Sour Cream Sugar Cookie Recipe
These pillowy soft Sour Cream Cookies have been made in the Midwest for generations. They’re bursting with nutmeg flavor and stay soft for at least a week after they are baked.
This is the best Sugar Cookie Recipe with Sour Cream
This is probably the most personal recipe on this blog – my family’s Christmas cookie recipe!
My mom got this recipe for Sour Cream Cookies from my grandma, who got it from a coworker, who probably got it from a local newspaper here in the Midwest.
What makes it so special? Two things – flavor and texture. The flavor largely comes from a generous spoonful of nutmeg. While most sugar cookie cutouts have very little flavor other than sugary dough, these ones have a subtle spice flavor.
And the sour cream keeps them extremely soft. They even stay soft for at least a week after they’re baked – an impressive feat for a sugar cookie.
My mom generously helped me translate our family recipe into a foolproof written version, and even helped me make the cookies for this post (those are her hands rolling out the dough in the step-by-step photos below).
What does sour cream do in baking?
Sour cream is magic! It serves several functions in baked goods such as these sour cream sugar cookies:
- Moisture Booster. Sour cream adds extra moisture to the cookie dough, ensuring a soft and tender final product.
- Flavor Enhancer. The subtle tang of the sour cream complements the sweetness of the other ingredients.
- Leavening Agent. The acidity of the sour cream reacts with the baking soda, resulting in a light and airy cookie.
Why you will love Sour Cream Sugar Cookies
- These are pillowy soft cookies that are bursting with flavor. How many Christmas cookies can you really say that about?
- They stay soft for a week (maybe even a little longer) after they are baked, meaning you can make them well ahead of the holiday.
- The dough is easy to work with, allowing you to cut it into various shapes and sizes without compromising its integrity.
“I had lost my grandma’s recipe last year in a house fire, so one of those small things that hit me when trying to make that holiday cheer. THANKFULLY I found this recipe and it will now be our family traditional Christmas cookie. Husband wasn’t a fan of grandma’s recipe but said I should receive a cookie award for these. Kids loved decorating them. Sturdy enough for little hands to grab, soft and chewy, subtle nutmeg flavor and holds details of cookie cutters very well.”
—Kris
Ingredients for Sour Cream Sugar Cookies
- granulated sugar – the sweet element of the cookies.
- all-purpose flour – the main structure of the cookies.
- unsalted butter – provides richness and flavor to both the cookies and the frosting.
- egg – acts as a binder and contributes to structure.
- sour cream – the star ingredient, adding moisture, tenderness and tang!
- baking soda – the leavening agent.
- ground nutmeg – adds a warm, nutty flavor.
- vanilla extract – adds a sweet and aromatic essence to both the cookies and the frosting.
- powdered sugar – the main component of the frosting.
- whole milk – to adjust the consistency of the frosting.
“Thanks for this recipe. It is a tradition for me to make them with my grandbabies for Christmas every year. They love them! They love decorating them too!”
—Linda
How to make Sour Cream Cookies
1. BEAT. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the sugar and butter until light and fluffy.
2. ADD. Add the egg, sour cream, baking soda, nutmeg and vanilla and mix until well combined.
3. FLOUR. Gradually beat in the flour, then cover and chill overnight.
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4. ROOM TEMP. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F. Meanwhile, allow the dough to come to room temperature for 15 minutes.
5. ROLL OUT! Flour your work surface and rolling pin very well. In batches, roll chunks of dough to about 1/8-inch thickness.
6. CUT. Cut the rolled-out dough using your favorite cookie cutters.
7. BAKE. Bake cookies 6 to 12 minutes (baking time is dependent on a number of factors; more info in recipe card below) or until they just begin to become light golden brown around the edges.
Refer to the above photo of the star-shaped cookies to see what you’re looking for when the cookies are done.
Carefully transfer cookies to parchment or waxed paper and let cool completely before frosting.
8. MAKE FROSTING. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat powdered sugar and butter until the butter is broken down into small bits. Add the milk and vanilla and beat until frosting is smooth. Divide frosting into several bowls and stir in food coloring a few drops at a time until desired color is reached.
9. FROST AND SPRINKLE. Spread the frosting over the cookies and immediately sprinkle with sprinkles or sparkling sugar.
Home Chef Tips for Old Fashioned Sour Cream Cookies
- I learned this the hard way so you don’t have to – make sure your nutmeg is fresh. If you’re not sure, buy a new bottle. It will make all the difference in flavor in these cookies.
- We like to use a variety of different shapes and sizes of cookie cutters. For best results, bake small cookies together, and large cookies together, in different batches. Smaller ones will bake faster than larger ones.
- You can re-roll and cut the scrap dough that remains after using your cookie cutters, but just once! After re-rolling and cutting again, toss the scraps out – they’ll be too tough to use again.
Ideas for decorating Sour Cream Sugar Cookies
If you haven’t noticed from the photos by now, my family has a lot of weird shapes in our cookie cutter arsenal. Nobody is really sure why we have a chicken and a shamrock mixed in with the Santa and Christmas tree cutters.
