Copycat Lofthouse Sugar Cookies โ Just like real Lofthouse cookies, but with sprinkles baked in! These fall cookies are soft, buttery, and they just melt in your mouth!
The BEST Soft Sugar Cookie Recipe
I’ve baked plenty of Christmas cookies, but had never baked Halloween cookies. This was the year to change that.
These sprinkled-up cookies are buttery soft, tender, slightly chewy without any cakiness.
They’re based on two recent favorites, Softbatch Funfetti Cookies and Lofthouse-Style Soft Peanut Butter Chip Sugar Cookies.
I love the baked-in sprinkles in the Softbatch Funfetti Cookies. It’s such a timesaver not having to frost and decorate cookies when all you want to do is dive into them, not frost them.
I adapted the dough base from the Lofthouse Peanut Butter Cookies, because it’s soft and lightweight, without being dry or crumbly.
Real Lofthouse Cookies are the incredibly soft, featherlight cookies sold in grocery store bakeries, with a signature layer of frosting and sprinkles.
I added cornstarch to the cookie dough. It’s a true workhorse in cookie-baking because it helps create a super soft and supple texture.
I’ve used it in at least 15 cookie recipes, including Lofthouse-Style Soft Peanut Butter Chip Sugar Cookies, Pumpkin Spice Cookies, Peanut Butter Coconut Oil Cookies, M&M’s Cookies, Snickers Cookies, Twix Bar Cookies, Caramel Corn Chocolate Chip Cookies, and Smores Cookies. You’ll love the softbatch-style results.
I used one-half cup of 3 different types of sprinkles, each from the Target dollar bins. Love those bins for fun finds like sprinkles, spatulas, and cupcake liners. I only wish my impulse buys at Target were confined to the dollar bins section.
The two types of sprinkles I used are multi-colored jimmies and one type is minuscule orange, yellow, and white non-pareils (little balls). Use your favorites!
The fall cookies are soft, buttery, and just melt in your mouth. The abundance of sprinkles adds texture and little pops of flavor in every bite.
Some of the sprinkles I used were chocolate and some bites were subtly chocolaty. Bonus.
Around Christmas, substitute red and green sprinkles for easy, no-roll, soft sugar cookies.
And feel free to frost the cookies with your favorite vanilla buttercream or or vanilla cream cheese frosting, or make sandwich cookies with them.
I can’t believe I’m already thinking about holiday baking and Christmas cookies. Let’s get through Halloween first. Boo.
What’s in the Copycat Lofthouse Sugar Cookies?
To make these pillowy soft fall sugar cookies, you’ll need:
- Egg
- Unsalted butter
- Granulated sugar
- Light brown sugar
- Vanilla extract
- Cake flour
- Cornstarch
- Baking powder
- Baking soda
- Salt
- Sprinkles
How to Make Copycat Lofthouse Sugar Cookies
Using an electric hand mixer or stand mixer, cream together the butter, egg, sugars, and vanilla. Add the dry ingredients and mix until combined, then gently fold in the sprinkles.
Scoop the cookie dough into 2-inch balls, then chill for at least 3 hours before baking.
My cookies don’t spread much while baking and I give them a gentle tap-tap with the back of a spoon right as they come out of the oven. If yours emerge from the oven as domed igloos, flatten them a bit.
Can I Substitute the Cake Flour?
These fall sugar cookies are similar to the real thing, thanks in part to using cake flour. Normally I shy away from using ingredients you may not have on hand, but in this recipe, it’s irreplaceable and creates the classic soft, light Lofthouse-style cookie.
You can buy it in any grocery store baking aisle, Target, or other big box stores. It’s inexpensive and you can make these cookies or these with it, too.
A DIY version of cake flour can be made by measuring out 1 cup all-purpose flour, removing 2 tablespoons of it, and in its place, adding 2 tablespoons cornstarch.
Then, sift the flour and cornstarch together at least 3 times for the ultra-fine, soft texture that cake flour is known for. That sounds like way too much work and I’d rather buy it, but suit yourself.
Can I Use Different Colored Sprinkles?
Of course! Switch up the sprinkles to suit whatever holiday it is that you’re celebrating.
How to Store the Fall Sugar Cookies
Cookies will keep airtight at room temperature for up to 5 days.
Unbaked cookie dough can be stored airtight in the refrigerator for up to 5 days, or frozen for up to 4 months, so consider baking only as many cookies as desired and save the remaining dough to be baked in the future when desired.
Tips for Making Soft Lofthouse Cookies
There’s a very high sprinkle-t0-dough ratio in this recipe. If you don’t love sprinkles as much as I do, 1 cup may be enough.
The dough is very soft and borderline sticky, and must be chilled before baking or the cookies will spread into flat puddles. I prefer to chill it at least overnight, and there’s no harm in letting it chill for up to 5 days and then bake off just 4 or 6 cookies, or as needed.
Make sure not to over bake the cookies, even if they seem light, glossy, and pale at the 8- to 9-minute mark because they firm up as they cool. They’re best when they’re super soft without any browning and if you overcook them, by day 2 they’ll be on the crunchier rather than softer side.
