Soft Frosted Sugar Cookies
I am sure you have seen these cookies if you read other food blogs. When I made them for our monthly work birthday celebration, I felt like I was the last blogger in the world to make them.
And boy, was I missing out! For years, every time I saw this recipe pop up in a blog, I thought to myself “man, I really need to make those soon”. Then something else would pop up and these cookies just never made it to the top of my baking list.
When I asked my guys who had birthdays what they liked, one said she liked anything, one said she loved chocolate, and one said he liked anything but chocolate. I was stumped. I wasn’t sure where to go with it, so I started searching through my cookbooks and saved recipes.
I was in the mood to bake cookies so these cookies were a natural fit. To say these were a hit would be an understatement. Some of the people on my team ate more than one during staff meeting that day. And staff meeting is at 9am. I’m glad I can provide such a well balanced breakfast for my team 😉
I had planned ahead and saved one lone cookie for Hubby to have. I knew he’d be disappointed if I had baked something and didn’t let him try it. He instantly asked for an entire batch so he could have another one.
These cookies are just so well known and so well liked, it’s a no brainer. You can customize the frosting color and the sprinkles to make them themed for any occasion. They would be a huge hit at a 4th of July party this week. In fact, I might be whipping up another batch to take over to some friends house… Don’t be like me and put off making these cookies. Believe me, you’ll wish you had made them sooner!
One Year Ago: Lemon Cookie Bars and Grilled Chicken Salad with Mango Salsa
Two Years Ago: Summer Shrimp Salad
Three Years Ago: Chocolate Mousse Cupcakes with Chocolate Dipped Strawberries and Pita Bread
Four Years Ago: Chorizo, Shrimp, and Lentil Stew
Five Years Ago: Layered Cookie Cake and Chocolate Chip Cupcakes with Chocolate Frosting
Soft Frosted Sugar Cookies
These cookies are similar to the famous Lofthouse cookies you can buy at the store, except they are homemade and taste a thousand times better!
Yield: 2 dozen large cookies
Ingredients:
For the Cookies
4 1/2 cups flour
4 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 eggs
5 tsp vanilla extract
For the Frosting
5 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
1/3 cup (5 1/3 Tbsp) unsalted butter, melted
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
7-8 Tbsp milk (plus more, as needed)
Food coloring (optional)
Sprinkles (optional)
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder and salt. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar together on medium-high speed until soft and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Beat in the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Blend in the vanilla. With the mixer on low speed, add in the dry ingredients mixing just until incorporated and evenly mixed. Cover and chill the dough for 1 hour.
When you are ready to bake the cookies, scoop a scant quarter cup of dough and roll into a ball. Flatten the ball slightly and place on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining dough, spacing the cookies at least 2-3 inches apart. Bake about 10-12 minutes or just until set (do not overbake! The edges should be no more than very lightly browned if at all). Let cool on the baking sheet for several minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
To make the frosting, place the confectioners’ sugar in a medium bowl. Add the melted butter, vanilla, and milk to the bowl and whisk until smooth. Whisk in additional milk as necessary, 1 teaspoon at a time, until you reach your desired consistency. Tint with food coloring if desired. Use a spatula or spoon to frost the cooled cookies (If the frosting begins to thicken as you decorate, just continue to whisk in small amounts of milk to keep it workable). Top with sprinkles if desired. Best eaten the day they are made. Store in an airtight container for a couple days.
Recipe seen on Sing For Your Supper, originally from Hostess with the Mostest
I am Jen the Beantown Baker. Engineer by day and baking maven by night. Hubby serves as my #1 fan and official taste tester. We got hitched back in 2006. Barefoot. In the sand. With the waves crashing behind us. It was one of the best decisions we’ve ever made. 
I love freezing dough but somehow most ends up in my tummy unbaked when I do that 🙂
What a great gift! I’m thinking that would be wonderful for all sorts of occasions. Thanks for the idea!
These are adorable and I love that idea! Two questions, though: 1) Were these as good as the cookies from the other recipes? and 2) When you freeze them, do you bake right from frozen?
Great questions Carly – As far as comparing them to the other cookies. I enjoyed the chocolate M&M cookies the best, but they were REALLY chocolatey. The other non-chocolate M&M cookies were a bit more chewy and they had nuts in them, so they had a different vibe. This recipe was more of a classic M&M cookie for sure.
As far as baking from frozen, you can def just go straight from freezer to oven. Bake them ~13 minutes instead of ~11 and take them out when they look done.
these were delicious!
they look so cute all frozen up 🙂
I love the pink and red M&Ms. Thanks for the idea of freezing the cookie dough.
I was going to ask you the same thing as Carly, well the first question. These cookies are cute. Your freezing method reminded me that I have a bunch of sugar cookies still in the freezer! Do you know how long cookies can stay in the freezer?
I don’t know how long they will last in the freezer. I have a tendency to forget about things in my freezer… I’d guess a couple months? Anyone have ideas?
What festive little cookies 🙂 I love them! I also like the fact that you froze them. I bet they were delicious. Make sure to enter the All Through the Year Cheer event for Valentine’s Day 🙂
I think that sounds like a great way to spend valentine’s day. It can be intimidating the way it’s so hyped up. The cookies look very festive, love ’em!
We don’t do “valentine’s day” either since my MIL was born on the 14th and daughter’s birthday is the 15th – besides, its more important to say you love someone everyday, not just one day out of the year. Love the idea about freezing the cookie dough in preshaped form and giving that away. Wonderful idea!
I am looking for cookies that travel well for my soldier adopted through Soldier’s Angels and these look like a winner!!
Mmm, these were so tasty! Happy Valentine’s Day!
These are just too cute!! I love M&M cookies too!!
http://www.singforyoursupperblog.com
Just had to add my two cents on the idea of giving cookie dough frozen and ready to be baked – genius! For some reason, I’ve never thought of that, even though I’ve given cookies frozen to people to be defrosted when they’re ready to eat. I love the dough idea!
YUM-these look absolutely delicious! I love the pink and red M&Ms!