Everybody has a guilty pleasure food. I’m sure of it. How could you NOT have one?

Guilty pleasures are, to me, the foods you know you shouldn’t buy/make/eat — but you LOVE them. And every once in a while you give in. Some of these might be considered guilty pleasures for health reasons, but I think most guilty pleasures are “guilty” for other reasons. I’ll eat my brie and cookies by the truckload, which are certainly not health foods; however, I feel no guilt from eating them. For some reason, those are reasonable fatty foods in my life. But then there are things (*cough* CHEESE-ITS) which I could (not) eat in moderation and feel fine about myself. I don’t though, because they are a guilty pleasure. I know they’re full of chemicals and greasy goodness that I just SHOULDN’T eat. This is certainly no mathematical proof as to why my reasoning is the way it is: I’d pay you to figure my brain out on this one!

I have a LOT of foods in this category. Maybe I should relax my standards, then they wouldn’t be guilty pleasures, right? Cheese-its. Chili dogs. Jerky. Fried okra. And these cookies. I never knew what to call them, but apparently they’re Lofthouse Style cookies — you know the ones: round, super soft, ridiculously sugary frosting. You see them at the store in every seasonal color and sprinkle design possible. They. Are. Awesome. I’ll admit to having gone through a time in my life where I bought these regularly. What was I thinking!?!? That I was invincible, clearly.

Luckily, I grew out of that dark period in my life. Now, I reason, if I can MAKE something myself, it isn’t a guilty pleasure! Again, don’t question my reasoning here. I figured adding a bit of almond extract to these cookies (and frosting) would cut down on the sugar bullet effect. These were awesome! I couldn’t stop eating them! Something about that soft, cakey feeling to a cookie: it’s amazing.

Soft Sugar Cookies (Lofthouse Style)

Adapted, barely, from Two Peas and Their Pod

Cookies
4 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 tsp baking soda
2/3 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2/3 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/3 cups granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups sour cream

Frosting
2/3 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp almond extract
3 cups powdered sugar, sifted
Pinch of salt
4 tablespoons heavy cream

Food coloring
Sprinkles

For the cookies, combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. In a separate bowl, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time. Add vanilla extract and sour cream, and mix until smooth. Gently mix in the dry ingredients until incorporated, scraping down the side of the bowl as needed. The dough will be VERY sticky! In two batches, shape the batter into discs and wrap in wax paper. Refrigerate for at least two hours.

When the dough is fully chilled, preheat the oven to 425 F and line baking sheets with parchment paper. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and roll out, on a lightly floured surface, to be 1/4″ thick. Use a cookie cutter to cut the cookies out, place them on the sheet, and bake for 7-9 minutes. When the edges begin to brown, the cookies are ready. Do not bake these too long! Cool the cookies completely before frosting.

To make the frosting, cream the butter until light and fluffy — about 5 minutes. Add in vanilla and almond extracts, then powdered sugar and salt. Once incorporated, gradually add the heavy cream and beat for another two minutes on high speed. This frosting should be light, airy, and easy to spread! Add food coloring as desired.

Frost each cookie and decorate with sprinkles, if desired. These cookies are best consumed within four days of making (not that you’ll have any left by then!).

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