Pillowy thick vanilla sugar cookies with a cloud of fluffy buttercream frosting in any colour you choose — the softest, most tender sugar cookie imaginable, more cake than cookie in the best possible way.
About This Recipe
Soft frosted sugar cookies are a completely different entity from cut-out royal iced sugar cookies. Where the classic decorated cookie is crisp and precise, the soft frosted version is thick, pillowy, and almost cake-like in its tenderness — a cookie that yields immediately when bitten and practically dissolves on the tongue. They are the cookies sold at American grocery store bakeries, often decorated with thick swirls of coloured buttercream, and they have a devoted following that their elegant counterparts cannot claim.
The softness comes from a combination of factors. Cream cheese in the dough adds moisture and a slight tang that inhibits gluten development, keeping the texture tender. Baking powder rather than bicarbonate of soda provides a gentler leavening that lifts the cookie into a thick, pillowy shape rather than spreading it flat. Cornflour mixed with the plain flour further tenderises the crumb by interrupting gluten strands.
The buttercream frosting for these cookies should be generous, fluffy, and just slightly sweet rather than cloying. American-style buttercream — butter, icing sugar, a little cream, and vanilla — is the traditional topping and the one that pipes and spreads most easily. The soft swirl of frosting on each cookie, achieved with a palette knife or offset spatula in three confident strokes, is the distinctive finish that makes these cookies instantly recognisable and deeply satisfying.
History & Origins
Soft frosted sugar cookies are a distinctly American creation, closely associated with the Midwestern baking tradition where thick, pillowy cookies with coloured frosting became a staple of school bake sales, church potlucks, and grocery store bakery cases throughout the 20th century. The style became widely popularised in the internet baking era when the specific nostalgia for the grocery store bakery cookie drove a wave of home recreation attempts, eventually producing an agreed-upon recipe format that captures the exact soft, tender quality of the commercial original.
Why It’s Easy To Make
Standard ingredients with cream cheese as the only slightly unusual addition. No special technique. Forgiving and fast.
Soft Frosted Sugar Cookies
18
servings10
minutes30
minutes3060
kcalIngredients
•t175g unsalted butter, softened
•t115g cream cheese, softened
•t250g white sugar
•t2 large eggs
•t2 tsp vanilla extract
•t340g plain flour
•t2 tbsp cornflour
•t1.5 tsp baking powder
•t0.5 tsp salt
•tFor buttercream: 175g butter, 300g icing sugar, 2 tbsp cream, 1 tsp vanilla, food colouring
Directions
- Beat butter, cream cheese and sugar together until very light and fluffy, about 4 minutes.
- Add eggs and vanilla. Beat until combined.
- Mix in flour, cornflour, baking powder and salt until just combined.
- Refrigerate dough for at least 1 hour.
- Preheat oven to 175°C. Line trays with baking paper.
- Scoop into large balls. Place on trays and press down to about 1.5cm thickness.
- Bake for 9 to 11 minutes. Edges should be just set and cookies should look pale and underdone.
- Cool completely before frosting.
- For buttercream: beat all ingredients until very fluffy. Colour as desired. Spread or pipe onto cooled cookies.
Notes
- These cookies are specifically meant to look pale and underdone when pulled from the oven. Do not bake until golden.
The cream cheese must be fully softened at room temperature before creaming — cold cream cheese creates lumps.
Refrigerate after baking if the buttercream is very soft in warm weather.
The chilling time before baking is important for maintaining the thick, round shape of these cookies.
Make Ahead Tips
Dough keeps refrigerated for 3 days or frozen for 3 months. Baked unfrosted cookies keep for 5 days. Frosted cookies keep refrigerated for 1 week. Bring to room temperature before serving.
Storage & Serving
Frosted cookies keep in the fridge for up to 1 week. The butter in the frosting means they should not be stored at room temperature for more than a day in warm weather. Unfrosted cookies freeze for 3 months and can be frosted after thawing. Serve at room temperature. These are ideal for birthday parties, celebrations, and any occasion requiring large quantities of decorated cookies as they are fast to make and frost.
Variations & Substitutions
Flavour the buttercream with strawberry extract and colour pink for a classic party cookie. Add sprinkles or coloured sugar to the wet frosting for a celebration finish. Use lemon curd as the frosting instead of buttercream for a tangy, less sweet alternative. Add almond extract to both the dough and frosting for an amaretto-inspired version.
