These puffy heart-shaped sugar cookies have a soft cake-like texture just like the popular store-bought version. They’re finished with vanilla buttercream frosting and a mixture of bright, cheery sprinkles.
Make the cookies: Cream the sugar and butter together until smooth. Add the eggs, sour cream and vanilla. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix well. Dough will be soft and sticky.
Divide the dough in half. Return half the dough to the mixing bowl and add 2-3 drops of pink food color; mix well. Turn the pink dough out onto a piece of waxed paper and wrap. Return the remaining dough to the bowl (no need to wash first). Add 2-3 drops of purple food color and mix well. Transfer the purple dough to a piece of waxed paper and wrap. Refrigerate both portions of dough until semi-firm, at least 2 hours, or overnight (preferred).
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
Remove cookie dough from refrigerator. Dust a work surface with flour, also dust a rolling pin. Unwrap each portion of dough and place them on the work surface. Dust them with flour; roll to slightly less than 1/2-inch thick. Cut the dough using a floured heart-shaped cookie cutter (3-inch for 2 dozen cookies, 5-inch for 10 cookies). If there are streaks of flour on the cut-outs, gently dust it off with a soft pastry brush. Re-roll dough scraps and repeat cutting until all the dough is used.
Bake the cookies for 10-12 minutes, or until they are puffed and fragrant. Transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.
Make the frosting: Cream the butter in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a whip attachment; beat in the powdered sugar 1/2 cup at a time. Beat in the vanilla. If the frosting is stiff, beat in the milk or cream 1 tablespoon at a time until a smooth, fluffy consistency is achieved.
Use an offset spatula or the back of a spoon to spread the frosting onto the cookies. Sprinkle each cookie with the sprinkles immediately after frosting. Let cookies stand until the frosting crusts, about 20 minutes. Store cookies in a single layer under plastic wrap or in airtight containers.
Keyword heart sprinkles, lofthouse style sugar cookies, sugar cookies