Easy Cookie Recipes | Life, Love and Sugar

Copycat Lofthouse Cookies

Lindsay — Thu, 21 May 2026 13:00:00 +0000

These copycat Lofthouse Cookies are soft and cakey with a melt-in-your-mouth texture and light flavor, just like the ones found at the supermarket. A thick layer of buttercream and sprinkles on top gives them the exact appearance too.

I’m totally loving these Lofthouse copycat cookies. They don’t just look like the original, they taste about as much like them as they could too. They have the same tender texture that’s impossible to describe, but is so good. They also mirror the flavor really well.

When developing this recipe, I actually started with my Soft Cutout Sugar Cookies. I knew the addition of cornstarch in those would work well here to add to the cookies’ tenderness and lack of spread. I made a few adjustments though:

Flour – Instead of all-purpose flour, I went with cake flour, which gives the cookies a more tender and cakey texture, while also making the flavor more similar to the storebought version (yes, I totally think cake flour has a taste to it).
Cornstarch – I did reduce the cornstarch a bit for these. It keeps the cutout cookies from spreading really well, but I did want a little bit of spread for these Lofthouse cookies.
Leavening – I used just baking powder for these. I tested them with the baking soda, since I tend to love that in cookies, but the texture was more “right” with baking powder alone.
Sugar – These cookies tend to be quite sweet, so I added a little extra sugar.
Almond Extract – This recipe uses vanilla and a touch of almond extract, to contribute to that lovely cookie flavor.

It took a bit of trial and error on my part to get these amounts just right, but I’m so happy with the way they turned out. I hope you love them too!

Why Lofthouse Cookies Are So Good

Lofthouse sugar cookies aren’t just regular soft sugar cookies with icing on top. Here are a few of the things that make them, and this copycat recipe, so special.

Soft, cakey, melt-in-your-mouth texture. It’s hard to exactly describe the texture of a Lofthouse cookie. It’s not chewy like most cookies, but it’s not as airy as cake. It’s dense but soft, and each bite almost melts in your mouth.
The frosting! These are definitely cookies that need to be frosted. I stuck with the classic pink as seen in stores, but feel free to customize them for any occasion. It’s basically a simple vanilla buttercream, but with less heavy cream to create a thicker, spreadable frosting that firms up nicely.
The light flavor. Getting the flavor of these copycat Lofthouse cookies just right was one of the trickiest parts. Like the texture, it’s very hard to describe the exact flavor. They’re sweet but not too sweet with a subtle vanilla flavor. It turns out using cake flour made a big impact on the flavor, as well as both almond and vanilla extracts.

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Cadbury Egg Cookies

Lindsay — Fri, 20 Mar 2026 12:00:00 +0000

Every bite of these soft and chewy Cadbury egg cookies is dotted with crushed Cadbury eggs and chocolate. They’re super easy to make with basic baking ingredients, and the hands-on time is very short, too. An easy dessert for Easter or spring!

I’m pretty in love with these Cadbury egg cookies. Not only are they super soft and chewy (and stay that way for a good while), the Cadbury eggs actually add a lot of flavor. These aren’t just basic chocolate chip cookies; you can really taste the difference with the Cadbury egg chocolate. They are SO good!

The fact that Cadbury eggs are most easily found in the weeks leading up to Easter make these an obvious Easter dessert, along with my Peeps in a Blanket Brownies, Easter Egg Oreo Cookie Balls and Resurrection Cake. But, let’s be honest – these cookies are way too good to only enjoy on Easter. So be sure to grab a few extra bags of Cadbury eggs at the store to enjoy later in the year too!

Why I Love These Cadbury Egg Cookies

Soft & chewy. Perhaps my favorite thing about these Cadbury egg cookies is that they are both super soft and super chewy. And, in part due to the chilling of the dough, they stay that way for nearly a week. They’re just as soft and chewy in 4-5 days as they are the day they’re baked!
Fun for spring. Cadbury eggs might be an Easter treat but I think these cookies can and should be enjoyed throughout spring. They’re the perfect way to celebrate the end of winter!
Quick & easy to make. These cookies are quick and easy to make, with one caveat – the dough needs to chill for at least 4-5 hours. I like to make the dough and let it sit overnight. Then I can bake them the next day. I love prepping ahead!

