It never fails, this time of year I get requests from friends and neighbors for my recipe for “those delicious soft sugar cookies”. I have probably made thousands of them over the years for special occasions and as Christmas gifts for neighbors and co-workers, etc. It is one of those recipes that never fails to delight. :-)
In our family they are called “Sour Cream Cookies”, although the name hardly does them justice. Think Granny B’s or Lofthouse Cookies…..but WAY BETTER! :-)
The main appeal being how thick and soft they are and covered in a thick layer of yummy powdered sugar frosting!
So if you’re a fan of big, soft, frosted sugar cookies…this recipe is for you!
I made these cookies today because a couple of neighbors I have made these for in the past were asking me on Facebook for the recipe. I thought as a bonus I would post the Step-by-Step instructions for them (and for you), because while they aren’t HARD to make…there are some definite tried and true TIPS that make them turn out PERFECTO!
First…the recipe: My Mom’s AMAZING Sour Cream Cookies
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup shortening (not butter!)
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
(I usually DOUBLE this recipe when I’m making for gifts. A single recipe will make approximately 24 BIG cookies.)
In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the shortening and sugar together on medium-high speed until soft and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add the sour cream and vanilla and blend together until creamy.
With the mixer on low speed, add in the dry ingredients (I add it 1/3 at a time) mixing just until incorporated and evenly mixed. You will have a very sticky dough at this point so it is very important to CHILL THE DOUGH FOR AT LEAST 1-2 HOURS. This is the hardest part for my kids! When they see I making their FAVORITE cookies, they want instant gratification! (Who doesn’t???). I find setting the timer on the stove saves me from answering the question “has it been an hour yet?” at least a million times.
After the dough has chilled the rest is about technique. Here are the tips that will ensure your cookies come out PERFECT. :-)
Divide the dough into two portions. Roll out one section at a time. It’s easier to work with a smaller piece.
Roll out with plenty of flour on your board to avoid sticking issues. But don’t work the dough TOO much or it will get tough. Also make sure to flour your ROLLING PIN and COOKIE CUTTERS as well.
Don’t roll the dough too thin. I shoot for just a little over 1/4″ thick.
Once you have cut out as many shapes as will fit, scoop them off the board with a spatula and transfer to a cookie sheet. It helps if you nudge a little bit of flour under the cookie as you lift it off the board.
If you have silicone baking mats use those. You can also use parchment paper or aluminum foil (which I used). Cooking directly on the cookie sheet works too…it’s just more clean up. :-)
Bake the cookies for between 10 and 12 minutes at 350 degrees. Timing is CRUCIAL…so keep an eye on them. You are shooting cookies that are just BARELY, BARELY starting to brown on the edges.
Allow the cookies to cool completely before frosting.
My Powdered Sugar Frosting “Recipe”
I mostly “eyeball” these amounts.
2 cups powdered sugar
2 tablespoons softened butter
1 tsp vanilla
2-3 tablespoons milk.
food coloring (I usually use about 4 to 5 drops of just the regular kind you buy at the grocery store)
I start with 2 tablespoons of milk and keep adding about a teaspoon at a time after that until the frosting is at just the right consistency. Not too thick, but not too runny.
Then I pretty much GOB it on the cookie…and spread. Top it off with the decoration of your choice (I’m a sucker for these multi-colored nonpareils. They remind me of TINY little ornaments! I wish I could find plain white ones. I’m sure they make them…just haven’t found them yet.)
Now go and pour yourself a tall glass of ice cold milk and ENJOY the fruits of your labors! No doubt these aren’t the easiest cookies to make…..but OH SO WORTH THE EFFORT! I hope you will agree. :-)
Oh…if you make these and give them away at Christmas…or any other time…don’t be surprised if the recipients come knocking on your door wanting the recipe. :-)
And that’s today’s….
{ 63 comments… read them below or add one }
They look delicious!
xo
when and how much sour cream? I don't see it in the recipe.
ohh man, I want that cookies.
