Soft Sugar Cookies With Pink Frosting
Just like you remember from the grocery store bakery; but these Soft Sugar Cookies With Pink Frosting and rainbow sprinkles are made with completely organic ingredients! These taste like Lofthouse sugar cookies, but made better and will satisfy your nostalgic craving!
If you're looking for more nostalgic cookie recipes, be sure to try Eggless Sprinkle Cookies, Organic Thin Mint Cookies, Cream Cheese Chocolate Chip Cookies, or Eggless Cosmic Brownie Cookies.
A Quick Look At The Recipe
- Recipe Name: Soft Sugar Cookies With Pink Frosting
- Ready In: 30 minutes
- Makes: 18 cookies
- Main Ingredients: salted butter, cane sugar, powdered sugar, all purpose flour
- Flavor Profile: sweet with light and creamy frosting
- Dietary Info: no artificial colors
- Difficulty: Easy!
- Why You’ll Love It: Nostalgic frosted sugar cookies without food coloring!
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Soft & Pillowy: You will love this version of organic Lofthouse sugar cookies because these have a soft texture and they’re topped with pink frosting!
- Melt In Your Mouth: These Soft Sugar Cookies with Pink Frosting have a melt in your mouth texture. They are buttery and soft baked, as opposed to crispy or chewy.
- Naturally Colorful: I top these soft cakey sugar cookies with pink frosting that is naturally colored with plant based dyes and rainbow sprinkles so there are no artificial colors in this cookie! Make these cookies instead of picking them up at the grocery store, as the ingredients in them are so much better!
- Flexible: While I made the frosting pink, like the iconic Lofthouse sugar cookies, you can use this cookie base and make the frosting color any color to fit your theme. You can find a list of organic food dyes that are free of artificial colors in my post The Best Natural Food Dyes & Sprinkles so you can tailor this to any party theme!
I love taking classic desserts from childhood and making them just a little bit better at home. While I only got to enjoy Lofthouse sugar cookies at a friends house, I remember their soft, pillowy texture! And, this recipe tastes just like them but without artificial colors and other harmful ingredients!
If you want more better than store bought treats, you have to try some of my other recipes! Homemade Twix Bars, Vegan Dark Chocolate Mini Peanut Butter Cups, and Homemade Vanilla Oreo Cookies. And, if you love sprinkle cookies be sure to check out Eggless Sprinkle Cookies and Organic Halloween Cookies With Sprinkles for a festive option for fall!
Ingredients
- Butter: I use organic salted butter, always. But, if you want to use unsalted butter you can, just add 1/4 teaspoon of salt to the recipe.
- Almond Extract: I use a little hint of almond extract in addition to vanilla extract. It really gives these cookies that nostalgic flavor!
- Eggs: I use organic large eggs. Using eggs that are too small can result in dry cookies, eggs that are too large can cause cookies to flatten.
- Sour Cream: You'll need organic sour cream for the cookies, this gives them their extra moist and cake-like texture.
- Baking Powder: I use baking powder since there is no acid in these cookies. For more info on leavening agents, be sure to check out my post the Difference Between Baking Soda and Baking Powder.
- Vegetable Shortening: Using organic vegetable shortening in the icing really gives these the “grocery store” sugar cookie vibe as opposed to butter. Butter is more flavorful, making a richer frosting. But, using vegetable shortening is like a very blank canvas, allowing the sugar to take center stage so you get that iconic sugary icing.
- French Vanilla Coffee Creamer: I use a little bit of organic French vanilla coffee creamer in the icing, this gives it depth of flavor, so it's not so one note. If you don't have this, you can use heavy whipping cream.
- Pink Dye: I use organic beet powder here, just like in Eggless Chocolate Heart Cake. But, check out The Best Natural Food Dyes & Sprinkles for more ways to color icing as I have a list for every color incase you want to make these work with a theme party.
- Sprinkles: I top these with India Tree Nature's Colors Carnival Sprinkles that are made with plant based dyes.
*For a full list of ingredients and measurements, visit the recipe card below.
