This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our privacy policy.
These sour cream sugar cookies are an old-fashioned favorite! Pillowy soft and topped with a simple frosting, add your favorite festive sprinkles make these delicious cookies fit for any occasion.
During Elle’s first Christmas season, I felt a real sense of urgency when it came to our new family’s Christmas traditions.
I’ve had family recipes that have been a part of our traditions for decades (hello, pumpkin roll and Nana’s easy cheesecake!), and I wanted to include Eric’s family traditions and recipes, too.
Eric and I found this recipe for his grandmother’s sour cream sugar cookies while thumbing through a lovely recipe book his aunt put together of all their family recipes.
His grandma wrote on the recipe card, “This is the one! Soft, beautiful dough – tastes good, too!!” She even added a cute little smiley face.
That review obviously sold me – these had to be part of our family’s Christmas traditions.
Now, years later, our family has grown and many things have changed, but some things stay the same: these soft sour cream sugar cookies are still a beloved part of Eric’s grandmother’s legacy and are a recipe I hope to pass on to our girls someday.
SOFT, CAKEY SOUR CREAM SUGAR COOKIES
I’ve got good news for you: if you’re a fan of those soft grocery store sugar cookies (aka Lofthouse sugar cookies), then you’ll love this recipe.
This isn’t an exact copycat of those cookies, but the texture is very, very close.
These sugar cookies are soft and cakey and are topped with a shiny, sweet frosting. I love finishing them with festive sprinkles for a colorful finish, but you could also use food coloring to dye the frosting any color you like.
Keep in mind that these sour cream sugar cookies puff up quite a bit in the oven, so I don’t recommend using intricate cookie cutters for this recipe. I usually keep things simple with circles, squares, or hearts. Save the detailed cutters for snowflake sugar cookies, gingerbread cookies, or chai sugar cookies.
These sweet, old-fashioned cookies will be right at home alongside your other favorite Christmas cookies, such as peanut butter blossoms, melted snowman cookies, and peppermint cookies.
HOW TO MAKE THESE SOUR CREAM SUGAR COOKIES
This old-fashioned recipe is a great one to make with kids. They’ll love rolling and cutting out the soft dough and decorating these sour cream cookies with the icing and their favorite sprinkles!
I think Santa would really love snacking on these cookies, too.
Keep in mind that you do need to chill the dough before you can work with it, so make sure you think ahead when making sour cream sugar cookies.
Ingredients you’ll need
To make the dough for the sour cream sugar cookies, you will need:
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup sour cream
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
Sour cream helps keep the cookies super soft, helps prevent them from drying out, and gives them a beautiful, tangy flavor.
To make the accompanying frosting, you’ll need:
- 1/3 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
- 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons light corn syrup
- 1 to 2 tablespoons milk
Corn syrup does two main things when added to frosting: it keeps sugar from crystallizing for a smooth texture, and it adds a lovely glossiness to the frosting.
Making this recipe
Start by making the sour cream cookie dough. Use a stand mixer with the paddle attachment or an electric mixer to cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. This will take around 3 minutes.
Beat in the eggs, then add the sour cream and vanilla until well combined.
Separately, whisk together the four, baking powder, and baking soda. Slowly add the flour mixture to the butter mixture. Mix until just combined.
The dough is going to be sticky and very soft, so we have to chill it before it can be rolled and cut.
Divide the dough in half, wrapping each half in plastic wrap. Refrigerate the dough for at least 4 hours or freeze it for 1 hour.
When you’re ready to bake the cookies, preheat the oven and line your baking sheets with parchment paper.
Generously flour a work surface, then roll each portion of dough to about ¼-inch thickness. Cut out shapes with a well-floured cookie cutter and place the cookies 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets.
Bake the cookies for 10-12 minutes or until barely golden around the bottom edges. Let them cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to finish cooling.
To make the frosting, beat all of the frosting ingredients with a mixer until smooth. Spread the frosting onto the cookies and, if desired, top with your favorite festive sprinkles.
HELPFUL RESOURCES
- Before getting started, make sure you know how to measure flour and how to cream butter and sugar correctly.
- The butter for both the cookies and the frosting should be softened before baking. If you forget to set your butter out, I have a few tips for how to soften butter quickly.
- Out of powdered sugar? Learn how to make powdered sugar and save yourself a trip to the grocery store.
FAQS
How should I store sour cream sugar cookies?
Store these cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. I recommend placing a sheet of parchment or waxed paper between the layers to help protect the frosting.
Can you freeze these cookies?
Yes! If you’d like to freeze the baked and decorated cookies, I recommend placing them in a single layer of a baking sheet, then freezing for about 1-2 hours or until the cookies are frozen through.
