Grandma's Sour Cream Sugar Cookies Recipe (2024)

These Sour Cream Sugar Cookies are soft and fluffy with just the right amount of sweetness — they’re perfect with or without frosting and make a great freezer-friendly holiday cookie! Includes step by step recipe video

Looking for more Christmas cookies? Try these Soft Sugar Cookie Bars, these Chocolate Crinkle Cookies or The Best Snickerdoodle Recipe next!

Grandma's Sour Cream Sugar Cookies Recipe (1)

I have never liked sugar cookies.

Maybe it’s because my mom was never a fan ofsugar cookies, and never baked sugar cookies, and we never had sugar cookies growing up.

Maybe it’s because the dough can be finnicky and trying to cut it into those cute snowflake and Christmas tree shapes without leaving half of the dough behind in the cookie cutter gives me anxiety.

Maybe it’s because there are no chocolate chips. (Although they do have frosting — I’ll give them that).

Whatever the case, they’re just not something we have often ever.

But the holidays come and I start to flip through family cookbooks and think back to Christmas gatherings at Grandma and Grandpa’s. And as I came across this one in my cookbook my one Grandma had made for me when I was married, I knew I had to share it.

These Sour Cream Cookies are not the difficult, finnicky cookies that require hours of rolling, cutting, baking, and decorating.

They are a soft sugar cookie made with sour cream, and they have a fluffy, delicate texture that I find much more appealing. They are a cakey cookie — like little, frosted hand cakes.

If this is not what you’re looking for, try a different recipe.

Grandma's Sour Cream Sugar Cookies Recipe (2)

Please note that these are not cutout cookies — you can chill or freeze the dough all you want and you still will not get shapes from these cookies.

The flavor is mild and slightly sweet, so they are made to be frosted. If you feel the need to add some lemon zest or extra vanilla, go for it.

Yes, they are cakey. This is just the way the recipe is.

If your Grandma writes recipes the way my Grandma wrote recipes, you know that they’re a little…. well, open to interpretation. And since I’ve never made these with Grandma, I’m just going to say that these are my best guess at what her recipe actually means.

You may or may not get exact measurements.

You may or may not get mixing or baking instructions (in this case, there were none).

These turned out so soft and luscious and perfectly sweet, that I decided to share the recipe my way.

A simple colored frosting and maybe a few sprinkles is really all they need to make them extra special for Christmas, though they are easy enough to make for any occasion…. Or no occasion. Sometimes you just need a cookie!

Grandma's Sour Cream Sugar Cookies Recipe (3)

Can I freeze sour cream cookies?

Absolutely! These freeze perfectly.

In an hour or two, the frosting should set to the point where you can stack and freeze them, but if you want to be extra safe, you could flash freeze them on the baking sheet for an hour before stacking.

Freeze up to 3 months.

Can I use this recipe for cut out cookies?

Not this recipe, but after so many requests, I created a new cookie recipe based on these Sour Cream Cookies that is perfect for cut out cookies, with no chilling and a thick soft sugar cookie.

You can find my Christmas Sugar Cookies recipe here.

Can I add more flavor to these Sour Cream Cookies?

Definitely! If you read the comments, you’ll see that a lot of people love these cookies, and some people it seems are not sure what they are getting with this recipe.

Like I said earlier, these cookies are made to be frosted. The cookie itself is not very sweet. Here are some ways to customize this recipe to your tastes:

  • Add the zest of a lemon or orange
  • Add 1 teaspoon of almond extract
  • As a reader mentioned, you could reduce the baking powder to 2 teaspoons if you want them less fluffy. They will still be very cakey.
  • Sprinkle the cookies with granulated sugar before baking.

More sour cream cookies:

These have been so popular that I’ve added two more versions to the family!

