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Sunday, September 26, 2010

Soft and Thick Sugar Cookies


These sugar cookies are similar to the Lofthouse sugar cookies you get at the grocery store.  They start out with a box of cake mix - which isnt usually on my grocery list but I happened to have a box in the pantry from a while back so I figured I would try them.  The recipe said to make sure you use the kind with pudding in the mix as that helps with the softness.  They turned out really, really good.  I loved the texture of these - they are so soft - and they stay that way for several days too. 


The frosting on the storebought version of these cookies is never great in my opinion, so using a homemade buttercream frosting adds a special touch.  You can decorate these however you want - they would be really cute for Halloween if you tinted the frosting orange and used some black sprinkles or nonpareils. 


Soft and Thick Sugar Cookies
Recipe adapted from Noshings

Cookies:
1 18 oz box white cake mix with pudding in the mix
2/3 cup flour
2 large eggs
1/3 cup canola oil
2 T sour cream (I used reduced fat)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In a large mixing bowl, stir together cake mix and flour.  Add eggs, oil and sour cream and mix on medium speed until incorporated.  Batter will be fairly stiff.  Use a cookie scoop or roll into approximately one inch balls and bake on a baking sheet lined with a Silpat or parchment paper.  This will help keep the bottoms of the cookies from browning.  Use the heel of your hand or a glass dusted with sugar to gently flatten cookies to about a half inch thick.  You don't want the bottoms to be browned or you've overbaked these.  Bake approximately ten minutes until just set.  Let cool about one minute on the pan and then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

Frosting:
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 T heavy cream
1 T vanilla extract
3-4 cups powdered sugar
1 T meringue powder
Food coloring or sprinkles as desired

Beat butter on medium speed for about two minutes until smooth.  Add cream and vanilla and beat about one more minute to incorporate.  Add sugar, one cup at a time mixing on low speed until incorporated until you reach the desired consistency.  Add meringue powder  (this will help your frosting crust so that you can stack the cookies without smearing your frosting all over the place, I use a sheet of wax or parchment paper in between layers).  You want the frosting to be fairly stiff so that it doesnt run off your cookies.  Frost cooled cookies and decorate as desired.  Store cookies in an airtight container.

66 comments:

  1. THANK you!! I am SO making these cookies for a family reunion on Sunday! I appreciate you sharing this!

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  2. oh my these look amazing! I cant wait to make them!

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  3. I did not wait ONE DAY to try this recipe out. I have tried other cake mix cookies, and thought they were mediocre (I am a cookie diva!)
    BUT, these were A-MA-ZING. I literally don't care if I ever roll out a sugar cookie again, I love these and so did my kids!
    And, I love this blog!!!!

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    Replies
    1. Not sure what kind of cake mix cookie you make but one mix, one egg, one stick of butter makes a great cookie;) ....enjoy

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  4. Okay. might sound like a stupid question, but please someone answer! i cannot find meringue powder ANYWHERE! ive gone to walmart, my local grocery store, nip, nada, nilch. none. i really love frosting cookies. sorry for the bad grammar. i really just had to rant. help?

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    Replies
    1. Find it wherever you find Wilton products. I found it at Michael's Craft Store.

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    2. Amazon.com sells it.

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    3. You can get it at wal mart in the cake decorating section of the store ours is over by the crafts

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  5. I buy my meringue powder at Michaels - but I do believe Walmart sells it as well with Wilton supplies. If you can't find it, you can leave it out and it wont affect the flavor, the frosting just won't crust as well so they may stick if you try to stack them.

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  6. Oooh these look wonderful! I would love to make these sometime soon!
    Cheers~

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  7. These were yummy! Great reviews on them!

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  8. For the frosting, is it supposed to be 1 teaspoon instead of 1 Tablesppon of vanilla? I followed the recipe and used a full tablespoon, and all I can taste is the alcohol from the vanilla? The cookies are delicious though!

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    Replies
    1. I also followed the recipe and used 1 Tablespoon of vanilla. I felt that I had ruined the icing. Starting with 1 teaspoon would be better...you can always add more, but you can't take it out!