They were acquired somewhere along the way, and have just become a family tradition. We embrace the oddity, and have even started adding new unique shapes, like a squirrel and Michigan’s lower peninsula.
So, embrace the weirdness yourself and use whatever cookie cutters you have on hand! Then, frost using the frosting recipe in the card below, and sprinkle with your favorite sprinkles.
How to store this Sour Cream Sugar Cookie Recipe
To keep your cookies fresh, store in airtight gallon Ziploc freezer bags, at room temperature, for up to one week.
Can the dough for Sour Cream Sugar Cookies be frozen?
Yes, the dough for sour cream cookies can be frozen. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap, and then a freezer bag, and store in the freezer up to three months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before rolling out, cutting and baking.
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Sour Cream Cookies Recipe
Ingredients
For the Cookies:
- 2 sticks unsalted butter, softened slightly (but NOT melted) in microwave 1 cup
- 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
- 1 large egg at room temperature
- 1 cup full fat sour cream at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 ¾ cups all-purpose flour plus more if needed, and additional for rolling
For the Frosting and Decorating:
- 6 cups powdered sugar
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature
- ¼ cup + 2 teaspoons whole milk
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- Food coloring for dying frosting
- Sprinkles or sparkling sugar for decorating
Instructions
Make the Cookies:
- In bowl of stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, beat butter and sugar at medium-high speed 2 minutes or until light and fluffy.
- Add egg, sour cream, baking soda, nutmeg and vanilla and mix at medium speed until well combined.
- Gradually beat in flour. This will be a very thick dough. If dough seems too thin and sticky, gradually add additional flour 1 tablespoon at a time and mix until combined and you have a nice thick dough (do not add more than 4 additional tablespoons of flour). Cover and chill overnight.
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Meanwhile, allow dough to come to room temperature for 15 minutes.
- Flour work surface and rolling pin very well. In batches, roll chunks of dough (about 1 cup dough) to about 1/8-inch thickness (it is helpful to flatten dough with your hands into a disc before you start rolling it out).
- Cut dough using your favorite cookie cutters.
- In batches, as you finish rolling and cutting them, transfer cookies to unlined cookie sheets. Baking time is very dependent on exact oven temperature, cookie sheet you use, and size of cookie cutters. Transfer cookies to oven and bake cookies 6 to 12 minutes or until they just begin to become light golden brown around the edges (start checking them at 6 minutes until you know how long your oven will take). Cookies will be very soft when they come out of the oven. Carefully transfer to parchment paper and let cool completely before frosting.
Make the Frosting:
- In bowl of stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, beat powdered sugar and butter at medium speed 2 minutes or until butter is broken down into small bits. Add milk and vanilla and beat at medium-high speed 2 to 3 minutes or until frosting is smooth, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Frosting will be very thick! When you start adding food coloring to it, it will thin out, so do not adjust the consistency yet.
- Divide frosting into several bowls and stir in food coloring a few drops at a time until desired color is reached. If frosting is still too thick, stir in milk a few drops at a time until frosting reaches a thick spreadable consistency. Spread frosting over cookies and immediately sprinkle with sprinkles or sparkling sugar.
Notes
- Make sure your nutmeg is fresh. If you're not sure, buy a new bottle. It will make all the difference in flavor in these cookies.
- We like to use a variety of different shapes and sizes of cookie cutters. For best results, bake small cookies together, and large cookies together, in different batches. Smaller ones will bake faster than larger ones.
- You can re-roll and cut the scrap dough that remains after using your cookie cutters, but just once! After re-rolling and cutting again, toss the scraps out – they'll be too tough to use again.
In my little family we have lots of traditions, like Monster cookies for Halloween, listen to the nativity story while putting up our tree, decorated cookies and chocolate gingerbread men at Christmas time and chocolate gravy Christmas morning. We use my grandmother’s cookie cutter and sing Christmas carols. And now your recipe has been added to our traditions. I don’t know how many years we have been using this recipe, but it is a staple in our holiday. THANK YOU! The dough is quick to put together, very easy to roll out, holds the shape well and stays soft for so long!
This makes my heart so happy, Kris! We use my grandma’s cookies cutters for our cookies, too. I’m so glad this dough has become a staple for you!
Can you freeze these cookies to decorate at a later date? Also, my daughter detests nutmeg. Have you tried any other spices such as allspice, ginger or pumpkin spice?
Hi Mandie! Yes, these cookies freeze great. And in fact, I have! This recipe right here is the same exact dough (albeit a half batch), but with ginger in place of the nutmeg: https://foxeslovelemons.com/candied-meyer-lemon-cookies/.
They were delicious with ginger. I think any of the spices you’ve mentioned would work great, although even though nutmeg to ginger was a 1:1 swap as far as amount, I’m not sure for the others you’ve mentioned. Allspice may be overwhelming in an equal amount? Pumpkin pie spice may not be strong enough? That part, I’m not sure about. Please let me know what you end up trying. Happy Baking!