Sour Cream Sugar Cookies

Sour Cream Sugar Cookies are so tender and soft.  This cake-like cookie is made rich with sour cream and butter and will so become a family favorite.

Why you should make this Sour Cream Sugar Cookie

Don’t pass by this soft sugar cookie recipe because it requires refrigeration.  Here’s why:

• It’s great to make the dough ahead of time when pinched for time.  The dough can stay in the refrigerator overnight or up to 2 days and frozen up to a month.
• Because the dough has less flour, it will require refrigeration.  Adding more flour will make the cookie dry with a floury taste.
• Less flour means a more tender and flavorful cookie.
• Sour cream is mixed into the dough for a soft, tender, and flavorful cookie.
• Butter!  No shortening in this cookie.  Always remember butter has a melting point lower than our body heat which means the cookie will begin to melt-in-your-mouth with the first bite.  Shortening leaves a film on the roof of your mouth and tongue.   Butter = Flavor   Shortening = Yuck  (authors opinion) 😉

Mixing the dough

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1. Sift together baking soda, salt, baking powder, and flour.  Set aside.
2. In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugar.  Mix for 3 minutes.
3. Add eggs one at a time mixing well after each egg.  Add vanilla.
4. Add sour cream alternately with the flour in three additions.
5. Beginning and ending with the flour.
6. Cover the bowl of dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight or 8 hours.

Rolling out and cutting the dough

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1. Preheat oven to375℉.  Remove chilled dough from the refrigerator.  Divide dough in half.  Place dough on a lightly floured surface.
2. Roll out dough 1/4-inch thick.  Brush off any remaining flour.
3. Cut out dough with a lightly floured cookie cutter.  NOTE:  this is a soft dough and will not hold its shape well.  Hearts and circles work great or any other cookie cutter without a lot of detail.
4. Carefully place cut cookies on a parchment-lined baking sheet.  If not using parchment there is no need to grease or oil the baking sheet.  The cookies will not stick.
5. Bake in preheated oven for 8-10 minutes or until the edges are barely beginning to turn golden.  Remove from oven and allow cookies to cool 5-10 minutes on baking sheet.  Transfer to cooling rack.

Cream Cheese Icing

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1. In a large mixing bowl, add cream cheese and butter.
2. Beat until smooth and creamy
3. Mix in powdered sugar and vanilla.
4. Mix until smooth and well blended.  Coloring may be added at this point if desired.  Ice cookies with a thin metal spatula or spoon icing into a bag fitted with a star tip and pipe icing onto the tops of the cookies.  Add sprinkles, drageés, or sparkling sugars, if desired.
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4.14 from 23 votes

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Soft Sugar Cookies

Soft and buttery cake-like sugar cookies with cream cheese icing.  These cookies are so flavorful and tender.  Overnight refrigeration required to make dough easy to roll and cut without adding excess flour.

Course Dessert, Snack

Cuisine American

Keyword soft sour cream sugar cookies, sour cream cookies, sour cream cut out cookies

Prep Time 10 minutes

chill time 8 hours

Total Time 18 minutes

Servings 27

Calories 258 kcal

Author Janet Barton

Ingredients

Sugar Cookie Dough

• 1 cup butter softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• ½ teaspoon vanilla
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoons baking powder
• ½ cup sour cream
• 3 cups flour

Cream Cheese Icing

• 1/2 cup butter softened
• 4 oz. cream cheese
• 3 ½ cups powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Instructions

Sugar Cookie Dough

1. Sift together baking soda, salt, baking powder, and flour.  Set aside.

2. In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugar. Beat for about 3 minutes. Add eggs and vanilla. Beat for another 3 minutes.  

3. Add flour alternately with sour cream in three additions. Beginning and ending with flour.  Cover dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight or 8 hours.

4. When ready to use, remove dough from refrigerator and divide in half. Roll dough to ¼-inch thickness. Using a cookie cutter, cut into desired shapes. Bake in a preheated 375-degree oven for 8-10 minutes or until just barely beginning to brown around the edges. Makes about 2 dozen cookies

Cream Cheese Icing

1. In a large mixing bowl, cream butter, cream cheese.   Add vanilla and powdered sugar until well blended.

Recipe Notes

• Softened butter should still hold its shape but dent when pressed.
• Don’t skip the step of creaming the butter and sugar together for 3 minutes.
• The cookie dough is quite sticky.  DO NOT add more flour.  This is the reason the dough needs to be refrigerated until very cold.  At least 8 hours.  
• Chilling the cookie dough makes rolling the dough out very easy without adding additional flour.  This ensures a very tender and soft cookie. 😋
• Double cream cheese icing if you're planning on piping a hefty amount of icing on the cookies.  It's a good idea to make a double batch because leftover icing freezes great.  It's always good to have a batch in the freezer.
• Instead of using food coloring, I used 1/4 teaspoon beet juice because I love the soft pink color.  😍Beets!
• Cookies freeze great for about 2-3 weeks.  If cookies have been iced, place cookies on a baking sheet in a single layer and freeze completely.  Layer between sheets of waxed paper in a covered container and place back into the freezer.

Other thoughts:

• It's great to make the dough ahead of time when pinched for time.  The dough can stay in the refrigerator overnight or up to 2 days and frozen up to a month.
• Because the dough has less flour, it will require refrigeration.  Adding more flour will make the cookie dry with a floury taste.  
• Less flour means a more tender and flavorful cookie.  
• Sour cream is mixed into the dough for a soft, tender, and flavorful cookie.
• Butter!  No shortening in this cookie.  Always remember butter has a melting point lower than our body heat which means the cookie will begin to melt-in-your-mouth with the first bite.  Shortening leaves a film on the roof of your mouth and tongue.   Butter = Flavor   Shortening = Yuck  (authors opinion) 😉

Nutrition Facts

Soft Sugar Cookies

Amount Per Serving (1 cookie)

Calories 258 Calories from Fat 108

% Daily Value*

Fat 12g18%

Saturated Fat 7g35%

Cholesterol 46mg15%

Sodium 175mg7%

Potassium 48mg1%

Carbohydrates 33g11%

Fiber 0g0%

Sugar 22g24%

Protein 2g4%

Vitamin A 415IU8%

Vitamin C 0mg0%

Calcium 22mg2%

Iron 0.7mg4%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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