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Lofthouse Soft Sugar Sprinkles Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 large egg
- ยฝ cup unsalted butter, 1 stick, softened
- ยฝ cup granulated sugar
- ยฝ cup light brown sugar, packed
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 ยพ cups cups cake flour, see directions (no substitutions, I used Swans Down
- 2 teaspoons cornstach
- ยผ teaspoon baking powder
- ยผ teaspoon baking soda
- pinch salt, optional and to taste
- up to 1 1/2 cups sprinkles, reduce to 1 cup if you donโt love sprinkles; I used 1 cup of larger jimmies and 1/2 cup minuscule nonpareils
Instructions
- To the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or large bowl and electric hand mixer), cream together the first 5 ingredients (through vanilla) on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.
- Stop, scrape down the sides of the bowl, add 1 3/4 cups flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, optional salt, and mix on low speed until just incorporated, about 1 minute; donโt overmix.ย Dough will be on the sticky and tacky side.
- Mix in 1 cup sprinkles, and as desired, add remaining 1/2 cup.
- Using a medium 2-inchย cookie scoop, form heaping 2 to 3-tablespoon mounds (I made 15). Place mounds on a large plate, flatten slightly, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 3 hours, or up to 5 days, before baking. Do not bake with warm dough because cookies will spread and bake thinner and flatter.
- Preheat oven to 350F, line a baking sheet with aย Silpatย or spray with cooking spray.
- Place mounds on baking sheet, spaced at least 2 inches apart (I bake 8 cookies per sheet) and bake for about 8 to 9 minutes, or until edges have set and tops are just beginning to set, even if slightly undercooked, pale and glossy in the center. Do not overbake because cookies will firm up as they cool. If cookies stayed domed while baking, tap gently a couple times with the back of a spoon to flatten.
- Allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet ย for about 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to finish cooking.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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More Fall Cookies:
White Chocolate Candy Corn Cookies โ These Halloween cookies are PACKED with candy corn and white chocolate chips. Theyโre easy to make and are always a hit with the kids!
Pumpkin Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookiesโ These pumpkin oatmeal cookies are bursting with chocolate chips in every bite! Theyโre thick, hearty, perfectly chewy, and not at all cakey.
Soft Butter Pecan Cookies โ Buttery soft dough with big chunky pecans in every bite! Salty-and-sweet and so hard to resist!!
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookiesโ Between the molasses, pumpkin pie spice, and pumpkin pie spice extract that I used, these pumpkin chocolate chip cookies beautifully showcase the flavors of fall!
Pumpkin Spice Cookiesโ These pumpkin spice cookies are made without pumpkin puree but are full of flavor thanks to the pumpkin pie spice! These are so soft and fluffy!
Pumpkin White Chocolate Chip Cookies โ Soft, chewy, loads of white chocolate, and so much pumpkin flavor!! A pinch of salt balances the sweet white chocolate for a salty-and-sweet treat!!
Soft & Chewy Molasses Gingerdoodlesโ These soft molasses cookies taste like a cross between chewy gingerbread cookies and crinkly snickerdoodles. An unbeatable holiday cookie recipe!
These look delicious Averie!! I love that you included the instructions on how to make your own cake flour! I’m not opposed to buying it, but I know that these are the types of cookies that you start to make at 10 pm because you can’t live another minute without them :) Pinning!
I know those starting at 10pm baking sessions all too well :)
These seriously look like perfection, Averie! Loving the sprinkles, too!
Christmas, Halloween… I don’t care what it is, I just LOVE your Lofthouse cookies!! These look amaaaaazing!
I just LOVE anything with sprinkles, to the point where I could eat them plain! :)
I can tell they are super soft and melt in your mouth! Yum!
How gorgeous do these look!! The only downside is I can’t eat them through the screen lol.
I love lofthouse cookies, and now I have the recipe!! Thanks for sharing!!
Sprinkles, sprinkles, sprinkles!! Gotta love ’em! I could sooooo go for one of these cookies right now…..
I love that cake flour tip!! I need to remember that.
Yeah it’s really just 1 cup of AP with about 2 tbsp removed, add cornstarch and sift your brains out :) My hand gets tired after all that. I’d rather buy it :)
These look amazingly moist and yummy!
I want to make these just for the colors!
I LOVE the sprinkle colors Av!
You make Lofthouse Cookies way better than lofthouse you know.
When you told me you wanted to linkup those other ones, I almost told you but wait…there’s more :) But those PB ones are THE BEST. Mainly b/c they have about 1 lb of PB buttercream on top :)
I love the sprinkles in this, so festive. I want to eat like a million of these!
How cute are these, I love the festive fall sprinkles!
I’ve never heard of lofthouse cookies.. but yay sprinkles! These look awesome! :D
SPRINKLES!!! Anything and everything is always ALWAYS better with sprinkles. Just yesterday at the store, I walked by the display of Halloween baking and saw all the sprinkles. If my hands hadn’t been overflowing already, I’d have grabbed the black bats and orange pumpkins!
I’m sure I’ll be back at the store soon. Really soon. I practically live there.
What a fun and colorful post!
Thanks Katie! I was actually slightly disappointed in the selection of Halloween sprinkles. My two main reg groc stores had nothing, TJs of course doesn’t, and that left me with Target and while they had cute stuff, it wasn’t as cute as I wished. There was too much orange sanding (superfine) sugar. Worthless if you ask me unless you’re making cutouts and even then, meh. Your sprinkle selection sounds cuter than mine. Go get it!
These look so festive and I can practically taste how moist they are! Your photos are stunning!
That means a ton coming from you. I always!!!! think that of yours. You are so talented with your vertical shots of stacked food especially. They’re always perfect!
omg these are awesome! My daughter just said, we HAVE to make these!!
That’s so cute. I hope you two get a chance to make them one day :)