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Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Lindsay — Thu, 05 Mar 2026 19:02:47 +0000

These Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies take classic chocolate chip cookies to a whole new level, with a rich and slightly nutty flavor. They stay soft and chewy for days, and every bite is loaded with gooey chocolate.

If you love chocolate chip desserts, you’ll also want to try this chocolate chip cookie ice cream cake.

After making my brown butter cutout cookies and brown butter buttercream, I decided it was time to make brown butter chocolate chip cookies. Just like in the cutout cookies, the brown butter gives these chocolate chip cookies a rich, deep flavor that is so good.

This recipe is similar to my chewy chocolate chip cookies but with a few changes and adjustments. The butter is browned, obviously, and there are a few ingredient adjustments to offset the moisture loss from browning the butter. The cookie dough is also refrigerated, which helps keep them soft and chewy for days. Plus, there’s chocolate in every bite and they’re super easy to make. Just remember to leave time for the dough to chill!

Why I Can’t Stop Making These Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Rich, nutty flavor. The brown butter in the dough gives these cookies a deep, slightly nutty flavor that takes your everyday chocolate chip cookie to the next level. It’s not overpowering, but it adds noticeable depth to the flavor. So good!
Lots of chocolate. These brown butter chocolate chip cookies are loaded with plenty of chocolate – both chocolate chips and chopped chocolate. I chose to use both types of chocolate to ensure there was rich, melty, gooey chocolate in every bite.
Soft and chewy. It’s easy for cookies to be dry when using brown butter, but these are not! In addition to the extra butter and egg used, the dough is refrigerated, which allows the flour to absorb more of the wet ingredients. They stay soft and chewy for days!

What Is Brown Butter?

Brown butter is made when you cook butter on the stove until it turns golden brown. The water evaporates as the butter melts and cooks, then the milk solids brown, creating a rich, nutty, caramel-like flavor and aroma. Let it cool for a bit and use it in baking recipes to enhance the flavor profile. It only takes about 10 minutes to make.

How To Offset The Moisture Loss

Because the water evaporates when you cook the butter, you lose about 20-25% of your butter volume, depending on the butter brand. We don’t want dry cookies, so to offset that loss, these cookies use more butter than is typical and have an extra egg.

Key Ingredients

These cookies are made with just a handful of basic baking ingredients. Be sure to scroll down to the recipe card below for the exact measurements.

Butter – I like to use unsalted butter to fully control the saltiness.
All-purpose flour – I like to use a food scale or the spoon and level technique for measuring flour. Over measuring your flour will give you very dry cookies. See my post How To Accurately Measure Flour for more details.
Baking soda – Allows the cookies to rise, spread and brown properly in the oven. It also helps them stay softer and chewier for longer.
Salt – Brings out the flavors already present.
Sugar – This recipe uses more brown sugar than granulated sugar, which adds moisture and contributes to the chewy texture. The molasses-y flavor of the brown sugar also pairs nicely with the browned butter.
Eggs – Use large eggs at room temperature.
Vanilla extract
Chocolate – I use a combination of chopped semi-sweet chocolate and chocolate chips. If you don’t have a bar of chocolate on hand, you can increase the amount of chocolate chips used.

How To Make Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Here’s an overview of how to make these soft and chewy cookies. The printable instructions can be found in the recipe card below.

Brown The Butter

Melt the butter in a light-colored pan over medium-low heat. Increase the heat to medium and bring to a boil, again stirring constantly.

A dense foam will appear as the water evaporates and the butter begins to turn brown. Keep stirring as browned bits form.

Once the butter is browned with a nutty, buttery smell, transfer immediately to a bowl to cool to room temperature.

Make The Cookie Dough and Bake

Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl. Set aside.

In another bowl, combine the butter, eggs, sugars, and vanilla.

Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and combine, then add chopped chocolate and chocolate chips.

Measure 2 tablespoon-sized balls of cookie dough. Stack the cookie dough tall and chill for at least 3 hours.

Bake the cookies for 9-12 minutes. Use a circle cutter or spoon to push in the edges and shape them, if needed. Cool on the pan for 5 minutes then transfer to a cooling rack.