Baker's Tips
- Order your organic pink dye and naturally colored rainbow sprinkles ahead of time. Many grocery stores don’t carry these items, so order them now so you have on hand when your craving hits.
- Always use a digital food scale for the best results.
- I use my stand mixer for ease, but if you prefer to use a hand mixer, that also works.
- Make sure your butter is soft. I like to leave it out on the counter overnight and let it soften naturally at room temperature for the best results.
- When cookies come out of the oven, use a cookie cutter or glass and put it around each cookie and swirl so that the cookie becomes perfectly round. This is a great trick to do right when the cookies come out of the oven for perfectly round cookies. It can also help cookies become a bit thicker, which I love!
- Allow sugar cookies to cool completely before icing. If you frost cookies when they are warm, the icing will melt and that is not a good texture.
- Add sprinkles on top right after you frost each cookie, this will help them stick to the frosting best.
- Place the whole cookie sheet in the freezer after they are frosted. This will allow frosting to set and then allow you to stack cookies without them sticking.
- Store in an airtight container (placing a piece of parchment paper in between each one to prevent the frosting sticking) in the fridge. These cookies should be refrigerated because there is cream in the frosting.
How to Make Soft Sugar Cookies With Pink Frosting
- Preheat the oven to 325°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. To make the dough: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the butter, cane sugar, vanilla extract, and almond extract. Mix on low until combined, then turn mixer to speed 2 or 4 and mix for 3 to 5 minutes until the butter is light in color and fluffy.
- Add the egg, sour cream and dry ingredients: flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and sea salt in that order.
- Mix on low until combined.
- Using your hands (or a cookie scoop!) form the dough into 18 balls and place on the prepared baking sheets.
- Bake for 15 to 17 minutes or until the middles are set and the bottoms are lightly browned. Allow to cool completely on the baking sheets. (If you're baking at high altitude, be sure to check the Notes at the bottom of the recipe for high altitude baking instructions).
- To make the frosting: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the shortening, powdered sugar, pink dye, and creamer. Mix on low until combined, then speed mixer up to high and whip for 1 to 2 minutes, or until light and fluffy. Be sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl halfway through to combine the dye completely.
- Using a butter knife, spread frosting onto each of the cooled cookies and top with rainbow sprinkles.
Soft Sugar Cookies With Pink Frosting FAQ's
Yes, these taste just like Lofthouse cookies, but they are made using organic ingredients and natural sprinkles! So, you can feel better about indulging in these.
Cornstarch is a stabilizer, so it works to thicken or stabilize foods. In cookies, this can help with cookie spread, but it also can create a chewier texture in cookies. This is why I use it in this recipe. If you don't have it, then feel free to omit it. If you do this, just be sure to do a test cookie for the size of the dough before baking. You may need to make a smaller dough ball to prevent cookie spreading or you can always refrigerate the cookie dough as well if your cookies are spreading too much.
The addition of sour cream, cornstarch and a lower bake time creates an incredibly soft and cakey cookie that just melts in your mouth. Usually I bake soft and chewy cookies at 375°F to get a crispy edge with a chewy center, but these are baked at 325°F so they are soft baked all around, just to give you an idea of difference from a traditional chewy cookie.
If you don't have sour cream, use plain Greek yogurt in its place.
Incorrect measuring, if you have too much dry ingredients compared to wet ingredients, cookies will be dense instead of soft. Always use a digital food scale to ensure you are measuring properly every time, this really takes out so much guesswork in baking and it's my number one tool for any baker!
Absolutely, if you prefer butter go for it. But, the shortening just gives these cookies a more “grocery store” bakery taste where the butter frosting will taste more of butter (more gourmet, less grocery store!). So, totally up to your preference. If you don't like that extra sweet grocery store frosting flavor, then use butter. If you do, then use shortening.
Yes! If you're feeling blue, yellow, orange… or anything else, feel free to make the frosting any color you want! Check out The Best Natural Food Dyes & Sprinkles where I have a list of an organic option for every color.
It is a buttercream, so it will harden eventually. I like to pop the cookie tray in the freezer to speed up the process if you are going to stack or plate for a party. But, it's still a softer frosting, so while the top may harden slightly, it's never going to be completely hard like a royal icing.
