Lower Fat Lofthouse Cookies

My kids love those store bought Lofthouse sugar cookies topped with a thick layer of frosting and drizzled with sprinkles. Who couldn't love a cookie with tons of frosting? I made the mistake (HUGE MISTAKE) of flipping over and looking at the ingredient and nutrition fact list.

I'll spare you the details but you would pretty much have to run for 23 hours straight in order to burn that off. It was that ugly. And really, who thinks to say that ¼ of a cookie is considered a serving? In my opinion, the company should be put out of business. Nobody eats ¼ of a cookie. Ever.

I"ll stop whining and just get to the good part. These Lofthouse cookies are lightened up with the help of a lighter butter.

I love the fact that these cookies are packed with a few less calories and fat but still taste just as good as it's friend, the Original Lofthouse Cookie.

Oh, and just for my vegan friends, I made a vegan version for you! Your welcome. I think I'll make a batch and send it to my Dad for a late Father's Day present.

LIghtened Up Lofthouse Cookies (w/Vegan version too)

Cookie Ingredients:

3 cups unbleached all purpose flour

½ tsp baking powder

½ tsp baking soda

¼ tsp salt

½ cup butter, softened

1 cup sugar

2 egg whites

1 tsp vanilla

¾ cup reduced fat sour cream

To Make the Cookies:

In a large bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt Set aside for later use.

In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugar on medium speed until the mixture becomes light and fluffy Add the eggs (or egg substitute) and continue mixing until smooth. Turn the mixer off, and scrape the sides of the bowl if necessary. Turn the mixer back on to low and beat in the sour cream (or substitute) and vanilla until combined.

With the mixer still on low, slowly add the flour mixture, beating until mixture is fully incorporated and combined. The dough will be sticky. Turn off mixer and remove dough from the bowl. Flatten the dough into a 1 inch thick rectangle. Wrap with plastic wrap and set in the refrigerator for 2 hours or overnight.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Lightly flour countertops or rolling surface. Remove the dough from the plastic wrap, and lightly flour the top of the dough. Roll dough to ¼ inch thickness. Cut with cookie cutters (I used ice cream cones from JoAnn's) and place each cookie on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.

Continue rolling dough and cutting cookies and placing on cookie sheets. Bake for 7-9 minutes, or until the cookies are lightly browned on the edges. Remove from oven and immediately remove cookies from the cookie sheet and onto a cooling rack. Cool cookies completely before frosting.

For the frosting:

½ cup butter, softened

2 cups powdered sugar

Pinch of salt

3 tablespoons milk

½ tsp vanilla

In a mixing bowl fitted with a paddle or whisk attachment, cream the butter until light and fluffy. Slowly beat in the powdered sugar and vanilla, then increase speed to medium to continue whipping. Slowly add the coconut milk, one tablespoon at a time until mixture combines.

Use vegetable dyes to tint frosting if desired. You can also use sprinkles to decorate your cookies.

Variations: Vegans, use Earth Balance butter in place of regular butter. Use an egg replacer like Ener-G. Flax eggs not recommended for this recipe. Use coconut milk in place of regular milk. For the sour cream, you can use Tofutti which makes a vegan sour cream.

Variations: I used Smart Balance, a lower calorie butter for these cookies.