These cake-like Sour Cream Sugar Cookies are so tender, soft, and perfect to decorate with a deliciously rich and tangy cream cheese frosting. They are always a hit for holidays and special occasions! This easy recipe for the best cut out sugar cookies with sour cream and cream cheese frosting is sure to be your family’s favorite, too.
Why This is THE Best Sugar Cookies Recipe
Don’t pass by this soft sour cream sugar cookies 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… BUT less flour means a more tender and flavorful sour cream sugar cookies recipe.
- 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) 😉
- We make these melt-in-your-mouth soft cut our sour cream sugar cookies recipe EVEN BETTER by adding a decadent cream cheese frosting. You’re welcome!
Recipe Ingredients
Sugar Cookie Dough
- Butter
- Sugar
- Eggs
- Vanilla
- Baking soda
- Salt
- Baking powder
- Sour cream
- Flour
Cream Cheese Icing
- Butter
- Cream cheese
- Powdered sugar
- Vanilla
How to Make Sour Cream Sugar Cookies with Cream Cheese Frosting
First, Make the Cookie Dough
- Sift together baking soda, salt, baking powder, and flour. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugar. Mix for 3 minutes.
- Add eggs one at a time mixing well after each egg. Add vanilla.
- Add sour cream alternately with the flour in three additions.
- Begin and end with the flour.
- Cover the bowl of dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight or 8 hours.
Then Roll, Cut Out, and Bake the Sugar Cookies
- Preheat oven to375℉. Remove chilled dough from the refrigerator. Divide dough in half. Place dough on a lightly floured surface.
- Roll out dough 1/4-inch thick. Brush off any remaining flour.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
Next, Make the Cream Cheese Frosting
- In a large mixing bowl, add cream cheese and butter.
- Beat until smooth and creamy
- Mix in powdered sugar and vanilla.
- Mix until smooth and well blended. Coloring may be added at this point if desired.
Time to Decorate!
Add cream cheese icing to the 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.
Top Recipe Tips and 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 to this sour cream cookies recipe. This is the reason the dough needs to be refrigerated until very cold. At least 8 hours.
- 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!
- 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.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. Because the dough has less flour, it will require refrigeration. Adding more flour will make the cookie dry with a floury taste. Chilling the cookie dough makes rolling the dough out very easy without adding additional flour. This ensures a very tender and soft cookie.
This is usually either because a) your baking powder has gone bad (check the date) or b) the butter and sugar were creamed together a bit too long. Over-whipping the butter will create air pockets, which then make the cookies puff up when baking.
Store unfrosted cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week.
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.
Yes. Because they are made with uncooked dairy, any sour cream sugar cookies that have already been iced with cream cheese frosting should go in the fridge.
Yes, it will get a bit hard in the fridge… But is still usable! Store any leftovers in an airtight container for up to 3 days. To use, set the frosting container on the counter for about 15 minutes, then give the sour cream cookies cream cheese frosting a good stir.
You May Also Love
- Chocolate Half Moon Cookies
- Spiced Apple Sour Cream Pie
- Coconut Fudge Brownies
- Cracked Sugar Cookies
- Butter Dream Sugar Cookies
- Soft Sugar Cookies
Soft Sour Cream Sugar Cookies with Cream Cheese Frosting
These cake-like Sour Cream Sugar Cookies are so tender, soft, and perfect to decorate with a deliciously rich and tangy cream cheese frosting.
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
-
Sift together baking soda, salt, baking powder, and flour. Set aside.
-
In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugar. Beat for about 3 minutes.
-
Add eggs and vanilla. Beat for another 3 minutes.
-
Add flour alternately with sour cream in three additions.
-
Begin and end with flour.
-
Cover dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight or 8 hours.
Cut Out and Bake Cookies
-
Preheat oven to375℉. Remove chilled dough from the refrigerator. Divide dough in half. Place dough on a lightly floured surface.
-
Roll out dough 1/4-inch thick. Brush off any remaining flour.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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
-
In a large mixing bowl, add cream cheese and butter.
-
Beat until smooth and creamy.
-
Mix in powdered sugar and vanilla.
-
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.
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) 😉
A few suggestions from a retired Home Ec teacher if you consider the dough difficult to handle:
After mixing the dough well, I weigh it, diving into the 4 equal portions, wrap each of them in plastic wrap and refriderate 8 hours
1.
We make a very similar sour cream sugar cookie. The name is Nova’s Sour Cream Christmas cookies. It was from an early 1900s family cookbook. They Are always a hit! The only difference we make an almond FLAVORED buttercream icing.
Hi! I changed the number of cookies from 27 to 36, and now the measurements in the recipe are very bizarre! Ie. 1.33 cups butter?
Its difficult to change the recipe to just add a few extra cookies. It’s best to make the entire batch and freeze any leftover cookies. Cookies can easily be frozen for weeks.