They looks so delicious.
I think I will give this recipe to my mom and ask her to make it for me.
Thanks for sharing
Thank you Anonymous friend! I have no idea how the "star" ingredient in the recipe got left out! yikes! I think there are gremlins in my laptop! Fixed the post. Thanks again.
These look super delicious!! I love the step-by-step visuals of how you make the cookies… Perfect for this time of year ;)
http://ladyonaroof.blogspot.com/
These sound yummy, now to find alternative to lard…
i think i will try and make these – all the best- newman
Your WONDERFUL!!! Thank you for posting! Cant wait to make them!!!
Thank you for this recipe. I'm the one in charge of desserts this year so I think I'll make these.
These cookies do indeed look very delicious and fun to make. I especially like the colorful frosting!
I'm in a cookie bake-off this year with my husband, mother-in-law and little girls. These might just have to be my secret weapon… =) Glad I stumbled on your blog. Super cute.
April….you are certain to win…hands down! lol! Make sure and email me if you need any tips. ;-)
Every last cookie I made yesterday….gone. We DO love these cookies at my house! Glad you all liked them too! :-)
wow its look taste so good, i want to ask my wife to try make this. thx a lot..
I am saving this! I love it when Ava makes these!
wonderful recipe!
necessarily make these cookies!
I have a question. you are not working as a cook?
if not. then you need to sell these wonderful cookies!
http://kate-crazy-kate.blogspot.com/
Can you make these with a hand mixer?? I don't have a big one….
Do these have to be made with shortening?!! I really hate working with shortening! Butter really won't work? Are there any other good substitutions? Thanks!
looks delicious! is this the kind of frosting that gets slightly hard and shiny?
Yes, Kate you can definitely make it with a hand mixer. My Mom was making these LONG before she had her KitchenAid.
Stacy…to be honest…I don't know. I've never tried them any other way. I just know that originally I was told that it's the shortening that makes them lighter and fluffier…but I have no idea if that's the case. Maybe we need to consult Ina or Paula or someone. :-)
Anonymous….I think you might be referring to "Royal Icing"…and the answer is No. This frosting stays soft and unshiny. lol. The surface will dry a little (which is good if you want to overlap them a bit to store them). But it definitely doesn't get hard. (Especially if you spread it on REAL thick like I do). :-)
Can you use butter flavored shortening? or does it have to be plain?
My family LOVES sugar cookies and are a tradition for us with the first double batch made Thankgiving weekend….since I have been making them for for over 40 years–always used the old orginal Betty Crocker recipe–but thought I would try these– I didn't have any sour cream–so I used vanilla yogurt…..YUMMY and stayed moist and flavorable until gone!!! The whole family commented how YUMMY there where!!! Have made them twice since then!!
Shelly Belly….I am almost certain butter flavored shortening would be just fine! :-)
Anonymous…..thanks for sharing! That is high praise indeed from someone who has made sugar cookies for so long! that is awesome. Nice tip on the vanilla yogurt too!
I made these and let the dough in the frig all night. I wasn't prepared for how sticky the dough would be. Worked through that with plenty of flour. Thanks for the recipe.
Meant to ask if the dough is really suppose to be that sticky?
diane….yes, the dough is definitely a STICKY dough. That's why it's so important to refrigerate it first…so it's firm enough to work with. And yes, you need to use a good amount of flour when rolling out…but not TOO much. Just enough so they don't stick. I think that is the key to the softness of them. Hope this helps. :-)
We made these tonight, and they turned out wonderful! I forgot we were all out of all purpose flour though, so we used whole wheat instead. Still light and fluffy out of the oven, and taste great! Thanks for sharing this recipe. Oh I also used butter flavored shortening and it seems to do the trick. I can taste the butter flavor in them, so if you like that, go for it!
