Name: Lofthouse Cookies Recipes
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 25 min
Yield: 6
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature; 1/3 cup granulated sugar; 1 large egg yolk; 4 tablespoons heavy cream*; 1 teaspoon vanilla extract; 1 cup all-purpose flour; 1/2 teaspoon baking powder; 1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt; 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature; 3/4 cup powdered sugar; 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract; 1/2 teaspoon heavy cream; sprinkles!

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A homemade batch of the copycat grocery store sugar cookies with colorful frosting and sprinkles. These Lofthouse cookies are so fluffy, soft, and piled with frosting–everyone loves them! Customize them with sprinkles that suit any season.

Stack of lofthouse cookies with rainbow sprinkles.

So, THESE COOKIES. Have you ever had Lofthouse cookies? You totally have. They are the cookies the grocery stores sell in plastic containers by the register with the thick frosting and pretty sprinkles. These sugar cookies are super soft and puffy, and the icing is so sweet it’ll make your teeth hurt. But, the sprinkles make you smile!

So, I scaled them down to make a mere half dozen so we wouldn’t be tempted to binge on 2 dozen cookies in 48 hours. It’s totally happened, and more than once. Six petite fluffy little Lofthouse sugar cookies, all for you.

You may double this recipe to make 12 cookies! Just double the recipe exactly–2 egg yolks (not the whole egg).

This Lofthouse cookies recipe reminds me of my Small Batch Sugar Cookies but with some icing and sprinkles. And if you want to try something new and like the taste of a sugar cookie, these Sugar Cookie Bars are perfect.

Wire cooling rack with frosted sugar cookies with sprinkles.

These cookies are the most requested cookies in my house. I have a daughter who loves sprinkles so much that she thinks everything can be improved upon with sprinkles–pancakes, applesauce, and even mashed potatoes! Honestly, I can hardly make any type of cookie without her bringing up these cookies.

I think it goes without saying that you can adapt the type of sprinkles to fit any upcoming holidays. Santa enjoys these cookies with red and green sprinkles, and we also enjoy them with black and orange sprinkles for Halloween! Rainbow sprinkles are always welcome in our house, too.

Lofthouse cookies with Christmas sprinkles and a bite missing from the front one.

What are Lofthouse Cookies?

Lofthouse cookies are soft sugar cookies with a slightly domed top that are covered in a buttercream frosting and sprinkles. They’re the classic birthday party cookie, but they can also be used for any holiday by changing up the sprinkles!

Small bowls of butter, egg yolk, vanilla, and baking ingredients.

For the Cookies

Butter. I bake with unsalted butter so that I can add my own salt to the recipe. The butter needs to be at room temperature for this recipe. The best way to make butter come to room temperature quickly is to slice it and leave it on a plate at room temperature for 30 minutes.
Sugar. One-third cup of granulated white sugar.
Egg. This recipe only needs one large egg yolk (save the egg white for a recipe that uses egg whites). If you double the recipe, use two egg yolks, not the whole egg!
Heavy Cream. The best liquid for this Lofthouse cookie recipe is heavy cream. If you don’t have it and don’t want to buy it, you may use an equal amount of whole milk in its place. However, if you use milk, you’ll have to refrigerate the dough for about 15 minutes to firm up the dough. The extra water in milk thins out the batter too much.
Vanilla Extract. Yes, one full teaspoon for 6 cookies!
Flour. You need regular all-purpose flour for this recipe.
Baking Powder. One-half teaspoon of baking powder.
Salt. A very small amount of salt, 1/8 teaspoon.

Butter. Again, please ensure this is at room temperature.
Powdered Sugar. This makes very fluffy frosting; do not substitute.
Vanilla Extract. An extra half-teaspoon of vanilla in the frosting makes these cookies so sweet and yummy!
Heavy Cream. For the frosting, use more heavy cream if you bought a big container of it. However, it doesn’t matter too much here, so you can use milk in its place.
Decorative Sprinkles. Match any season or holiday you wish to celebrate.

Stack of christmas cookies with lots of sprinkles.

How to Make Lofthouse Sugar Cookies

Prep- Preheat oven to 350 and line a baking sheet with a silicone mat or piece of parchment paper.

Batter with egg and vanilla splashed on top.