(NOT SURE WHY ALL CAPS – SHIFT IS OFF ๐ )
MADE THE BATTER TWICE, ONCE LEFT OVERNIGHT AND ONCE LEFT 2 DAYS IN FRIDGE. nOT SURE WHAT i WAS DOING WRONG (HAVE BEEN MAKING COOKIES FOR A WHILE AND HAVE HAD NO OTHER ISSUES). tHE BATTER KEPT STICKING TO OUR ISLAND AND THE ROLLING PIN, EVEN THOUGH BOTH WERE LIGHTLY FLOURED. HAD MORE BATTER ON MY HANDS THAN ON THE COOKIE SHEETS. I MAY ATTEMPT ONCE MORE BUT THIS RECIPE JUST WASN’T WORKING FOR ME.
THEY LOOK SO CUTE THOUGH!!!
You may want to add more flour to the recipe by 1/4 cup until no longer sticky. I have never had this dough so sticky that it sticks to my hands. I use a floured cutting board that really helps.
Can the recipe be doubled?
Yes the recipe can be doubled and tripled without any issues. The batter freezes well too.
What size of tip did you use to pipe the icing?
Hi Yolanda, I used an Ateco #824 star tip. I hope this helps. xo Janet
I would like to make these fo a wedding.
Can I freeze them with the icing already on?
Yes you can freeze them with the icing on. I would freeze them completely uncovered in a single layer. Once the cookies are frozen solid, layer the cookies between sheets of waxed or parchment paper. They will be delicious. Please let me know if you have any other questions.
Hi, found this recipe on Pinterest. I may have missed something but I don’t see any information about greasing or not greasing the cookie sheet. Also, how long to wait to remove them from the sheet? Immediately? 5 minutes?
The baking sheet does not require greasing. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes then lift with a spatula to a cooling rack. Parchment paper or a Silpat mat work great as well.
HI.
Could a swirl of Gel Food coloring work with these? Are they great without frostong?
Thsnks.
D
I’ve never tried a swirl of gel food color in this recipe. It is a softer dough to work with and holds its shape somewhat but does spread a bit. It’s a soft cookie and is good without icing. My dad hates icing so I always save him some “naked” cookies. Let me know if you try the swirl. I’d love to know how it turns out.
Question? After making these wonder cookies, can i mail them? They might spend 2-3 days at the most in the mil.
Yes, you can ship these cookies. I have not shipped them iced, however. I generally layer the cookies in a large tin between sheets of waxed or parchment paper. I think tins do a great job of protecting the cookies while keeping them fresh. I always freeze the tin-filled cookies just to help preserve them during shipping a bit. If you do frost the cookies, make sure they are layered between the waxed paper. It will help prevent them from sticking to each other during shipping. Let me know if you ship them off and how they arrive!
Would placing the cookies, once cut out, in the fr or the fridge help them hold their shape better while baking?
Sour cream sugar cookie dough is a soft dough. Once baked the cookies with be soft and tender. Refrigerating the cut cookies will help a bit but the will still spread and not hold a sharp edge shape. You can try my recipe for Cut-out Sugar Cookies that will hold their shape through baking without refrigeration. Link: https://www.simplysogood.com/cut-out-sugar-cookies/
I made these cookies for friends and neighbors for Christmas and Hanukkah, and they absolutely love them. This recipe made me look like a cookie expert and made a lot of people very happy.
This is my absolute favorite sugar cookie recipe. They always get rave reviews. I’m so thrilled your friends and neighbors loved the cookies. Lucky neighbors. Thank you so much for passing this on. It makes my day.
Does the sour cream have to be full fat or can you use a lite sour cream?
Yes, you can use light sour cream.
What icing tip did you use to ice these sugar cookies?
They are ADORABLE!
Thank you so much. I used cream cheese icing. The recipe is located on the recipe card at the bottom of the sugar cookie recipe. I hope this helps. Please let me know if your have any further questions.
So cutE. Will be ma them for a WEDDING.
Did you use a star icing tip? If so what size?
Yes, I used a star tip. It is a Wilton 1M tip. I hope you love the cookies. I made these sugar cookies for my son’s wedding. They were a huge hit!
I’m a sugar cookie snob and am excited to try these with my teenagers!
Please let me know what your teenagers think of the cookie.
Thank you, im going to try making them .
I hope you love them. Please let me know if you like them.
Do these have to be rolled and cut?
I have never tried just scooping and dropping the dough onto baking sheets, but I imagine it could be done. Why not? I generally roll them out and cut.
Took a bit to figure out best way for me to work with the dough, once I got the hang of it they came out perfectly! Made an extra batch of dough to have ready for St Patttys Day cookies!
The dough can be a bit sticky if not refrigerated. But the flavor is delicious and worth the effort. Thank you so much for sharing.
Do these hold up if stacked or packaged together? I want to make these for a wedding but don’t know if they will be smudged easily. thanks!
The cookies stack well if they are NOT iced. So you could freeze them without icing and ice the day of the wedding. Once the cookies have been iced they will smash. Here is an option to freeze them – Once the cookies have been iced lay them flat on a baking sheet. Put the baking sheet into the freezer and freeze the cookies solid. Once they are frozen, then they can my lightly stack with waxed paper in between each layer and returned to the freezer. I wouldn’t stack more than 2-3 cookies high because the icing may still get smashed. I hope this helps. Being able to freeze cookies for an even is so helpful. I’m in favor of getting anything prepared in advance.