These sugar cookies taste exactly like the ones from the store, but even better! With a plush and cakey texture, a smooth buttercream swirl, and a velvety soft crumb, they’re just as addictive as the original and have the same nostalgic flavor (without the harmful preservatives)!

Of all the recipes in my Elevated Nostalgia series, this one was at the top of the list. I mean, I can’t think of a more iconic childhood sweet than Lofthouse cookies. You know what I’m talking about: those plastic-packaged cookies that inevitably show up at every birthday party or celebration. You either love ’em or hate ’em, but every American has eaten two (or ten) in their lifetime.

What are Lofthouse Cookies?

Up until a few weeks ago, I didn’t know that these cookies actually had a name. To me, they were always the “grocery-store” cookies, but they actually originated from the Lofthouse food company in the mid-90’s.

Nowadays, these cookies can be found in the bakery section of virtually every grocery store across the United States. Though they vary from brand to brand, these cloud-like treats always feature an incredibly soft cookie base with a swirl of American buttercream and sprinkles—they’re basically cake in cookie form and come in decorated varieties for every holiday. Taste-wise, they’re ultra sweet, impossibly soft, and have a strong artificial aftertaste (dare I say, a strange chemical burn?). And yet…I always find myself reaching for seconds.

My version of the classic is much less processed and is the perfect recipe for bake sales, parties, and more. While not as sweet, it still has an identical taste and texture to the original Lofthouse brand—if you don’t believe me, give the recipe a try for yourself!

The Secret to the Best Lofthouse Cookie Recipe

For the perfect Lofthouse copycat, it all comes down to the type of flour you use. To achieve that impossibly soft texture, this recipe relies on bleached cake flour. Not self-rising, not unbleached—even a substitute of all-purpose flour and cornstarch won’t work for this recipe.

Compared to regular flour, cake flour has a very low protein content that’s perfect for super soft and tender baked goods. And by using bleached flour, we double down on these traits.

So, what is bleached flour?

After wheat is milled, there are two different ways to treat it. You can either let it age naturally (i.e. unbleached), which produces a flour with more gluten and a yellower color. Bleaching, however, is a process that treats the flour with a chemical (typically benzoyl peroxide or chlorine) to speed up the aging process. This creates a product that’s slightly acidic, whiter in color, and lower in gluten—ideal traits for light and fluffy cakes.

In addition to cake flour, we’ll also use a bit of nonfat milk powder. Most other Lofthouse recipes rely on sour cream to get a cakey texture, but this adds a density and tang that’s unlike the original. I prefer to use nonfat milk powder instead, since it produces a more authentic texture and taste!

Ingredients You’ll Need

Whenever I develop a copycat recipe, I always start with the ingredient label on the original product. If you grab a pack of these sugar cookies from the grocery store, here’s what we’re working with:

Ingredients: Sugar, Enriched Bleached Flour (Wheat Flour, Niacin, Reduced Iron, Thiamin Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Folic Acid), Margarine (Palm Oil, Water, Soybean Oil, Salt, contains 2% or less of: Mono- and Diglycerides, Calcium Disodium EDTA [Preservative], Artificial Flavor, Annatto [Color], Vitamin A Palmitate), Eggs, Water, Contains 2% or less of: Corn Starch, Palm Kernel Oil, Palm Oil, Leavening (Baking Soda, Sodium Aluminum Sulfate, Monocalcium Phosphate), Modified Corn Starch, Polysorbate 60, Dextrin, Sunflower Lecithin (Emulsifier), Nonfat Milk, Soy Lecithin (Emulsifier), Colors (Red 3, Blue 1 Lake, Red 40 Lake, Yellow 5 Lake, Yellow 6 Lake, Red 40), Natural and Artificial Flavors, Confectioner’s Glaze, Sodium Propionate (Preservative), Carnauba Wax.

Phew. That was a mouthful, but the good news is that my version uses a lot less ingredients (plus ones that you can actually pronounce)! To make them at home, here’s what you’ll need:

Unsalted butter. Using real butter already makes these cookies taste better than the original.
Vegetable shortening. I know, I know. But if you want the authentic Lofthouse texture, we have to have to use a few processed ingredients. Compared to butter, vegetable shortening creates an ideal sugar cookie structure that’s super soft but not dry.
Sugar. For this recipe, we’re using both powdered sugar and granulated sugar to strike the right balance between softness and sweetness.
Egg and egg white. Since Lofthouse cookies are basically white cake, we’ll add more egg white to the recipe.
Heavy cream. Similar to Stella Parks’ copycat recipe, we’re also adding a bit of heavy cream to keep the cookies soft and velvety.
Vanilla and almond extract. No need to go overboard—a dash of vanilla and almond extract mimics the flavor of the original version.
Bleached cake flour. I went into more detail about cake flour earlier, but my preferred brand to use is Swan’s Down.
Non-fat milk powder. While not technically essential, adding a bit of milk powder makes these cookies more authentic in terms of texture.
Cornstarch. When used in cakes and cookies, cornstarch reduces gluten formation for more tender and delicate cookies.
Baking powder. Be sure not to use baking soda—it behaves entirely differently than baking powder and will not work for this recipe.
Kosher salt. To balance out all the sweetness.
Food coloring + sprinkles. For decoration.

Recipe FAQs

What can I use instead of cake flour? Unfortunately, there’s no good substitute for bleached cake flour in this recipe! If you use another type of flour, the cookies won’t have that authentic Lofthouse feel. However, if you’re in a pinch and just want a sweet treat, you can try all-purpose.
What if I don’t have nonfat milk powder? Just skip it—you won’t be able to notice a monumental difference!
Do I need to chill the cookie dough? Yes! Chilling the dough for 1 hour is an annoying step, but it lets the flour fully hydrate and thicken. If you skip this, you run the risk of having flat cookies instead of tall and pillowy ones.
My cookies spread too much/not enough! Most likely, you added too much or little of the dry ingredients—since measuring cups are less accurate than kitchen scales, it’s much easier to incorrectly measure the flour. Always scoop and level your dry ingredients into a measuring cup before adding it to a recipe!
My cookies came out dry! Especially for this recipe, I can’t emphasize how important it is to not overbake! Lofthouse sugar cookies are known for their super soft texture and barely have any color after baking. You’ll know when they’re done if they’re matte on top, set, and just barely golden on the edges—every oven is different, so keep an eye on yours as it bakes!

Storage Instructions

While these cookies are best enjoyed the day of, leftovers can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for 3 to 4 days.

Hope you guys give this recipe a try—it’s one of my favorites!