Lofthouse Frosted Sugar Cookies

UPDATE: I created a Valentine version of these cookies here! They continue to be delicious.I'm sure many of you've seen these cookies by the front entrance of Wal-Mart or near the bakery section of Costco. These cookies are called Lofthouse Frosted Sugar Cookies, and they are beyond delicious and comforting.

If you're not familiar with these cookies, the cookie part has a very cake-like texture (even the batter looks like cake batter) with a sweet, buttercream frosting on top. The cookie part is not particularly sweet, so you get most of the sweetness from the frosting.

The underside of the cookie is perfect.

I'm not a creative, fanciful person, so it was hard to make these cookies look decent enough for this post. Although not perfect-looking aesthetically, they taste wonderful. They are very soft and sweet.

They taste close enough to the real Lofthouse sugar cookies that you won't have to buy them in the stores anymore. I made quite a few changes to the original recipe after reading through many comments I found on various websites for copycat Lofthouse cookies, so you won't have to do any of the research yourself!

Also, I used a 4-inch cookie cutter after rolling out the dough because I wanted big, thick cookies instead of the traditional 2.5-3-inch size. I think these cookies would be perfect for the holidays. Be more creative than I am by coloring the frosting different colors.
NOTE: I don't recommend making these cookies the same day you want/need them because you will have to refrigerate the dough for 6-8 hours or overnight.

Lofthouse Cookies

adapted from Recipezaar

For 4-inch cookies, you will end up with two dozen cookies. So, if you make 2 1/2 - 3-inch cookies, you should end up with about 3-4 dozen cookies.

1 cup butter
2 cups sugar (in my halved version, I added 2 Tbsp (1/4 cup for full version) EXTRA of sugar to make the cake part a tad sweeter)
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp almond extract (optional)
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 cups sour cream
5-6 cups AP flour, until desired consistency for rolling (in my halved version, I used 2 1/2 cups in the dough and then added about half a cup more of flour while rolling out the dough)

Cream together butter and sugar. Beat in eggs, sour cream, and vanilla. Mix in dry ingredients.

Cover and refrigerate overnight (or 6-8 hours).

Preheat oven to 425ºF. Roll out dough to a 1/4 to 3/8 inch thickness using a generous amount of flour (I used a combination of flour and powdered sugar for a non-stick surface and flavor). Cut out shapes, and bake on an ungreased cookie sheet for 8 minutes.

Cool on wire rack. Frost (recipe below), and decorate as desired.

Lofthouse Cookie Frosting
adapted from Recipezaar

Yields enough for 2 dozen cookies, so double the recipe, if you need more.

3 1/2 - 4 cups confectioners' sugar (depending on how sweet you want it)
1/2 cup shortening
5-8 Tbsp (or more) evaporated milk (or regular milk), until you reach the desired consistency
1 tsp vanilla extract
food coloring (optional)

In a large bowl, cream together the confectioners' sugar and shortening until smooth. Gradually mix in the evaporated milk and vanilla with an electric mixer until smooth and stiff, about 5 minutes. Color with food coloring if desired.