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