A little swapping here, some switching there, still makes a good cookie

Once again bit by not reading the entire recipe - I'll save you some time - if you use Imperial Margarine - don't use it in this recipe. Or.... DO use it... but use half that and half butter. That's what I ended up using as I sat down to make this, read the recipe and saw the note at the end warning against Imperial Margarine. Apparently it has high water content... who knew?! I read through a bunch of comments and saw that someone had the same issue as me, no store brand margarine... only Imperial - the suggestion was to use half butter... so I did that and they worked great... well... I mean eventually... the first batch came out of the oven in the same shape... looked like it just came out of the scoop... the kids loved them! Follow up batches I gave them a little pat pat and then they were ready for frosting. I made these to finish off a tray of cookies for a church picnic. They were a hit! And yes - I DID have butter extract - which seems crazy - but I did have it. These cookies - while trying to be Lofthouse - I'm sure my substitutions made differences to the final product. I also didn't have cake flour - but I found a sub online - so that was a win. I know I found these to be great - and the fact they were the first gone from the tray also speaks to that.

Copycat Lofthouse Cookies Recipe
Ingredients
Lofthouse Sugar Cookie
1 cup (222g) margarine** softened
1 1/4 cup ( 137g) powdered sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp butter extract
2 1/2 cups (295g) cake flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
Lofthouse Sugar Cookie Frosting
1/4 cup (55g) margarine
1 1/2 cups (165g) powdered sugar
approx 1/4 cup (60ml) heavy whipping cream
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/8 tsp butter extract

Instructions
Sugar Cookie
Preheat the oven to 350° F (180° C) and line your cookie sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, or with an electric hand mixer, cream together the margarine and powdered sugar until smooth and creamy.
Add the egg, vanilla and butter extract. Mix on a high speed until everything is mixed evenly and the mixture is creamy and smooth.
Add the cake flour, baking powder and salt. Mix until a soft dough forms.
Allow the dough to rest for 10 minutes to make it easier to roll the dough.
Scoop the dough using a #24 scoop (approx 3 tbsp of dough) and then roll into a ball until no cracks are seen in the dough and then gently flatten the ball so it looks like a hockey puck.
Arrange on your cookie sheet and repeat with the remaining dough.
Bake at 350° F (180° C) for 9-11 minutes or until the cookies spread slightly and no l longer look wet in the center of the cookie. Remove from the oven before they start turning brown.
Allow the cookies to cool on the pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire cooling rack. Wait until the cookies are completely cool to frost them.
Sugar Cookie Frosting
To make the frosting, use your stand mixer or electric hand mixer to cream the margarine until smooth.
Alternate adding in 1/2 cup of powdered sugar and then just a tiny splash of heavy cream, mixing until the powdered sugar is completely mixed in with the margarine.
Repeat this step until all of the powdered sugar has been added. Your frosting should stay thick throughout this process.
Mix in the vanilla extract and butter extract.
You can now slowly add more heavy cream to the mixture the thin the frosting to your desired consistency.
Use gel food coloring to dye the frosting your desired color.
Frost each of the cookies and immediately add sprinkles to the top.
Store in an airtight container for up to 4 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Notes
**DO NOT use imperial brand of margarine. It has a higher water percentage than most margarine sticks. I use the store brand (food club) which is 80% vegetable oil. I have also made these using all butter, while the texture is different, they are still delicious.