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    2. tip for vanilla you always want to play it down - add more if necessary it is rare that receipe would have a tablespoon of vanilla - keep an almond extract or lemon so if you do that you can counter the effects with a teaspon of almond or lemon.

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  9. I used 1 1/2 tsp. of vanilla for the frosting! But yes. tsp, not tbsp.

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  10. What brand of cake mix has pudding mix in it??? Thanks!

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  11. There are several brands -- I'm thinking Duncan Hines or Betty Crocker but I can't remember without going to the grocery store. It will say it on the front of the box.

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  12. Can you use cookie cutters with this recipe?

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  13. You could use cookie cutters but the shapes will probably not hold as nicely as you might like. I would recommend this recipes for cut out cookies... http://homeiswheretheholmansare.blogspot.com/2010/12/sugar-cookies-for-christmas.html

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  14. My family loves Lofthouse cookies. I hope these are as good. I will be trying these as soon as I find meringue powder. :-)

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  15. How many cookies does it make? Thanks!

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  16. Made these today. They are easy and great!!

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  17. I made these this morning. But I didn't have a white cake mix, so I used a butter pecan mix that I had. I also added one more egg, because my eggs were not "large". I also flattened them to about 1/4", not 1/2". (Which worked out well, because the cookie raised up to about 1/2" while cooking.)I don't like a lot of frosting, so I just glazed mine with a teensy bit of this same frosting. I got a glazed effect by applying the frosting very thinly while the cookie was still very warm. (I did not use meringue powder in the frosting, as I don't have any.) All in all, they turned out beautifully, and taste scrumptious! I will definitely make them again~probably experimenting with different flavors of cake mix!

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  18. Found the meringue at Walmart in the party decorating section. It is with the cake decorting stuff. It is Not in the baking asile.

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  19. omg yes do not go around searching endlessly for meringue powder like I did today. it's in the craft section of Walmart, not baking section. happy baking! :)

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  20. These are wonderful!!! So much easier than cut outs and just as yummy it not yummier!! Thanks so much for sharing! Oh yes..1 teaspoon not tablespoon of vanilla...great recipe!!

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  21. So... I tried these. Yes they were good but I dont see how they are any different than regular cake cookies. 1 Box cake mix, 1/3 cup oil, and 2 eggs. SO easy... and they taste the same without all the extra steps.

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  22. I made these today and mine turned out incredibly salty... what did I do wrong?

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    Replies
    1. Did you use salted butter for the frosting? Otherwise, it would have to be the brand of cake mix you used.

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  23. O.K, is it plain of self-rising flour in the cookies?
    Also since they messed up on the Tsp. amount of the vanilla is it Tsp. for the meringue powder or Tbs. ? I love these cookies in the deli at Wal-Mart so I would like to make them rigt and not mess up the ingredients.

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    Replies
    1. All purpose flour and yes one tablespoon each of vanilla and meringue powder is the correct recipe. If you prefer to start with a teaspoon of vanilla do so and add more to taste.

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  24. Can you substitute applesauce for the oil and they come out okay??

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    Replies
    1. While I have had success with the applesauce - oil substitution in baking, I have not tried it in this recipe so I'm not sure.

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  25. I think if you use Almond flavoring instead of vanilla they would be awesome!!

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  26. what are the thoughts on chocolate or other flavored sugar cookies?

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    1. Do you mean if you use another flavor of cake mix? I would think you could use chocolate or lemon without any problems. You would probably want to adjust the vanilla extract though. With chocolate it might be good to add cooled coffee instead of vanilla and lemon extract (but a smaller quantity) would be great with lemon cake mix. Try them out and let us know the results!

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    2. i made these today with a lemon cake mix and a lemon version of the frosting. they are delicious!

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  27. I would like to make these using the Gluten Free Yellow Cake Mix. Has anyone tried it?

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  28. OMG I made these cookies yesterday and they are so good. You can't eat just one. I will make them over and over again. I frosted with canned cream cheese frosting.

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  29. How many cookies does this recipe make?

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    Replies
    1. I get 2 - 2 1/2 dozen good size cookies... just depends on how big you make them.

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  30. Can I freeze these ?

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    1. I haven't tried with these but usually cookies freeze well

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  31. What if you dont have pudding cake mix? Will super moist cake mix work??

