Soft Cakey Valentine's Day Sugar Cookies (2024)

Topped with a strawberry buttercream and festive sprinkles, these Valentine’s Day sugar cookies are soft and cakey like the Lofthouse style cookies you find in grocery stores. A great cookie for a themed party or to give to loved ones, they can also be doctored up for any time of the year or other holidays.

Jump to Recipe

If you don’t know the name Lofthouse cookie, they’re the cookies you usually see near the checkout lanes in a lot of grocery stores, especially around the holidays. They look like a thick cookie usually with a light pink frosting and sprinkles on top. This recipe takes inspiration from those but isn’t intended as a copycat version.

Soft Cakey Valentine's Day Sugar Cookies (1)Pin

What Makes These Sugar Cookies Soft and Cakey?

The real secret to making a soft and cakey sugar cookie as opposed to a denser and chewy sugar cookie is the addition of sour cream and a mix of baking soda and powder.

Sour cream gives the cookie a nice tang, while also providing extra moisture to keep them from drying out as they cook. Be sure to use a full-fat sour cream and not a fat free version. The baking soda will react with the acid in sour cream, both helping to neutralize the taste of one another, as well as activate the leavening power of baking soda. This isn’t enough of a rise alone though, so baking powder gives the cookie the extra oomph it needs in the oven.

Ingredients for Valentine’s Day Sugar Cookies

You’ll want to start preparing ahead of time to make these cookies, as all the cold ingredients should be at room temperature. The heavy cream for the icing, however, can be left cold.

For the sugar cookie you will need:

Soft Cakey Valentine's Day Sugar Cookies (2)Pin

All-Purpose Flour – I’ve seen these made with cake flour as well, but most people will have all-purpose flour on hand already

Baking Powder and Soda – As mentioned before, the soda works well with the sour cream, but you’ll want the extra punch from baking powder in the oven for a good rise.

Salt

Corn Starch – Just a little bit added to the flour helps reduce gluten formation and adds to a tender crumb. Omit if using cake flour though

Unsalted Butter – Bring to room temperature before baking. If you only have salted butter, leave out the salt in the recipe

Sugar – Use white, granulated sugar. Because these are frosted, I toned down a little on the sweetness in the cookie itself

Eggs – Also bring to room temperature before using

Sour Cream – The extra ingredient that keeps the cookie moist and tender. Be sure to use the full-fat kind and bring it to room temperature also

Vanilla and Almond Extract – The combination gives a great flavor, but feel free to replace the almond with more vanilla if you’re not a fan

For the strawberry buttercream:

Soft Cakey Valentine's Day Sugar Cookies (3)Pin

Butter – Bring to room temperature before using

Confectioner’s Sugar – Confectioner or Powdered, depending on the brand and what they call it

Freeze-Dried Strawberries – The magic ingredient for a strawberry buttercream. These add a ton of color and flavor in a small amount but be sure to get “freeze-dried” and not “frozen”.

Heavy Cream – Heavy cream/heavy whipping cream is preferred, but any milk will work. The higher the milk fat, the creamier the buttercream will taste though

Vanilla Extract

Salt

How to Make Valentine’s Day Sugar Cookies

Start with cookie ingredients first, as you’ll want to chill the cookie dough in the refrigerator for at least an hour before cooking.

Mix the dry ingredients together (other than the sugar) in a bowl and set aside.

Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy, mix in the extracts, then the eggs, and then the sour cream.

Add the dry ingredients and mix on low in 2-3 batches until the dough just comes together.

Soft Cakey Valentine's Day Sugar Cookies (4)Pin

Chill the cookie dough, covered, in the fridge for at least an hour, and up to 2 days.

Preheat the oven to 375°F / 190°C and line a baking sheet with parchment or a silicone baking mat.

Remove from fridge and let stand at room temperature for a bit if too difficult to scoop. Scoop dough at about 1.5 tablespoon portions and roll into a ball. Place on baking sheet a few inches apart and press down center with thumb.

