Enjoy these Perfectly Soft Lofthouse Style Frosted Sugar Cookies made from scratch, with an easy frosting and adorned with pretty sprinkles. They make a delicious treat, perfect to serve with a tall glass of milk.
I had a significant weakness for those wonderfully Soft Loft house Style Frosted Sugar Cookies when I was younger. You know, the ones you find in grocery stores, brimming with vibrant frosting and covered in sprinkles? They were the ultimate sugary indulgence for any sprinkle enthusiast. Actually, any kind of cookie was a favorite of mine when I was eight years old. Although my mom never bought them for us, as soon as I was old enough, I purchased my own package. Just one bite was enough to make me completely enamored and utterly hooked.
The holiday season and baking go hand-in-hand, especially when it comes to making a batch of classic Christmas sugar cookies. This recipe, a popular favorite since its first publication in 2014, is all about the joy of the holidays. It’s a staple for many, with its unfussy cookie icing that’s low maintenance and perfect for December baking. The cookies are decorated with love, dressed up for the holidays without the need for messy royal icing. It’s a simple yet appreciated treat that captures the essence of the season.
A reader enthusiastically commented that these cookies are the best they’ve ever had. The dough is easy to prepare and handle, resulting in a perfect texture—buttery and not overly sweet. The cookies bake up beautifully, with crispy edges and a soft, chewy middle, just as described. The icing is praised for its ideal consistency, perfect for using a squeeze bottle, yet it sets up firmly and glossy, allowing for easy stacking, packing, and shipping of the cookies.
Indulge in the Magic of Christmas with These Irresistible Sugar Cookies
These Christmas sugar cookies boast soft, thick centers with slightly crisp edges, offering an irresistible buttery vanilla flavor. They are made from simple ingredients and can be enjoyed plain or flavored with extras like maple, cinnamon, or peppermint. These cookies hold their shape well during baking and the icing is manageable for young bakers and beginners. They freeze beautifully and the easy-to-follow recipe is loved by both beginner and expert bakers alike. If decorating with icing isn’t your thing, you might also enjoy stained glass window cookies, Christmas sparkle cookies, pecan sugar cookies, or drop Christmas sugar cookies.
Creating Perfect Christmas Sugar Cookies
This cookie dough requires 7–8 essential ingredients, each playing a crucial role. Creamed butter and sugar create the base, while egg and flour provide structure. Vanilla enhances the flavor, and a hint of almond extract adds an extra dimension. Peppermint extract or other flavorings can be used as well. Baking powder ensures the cookies rise, and salt balances the sweetness. These seemingly small ingredients work together to create the perfect cookie.
Success Tip: Ensure that you begin with butter at the right room temperature. The butter should feel cool to the touch, approximately 65°F (18°C), which might be cooler than your kitchen temperature. To check if the butter is ready for creaming, gently poke it with your finger. The butter should yield to the touch and leave an indent without feeling too soft, shiny, or greasy.
Plan Ahead for This Recipe
After preparing the cookie dough, it needs to chill for 1–2 hours, and can be chilled for up to 2 days. This step is crucial as chilling helps the cookie cutter sugar cookies maintain their shape during baking. Without chilling, the cookies may spread too much and lose their defined shapes, resembling the Stay-Put Marshmallow Man, which could work for Halloween cookies but may not be ideal for other occasions. Additionally, the icing used for these cookies requires at least 24 hours to dry and set, although you can enjoy the cookies before the icing fully sets. This drying time is longer compared to royal icing, which typically dries in about 2 hours. Despite not using royal icing, this longer drying time means you’ll need to wait longer before stacking or transporting the cookies.
After preparing the cookie dough, divide it in half and proceed to roll out each portion before chilling. This method involves an unusual order of steps, where you first roll out the dough before chilling it.
Tips for Rolling Out Christmas Cookie Dough
Trick #1: Pay attention to the order of the steps. Notice how I roll out the dough BEFORE chilling it in the refrigerator? That’s the most important trick! Let me explain why I do this. Just like when you’re making chocolate chip cookies, to prevent the cookies from over-spreading, the dough must chill. If you’ve ever tried rolling out chilled sugar cookie dough, you may remember how difficult it is to roll out cold, stiff dough. So, roll out the dough while it’s still soft (right after mixing it together), and then chill the rolled-out dough.
Trick #2: Divide the dough in half before rolling it out. Why? Smaller sections of dough are easier to roll out.
Trick #3: Roll out the cookie dough directly on a silicone baking mat or parchment paper so you can easily transfer it to the refrigerator. Pick the whole thing up, set it on a baking sheet, and place it in the refrigerator. If you don’t have enough room for two baking sheets in your refrigerator, simply stack the pieces of rolled-out dough on top of each other, with parchment paper or silicone baking mat in between. You can see me doing this in the video tutorial below.
After the rolled-out dough chills for at least 1–2 hours, use cookie cutters to cut out shapes, and re-roll your scraps. Remember, you have two slabs of dough.
Arrange the cookies on a lined baking sheet. Typically, I yield about 2 dozen 3-inch cookies from this recipe.
