Vegan Pumpkin Spice Lofthouse Style Cookies

I have to be honest. I’ve never had a Lofthouse cookie. I’ve been vegan since 1994 the year they were first introduced so that’s probably why. They always look so good though when I see them in stores and although this isn’t a copycat version, I really wanted to try a pumpkin spice flavor for the fall. From my research, I know these are supposed to be soft, cake-like and frosted. I know I could nail that but as far as them being authentic, well that’s up for you to decide.

This is a pretty standard sugar cookie dough recipe but I’m using some canned pumpkin as the egg replacer and for moisture, some cornstarch for tenderness and a mix of shortening and vegan butter that also keeps the dough soft. The dough should be refrigerated for at least an hour but preferably overnight so plan ahead.

To achieve that soft pillowy texture these shouldn’t be over-baked but also need to be done so it’s a fine line as they go from perfect to overcooked in a flash. I did cook a batch a bit too long and they were still delicious but more like a traditional sugar cookie. If you like a crunchier cookie then by all means bake a little longer than my instructions advise. I suggest test cooking one or two cookies to gauge the temp of your oven and how long they might take to bake.

The dough is flavored with cinnamon and a pumpkin spice blend (I have instructions for adding the spices separately too) but the frosting is only flavored with vanilla. I thought about adding cinnamon to the icing but decided against it. I did use clear vanilla for a more bakery flavor though so if you want that as well opt for clear.

Use a small ice cream scoop if you want each cookie the same size and then roll then between your hands into a ball. I used a small glass dipped in sugar to flatten them but I’ve seen recipes where they rolled the dough and cut them into circles or just patted them flat. Rolling and cutting would probably lend a more perfect edge like the real cookies but I didn’t mind a bit of a ragged edge here and there. You can use a pastry bag to pipe the icing or spread it on with an offset spatula and then sprinkle with natural colored sprinkles or sugar if desired. I hope you enjoy these tasty cookies!

Want more cookie recipes? Check these out!

• Vegan Levain Bakery Style Chocolate Chip Cookies
  
• Vegan Bakery Style Black & White Cookies
  
• Vegan Slice & Bake Chocolate Chip Cookies

Vegan Pumpkin Spice Lofthouse Style Cookies

Recipe by Kreg

5.0 from 6 votes

Cuisine: Dessert

Servings

18

servings

Cooking time

9

minutes

Delicious and pillowy sugar cookies kissed with pumpkin spice and frosted with a classic buttercream!

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup vegetable shortening

• 1/2 cup vegan butter, room temperature

• 1/2 cup vegan cane sugar

• 1/2 cup confectioners sugar

• 1/4 cup canned pumpkin purée (not pumpkin pie mix)

• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

• 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice or another 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon plus 1/4 teaspoon each of nutmeg, ground ginger and ground cloves

• 2 1/4 cups all purpose flour

• 1 tablespoon cornstarch

• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

• Buttercream Frosting

• 1/2 cup vegan butter, softened

• 1/4 cup vegetable shortening

• 2 1/2 cups confectioners sugar, sifted

• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla (use clear for bakery flavor)

• natural orange food coloring if desired

• natural sprinkles or sugar if desired

Directions

• Using a hand or stand mixer, combine the shortening, vegan butter and sugars and mix for two to three minutes until light and fluffy scraping down the bowl once to make sure everything is well mixed.
• Add the pumpkin purée and vanilla and mix until incorporated. Add the dry ingredients and mix for a minute or so scraping the bowl once to make sure the flour is all blended in. Use a spatula to check to make sure no streaks of flour are left on the bottom of the bowl.
• Scrape the dough out of the bowl onto a piece of plastic wrap and pat into a disc and wrap well and chill for at least one hour or preferably overnight.
• Preheat your oven to 350°. Using a smaller 1 3/4” scoop or tablespoon roll uniform balls of dough between your palms and place on a parchment lined cookie sheet or one that is sprayed with cooking spray or spread with vegan butter. Using your palm or a small glass dipped in sugar, flatten each cookie evenly and bake for 7-9 minutes until they just lose their sheen and are done. They shouldn’t be brown. They need to be just done but not overdone. It’s a fine line so test a cookie or two in your own oven to see the results and what doneness you prefer. Take the cookies off the sheet (parchment works the best as you can slide them right off) so they don’t continue to bake from the residual heat of the sheet. Cool completely.
• Buttercream Frosting
• With a hand or stand mixer (use the whisk attachment if using a stand mixer) blend the room temperature vegan butter and shortening until mixed. Add the vanilla then the sifted sugar and whip well until combined and light and fluffy. Add coloring if desired. If the frosting is too thick, add a little vegan milk (start with a half teaspoon) and if too thin, add a few tablespoons more of confectioners sugar until it is the right consistency. Use a piping bag, a plastic food storage bag with the corner clipped or an offset small spatula to spread the icing onto each cooled cookie and then top with decorative sugar or sprinkles if desired.

Notes

• Use stick vegan butter as it’s denser and non-hydrogenated shortening if you can find it.

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