Lofthouse Frosting Recipes

Steps:

• For the cookie dough: Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment.
• Whisk the cake flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl. Mix the granulated sugar, butter and sour cream in the bowl of an electric mixer on medium-high speed until smooth, light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the vanilla and egg and mix until combined. Reduce the speed to low, add the flour mixture and mix until just combined, about 1 minute.
• Using a 2-tablespoon ice cream scoop, drop level scoopfuls of dough onto the prepared baking sheets, making sure to leave 2 inches between each cookie. Dip the bottom of a glass cup into some cake flour. Gently press the cup on top of each mound of dough and flatten until you get a 1 1/2-inch circle, flouring the bottom of the cup as needed. Use a wet finger to smooth out any rough sides.
• Bake until the cookies puff up and are pale yellow and barely starting to brown on the bottoms, about 20 minutes. Let cool on the baking sheets for 1 minute, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely, about 1 hour.
• For the frosting: Meanwhile, mix the confectioners' sugar, butter, cream, vanilla and 2 drops of the pink food coloring in the bowl of an electric mixer. Mix until light, fluffy and almost doubled in size, about 3 minutes.
• Frost the cookies with the frosting and sprinkle with confetti sprinkles.

Steps:

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

Steps:

• Make the cookies: In a large bowl, using a spoon, cream the butter, cream cheese, sugar and salt until smooth and fluffy. Add the eggs and vanilla extract, and whisk to incorporate some air and to dissolve the sugar crystals, about 1 minute. Stir in the flour and baking powder until just incorporated.
• Heat oven to 350 degrees and line two rimmed sheet pans with parchment paper. Using two spoons or a cookie scooper, plop out 2-tablespoon/50-gram rounds spaced a couple of inches apart. (You should get about 7 to 8 cookies per sheet pan.) Place the sheet pans in the freezer for 15 to 20 minutes until the dough is no longer sticky and easier to handle.
• While the dough chills, make the frosting: In a fine-mesh sieve set over a medium bowl, sift the ground raspberries, using a spoon to help pass them through, until most of the ruby-red powder is in the bowl and most of the seeds are left behind in the sieve. (Discard the seeds.)
• To the bowl, add the 1 cup butter, confectioners' sugar, vanilla extract and salt and, with an electric hand mixer, mix on low speed until the butter absorbs the sugar. Then, turn the speed up to high and beat until the frosting doubles in size, about 2 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula to ensure all the ingredients are incorporated. Transfer the frosting to a small container, cover tightly, and set aside. (You should have about 2 cups of frosting.)
• Remove the sheet pans from the freezer. Roll the chilled dough into even balls and flatten them slightly with your fingers so they're about 2 inches wide and 1 inch high. Bake the cookies for 13 to 15 minutes, rotating the pans and switching racks halfway through, or until they no longer look wet on top, are still light in color and spring back to the touch. They will puff up and crack slightly. Let cool completely on the sheet pan. (They will continue to cook as they sit.)
• Using a butter knife or offset spatula, frost each cooled cookie with the raspberry frosting and adorn with the sprinkles.