Combine – In a medium-sized bowl, beat the butter on medium speed with an electric mixer. Add the sugar and beat until fluffy for about 45 seconds.

Next, add the egg yolk, heavy cream, and vanilla. Beat to combine.

Flour sprinkled over yellow batter in shallow bowl.

Six balls of Lofthouse cookie dough on a silicone lined baking sheet.

Evenly sprinkle the flour, baking powder and salt over the batter and beat until combined.

Bake – Before baking, press the dough down into the bottom of the bowl and use your hands to lightly score it in half. Place each dough ball in your hands, and roll it into a perfect ball.

Place each ball, evenly spaced, on the prepared baking sheet. Press the cookies to flatten them slightly. Bake for 14-15 minutes or until the tops appear dry. Let the cookies cool on a baking sheet for one minute before moving to a wire rack to cool completely.

Bowl of softened butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract.

Six cookies on a wire rack frosting with white frosting.

Frost – Mix together all of the frosting ingredients (except sprinkles) in a bowl using an electric mixer until light and fluffy.

Frost the cookies once they have cooled and decorate with sprinkles.

If you don’t have heavy cream, substitute with whole milk. Milk will make the batter way too soft for the cookies but if you put the dough in the refrigerator for 15 minutes the dough will be ready to bake.
Use silicone liners if you can, it will prevent cookies from spreading too much in the oven.
You must let the cookies cool completely before frosting. This will keep your frosting from melting and sliding off the cookie.
Since this Lofthouse Cookie recipe uses only the egg yolk, be sure to check out my ways to use the leftover egg whites.

How to store Lofthouse Cookies

Room Temperature – Store the cookies in a sealed container to keep fresh.
Refrigerate – The cookies can be kept in the refrigerator to keep them longer. Or if you want to make the cookie dough first, you can keep it in the refrigerator overnight before baking the cookies.
Freeze – The cookies and the dough can be put in the freezer to use at a later time.

Yield: 6

Lofthouse Cookies Recipes

A small batch of Lofthouse Sugar cookies--the best frosted sugar cookies in all the lands!

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes

Total Time 25 minutes

Ingredients

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg yolk
4 tablespoons heavy cream*
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt

For the frosting:

5 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon heavy cream
sprinkles!

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 and line a baking sheet with a silicone liner. (In my experience, silicone liners prevent cookies from spreading too much in the oven).
Next, make the cookies: In a medium-size bowl, add the butter and beat on medium speed with an electric mixer. Beat for about 10 seconds to break it up.
Add the sugar to the butter, and beat until fluffy, about 45 seconds.
Next, add the egg yolk, heavy cream, and vanilla. Beat to combine.
Evenly sprinkle the flour, baking powder and salt over the batter, and beat until just combined.
The dough will be a little softer than regular cookies, but you should still be able to work with it. (See note about using milk below).
Press the dough down into the bottom of the bowl and use your hand to lightly score it in half. From each half of dough, you should get three balls of dough.
Place each dough ball in your hands, and roll it into a perfect ball. Place each ball, evenly spaced, on the prepared baking sheet.
Press the cookies to flatten them slightly.
Bake for 14-15 minutes. The tops will appear dry when they're done.
Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 1 minute before moving them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Meanwhile, mix together all of the frosting ingredients (except the sprinkles) in a bowl using an electric mixer until light and fluffy.
Frost the cookies once they have cooled, and decorate with sprinkles to serve.

Notes

*Say you want to make these cookies, but you don't have cream. I hear ya. It happens to me all the time. I stirred in whole milk once, and the batter was way too soft to make cookies. BUT, I put the dough in the fridge for 15 minutes, baked them anyway, and they were just fine! The cookies are best with cream, but if all you have is milk, it will still work.

*It's best to bake these cookies on a silicone mat. Not only are they completely non-stick, they help with even heat distribution (which helps cookies bake evenly and not spread too much).

56 Comments

Donna says:

January 14, 2025 at 10:35 am

I made these cookies 3 times. They are delicious, but mine did not look like loft house cookies. They spread a left a little dome in the center of the cookie. To me, they just looked like soft sugar cookies. What did I do wrong? I used the heavy cream. I used a silicone mat. I even tried refrigerating the dough to see if that helped, but it didn’t. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Dena says:

August 25, 2025 at 8:18 am

You baked goodies look irresistable

Lofthouse Cookies Recipe