Not sure how these compare to the grocery store cookies as I've not ever bought any. But this is an excellant recipe for what you describe.

Here's my long time favorite cut out cookie dough. If I remember correctly it was originally in a BH+G magazine in the late 70's. I usually double it in my KA mixer and usually make at least three bowls of the dough. I have a very large tree shape cookie cutter (about 9") and love to make and decorate special cookies for those that love cutouts.
This dough is one that you can roll thick, if you like a softer cutout, yet still holds up.
CREAM CHEESE COOKIES

1½ C sugar
1 C unsalted butter
1 8oz pkg cream cheese
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
½ tsp almond extract
3½ C flour (I like unbleached)
1 tsp baking powder

In a mixing bowl cream sugar, butter and cream cheese until fluffy.
Add egg and flavorings, beat smooth'
Stir together the flour and baking powder, add to creamed mixture and mix thoroughly.

FOR CUT-OUT COOKIES
Chill dough. Roll out on surface dusted with a mixture of ½ powered sugar and ½ flour, ¼ to ½ inch thick depending on your preference. Cut into desired shapes. Place on ungreased cookie sheet ( I line with parchment paper) and bake in a 375° oven 8-10 minutes. Watch for the edges to just barely begin to brown if you like a moist cookie. Cool and frost.

COOKIE PRESS COOKIES

Divide dough into portions and add desired colors. Force through cookie press onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake in a 375° oven 8-10 minutes. Remove from cookie sheet and cool on wire rack. Before baking brush with slightly beaten egg white and sprinkle with colored sprinkles if desired.
Note...I have added about 4 oz of almond paste to the dough when making the cookie press cookies.....yum!

FAVORITE ICING FOR CUTOUT COOKIES

2 c powered sugar, sifted
2 Tbsp softened butter
¼ tsp vanilla
¼ tsp almond extract
1 egg white
¼ C milk or cream

Combine egg white and milk, set aside.
Beat together powered sugar, butter and flavorings.
Add small amounts of the milk mixture until icing is spreading consistency.
Tint with desired colors.
Using the egg white will give you a nice finish on the icing, the butter will keep it soft on the inside.

Nancy

Dear Nancy (wizardnm)--
Thank you so much for a wonderful recipe--it's definitely a keeper! It's not exactly like the other cookie that I mentioned, but, if anything, it's probably much better. I made the cookies thicker rather than thinner, and loved the texture as well as the taste. Thanks also for the tip about using the egg white. I could never get that shiny look to my icings before! I really appreciate the information you shared. Merry Christmas! Ann

I'm getting ready to put a batch in the fridge.

Thanks for sharing the recipe.

Just curious. Could you make this recipe and instead of rolling it out, drop it on the cookie sheet and flatten it with a fork, like you do for peanut butter cookies?

Thanks.

Dody

Dody, No problem. It will keep the fork marks quite well, which is why it works for cookie press cookies too.

Glad y'all like the recipe.

Nancy

I'll post one later from my mil. It takes 4 teaspoons of bp which makes them very puffy, but not cakey. You have to use frosting, or they taste too plain.

I made these cookies for my hb. He just loves them.

I formed the dough into flattened balls. Then I buttered the bottom of a glass and dipped it into sugar to get the dough to the thickness I wanted. Was so easy.

Dody

I'm going to make these today. How many cookies would one batch yield if I made them like Dody did (rolling into balls)? The butter is out softening now.........

Jen

I made a single recipe and they made 3 1/2 dozen. Just about the size of the super market cookies.

I also made the icing, but doubled the confectionery sugar, butter and flavorings. The super market cookies have a nice thick icing on them, and the way I did it, it came out just right.

I mixed them up in the evening and set them in the frig over night before baking them.
Good luck with them. I hope you like them as well as my hubby does. I have to make some for my daughter-in-law and my granddaughter.

By the way, the egg white in the icing did its job. Thanks so much, Nancy. This recipe is one I will pass on to my kids.

Thanks Dody, no doubt I will like them a lot because I love sugar cookies in general. I made them today and used only vanilla (I replaced the 1/2 tsp. almond extract with 1 tsp. vanilla, adding that to the other 1 tsp, for a total of 2 tsp.) because we already have one other sugar-cookie-like dough already made up with almond flavoring. Next time I'll make them with the almond.

BTW the dough turned out very, very soft and I'm hoping it will firm up a little in the fridge over night. The dough is very similar to some cookies I made last year called Beatles. It too was a very soft dough that yielded large soft sugar cookies.

Jen

I am so very sorry it took me this long to get you the soft sugar cookie recipe. These are just like the ones you can buy in a supermarket: soft, bland and loved by kids.

Soft Sugar Cookies for a crowd
1 cup butter
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
1 cup milk
4 tsp. baking powder
6 cups flour
1 tsp. salt

Cream the butter and the sugar. Add eggs and vanilla. Alternate milk and the flour mixture to the batter. Refrigerate before rolling out dough. (I roll out onto parchment paper so I don't have to add more than a sprinkling of extra flour). Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes. When cool, ice with your favorite icing and decorations. (My MIL notes here "Uf bitm the cookies are horrible!")

My kids adored these cookies and they are very spoiled about homemade goodies.

Wizardnm, I made your cookies today and they are DELICIOUS. I was lazy and tired so I just formed 1-inch balls and pressed them with a fork dipped coated with sugar, then sprinkled them with a sugar/cinnamon+spices mix. The finished cookies are soft but with a slightly crisp outside -- delicious! Next time I will frost them for sure.

Jen

These were good two ways.
First I made them into cut outs and frosted with a Simple butter cream.
The left over cookie dough, I pressed into a bar pan, par baked a bit, smeared home made raspberry freezer jam over them, and baked til golden..
YUMMMMMMMMmm