Soft Frosted Sugar Cookies that require no chilling, no rolling pins, and no cookie cutters! These are similar to the famous “Lofthouse Cookies” and are topped off with a sweet vanilla buttercream frosting and sprinkles.
Happy Valentine’s Day!
Whether you celebrate the holiday or not, what a great excuse to make something sweet for someone you love or just for yourself (even better, because then you don’t have to share). I’m a little bummed that today falls on Ash Wednesday because I’ll be fasting (-ish?) today and not indulging in sweets, but there’s always tomorrow 😉
Many of you know that I already have a favorite cut-out sugar cookie recipe, but these soft frosted sugar cookies are a bit different. For one, there’s no need to chill the dough or roll it out — just scoop the dough and roll it into balls between your palms before baking.
This frosting is also a sweet and simple buttercream that is easy for spreading, whereas my other recipe uses an icing that’s similar to royal icing and is better for piping.
Tips for Making Perfect Frosted Sugar Cookies
- The dough will be a bit sticky when you go to roll it into balls and some of the dough will stick to your palms, but it shouldn’t be so sticky that you aren’t able to roll it. If you have a great deal of difficulty rolling the dough, feel free to add more flour, and lightly dusting your hands with flour may also help.
- This frosting is a sweet vanilla buttercream, the frosting does not set very hard and stays soft. For frosting that will become firm, you can add more powdered sugar, but keep in mind that it will be more difficult to spread on top of your cookies.
- Make sure your soft sugar cookies cool completely before topping with the frosting, otherwise it will melt!
- I recommend using a gel food coloring if you wish to color your frosting, it has a great vibrant color and a little bit goes a long way. Liquid food coloring will work instead, though, the color just won’t be as bright.
Enjoy!
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How to Make Soft Frosted Sugar Cookies
Ingredients
Sugar Cookie Bases
- ½ cup unsalted butter softened (113g)
- 1 cup sugar (200g)
- ⅓ cup sour cream (80g)
- 1 large egg + 1 egg yolk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 cups all-purpose flour (375g)
- ¾ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
Frosting
- ½ cup unsalted butter (113g)
- 1 cup powdered sugar (125g)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- food coloring optional
- sprinkles, for decorating optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375F (190C) and line cookie sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.
- Combine butter and sugar in large bowl and beat with electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add sour cream, stir well.
- Add egg, egg yolk, and vanilla extract. Stir well.
- In a separate, medium-sized bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- Gradually stir dry ingredients into wet until well-combined.
- Roll dough into 1 ½ Tablespoon-sized ball and place on prepared cookie sheet. Use your fingers to gently flatten (if dough sticks to your fingers, wet them first)
- Bake on 375F for 6-8 minutes. If cookies puff while cooking, use the clean bottom of a glass to gently re-flatten. Allow cookies to cool while you prepare your frosting.
Frosting
- Place butter in a medium-sized bowl and beat until creamy. Gradually add powdered sugar until combined. Stir in vanilla extract and salt.
- Add food coloring and stir until even in color.
- Use a spatula to spread frosting evenly over cooled cookies. Decorate with sprinkles. Store cookies in airtight container.
Nutrition
Kaellen Seale
These are too die for followed the recipes no changes i ma have added to much matter they were very thicc haha but so good(:
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed them so much, Kaellen! 🙂
Amber
Yum!! Looks soooooo tasty! I will definitely make some!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I’m so hungry!!!!
Jules
Hi- I want to bake these and give them as gifts for Christmas. I usually add a little milk or cream to buttercream. What is the shelf life on the buttercream? If I make these a few days before I give them out how long do they have to eat them before the buttercream is not fresh? Thanks!
Sam
Hi Jules! I typically would recommend it being used before 7 days. 🙂
Hana
When i did the frosting it became all crumbly and it wasn’t able to spread and i don’t know what I did wrong can u help me? Was I supposed to melt the butter complete untill liquid or was i just supposed to mix it while soft cause I meted complete and it didn’t work. What did I do wrong?
Sam
Hi Hana! You are supposed to use softened butter here. You don’t want to melt it. You want to gradually add the powdered sugar until it reaches the desired consistency. I hope this helps. 🙂
Hana
Thanks for letting me know for next time. I just put a little bit of milk and mixed it in and it turned out to be really good actually. Next time I’ll know not to melt the butter completly
Sam
I’m glad it still turned out. 🙂
Nicole
Hello would these cookies freeze well?
Sam
Hi Nicole! I haven’t tried but I think they should freeze just fine. 🙂
Amy C.
Your cookie recipe looks great and I look forward to making them! Quick question – is there a possible substitute for sour cream or is that a must? Just curious since I don’t tend to have sour cream here, but will buy some if needed.
Thank you!
Sam
Hi Amy! Greek yogurt will work here. 🙂
Ann
Perhaps it’s something I did wrong, but I did follow the recipe exactly but my cookies would not cook fully inside at all and the outside got way too hard before the inside ever even cooked….could you explain why? Is it something I did?
Sam
Hi Ann! I’m sorry this is happening! It sounds like your oven may be running hotter than it says it is if they outsides are cooking but the insides are not. I hope this helps. 🙂
mayaen
the cookies are so amazing I love them thank you
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed them so much, Mayaen! 🙂
Brandy
Made these for my aunt today and I must say, AMAZING!!! I kept some without the icing and they are perfect to go with my tea. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe with the world.
Sam
I am so glad you have enjoyed them so much, Brandy! 🙂
Dilpreet
Hi, I’m trying this recipe today with my girls but we wanted to use cookie cutters. Would that still work with this recipe ?
Sam
Hi Dilpreet! Unfortunately this one doesn’t work very well with cookie cutters. I would recommend my cream cheese sugar cookies, which are similarly soft, or you could use my classic sugar cookie recipe.
Haley
These cookies are amazing! The recipe is super simple, and I look forward to being able to use these for bake sales! I’m the president of a club at my school and these will be great for fundraising!
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed them so much, Haley! Hopefully they will raise you lots of money. 🙂
Laura
I’m not sure why more people haven’t found this recipe, but it’s awesome! My cookies were soft and chewy for days and the perfect canvas for a generous helping of frosting. Thank you for sharing this!
Sugar Spun Run
I am so glad that you enjoyed the cookies, Laura! Thank you for trying my recipe and for commenting. 🙂
tasha
I loved making these and mine looked as pretty as yours but they weren’t soft and fluffy when done. They were more dense than I had hoped! what did I do wrong?
Sugar Spun Run
Thank you for trying my recipe, Tasha! I am so glad that they tasted delicious but sorry that they were not soft and fluffy when they were done. By any chance was your baing soda expired or old? If not stored correctly or expired it will result in a dense cookie.
mayaen
I’m only nine and i used most of your recipes and I love them you’re my number one choice
Sam
That is so awesome, Mayaen! I am so glad you enjoy the recipes and I hope they will help you become and expert baker one day. 🙂