Cook for 8-10 minutes (mine usually took 9). Remove from oven and let them cool on the baking sheet for at least 5 minutes before moving to a cooling rack.

While the cookies are baking, you can make the buttercream.

First you will need to grind up the free-dried strawberries. Pulse them in a food processor until they look like a powder. If you don’t have a food processor, you can also use a spice grinder/coffee grinder, but you’ll need to do it in a few batches.

Cream the butter and half the sugar together, then add the rest of the dry ingredients and continue mixing.

Add the vanilla and heavy cream and mix on high until fluffy and a spreadable consistency.

Spread the frosting onto the cooled cookies and add sprinkles if desired.

Shaping the Sugar Cookies

I tried to make this an easy cookie, so I avoided using cookie cutters. The dough is fairly sticky, so trying to roll it out and cutting rounds is a hassle. I still wanted a nice, round shape that wasn’t domed with tapering and flat edges though. After several recipe changes and test bakes, I came up with a good solution. I tried simply scooping and dropping, scooping and rolling into a ball, and scooping, rolling and then flattening to a ½ inch thickness. The winning idea, however, took a page from burger making.

Soft Cakey Valentine's Day Sugar Cookies (5)Pin

When making burgers, putting a thumb indentation in the middle keeps them from puffing up too much in the center. I tried that with the cookie, and it worked perfectly for the shape I was looking for. The baking powder is going to make the cookie rise in the oven, so the center will puff back up, but the high walls around the thumbprint will melt and spread because of the butter. This method made sure the cookie remained a decent thickness throughout and limited the spreading.

I do recommend coating your hands with flour. I found it easiest to scoop all the dough balls onto the baking sheet, then coating my hands in flour and rolling each ball and placing them back onto the sheet and adding a thumb indent. Return the dough to the refrigerator between baking batches as well so that it doesn’t get too warm.

Soft Cakey Valentine's Day Sugar Cookies (6)Pin

Storing the Cookies

The cookies will stay fresh covered at room temperature for 2-3 days, or up to a week in the refrigerator.

You can freeze them for up to 2-3 months as well. If already frosted, I would freeze them on a tray, then move to a sealed freezer bag after the frosting hardens.

📋 Recipe

Pin

Soft Cakey Valentine’s Day Sugar Cookies

Author: Chris Pezzana

Topped with a strawberry buttercream and festive sprinkles, these Valentine’s Day sugar cookies are soft and cakey like the Lofthouse style cookies you find in grocery stores. A great cookie for a themed party or to give to loved ones, they can also be doctored up for any time of the year or other holidays.

No ratings yet

Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 9 minutes mins

Chilling Time 1 hour hr

Total Time 1 hour hr 24 minutes mins

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Diet Vegetarian

Servings 32 cookies

Calories 215 kcal

Ingredients

For the sugar cookie:

  • 2 ¾ cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
  • 1 ¼ teaspoons baking powder
  • ¼ teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 tablespoon corn starch
  • ¾ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 1 ¼ cups granulated sugar
  • 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
  • ½ teaspoon almond extract
  • 2 large eggs, at room temperature
  • ¾ cup full-fat sour cream, at room temperature
  • holiday sprinkles, for decorating

For the strawberry buttercream:

  • 1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 4 cups powdered sugar
  • 1 ounce freeze-dried strawberries
  • ½ teaspoon salt, or to taste
  • ¼ cup heavy cream
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

For the sugar cookie:

  • Mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cornstarch in a bowl and set aside.

  • In a large bowl with a hand mixer, or using a stand mixer, cream the butter and sugar together on high speed until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla and almond extract and mix for 10 seconds, then add the eggs one at a time and mix on medium high. Finally, add the sour cream and mix until blended, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.

  • Add the dry ingredients and mix on low speed in 2-3 batches until the dough just comes together.

  • Chill the cookie dough, covered, in the fridge for at least an hour, and up to 2 days.