Try My Simple Cookie Glaze
The simple cookie icing recipe provided is a great departure from the usual royal icing. It resembles a thick, opaque glaze and can be prepared quickly using just a fork and a mixing bowl. This method is among my preferred ways to decorate sugar cookies as it requires minimal effort but yields beautiful and delicious outcomes. I have a dedicated page for this icing, which can be used on a variety of cookie-cutter cookies such as gingerbread, chocolate sugar, Valentine’s Day, or Easter cookies.
Here’s what makes this cookie icing so lovable:
5 basic ingredients
Tint icing in different colors
Use a squeeze bottle or piping tips for decorating
Manageable for everyone
Doesn’t dry too hard
After it dries, you can stack, freeze, and transport the cookies
You’ll need confectioners’ sugar, water, vanilla extract (or water for a stark white icing), a touch of corn syrup, and a little salt. The corn syrup gives the icing sticking power and creates a beautiful sheen when it dries. The icing sets after 24 hours, so you can easily stack these Christmas sugar cookies for storage, transport, or even shipping.
Conclusion:
In conclusion, the Frosted Sugar Cookies recipe provides a delightful and versatile treat suitable for any occasion. The cookies themselves are a perfect balance of softness and buttery texture, infused with a subtle vanilla flavor that compliments the sweet icing. The icing, characterized by its thick, glossy consistency, not only adds a visually appealing finish but also offers a canvas for creative decoration. Whether you’re baking these cookies for a festive holiday, a special celebration, or simply to indulge in a delicious treat, they are guaranteed to please. With a straightforward ingredient list and easy-to-follow instructions, this recipe is accessible to bakers of all skill levels. The joy of creating these homemade cookies is matched only by the satisfaction of savoring their delightful flavor and sharing them with loved ones.
Note
Freezing Instructions for Sugar Cookies:
To freeze plain or decorated sugar cookies, follow these steps for up to 3 months. Once the icing is completely set, layer the cookies between sheets of parchment paper in a freezer-friendly container. When you’re ready to enjoy them, thaw the cookies in the refrigerator or at room temperature. Alternatively, you can freeze the cookie dough before rolling it out. After preparing the dough up to step 4, divide it in half and flatten both halves into discs. Wrap each disc in plastic wrap and freeze. To use the dough, thaw the discs in the refrigerator, then bring them to room temperature for about 1 hour. Roll out the dough as directed in step 5, chill it in the refrigerator for 45 minutes to 1 hour, cut it into shapes, and bake.
Room Temperature Butter and Eggs for Perfect Cookie Dough:
For optimal cookie dough, room temperature butter is essential. If the dough becomes overly sticky, it may indicate that the butter was too soft. The ideal room temperature butter should feel cool to the touch. Similarly, using a room temperature egg is preferred, as it blends more quickly and evenly into the cookie dough.
variety of flavors:
try different extracts or spices in this cookie dough recipe. The original recipe calls for 1/2 teaspoon of almond extract for a bold taste, but you can decrease it to 1/4 teaspoon for a subtler flavor. Alternatively, experiment with 1 teaspoon of maple, coconut, lemon, or peppermint extract. You can also add 1 teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice or ground cinnamon. For a zesty lemon kick, mix in lemon extract along with 1 tablespoon of lemon zest.
FAQ’S
How do you apply icing on sugar cookies?
To flood the cookies with icing, begin by using the thinner flooding icing. Carefully drizzle the icing over the inside of the cookie, allowing it to spread and cover most of the surface. Be mindful of the cookie’s edges, and aim to apply the icing as close to the edge as possible without overdoing it to prevent any spillage.
What ingredients are used to make the frosting on sugar cookies?
Sugar cookies are often decorated with royal icing, which is a hard icing made from a mixture of egg whites, powdered sugar, and citrus juice. Alternatively, fondant is also used as a sweet confection that can serve as a filling, decoration, or icing on sugar cookies.
Should cookies be cooled before applying frosting?
For optimal results, it’s important to let your cookies cool completely before you start decorating them. If the cookies are still warm, the icing will melt as soon as it’s applied. To prevent this, make sure your cookies have cooled entirely before you begin icing them.
What methods can be used to maintain the softness of frosted cookies?
To maintain the softness of frosted cookies, consider placing a slice of fresh white bread in the cookie container. The moisture from the bread can help prevent the cookies from drying out. Opting for white bread is advisable to prevent any additional flavors from being transferred to the cookies.
Is it safe to leave cookies out overnight?
Leaving cookies out overnight can increase the risk of microbial contamination, particularly if they contain perishable ingredients like eggs or dairy. Harmful bacteria, such as Salmonella, can multiply rapidly in these conditions, potentially resulting in foodborne illness if the cookies are consumed.
Is it possible to freeze sugar cookies?
Sugar cookies, much like other types of cookies, can indeed be frozen. However, if you plan to decorate them with frosting, it’s advisable to freeze them before applying the decorations. You can choose to freeze either the sugar cookie dough or the baked sugar cookies, as is typical with most cookie types.