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    Replies
    1. You can try it - for these, I've always bought the kind with the pudding in the mix.

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  32. I made these as directed and while the dough and the frosting were both good, they were just too sweet together. And although they looked pretty, I didn't think they tasted anything like Lofthouse cookies. I won't be making these again but my Aunt liked them and asked me to make more for her. So, it just depends on the person. Thanks for sharing though.

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  33. I made these tonight and they were awesome! I made the dough as instructed but I also added 1/8 tsp almond extract. I refrigerated it for a couple of hours and used cookie cutters on it. Baked for 5 minutes. Delicious! They didn't even need frosting. Thank you!

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    Replies
    1. I'll have to try rolling/cutting with this recipe -- good idea! Glad they were a success for you!

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  34. ***SOS****I know it's Christmas Eve, but I'm hoping someone can answer my question. I found the cake w/pudding in the mix, but the only size cake mix I (well, hubby) could find was 15.5. Will that still work? If not, I have a smaller one (Wegmans brand regular white), where I guess I could take some from that box. I'd rather not have to do that. What would you suggest?
    I was so happy when my son picked these (off my pinterest board) rather than the cut out cookies! He loves sugar cookies & requests them every year. These look super yummy, but I have to say that I am really cheating this year, I bought frosting in the jar! TIA!!! Happy Holiday!! :-)

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    1. I would say try it... Bake a test cookie and if they spread too much add a bit more flour, I would say 1/2 cup or so is all you would need.

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  35. Very yummy! Common sense told me that 1T vanilla was too much. So 1t vanilla and substituted 1t cream of tarter for meringue power. Turned out great!

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  36. Well, I read through the all the comments hoping someone felt the way I did, but I guess I'm the only one. I did NOT like these cookies at all. The white cake mix did not provide enough flavor (might experiment with a different flavor of mix). I barely got two dozen cookies and that was using a very small scoop. The cookies had a biscuit-like texture, not pleasing to the tongue. On a good note, the kids loved them, but I think it was mostly for the frosting. I would not take these out of the house to share, but they would work in a pinch if I HAD to have cookies. Definitiely unpinning and sticking to the original Loft House cookies.

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  37. Made these today for Valentines!! Oh my!! They are wonderful and so much quicker than regular sugar cookies! Husband, children, grandchildren and neighbors ALL LOVED them!! Thanks for sharing!!

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  38. I cranked out 7 dozen of these today for Valentines Day!! Oh My!! Husband, Children, Grandchildren, and Neighbors ALL LOVED them! Thanks for sharing!!

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  39. Made these last night and they were incredible! I substituted Greek yogurt for the heavy cream in the frosting, and had to use Cream of Tartar instead of Meringue powder, but otherwise followed the recipe. So good! Thanks for sharing!

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  40. I made these yesterday and omg were they good!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

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  41. The frosting on the storebought version of these cookies is never great in my opinion, so using a homemade buttercream frosting adds a special touch. sugar free oatmeal chocolate chip cookies

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  42. Thank you for these scrumptious looking cookies. Can't wait to try them, I have a question. The 'T' for measuring ... is it teaspoon or tablespoon? I've always refered to lower case t as 'teaspoon' & upper case 'tablespoon.'
    Thank you.

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  43. I just wanted to let you know that I found this gem on pinterest and I made them to put in my Christmas cookies...turned out AMAZING and so super easy...They are always a huge hit and everyone loves them! I have even used flavored cake mixes...Thank you so much!!

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  44. These cookies are amazing. I didn't make my icing---just used Pillsbury white icing. Then I covered the top of the cookie with miniature pastel butter mints pressed into the icing in alternate colors. After the icing dries a little, I placed the cookies in a plastic container separating the layers with waxed paper. After about 12 hours, the cookies picked up the most wonderful butter mint flavor. The multicolor pastel mini mints made them beautiful as well.

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  45. Any tips if I want to make the frosting ahead of time? Do I just whip it back up before using?
    And by the way, these cookies are amazing!! Ignore all the negative advice. Every person I have served them to loved them!!!

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  46. I'm only finding 15.5 oz cake mixes. Can I use that?

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