I saw a comment that the dough was left in the fridge overnight, I'm guessing there was no problem except for the stickiness but that is inherent in the dough it sounds like. Mixing dough tonight, baking cookies tomorrow to gift 100 cookies as a thank you to the site that hosts my daughter's Girl Scout Troop meetings. It's the 100th anniversary of the Girl Scouts, hence the volume. Fingers crossed, I think this is about to get messy LOL
Naomi…thank you so much for sharing your experience. So glad you liked them as much as we do! Great info about the butter shortening too. I think I need to give that at try!
Skye…you should be fine. Overnight might even make it a little EASIER to work with the dough. It will be nice and firm. :-) Just make sure to use plenty of flour when rolling out….without "working" the dough too much. What a nice Mom you are making all those cookies!! Yes, I do believe you are going to have a floury mess on your hands afterwards….but it will be worth it! And kitchens are meant to get messy…that's why they wipe up so easily. :-) Good luck!
For years our family has made this recipe, adding almond extract instead of vanilla in both the cookie and frosting (sometimes we add cream cheese to the frosting too). Try it and you will be in cookie heaven!
Wow…and I thought this cookie couldn't get any better! lol. But I think you've actually hit on something there! Almost extract…great idea!!! thx!
My family (and friends) LOVE these cookies! I have made thousands of them over the years. I am happy that Jillee has shared our recipe with so many of you, who love to try a new recipe. They have brought many smiles to many faces over many years. Enjoy!
I made these Saturday and by this morning they were all gone. I love the super soft cookies you can get in the grocery store here and wanted a homemade replacement. This is it! I put crushed Peppermint Kisses and some orange extract in the icing.
These cookies look delish! I can't wait to make them! Do you think it would matter if I used Light Sour Cream? Thanks!
britt…so glad they turned out for you. I like your additions too. :-) Have to try that!
joyfulword…I think it would be perfectly fine to use the Light Sour Cream. I really think the thing sour cream brings to the recipe is moistness more than anything.
What temperature do you bake these at? I don't want to waste a bit on trial/error :)
Good thinking! 350 degrees. 10-12 minutes. Keep an eye on them! You are looking for just barely browned edges! :-)
i followed the recipe exactly and they turned out like cake cookies. Way too fluffy…… they looked like fluffy rolls . i will never use this recipe again.
Thanks for the response! My husband loves these cookies with your frosting and I did some with a cream cheese frosting. My family gives this 2 thumbs up and that makes it all worth the effort!
Anony….I'm sorry they didn't turn out to your liking…but yes, they are definitely a SOFT cookie.
diane…so glad you and your family liked them! Yeah..they're not as easy as dropping some dough on a cookie sheet…but for special occasions…definitely worth it. :-) Thanks for stopping by!
Frosting was awful
These cookies were sooo good! Thank you for sharing this recipe! I think it's my new favorite sugar cookie recipe! I used my own frosting, I'm sure yours is delish!
I found an icing that dries shiny that isn't royal icing, pretty much yours, but add a couple teaspoons of corn syrup. They dried pretty quick, so sprinkle them as you frost. Makes it easier for stacking on gift trays:)
On that last comment, there was no butter in the recipe I used. It had powdered sugar, milk, almond extract and corn syrup. It tastes great and dries nice. I love your kind of frosting if they don't need to be stacked.
Amazing cookies! The dough was so easy to work with & I even made them egg free (my son is allergic). I substituted 1T ground flaxseed & 3T water for each egg – worked great! Thanks so much.
Thanks joyfulword! Glad you liked it! It is definitely my fav sugar cookie! And I'm sure your frosting was delish. Maybe you can share it with the person who commented above you! LOL! :-)
GREAT tip about the frosting that dries quickly. That is a definite drawback about this frosting! If you stack them too soon they are a mess! And even if they are dry…stacking too many on top of each other will result in smooshed frosting. So for packaging cookies…this is a great alternative….thanks for sharing!
