Tag Archives: soft cookies

December 2, 2018 · 8:11 am

Top Twelve Days of Christmas Cookies: Lofthouse Style Soft Sugar Cookies

DAY 2: Lofthouse Style Soft Sugar Cookies

Lofthouse Cookies: those pillowy-soft cookies in the grocery store with a frosting that hardens just enough to be able to stack them. The homemade version are even better. And much easier to make than rolled and frosted sugar cookies.

To frost them, simply hold them in your hand and dip them upside down into a bowl of icing. Shake on some candied sprinkles, let them set for an hour and you are ready to go. You can use different flavored extracts (vanilla, almond, orange, peppermint, etc.) for different flavored frostings.

ORIGINAL BLOG POST (2014): Lofthouse Style Soft Sugar Cookies

RECIPE:

Lofthouse Style Frosted Christmas Cookies

Servings: about 3 dozen
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Cookies:
¾ cup unsalted butter, softened
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
3 ½ cups flour
1 ½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Beat butter, cream cheese, and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs and vanilla. In a separate bowl, mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix into butter and sugar in mixing bowl. If the dough is too sticky to roll into balls, refrigerate dough for 30-60 minutes.

With hands, roll dough into 1” balls for small cookies, slightly larger for larger cookies. Place 2 inches apart on baking sheets. Flatten dough balls slightly with the palm of your hand.

Bake for 7-9 minutes. Do not overbake.

Glaze Frosting:
6 Tbs butter
½ cup heavy cream
1 lb (about 4 cups) powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla (or ½ tsp almond, ½ tsp orange, or ¼ tsp peppermint) extract
3-4 drops gel food coloring
Candy Sprinkles

Place butter and cream in a microwave-safe bowl. Heat in the microwave for about 60-90 seconds, until butter melts. Use a whisk to mix in powdered sugar. If you are making more than one color or flavor of frosting, divide frosting into separate bowls. Stir in extract (if you want to use white icing, use a clear vanilla or other flavored extract). Mix in food coloring.

Dip tops of cooled cookies in warm glaze and place on a sheet of waxed paper. Sprinkle immediately with candy sprinkles (the glaze starts to set fast: dip one cookie, then add sprinkles, then dip another cookie, etc). If glaze gets too thick, heat in microwave for 15-20 seconds. Allow glaze to set on cookies for about 1 hour before storing cookies.

To freeze: Freeze cookies in single layer and then place in container and store in freezer. Thaw cookies in a single layer.

Makes about 3 dozen cookies

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Twelve Days of Christmas Cookies: Cream Cheese Chocolate Chip Cookies (Egg Free)

DAY 2: Cream Cheese Chocolate Chip Cookies

These cookies are soft and chewy, and egg-free for those with allergies. I like to keep them on hand for my daughter’s friend who has an egg allergy (if I can keep other hands out of the container!).

Here are some other egg-free cookie recipes:

RECIPE:

Cream Cheese Chocolate Chip Cookies (egg-free)

(recipe adapted from Mel’s Kitchen Cafe)

8 oz cream cheese, softened
½ cup butter, melted and slightly cooled
¾ cup brown sugar
½ cup sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups flour
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
1 ½ cups chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 325°F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone liners.

In a mixing bowl, cream together the cream cheese, melted butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Mix in the vanilla.

Combine dry ingredients and then mix into the butter mixture. Add the chocolate chips and mix well.

Roll the dough into 1 to 1 ½-inch balls and place about 2 inches apart on the baking sheets. Flatten each ball slightly with the palm of your hand.

Bake for 12-14 minutes until the edges are just barely golden brown. Cool for 2-3 minutes on the baking sheet and then move to a cooling rack.

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Twelve Days of Christmas Cookies: Chewy Molasses Crinkles

DAY 4: Chewy Molasses Crinkles

These are a soft and chewy molasses cookie, similar in taste to gingerbread, but without the work of rolling and cutting dough.

I love the way the house smells while these are baking! Better than a scented candle any day.

RECIPE:

Chewy Molasses Crinkles

¾ cup unsalted butter, softened
½ cup sugar
½ cup brown sugar
1 egg + 1 egg yolk
¼ cup molasses
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 ½ cups flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp ground ginger
¼ tsp ground cloves
¼ tsp ground allspice
½ teaspoon salt

Cinnamon Sugar: ½ cup sugar + 2 tsp cinnamon
In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter, sugar and brown sugar. Add egg and egg yolk and beat until light and fluffy. Beat in the molasses and vanilla extract.

In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, allspice and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the mixing bowl and beat until mixed.

Cover and chill dough for one hour. In a small bowl, stir together the ½ cup sugar and 2 tsp cinnamon.

Preheat oven to 375°F.

Roll the chilled dough into 1” balls and then roll the balls in the Cinnamon Sugar mixture. Place dough onto ungreased baking sheets.

Bake for 9–10 minutes. Do not overbake, or they will no longer be chewy. Cool cookies on a wire rack.

Makes 3 dozen

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Twelve Days of Christmas Cookies: Swedish Peppar KaKar

DAY 1: Welcome to Twelve Days of Christmas Cookies. For the next twelve days, we will be baking Christmas cookies around here. This is one of my favorite Christmas traditions: baking with my children. It is fun to see them get excited about the traditional cookies that we always make every year. We also enjoy looking through cook books and online together to find a new recipe or two to try. And the best part is deciding on friends and neighbors to share them with! Today we start out with a family favorite.

These are not your average gingerbread cookies. They are so much better! The traditional gingerbread flavors are all there, but there is only a little bit of molasses, which gives them a nice mild flavor. Bake them for just a short time, and they are soft and wonderful. We love to use our tiny gingerbread man and angel cookie cutters for these. They are only about 1 ½-inches tall. Super cute! But be careful, they are very addictive. And when you can pop a whole cookie in your mouth in one shot, it is easy to talk yourself into “just one more”.

You could pipe an icing around the edges or to make faces, if you want, but they are great just on their own. We end up with enough other cookies filled or topped with frosting that it is nice to have a less sweet, but super flavorful “plain” cookie.

My little gingerbread helpers!

RECIPE:

Swedish Peppar KaKar

Servings: Makes about 60 mini cookies
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(soft, mild Gingerbread cookies)

2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 ½ tsp ground ginger
1 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp ground cloves
½ tsp salt
½ cup butter
¾ cup sugar
1 egg, beaten
2 tsp molasses

Combine dry ingredients; set aside. Cream butter and sugar. Blend in egg and molasses. Add dry ingredients; mix well. Add a little bit more flour (up to ¼ cup), if necessary, to get a dough that is soft, but not sticky.

Chill dough for 1 hour. Roll and cut into small shapes (gingerbread men and/or angels).

Bake at 350°F for 6 to 8 minutes. Don’t overbake, or they will become crispy instead of soft.

Makes 60 mini gingerbread men

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For more wonderful Christmas cookie ideas, visit Food Blogga’s Eat Christmas Cookies Event. For submitting your own cookies to the event, visit Food Blogga.