  • Preheat the oven to 375°F / 190°C and line a baking sheet with parchment or a silicone baking mat.

  • Remove the dough from the refrigerator and let stand at room temperature for at least 15 minutes if it is too difficult to scoop. Scoop the dough out at about 1.5 tablespoon portions (correctly sized cookie scoops help here) and place on baking sheet 2-3 inches apart. After scooping out the dough, flour your hands and roll the dough into balls and replace on the baking sheet. Press down center of dough balls with thumb.

  • Cook for 8-10 minutes (mine usually took 9). Remove from oven and let them cool on the baking sheet for at least 5 minutes before moving to a cooling rack.

  • While the cookies are baking and cooling, you can make the buttercream.

For the strawberry buttercream:

  • First you will need to grind up the freeze-dried strawberries. Pulse them in a food processor until they look like a powder. If you don’t have a food processor, you can also use a spice grinder/coffee grinder, but you’ll need to do it in a few batches.

  • In a large mixing bowl with a hand mixer or a stand mixer, cream the butter and half the sugar together on high until light and fluffy, about 2minutes. Add the rest of the sugar, the salt, and the powdered strawberries and continue mixing. If using a stand mixer, switch the paddle attachment out for the whisk attachment on this step.

  • Add the vanilla and heavy cream and mix on high until fluffy and a spreadable consistency.

  • Spread the frosting onto the cooled cookies and add sprinkles if desired.

Notes

1) If you’re not a fan of strawberry, you can make these with vanilla buttercream instead. Simply replace the freeze-dried strawberries with an extra teaspoon of vanilla extract.

2) You can use any milk for the buttercream, but heavy cream will give it the creamiest taste and consistency. I would avoid skim milk though.

3) If you have trouble finding freeze-dried strawberries, they are typically located in the grocery store in the same area as raisins and other dried fruits. Or buy from Amazon here. Avoid using fresh or frozen strawberries, as they can add too much extra liquid to the buttercream.

Your Notes

Click here to add your own private notes.

Nutrition

Serving: 1cookieCalories: 215kcalCarbohydrates: 29gProtein: 2gFat: 11gSaturated Fat: 6gCholesterol: 39mgSodium: 109mgPotassium: 40mgFiber: 1gSugar: 20gCalcium: 22mgIron: 1mg

Keyword Cookies, Sugar Cookies, Valentine’s Day

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

Soft Cakey Valentine's Day Sugar Cookies (8)Pin
Soft Cakey Valentine's Day Sugar Cookies (2024)

FAQs

What makes a cookie cakey? ›

When cookies are too cakey, there are two main culprits: too much leavening (baking powder or baking soda) or too much egg. If there is too much baking powder or baking soda in the dough, the cookies will rise too much when baking, creating a cakier structure. Eggs also promote a cakey structure in cookies.

What is the secret to soft cookies? ›

Baking cookies quickly in a hot oven – at 375 degrees F as opposed to a lower temperature – will make for soft results. They'll bake fast instead of sitting and drying out in the oven's hot air. Ever so slightly underbaking your cookies will give you softer results than cooking them the full amount the recipe says.

How do you make cookies less cakey? ›

Using too much flour will make your cookies too cakey, so try reducing the flour amount by two tablespoons. Avoid using cake flour instead; try a mix of all-purpose flour and bread flour for a more dense and chewy texture.

How do you keep decorated sugar cookies soft? ›

Choose to store them at room temperature or in the freezer instead of the fridge. If you can store your cookies at room temperature or in the freezer - do it. The fridge should be your last resort because of the moisture that can make your cookies soggy. Store the cookies in an airtight container.

What makes a cookie cakey vs chewy? ›

chewy vs crispy is a combination of 2 things… ratio of fats to flour, and baking times/temps.. for more chewy cake like cookies, you want something with a high fat, content cooked at a lower longer temperature… for a more crispy or dryer cooking you want a lower fat batter cooked at a high temperature.