While traditional Lofthouse sugar cookies are just round, you can roll and cut these out if you prefer. You will most likely need some extra flour for rolling and it may help to chill the dough as well.
Yes, but they just need to be stored in an airtight container. So, if making in advance you'll need to ensure you can store them so they don't dry out before your party. I like to make the day in advance and just place the whole baking sheet with cookies in a single layer (not stacked) in the freezer. This will help the icing harden and it will keep the cookies fresh. Then you can stack them on a platter when it's party time.
Soft and chewy cookies with icing on top still need to be stored in an airtight container. So, it's best to allow the icing to set before storing or stacking. I do this by placing all the cookies on a baking sheet (do not stack them, just a single layer). Then I freeze the entire baking sheet overnight, this prevents the cookies from drying out if left on the counter as I'm in an incredibly dry climate. Then, I will store them in a tupperware and keep in the refrigerator because these are sour cream cookies, so they should be stored in the fridge. You can also put small pieces of parchment paper in between each cookie before storing for extra security!
More Pink Desserts
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Soft Sugar Cookies With Pink Frosting
Equipment
- Digital Food Scale
- Stand Mixer
- Half Sheet Pan
- Parchment Paper Sheets
Ingredients
Dough
- 113 grams salted butter (softened)
- 170 grams cane sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon almond extract
- 1 large egg
- 57 grams sour cream
- 255 grams all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
Icing
- 170 grams vegetable shortening
- 354 grams powdered sugar (sifted)
- 3 tablespoons French vanilla creamer (or heavy whipping cream)
- ½ teaspoon Suncore Foods Pink Dye
Topping
- Natural rainbow sprinkles
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
- To make the dough: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the butter, cane sugar, vanilla extract, and almond extract. Mix on low until combined, then turn mixer to speed 2 or 4 and mix for 3 to 5 minutes until the butter is light in color and fluffy.
- Add the egg, sour cream and dry ingredients: flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and sea salt in that order. Mix on low until combined.
- Using your hands (or a cookie scoop!) form the dough into 18 balls and place on the prepared baking sheets.
- Bake for 15 to 17 minutes or until the middles are set and the bottoms are lightly browned. Allow to cool completely on the baking sheets.
- To make the frosting: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the shortening, powdered sugar, pink dye, and creamer. Mix on low until combined, then speed mixer up to high and whip for 1 to 2 minutes, or until light and fluffy. Be sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl halfway through to combine the dye completely.
- Using a butter knife, spread frosting onto each of the cooled cookies and top with rainbow sprinkles.
- Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Video
Notes
- Order your organic pink dye and naturally colored rainbow sprinkles ahead of time. Many grocery stores don’t carry these items, so order them now so you have on hand when your craving hits.
- Always use a digital food scale for the best results.
- I use my stand mixer for ease, but if you prefer to use a hand mixer, that also works.
- Make sure your butter is soft. I like to leave it out on the counter overnight and let it soften naturally at room temperature for the best results.
- When cookies come out of the oven, use a cookie cutter or glass and put it around each cookie and swirl so that the cookie becomes perfectly round. This is a great trick to do right when the cookies come out of the oven for perfectly round cookies. It can also help cookies become a bit thicker, which I love!
- Allow sugar cookies to cool completely before icing. If you frost cookies when they are warm, the icing will melt and that is not a good texture.
- Add sprinkles on top right after you frost each cookie, this will help them stick to the frosting best.
- Place the whole cookie sheet in the freezer after they are frosted. This will allow frosting to set and then allow you to stack cookies without them sticking.
- Store in an airtight container (placing a piece of parchment paper in between each one to prevent the frosting sticking) in the fridge. These cookies should be refrigerated because there is cream in the frosting.
- High Altitude – Bake at 325°F for 14 to 16 minutes or until the middles are set and the bottoms are lightly browned.
Nutrition
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So good!
Another crowd favorite!
Yum, yum, yum, I have a hard time restraining myself from eating to many of these yummy treats 😋!!