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    Home / Recipes / Breads

    Super Soft Sour Cream Sugar Cookies

    By Heather ยท Published: Feb 5, 2014 ยท Updated: Mar 22, 2021 ยท This post may contain affiliate links ยท See the privacy policy linked in my footer.

    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

    Super Soft Sour Cream Sugar Cookies - Sometimes I just want to sit on the couch with plateful of frosted cookies while watching some trashy TV and use my finger to methodically lick every cookie free of frosting-- and then eat the cookies. Is that weird? I'm not saying I've ever done it, but if I did it would be with these sour cream sugar cookies. They remind me of the ever-so-famous Lofthouse cookies without all the ingredients my 7-year-old can't sound out. ย Which totally justifies me in eating more than 6 in a sitting.

    Delicious soft sugar cookies in heart shaped with pink frosting.

    One of my favorite things about this Super Soft Sour Cream Sugar Cookies recipe is that the cookies actually hold their shape and don't spread while baking. This means that my T-Rex cookies always look like a dinosaur as opposed to a sad cookie that vaguely resembles Italy. I also love that they actually taste better a day or two after you make them and stay nice and soft for a good 4-5 days when stored in an airtight container.

    Sour Cream Sugar Cookie dough in an electric mixer.

    How to Make Super Soft Sour Cream Sugar Cookies

    The dough comes together just like any basic cookie recipe-- cream the butter, sour cream, sugar, add eggs, flour, etc. Once it's put together split the dough into half and press each half onto a piece of plastic wrap in the shape of a square or rectangle. Wrap them up and let chill in the fridge for at least and hour to firm up.

    Delicious sugar cookie dough squares in clear plastic wrap.

    Once the dough is nice and chilled, unwrap and place on a well floured countertop to roll out. Since it's already in the shape of a square and flat it should be pretty easy to roll out .

    Simple cookie dough on a floured counter top.

    I like to roll my dough out to about ยผ" thick, making sure I've got enough flour both on the bottom and top of the dough so it doesn't stick and make my life super hard.

    Pink heart shaped cookie cutter on sour cream sugar cookie dough.

    Cut out whatever shapes you want and place on a lined baking sheet. Like I mentioned before, they barely spread so you can put them pretty close together and be safe. They only take about 8 minutes to bake it's really important to make sure that they don't over-bake. Even an extra minute can change their soft texture and turn them hard. When done they won't have any browning around the edges and the bottoms won't be brown either. You might have to adjust the time based on your oven since all ovens vary.

    Holding a heart shaped Homemade sugar cookie next to a baking sheet full of warm cookies.

    Frosting For Your Sour Cream Sugar Cookies

    Place the baked cookies on a cooling rack and allow to cool completely before frosting. OR you can dip the warm cookies in frosting and let it melt into gooey perfection. I never do that.

    For my frosting, I like to use a pretty basic buttercream recipe that is basically butter and powdered sugar. But to kick it up a bit, I usually use orange juice as my liquid to thin it out instead of the milk you would usually use. Depending on my mood, I sometimes add a bit of orange extract and vanilla to round it out. The orange juice adds just a tiny bit of acidity to off-set the sweetness and doesn't make it an obvious "orange" frosting. Adding the vanilla and orange extract pumps up the orange flavor just a bit and makes it kind of creamscicle-esque without being over powering. I love it.

    Orange juice, orange extract and pure vanilla extract next to a silver mixing bowl.

    Mix it up until it's nice and fluffy, adding more powdered sugar or orange juice to either thin or thicken it out as you like.

    White Sugar cookie icing.

    From here you can color your icing and decorate to your little heart's content. Please ignore the obvious lack of forethought I had when picking out bowls and frosting colors. My eyes hurt just looking at the picture below.

    Green, pink, purple and peach assortment of cookie icing in small bowls.

    My favorite way to frost sugar cookies is to use a round decorating tip (shown is a Wilton #12) and a frosting bag.

    Pink icing in a round decorating tip.

    I just zig-zag back and forth across the cookie using even pressure until the entire cookie is covered. Each cookie can be frosted in just a few seconds and totally beats spreading each individual cookie with frosting using a knife.

    Fresh pink icing on a delicious and soft sugar cookie on a small plate.

    Once frosted, let the Super Soft Sour Cream Sugar Cookies sit out a few hours to harden up the frosting and then store in an air-tight container. If all your cookies don't get frosted (let's face it, this recipe kind of makes a lot), plain cookies can be stored frozen in an air-tight container for up to a month.

    Valentine's Day sour cream sugar cookies with pink icing on a table.