Why are my cookies cakey not chewy? ›

Eggs bind the ingredients and make for moist, chewy cookies. Adding too many eggs can result in gummy, cake-like cookies. Adding too few eggs can result in dry, crumbly cookies. Beat each one in separately and thoroughly.

How do you make cookies soft instead of hard? ›

Use more egg yolks and less egg whites. Egg yolks add moisture to the dough, while egg whites can make cookies drier and crunchier. Add a bit of cornstarch to the dough. Cornstarch helps to absorb moisture and keep cookies soft and tender.

Is it OK to use melted butter instead of softened? ›

Softened butter and melted butter are not the same. Using melted butter will change the texture of whatever you're baking. If you only want the butter to soften for spreading, microwave it on the Defrost setting (30%) in 5-second increments until it's softened as desired.

How do you make cookies fluffy instead of flat? ›

Melted butter incorporates more easily into the dough, creating a more cohesive and pliable dough. Use a mixture of baking powder and baking soda as leavening agents. Baking powder provides lift and helps create a fluffy texture, while baking soda helps to densify the cookie and create a chewier texture.

Does baking powder make cookies more cakey? ›

So, contrary to popular belief, it's not excess baking powder that makes a cookie cakey. Baking powder just regulates how air cells expand—whether or not a dough can handle that expansion depends on gluten. Recipes that are relatively acidic, lean, low in sugar, and high in moisture favor gluten development.

Why are my cookies flat and not cakey? ›

The Problem: Your Oven Is Too Hot

If your cookies repeatedly turn out flat, no matter the recipe, chances are your oven is too hot.

How do you make cookies more moist? ›

Cornstarch helps product soft and thick cookies. Using more brown sugar than white sugar results in a moister, softer cookie. An extra egg yolk increases chewiness. Rolling the cookie dough balls to be tall and lumpy instead of wide and smooth gives the cookies a bakery-style textured thickness.

Why are my sugar cookies always hard? ›

Over-working the dough yields a tough cookie, which is not at all what you want. The very best sugar cookies are soft and tender. → Follow this tip: One of the keys to great sugar cookies is mixing the dry ingredients only until they're just incorporated, and not a second longer.

Why are my sugar cookies not soft? ›

If you add too much flour, your cookies won't spread at all and won't be soft or chewy. Baking powder – This gives the sugar cookies lift, without adding too much spread or browning.

How far in advance can I decorate sugar cookies? ›

make the cookies a day ahead. Even two days. Even more than that and freeze them. Yes, they freeze...even fully decorated.

What makes cookies fluffy or flat? ›

Room temperature butter is just the right consistency to incorporate air when it's creamed with sugar. These trapped air pockets result in risen, fluffy cookies. If the butter is any warmer, it won't incorporate enough air and your cookies will have less rise.

What are 3 factors that contribute to a chewy cookie? ›

The ingredients you use and how you shape your cookies both play an important role in whether your cookies turn out crispy or chewy. The type of flour and sugar you use, if your cookie dough contains eggs, and whether you use melted or softened butter all factor into the crispy-chewy equation, too.

Why did my cookies come out spongy? ›

Here are some common reasons: Underbaking: Cookies might not have been baked long enough. Ensure you follow the recommended baking time in the recipe and adjust based on your oven's characteristics. Too much moisture: Excess moisture, either from ingredients like eggs or butter, can result in soft cookies.

Top Articles
Latest Posts
Article information

Author: Nicola Considine CPA

Last Updated:

Views: 5694

Rating: 4.9 / 5 (49 voted)

Reviews: 80% of readers found this page helpful

Author information

Name: Nicola Considine CPA

Birthday: 1993-02-26

Address: 3809 Clinton Inlet, East Aleisha, UT 46318-2392

Phone: +2681424145499

Job: Government Technician

Hobby: Calligraphy, Lego building, Worldbuilding, Shooting, Bird watching, Shopping, Cooking

Introduction: My name is Nicola Considine CPA, I am a determined, witty, powerful, brainy, open, smiling, proud person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.