Tips for Baking Perfect Cookies

Browning the butter. Don’t walk away while making it. If you walk away from the pan, you risk burning the browned butter. Stir it constantly, so it doesn’t burn. And use a light-colored pan, so you can see it change color. For more on browning butter, see my post How To Brown Butter.
Cool the butter. Let the brown butter cool to room temperature before using it in the cookie dough so you don’t get greasy cookies.
Measure correctly. Measure the flour correctly so that your cookies don’t turn out dry. To get it right, use a food scale or the spoon and level method.
Don’t over-mix. When combining the wet and dry ingredients for the cookie dough, mix just until everything is incorporated. Mixing past this point can cause the glutens to overdevelop, resulting in tough, dense cookies.
Chill the dough. Before baking the cookies, refrigerate the dough for at least 3 hours. Do not skip this step! The flour will absorb more of the wet ingredients, resulting in more tender, chewy cookies. The longer you refrigerate them, the longer they last once baked. They get darker in color, too.
Don’t over-bake. Bake the brown butter chocolate chip cookies just until they no longer look under-baked in the middle.
Add sea salt. For a salty finish, sprinkle sea salt on top of the cookies when they come out of the oven.

Proper Storage

Room temperature: Store brown butter chocolate chip cookies in an airtight container. They’re best enjoyed within 3-4 days.
Freezer: For longer storage, place the cooled cookies in a ziploc bag and press out all of the air. Freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw on the counter or pop in the microwave to warm.

Watch How To Make Them

Read Transcript

More Chocolate Chip Cookies

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

White Chocolate Chip Cookies

Cake Batter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword brown butter chocolate chip cookies

Prep Time 35

Cook Time 9

Chill Time 6

Total Time 6 44

Servings cookies

Calories 191kcal

Author Lindsay

Ingredients

1 1/4 cups (280g) unsalted butter
2 1/4 cups (293g) all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup (168g) packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup (52g) sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 ounces (113g) semi-sweet chocolate chopped
1 cup (169g) semisweet chocolate chips

Instructions

Brown the butter

Note: The butter will brown quickly once it starts to turn brown, so don’t walk away from the stove. Have a bowl ready to pour it into once it’s done, so it doesn’t continue to cook and burn.
Add the butter to a light-colored pan over medium-low heat and allow to melt, stirring continuously. Turn the heat up to medium and allow it to come to a boil, again stirring constantly.
The butter will change as it boils, finally getting a dense foam on top once the water has all evaporated. Stir constantly so that the butter browns evenly and milk solids don’t settle on the bottom of the pan and burn. Stirring also allows you to see through the foam to see when the butter starts to brown. The foam will subside a bit and you’ll notice brown bits on the bottom of the pan. It’ll smell buttery and nutty. I like to stir a touch longer to get plenty of brown bits, just be careful not to burn it (keep stirring!).
Immediately remove from the heat and pour the brown butter into a heatproof bowl. Set aside to cool to room temperature (or just slightly warmer). It will thicken as it cools and become more solid, but soft, at room temperature. If you want to prep the brown butter ahead, you can refrigerate it and bring it room temperature before using it.

Make the cookie dough

Combine the flour, baking soda and salt in a medium-sized bowl and set aside.
Add the room temperature butter, sugars, eggs and vanilla extract to a large bowl and whisk together until well combined.
Add the dry ingredients and stir together just until the dough is well combined. I folded it by hand with a spatula, but you could use a mixer. It may seem a little dry at first, but it’ll come together. Don’t over mix.
Gently fold in the chopped chocolate and chocolate chips.
Measure 2 tablespoon-sized balls (32g) of cookie dough. To have them spread properly and be a little thicker, you want them to sit tall on the cookie sheet (refer to photo above). You can think of it like you are stacking one tablespoon on top of the other.
Cover the cookie dough balls or store in a container and refrigerate for at least 3 hours, or up to 2 days. The longer you refrigerate them, the softer and chewier they are. I like to refrigerate them overnight. You could also just roll the cookie dough into a ball to refrigerate, but the cookie dough gets quite firm so you’ll need to add time for letting it come to room temperature before you can roll the balls.

Bake the cookies

Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C) and line a cookie sheet with a silicone baking mat.
Remove the cookie dough from the fridge and place cookies onto baking sheet. You can bake them straight from the fridge, or let them come to room temperature. I baked 6 a time, since they will spread a good bit while they bake.
Bake for 9-12 minutes or until the cookies just look done in the center. Remove from oven and use a circle cutter or spoon to push in the edges, if needed. They sometimes spread in a funky shape. Allow the cookies to cool for 4-5 minutes, then remove to a cooling rack to finish cooling.
Serve and enjoy! Store cookies in an air-tight container at room temperature. Best if eaten within 3-4 days.

