• These are really good.
  
  Soft Sugar Cookies
  
  2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 cup (2 sticks) SALTED butter, softened
• 1 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3 egg yolks
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar, for rolling

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350F degrees. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Set aside.
2. Whisk together the flour, baking soda, and baking powder in a medium size bowl. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl, using an electric or stand mixer, cream together the butter, and granulated sugar until combined.
4. Add egg yolks and vanilla extract.
5. Add flour mixture and mix until just combined. DO NOT OVERMIX!
6. Using a cookie scoop or ice cream scoop, scoop dough into balls about 2 Tablespoons each, roll in sugar and place onto prepared baking sheet.
7. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until tops of cookies start to crack. Let cool for 5 minutes on baking sheet before moving them to a wire rack. Let cool completely on wire rack.

Notes

• STORE: Cookies will stay fresh for up to 7 days in an airtight container, stored at room temperature.
• FREEZING: Roll the dough into balls and place them in an airtight container. You can freeze the cookie dough for up to 2 months. To bake, place frozen cookie dough balls onto prepared baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes.

I've made them and I thought these came pretty close:

SUGAR COOKIES WITH FROSTING

• 3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 cup sour cream

For the frosting:

• 1 cup unsalted butter, softened

• 4 cups powdered sugar

• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

• 1 to 2 tablespoons milk

• Food coloring, for coloring the frosting

• Sprinkles for decorating

• 1 Combine the dry ingredients: Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a bowl and set to the side.

  2 Make the cookie dough: In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat butter and sugar together until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in the eggs one at a time, scraping down the bowl after each addition.

  Beat in the vanilla and sour cream until combined. Then, in two separate additions, beat in the flour, scraping the bowl after each addition. This will create a soft and fluffy dough.

  3 Fold the dough briefly in the bowl: Using a stiff rubber spatula, fold the dough a few times inside the bowl – scoop down the side of the bowl and underneath the batter, then lift up and fold the dough over on itself. Give the bowl a quarter turn and repeat. Repeat this a few times until the dough is smooth.

  4 Chill the dough: Press a piece of plastic wrap against the surface of the dough and refrigerate the dough for at least three hours so it firms up, or up to overnight. (Transfer the dough to a separate bowl if you need the mixing bowl for something else.)

  5 Preheat the oven: Once the dough has chilled and you're ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350°F with a rack in the center position. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

  6 Shape the cookies: Lightly flour the counter. Using a medium (1 1/2 tablespoon) cookie scoop, scoop out some of the dough and drop on the counter. Gently roll the dough against the counter and between your hands to form a round ball. Brush off any excess flour and place the ball on the cookie sheet.

  Repeat scooping and rolling more cookie dough balls until the sheet pan is filled, spacing the cookies several inches apart. Cover the remaining dough and return it to the refrigerator.

  7 Press the cookies flat: Dip the bottom of a drinking glass in flour and use it to press the cookies on the cookie sheet to about 1/4-inch thick. Re-flour the drinking glass as needed to prevent sticking.

  8 Bake the cookies: Bake the first tray of cookies in the center of the oven for 11 to 13 minutes. When done, the cookies should be slightly puffed, dry on the top, pale around the edges, and (when lifted with a thin spatula) barely golden on the bottoms.

  Let them cool for 5 minutes on the tray before transferring them to a wire rack to cool.

  Shape and bake the remaining cookies like the first.

  9 Make the frosting: Using the paddle attachment, beat the butter in the bowl of a stand mixer until creamy. Add half of the powdered sugar, the vanilla, and the salt, and beat on low to combine for a minute. Add the remaining powdered sugar and 1 tablespoon of milk, and beat for an additional minute.

  The frosting should be fluffy, pale, and spreadable. If it is more stiff than you like, beat in an additional tablespoon of milk.

  To color the frosting pink (or any other color), add a few drops of food coloring and mix to combine. (I used about 2 drops each of deep pink and red food gel for my cookies.)

  10 Frost the cookies: Spread the frosting on the cooled cookies and decorate with sprinkles.

  11 Store the cookies: These cookies keep well in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days, separated by layers of parchment so they don’t stick to each other.

The ones you are talking about, that you can buy at Walmart, are pretty tasteless....in my opinion. My favorite sugar cookie recipe is one found in the old Betty Crocker cookbooks.

LOL marilyn. No doubt anything home made would win out--but here is a truth. My students who live on fast food think the WalMart cookies are TO DIE FOR. I host the senior BBQ each year and they are a HAVE TO HAVE no matter how hard I try to steer them to "real" food!!! I have managed to get the to TRY and love punch vs soda/spinach salad vs (no vegetables EVER) but the white hamburger buns and sugar cookies prevail!!! I have actually never tried one of those cookies. They look nasty to me. Give me CHOCOLATE!!

Now that I think of it it does remind me of wedding cake. They are just so soft and fluffy the texture is what gets me, no so much the taste really. But they are delicious. Thanks for the recipes I may try again or just go buy another box. I did read where cake flour is used, that may make the difference.

I use a similar recipe to those above that I got from my grandmother - and my mother always stressed to me that you shouldn't overmix/overhandle the dough. Makes the cookies tough.