Since these sour cream sugar cookies are so soft, freezing them on a flat surface will help prevent them from breaking apart in the freezer.
Once they’re frozen, place them in an airtight container or zip-top freezer bag and freeze for 1-2 months.
Can I freeze the sour cream sugar cookie dough?
Yes! Divide the dough in half and wrap each half in two layers of plastic wrap. Place the wrapped dough disks in a zip-top freezer bag. Label and freeze for up to 3 months.
Let the dough thaw in the refrigerator overnight, then roll out and cut as noted in the recipe instructions.
Is there a substitute I can use for the corn syrup in the frosting?
If you don’t like working with corn syrup, you can swap in honey in place of the corn syrup.
Can I use yogurt instead of sour cream in this recipe?
Yes, but with a couple of caveats:
- I highly recommend using greek yogurt instead of regular yogurt. The thickness is more similar to sour cream.
- Because there is a full cup of sour cream in the cookie dough, replacing it with yogurt will give the cookies a slightly different flavor. It shouldn’t be super noticeable and they will still be delicious, but just keep in mind that they won’t be 100% the same.
Can I add food coloring to the frosting?
Of course! I prefer to use gel food coloring because it is less likely to affect the texture of the frosting. Add a drop or two with the other ingredients – always start with a small amount because you can add more as needed.
Sour Cream Sugar Cookies
Ingredients
For the cookies:
- 1 cup unsalted butter softened
- 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup sour cream 8 ounces
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
For the frosting:
- ⅓ cup unsalted butter softened
- 2 cups confectioners’ sugar sifted
- 1 ½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons light corn syrup
- 1 to 2 tablespoons milk
Instructions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or in a large bowl with an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy; about 3 minutes. Beat in eggs. Add sour cream and vanilla and mix until thoroughly combined.
- In another large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture and mix until just combined. The dough will be sticky and very soft. Divide dough in half. Shape each into a disk; wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours or freeze for 1 hour or until the dough is firm enough to roll.
- Preheat oven to 350°F and line baking sheets with parchment paper. On a well-floured surface, roll each portion of dough to 1/4-in. thickness. Cut with a floured cookie cutter. Place cookies at least 2 inches apart on prepared cookie sheets.
- Bake cookies in preheated oven for 10-12 minutes. Allow cookies to remain on cookie sheet for about 5 minutes before using a spatula to carefully remove them to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Once the cookies are cooled completely, prepare the frosting. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or in a large bowl with an electric mixer, beat butter, confectioners’ sugar, vanilla, salt, corn syrup and enough milk to reach desired consistency. Spread frosting over cookies. If desired, add festive sprinkles.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Hi! these look delish and can’t wait to try them! I don’t like to use corn syrup….can I just leave that out of the frosting or substitute with something else? Thanks so much!!
Sylvia-
Yes, you can simply omit the corn syrup. Thanks so much for stopping by!
-Jamie
These are the prettiest holiday cookies! And yep, toddler time is so busy, but incredibly fun!
Thanks so much, Dara! I appreciate you stopping by.
-Jamie
This recipe sounds delicious, and aren’t recipes with a family history so special? I’m in love with your sprinkles! Will you share your source for them? Thanks!
Gail-
Hello, thanks so much for stopping by. The sprinkles are Wilton brand, I picked them up at Target. I hope this helps.
-Jamie
Ohmy.god. I don’t how how I only just stumbled across your blog now, but far out girl. I’m in awe by everything. Every post. Every photo! You’re talent is super huge, and I’m so thankful to your hard work! Congratulations! New fan over here! Your photography and recipes are so inspiring. Thank you thank you!
Thank you so much, Karina – you just made my day! I appreciate you stopping by!
-Jamie
I love how these look like they’d melt in your mouth! Also, so exciting that Elle is starting to stand! That must be so exciting to watch :)
It is, Katrina – it definitely is! Thanks so much for visiting!
-Jamie
These are gorgeous! And so perfect for Chrissie!
Thank you so much, Jessica!
It truly is the season for family, tradition, and great cookie recipes like this one!
I couldn’t agree more, Mary! Thanks so much for stopping by and taking the time to comment.
-Jamie
These look so delicious and just might be a new tradition every year! How do you get the frosting on the cookie so nice and neat. Do you scoop it with a small cookie scope and then just swirl it in the center? It looks so beautiful!
Destasio-
Thanks so much for stopping by. You can plop some frosting down in the center or pipe a swirl into the center and then use an off-set spatula to spread around the cookie from the center outwards. I hope that makes sense. Have a great day.
-Jamie
Yum – they look great! I love Christmas cookies.
Thanks so much, Sarah!
-Jamie
These are so perfect for Holiday baking! Love these Jamie! xo
Thanks, Jenny! I appreciate you stopping by!
-Jamie