    Super Soft Sour Cream Sugar Cookies

    The softest, best tasting sugar cookies you'll ever make. Promise!
    By Heather Cheney
    Print Pin Rate
    Prep Time: 20 minutes
    Cook Time: 10 minutes
    Total Time: 2 hours 30 minutes
    Servings: 60 Cookies

    Ingredients

    • 1 cup sour cream room temperature
    • 1 cup butter softened
    • 2 cups sugar
    • 2 eggs room temperature
    • 1 teaspoon vanilla
    • 5-ยฝ cups flour
    • 1 teaspoon baking soda
    • ยฝ teaspoon salt
    • 2 C butter softened (yes, I know it's a lot. We're frosting 5 dozen cookies here)
    • 6 C powdered sugar
    • ยฝ teaspoon kosher salt
    • ยฝ C orange juice
    • ยฝ teaspoon orange extract
    • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

    Instructions

    • With an electric mixer, cream the sour cream and butter at low speed; add sugar, eggs, and vanilla & mix until combined.
    • Gradually add the flour, baking soda, and salt to the sour cream mixture, mixing until well combined. Dough will be sticky.
    • Divide dough onto two pieces of plastic wrap; flatten dough into a square, wrap tightly, and refrigerate until chilled, 1-2 hours.
    • Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
    • Generously flour your counter or work surface to prevent dough from sticking. Rub flour on the rolling pin. Put one of the chilled pieces of dough on top of the floured surface and sprinkle the top of the dough with more flour.Roll the dough to an even ยผ" thick all over, sprinkling with additional flour, as needed.
    • Dip cookie cutter in flour and cut out dough shapes. Transfer dough shapes to lined baking sheets.
    • Bake cookies for 8-10 minutes, Cookies are done when just set and the edges or bottoms have no color. Transfer hot cookies to a baking rack to cool completely.
    • Beat powdered sugar, butter, and salt in an electric mixer until smooth.
    • Stream in orange juice and extracts and beat until fluffy. Add more orange juice or powdered sugar as needed to thin or thicken the finished frosting.
    • Spread or pipe frosting on cooled cookies. Let cookies sit uncovered for a few hours to harden frosting. Store cookies in an airtight container.

    Nutrition Facts

    Serving: 1 cookie | Calories: 184 kcal | Carbohydrates: 23 g | Protein: 1 g | Fat: 10 g | Saturated Fat: 6 g | Trans Fat: 1 g | Cholesterol: 32 mg | Sodium: 144 mg | Potassium: 20 mg | Fiber: 1 g | Sugar: 19 g | Vitamin A: 320 IU | Vitamin C: 1 mg | Calcium: 9 mg | Iron: 1 mg

    Nutrition and Food Safety Disclosure

    ARE WE FRIENDS ON INSTAGRAM?Tag me @heatherlikesfood and use #heatherlikesfood so I can see what you're making and enjoying!

    Interested in other yummy dessers?

    • Rocky Road Brownies
    • Rocky Road Rice Crispy Treats
    • Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake Bars
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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Andi @ The Weary Chef says

      February 12, 2016 at 9:08 am

      These cookies are SO cute! Too beautiful to eat! Perfect for Valentine's but will surely be a hit all year round! YUM!!

      Reply
    2. Michelle | A Latte Food says

      February 11, 2016 at 11:53 pm

      These are so cute! So festive for Valentine's Day!

      Reply
    3. Joanie @ Zagleft says

      February 11, 2016 at 4:06 pm

      I love a good sugar cookie recipe, especially for a cookie that holds it shape. These look so festive and pretty too!

      Reply
    4. Laura | Petite Allergy Treats says

      February 11, 2016 at 12:11 pm

      Everyone needs a good sugar cookie. The colors look so vibrant and festive!

      Reply
    5. Megan | Allergy Free Alaska says

      February 11, 2016 at 10:41 am

      Oh, I'm totally with you on the frosted cookies and trashy tv! HA! ๐Ÿ˜‰ These are absolutely gorgeous - perfect for Valentine's Day!

      Reply
    6. Maris (In Good Taste) says

      February 11, 2016 at 9:33 am

      These are beautiful! If I had time this weekend I would definitely whip up a batch.

      Reply
    7. Heather F says

      February 06, 2014 at 7:48 am

      These look gorgeous! I've never been one to make cookies that have to be rolled and cut out, but I might just have to give these a try!

      Reply
      • Heather says

        February 06, 2014 at 10:26 am

        Thanks! You should totally give it a go!:)

        Reply

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