Copycat Lofthouse sugar cookies

Cake cookies with buttercream frosting

You know those supermarket cake cookies with the quarter-inch frosting? People either love 'em or hate 'em? There's a copycat recipe for that! Now fair warning: The weird thing about these cookies is that the cookie itself tastes like a big ol' nothing. Truly, one bite and you won't even be tempted to take a second. 

But once you let the frosting get cozy with the cookie overnight, some kind of magic happens — and the crowd goes wild. If I'm being totally honest, I'd rather have one of these angel sugar cookies. But if you're a Lofthouse cake cookie connoisseur, you gotta make these babies! People say they're better than store-bought. 

Word of warning before you think you can have these cookies in your belly tonight... you can't. These are multi-step, multi-day cookies. Sounds obnoxious, but it's actually kind of nice to do a little bit every day instead of making a mountain of mess. Plus, I don't always have hours to devote to baking — but can I squeeze in time to just make some dough or frosting? Sure! Here's how I did it. Day one: Make cookie dough. Day two: Bake the cookies. Day three: Frost the cookies. Day four: Stuff your face. 

- - - - - 

COPYCAT LOFTHOUSE SUGAR COOKIES
Makes 4 dozen cookies

WHAT YOU'LL NEED
COOKIES 
6 cups flour, divided
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 cup butter, at room temperature 
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 and 1/2 cups sour cream

FROSTING
1 cup butter
1 tsp vanilla
4 cups powdered sugar
6 TBS heavy cream
Sprinkles

*Note: If this sounds like too much, halve the recipe like I did. To halve 3 eggs, add one to the mix, then whisk a second in a small bowl and pour in half the liquid. 

WHAT YOU'LL DO
1. For the cookies: Reserve 1 cup of flour for step 4. In a medium bowl, whisk together the remaining cups of flour, baking soda, and baking powder. Set aside. 

2. In a large bowl, with an electric mixer on medium speed, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated. Use a rubber spatula to scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add vanilla and sour cream and beat at a low speed until just combined. 

3. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, beating until just combined. 

4. Add additional flour 1/4 cup at a time, until the dough reaches the right consistency for rolling (I ended up adding the full cup). 

5. Divide dough into two sections and flatten into rectangles, about 1 and 1/2 inches thick. Wrap in plastic wrap. Chill in the fridge overnight. 

6. To bake the cookies: Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or spray with nonstick cooking spray. Flour a work surface and rolling pin, and roll each rectangle of chilled dough to about a 1/4-inch thickness. Use a 2 and 1/2-inch round cookie cutter (a drinking glass also works!) to cut out circles. 

7. Place on prepared baking sheet, and bake for 7–8 minutes, or until pale gold and just set. Transfer to wire racks to cool completely before frosting. (I cooled the cookies overnight, but you could bake and frost in the same day if you like!) 

8. For the frosting: In a large bowl, cream together butter and vanilla. Slowly beat in powdered sugar. Once smooth, add heavy cream, 1 TBS at a time, until the frosting is the right spreading consistency. Frost the cookies, top with sprinkles. Store on the counter in an airtight container. Allow the frosting to set and the flavors to develop overnight. This is key! 

- - - - - 

These cookies seem rather involved, but each step is really quite manageable. If you spread out the process over a series of days, as I did, it ends up being a leisurely endeavor. However, I would suggest halving the recipe. I always do and still end up with more cookies than I can handle. Plus, they're a little tricky to store, as stacking frosted cookies isn't ideal.  

Also, if you're going to halve the recipe, I recommend still making the full amount of frosting. If you want to pile the frosting on each cookie, as I did, there's just not enough to go around — better to have more than not enough. Happy baking!