I am so glad you shared about making them without eggs. I made two batches…one with gluten-free flour because my 16 year old has Celiac's. I could have cried when they turned out yummy! 16 year old was pretty happy too! :-) Thanks for sharing that info!
Oh my goodness! I'm 14 years old and I really want to be a chef when I grow up, so I'm always trying recipes online but I could never find a good sugar cookie recipe- They always turned out too crispy, or fall apart, or just taste awful. This is the best sugar cookie recipe I have ever made! Thanks so much. :) Also, I used butter instead of shortening because it's what I had lying around and they turned out fine!
I am making these tomorrow with my children. I LOVE iced sugar cookies and hope these cookies will become part of our families Christmas traditions. Thanks for sharing your recipe. What a gift!
Appreciatively,
Rebecca D
Thanks for sharing your success Anony! How wonderful that you have chef aspirations! Sounds like you're well on your way. :-) And thanks for the info about the butter. I've never tried it that way. Good to know!
Rebecca (love your name btw)…these are the perfect Christmas tradition! Christmas would not be the same without them in our family. My kids remind me we need to make some for EVERY holiday now! lol
I tried making these and i chilled the dough in the fridge for about 1.5 hrs and it seemed too tacky to roll out so i ended up adding more flour to it. Is it supposed to be tacky?
Hi Rachael…if you look at the pictures…I use a lot of dough to roll them out! It is perfectly normal for this dough to be really sticky. Just keep adding dough until it's where you can roll it out without sticking! You did good! :-) Thanks for commenting!
HELP….so excited to make these cookies…..my dough has been in refridgerator all night–seems still sticky..any ideas of what I may have done wrong?
thanks.
Not doing anything wrong! Supposed to be sticky. Just keep adding flour a little at a time until it's the right consistency for rolling out. Keep calm and bake! :-)))
Hi Jill – I am busting to try these but had a question about shortening – in Australia we have a product called Copha which is solidified coconut oil based shortening. What is the shortening that you use based on? (Just wondering if I'm going to get the same results!)
Thanks for a great page – I only just discovered you (via Pinterest of course) and have already pinned a multitude of your posts but I think that this one had the most repins!!
Allison…the shortening I used is called Crisco and is an All-Vegetable Shortening. I have a jar of solid coconut oil and looking at it it seems like it should be a good substitute! Of course you can always use butter as well. I haven't personally used it…but there are several people who have commented that they used it with no problems! :-)
And you are most welcome! Thank YOU for pinning some of my posts. I told my Mom on Christmas Eve when she was here for dinner about how many people had viewed and/or commented on her Sour Cream Cookies…and she was shocked! lol.
I'm so glad you stopped by…I hope you will continue to!
These remind me of my Grandma's recipe except she used Buttermilk instead of sour cream. Otherwise pretty much exactly the same! The cookies come out looking exactly the same and the dough is very sticky and can be a mess to roll out, but well worth it! People can't get enough of them. I get requests to make them for graduations and birthday parties not just on holidays. I have given out the recipe with cookie cutters as gifts to coworkers!! Love that I found this on Pinterest!!!
Melissa…yep…sounds exactly like it is around here. Anytime I make them…people can't get enough of them. Apparently I am now expected to make them on every major (and minor holiday). I have quite a collection of seasonal cookie cutters now! :-)
My grandmother made the BEST sugar cookies and I've always thought they had sour cream in them. Can't find her recipe. Glad you posted this. Can't wait to try. Regular sugar cookies are delightful, but I've longed for my grandmother's. Here I go!!
I made your recipe a few days before Christmas and they were a bit hit! Thank you for the delicious recipe;-)). I plan on making them again for Valentine's Day!
My cousin gave me this recipe about 20 years ago. I call them Beth's sugar cookies. They are my FAVORITE!
Delicious! Thank you so much for sharing :)
You are very welcome! :-) Glad you like!
Any chance you will de-gluten these? Would love a good recipe for sugar cookies, and haven’t found or invented one yet (trying off and on for 3 years).
Thanks,
Joey