Tessa’s Recipe Rundown
Taste: These have the taste of cocoa and aren’t as sickly sweet as some store-bought cookies which I like.
Texture: Thick and soft.
Ease: These are easy but require patience as the dough is best chilled overnight and the cookies are best eaten the day after they’re made.
Appearance: Adorable. You could use any cookie cutter shape you like to make these festive for any occasion.
Pros: Just like the lofthouse cookies you grew up with but better, and with chocolate!
Cons: So. much. butter. Paula Deen would like these…
Would I make this again? Probably, though a girl can only make so many cookies in a lifetime.
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Chocolate Lofthouse Cookies are thick, soft, and adorable with the taste of cocoa.
If the name “lofthouse” doesn’t ring any bells not to worry, you probably know these cookies. They’re the super soft grocery store bakery sugar cookies piled high with sweet frosting and decorated festively year round. My boyfriend calls Lofthouse cookies “Halloween cookies” because he grew up eating them decorated with orange frosting and black sprinkles on Halloween. I remember tasting many Lofthouse cookies growing up and thinking most of them were too sweet and lacked depth of flavor (even as a child I had high dessert expectations). However, I did like the texture of the soft cookie and almost hardened frosting, though they’re probably filled with artificial ingredients and preservatives. That’s why when a classmate at culinary school brought in homemade Lofthouse cookies I was pleasantly surprised to discover how much better they are when homemade. Instantly I started thinking up a chocolate variation of the recipe because let’s face it, I am a mega chocoholic.
Note that this recipe makes a lot of cookies but can be easily halved with this tip on halving eggs.
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Chocolate Lofthouse Cookies
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Ingredients
For the cookies:
- 6 cups all purpose flour, divided, plus more for rolling
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 3/4 teaspoon fine salt
- 3/4 cup cocoa powder, unsweetened, plus more for rolling
- 2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups sour cream
For the frosting:
- 2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 1/4 cups powdered sugar, or more to taste
- 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
- 6 tablespoons heavy cream
- Sprinkles
Instructions
For the cookies:
- In a medium bowl, sift 5 cups of the flour, the baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cocoa powder.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer beat the butter and granulated sugar at medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, until incorporated. Add the vanilla and sour cream and beat on low speed until combined. Gradually add the flour mixture and beat until just combined. The dough should be pliable consistency for rolling, so add additional flour, about 1/4 cup at a time, until pliable (up to 1 cup more flour). Divide the dough into two sections and flatten each into disks. Wrap with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for 6 to 8 hours or overnight.
- Preheat the oven to 425°F. Line large baking sheets with parchment paper or nonstick baking mats.
- Dust a work surface and rolling pin with a mixture of flour and cocoa powder. Roll the dough out to 1/4-inch thickness. Using a 2 1/2-inch round cookie cutter, cut out circles and transfer to a baking sheet.
- Bake for 7-8 minutes. Immediately transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool.
For the frosting:
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter and vanilla. In a medium bowl sift together the powdered sugar and cocoa powder. Gradually beat in the sugar mixture until well incorporated and smooth. Add in heavy cream, 1 tablespoon at a time, until desired consistency.
- Once the cookies have cooled completely, frost and add sprinkles. Place the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature overnight before serving to allow the flavors to develop.
They look great, but I REALLY hate rolling and cutting out cookies. I wonder if the dough sets up stiff enough to chill it in a log shape and do them as a slice and bake? If so, I’d make the entire recipe and freeze logs of dough to slice and bake whenever I need a chocolate fix.
The dough is fairly soft but if you got it really chilled, shaped it into a log, and then popped it into the freezer before slicing I think that might work. Let me know if you try!
Wowwwww… these looks super delicious and tempting.. love it.. first time here.. happy to follow your space 🙂
I don’t think I’ve ever actually tasted lofthouse cookies! Odd, considering the humongous sweet tooth I have. I can’t wait to try these.
These would be super fun birthday celebration cookies… hint hint 😉
Hooooly crap. These look so so good. I can’t wait to try them out!!
I love that there is sour cream in these…I always love what that does to baked goods
Love these!! Your chocolate version sounds incredible.
These cookies look delicious! I think I’m going to need a glass of milk and about 5-6 of these cookies maybe more.
These look amazing!
Be still my heart.
Oh my gosh, I love the plain version but I’d never thought about trying a chocolate one. Love these!!
Oh yeah, I know these cookies! My brothers go crazy for them! Love this chocolate version! So cute and they sound delicious!