broke, bored, and hungry: Lofthouse Cookies

These have been circulating around the food blog world for a long time. I might be the only person who hasn't done a post about them.

Not anymore!

These are WAY better than the store bought ones. Don't get me wrong, I will never turn down any kind of Lofthouse cookie. Except for the red velvet ones. Because Lofthouse cookies aren't supposed to be red. Anyway, my issue with the store bought ones is that they don't have enough frosting. So I always have to break off the edges because of the severe lack of frosting. Also it freaks me out that they are soft yet can stay "fresh" for about a century.

It's sort of like fast food burgers. Not enough burger, too much bun. Not enough real food, too much extra gunk that you don't want know about.

I think I procrastinated making this for so long because I was deathly afraid of messing them up. I knew that if they didn't come out white and fluffy, I would throw a mega-tantrum that would involve tossing burnt cookies all over my kitchen and binge eating 4 boxes of Lofthouse cookies from the grocery store.

In baking these, I only had one minor issue. It took me a couple tries to get the size right. The first ones I made were gigantic. Lofthouse cakes. My cookie cutter was too big and I didn't roll the dough thin enough. So I rolled the dough out to about 1/16-inch thick and used a small drinking glass as a cookie cutter. The original recipe said 1/4-inch but that's how I turned my cookies into cakes. The dough rises a ton.

scary big lofthouse cookiecake

Once I figured out the size issue, they came out great! They were white (even on the bottom!!) and fluffy. Then I covered them in the super sweet frosting. And I mean reallyyyyyyyy covered so I wouldn't have to waste any cookie.

Then I covered them in sprinkles. Like a lot. I'm sort of like a 5 year old. Sprinkles make me smile. Especially when they are St. Patrick's Day themed!

This recipe makes about 5 dozen cookies. I froze about 2 dozen without frosting. And used all the frosting that this recipe called for on 3 dozen (yeah, I have a frosting problem. so?). I read that they freeze well but haven't tried to thaw them out yet so I'm not positive. But even if they aren't perfect, I'll just double the frosting and triple the sprinkles and life will be perfect!

So make these to prove that you're not Betty Crocker or the Pillsbury Doughboy, you're BETTER!

Soft Lofthouse Style Frosted Cookies (5-6 dozen cookies) from Two Peas and Their Pod

· For the Cookies:
6 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 cups granulated sugar
3 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1½ cups sour cream
· For the Buttercream Frosting:
1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 cups powdered sugar
Pinch of salt
6 tablespoons heavy cream
· Food coloring and sprinkles, optional

1. In a large bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt; set aside.

2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter and sugar together at medium speed until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated. Add the vanilla extract and sour cream and beat at low speed until combined.

3. Add the dry ingredients and beat at low speed until just combined, scraping down the bowl as needed. Dough will be a sticky. Divide dough into two sections. Flatten into rectangles about 1½ inches thick, then wrap with plastic wrap. Chill in the refrigerator for at least two hours.

4. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Line large baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside.

5. Lightly flour the countertop and the top of the dough. With a rolling pin, roll the dough out to 1/16-inch thickness. Using cookie cutters, cut out the cookies and place on prepared baking sheets. Bake for 7 minutes, until cookies are slightly golden around the edges. Immediately transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool. Cool cookies completely before frosting or the frosting will melt off.

6. To make the frosting, in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and vanilla extract. Slowly beat in powdered sugar and the pinch of salt. Once smooth and creamy, add in heavy cream, 1 tablespoon at a time, then beat at medium-high speed for a minute or two until light and fluffy. Add food coloring, if desired, and beat until combined.

7. Once cookies have cooled completely, frost and add sprinkles, if desired. Allow frosting to set, then store in an air-tight container. These will last for at least a week (that's how long it took me to eat them anyway).