitchen right now!
Thanks

Unknown said...

can i use butter instead of shortening? and what can i use instead of almond flavor extract??

Unknown said...

I've been looking for a good recipe and i can't wait to try yours! But i was wondering if i wanted to make them mini cookies would they turn out the same and do i cook them for less time since they're smaller? :)

Sue said...

These are great, everything works perfectly.... thank you so much!!
Sue

Anonymous said...

These are just like the store bought, except no preservatives. Thanks for sharing!!

Unknown said...

I would like to start by saying this recipe is just perfect I have used it for the past 3 years around the holidays and my family looks forward to it every year! I do have a question though does this dough freeze well?