Notes

Flour – I like to use a food scale or the spoon and level technique for measuring flour. Over measuring your flour will give you very dry cookies. See my post How To Accurately Measure Flour for more details.
Chocolate – I use a combination of chopped semi-sweet chocolate and chocolate chips. If you don’t have a bar of chocolate on hand, you can increase the amount of chocolate chips used.
Chill the dough – Before baking the cookies, refrigerate the dough for at least 3 hours. Do not skip this step! The flour will absorb more of the wet ingredients, resulting in more tender, chewy cookies. The longer you refrigerate them, the longer they last once baked. They get darker in color, too.

Nutrition

Brown Butter Cutout Cookies

Lindsay — Tue, 02 Dec 2025 14:34:15 +0000

On the hunt for a holiday cookie that’s a cut above the rest? These brown butter cutout cookies are perfect. They are wonderfully soft and chewy, and browning the butter gives them a nutty, caramelized flavor you don’t want to miss. Frost them with brown butter buttercream for even more great flavor!

If you’re a fan of brown butter baking, don’t miss these brown butter chocolate chip cookies.

I love having a good classic cut out sugar cookie recipe. It’s the one you grew up making with your family as a kid. But as an adult, I also now love trying new cutout cookie flavors and using different ones for different times of year, or just changing it up. There are so many great recipes and flavors to make, why stick with the same one forever?

If you’ve ever tried my soft cutout cookie recipe or my chocolate cutout cookie recipe, you’ll love these new brown butter ones. This new recipe is based on those, but with brown sugar, brown butter and few other changes due to the nature of brown butter.

What is brown butter?

Brown butter is made by cooking butter on the stove until it turns golden brown. As it melts, the water evaporates, and the milk solids brown, creating a rich, nutty, caramel-like flavor and aroma. Let it cool for a bit, and you can use it in many a baking recipe to enhance the flavor profile. It only takes about 10 minutes to make.

Because the water evaporates when you cook the butter, you lose about 20-25% of your butter volume, depending on the butter brand. What that means for these cookies is that changes had to be made so that they didn’t turn out dry and hard with that loss of water content.

After lots of testing, I increased the amount of butter that is browned, removed the cornstarch (which isn’t needed for these cookies to maintain shape) and added an extra egg.

The Brown Sugar Cutout Cookies You’ll Want to Make Every Year

Of all the sugar cookies out there, why these ones? You’ll see once you try them for yourself, but here are some of my favorite things about them:

Nutty, caramelized flavor. Browning the butter gives these cookies a warm, nutty, and caramel-like flavor that’s a step above your classic sugar cookie. A hint of cinnamon adds a festive touch.
Soft, chewy texture. Made with dark brown sugar and two eggs, these cookies are wonderfully soft and chewy.
Perfect for decorating. These cookies are the perfect blank canvas for decorating. The dough is sturdy, easy to roll, and holds its shape well during baking. The finished cookies are firm enough to support any icing or frosting you choose to use.

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Turtle Thumbprint Cookies

Lindsay — Mon, 01 Dec 2025 18:32:26 +0000

Inspired by the classic candy, these decadent turtle thumbprint cookies feature a rich chocolate base, a gooey caramel center, and a crunchy pecan coating. It’s the perfect trifecta of flavors and textures.

If you’re a fan of traditional thumbprint cookies but looking for something a bit more decadent, you’ve come to the right place. Inspired by the beloved turtle candies (you know…the ones with pecans and caramel dipped in chocolate), these turtle thumbprint cookies take the beloved elements of my classic recipe and elevate them with the irresistible combo of chocolate, caramel, and pecans.

Why You’ll Love These Turtle Thumbprint Cookies

These cookies have SO much going for them. Here’s why you need them in your holiday cookie jar:

The perfect flavor trifecta. The rich chocolate flavor of the cookie base is a perfect match for the sweet, buttery caramel filling, while a coating of toasted pecans adds a nutty crunch and slight savory balance.
Chewy, gooey, and crunchy. You’ll love the variety of textures in these cookies. From the tender chocolate cookies themselves to the soft caramel filling and the crunchy pecan coating, they’re sure to impress.
Beautiful presentation. Between the glistening gold of the caramel, the speckled pecan coating, and the elegant drizzle of chocolate ganache, these cookies are an eye-catching addition to your holiday cookie tray.

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