  • Frosted Lemon Sour Cream Sugar Cookies
  • Chocolate Sour Cream Sugar Cookies Recipe

Grandma's Sour Cream Sugar Cookies Recipe (4)

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Grandma’s Sour Cream Sugar Cookies

written by Ashley Fehr

4.75 from 382 votes

These Sour Cream Sugar Cookies are soft and fluffy with just the right amount of sweetness — they’re perfect with or without frosting and make a great freezer-friendly holiday cookie!

Grandma's Sour Cream Sugar Cookies Recipe (6)

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Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 10 minutes mins

Total Time 40 minutes mins

Cuisine American

Course Dessert

Servings 24 cookies

Calories 281cal

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter
  • 2 cups granulated sugar (400g)
  • 4 eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 2/3 cup sour cream
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 3 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 4 cups all purpose flour, fluffed and levelled (500g)

Frosting

  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 2 1/2 cups powdered icing sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 2 tablespoons milk

Instructions

  • In a large bowl with an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar on high until creamy.

  • Add eggs, vanilla, and sour cream and beat until smooth.

  • Add baking soda, baking powder, and salt and mix until combined. Add flour and beat on low until no white remains — dough will be soft, almost like cake batter. THIS IS FINE.

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and line baking sheets with parchment paper. Drop by heaping tablespoonfuls onto baking sheets 2-3 inches apart and bake for 10-12 minutes, until edges are golden and centers are set.

  • FrostingWith an electric mixer, beat butter until smooth. Add sugar, vanilla and milk and beat until smooth, adding additional sugar or milk to reach desired consistency (you don’t want it too thin!).

  • Color if desired and spread on cooled cookies.

Nutrition Information

Calories: 281cal | Carbohydrates: 45g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Cholesterol: 51mg | Sodium: 107mg | Potassium: 93mg | Sugar: 29g | Vitamin A: 315IU | Vitamin C: 0.1mg | Calcium: 40mg | Iron: 1.2mg

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Grandma's Sour Cream Sugar Cookies Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What happens if you add too much sugar to sugar cookies? ›

Sugar sweetens the cookies and makes them an enticing golden brown. Adding too little sugar can affect the taste and texture of cookies. Adding too much can cause them to be brittle. Take your time creaming the sugar and butter together at the beginning.

Can I add sour cream to Betty Crocker sugar cookie mix? ›

Stir 3/4 of a cup to one cup of full-fat sour cream in with your cookie mix, butter and egg. Sugar cookies will bake up with a wonderfully soft, cake-like texture.

What is the trick to making soft and chewy cookies? ›

Cornstarch helps product soft and thick cookies. Using more brown sugar than white sugar results in a moister, softer cookie. An extra egg yolk increases chewiness. Rolling the cookie dough balls to be tall and lumpy instead of wide and smooth gives the cookies a bakery-style textured thickness.

How do you make sugar cookie dough not crack? ›

To fix this, you can add more fat to the dough. This can be in the form of butter, shortening, or even olive oil. Just add a little at a time until the dough comes together and is no longer crumbly. You may also need to add more liquid, such as milk or water, to get the right consistency.

What happens if you don't put enough sugar in cookies? ›

You'll get cookies that are harder, drier, crumblier, and spread far less.

How to doctor up sugar cookie mix? ›

You can add chocolate chips, nuts, caramel or toffee pieces, chopped up candy bars, M&Ms, Reese's Pieces, pretzel pieces, or chopped up shrimp to cookie mix to make it tastier.

What can you add to sugar cookies to make them taste better? ›

Step Two: Add the egg, vanilla extract, and almond extract.

The combination of vanilla and almond is actually a little trick a bunch of bakeries use in their vanilla flavored baked goods! A vanilla and almond combo creates a more complex flavor profile that'll take your sugar cookies from homemade to bakery style.

What can I add to box cookie mix to make it better? ›

Add brown sugar

Adding it to the pre-made dough will give it more sweetness, a chewier texture, moisture and that homemade flavor you're craving. You can also melt butter with brown sugar and incorporate it into the dough for extra tender, chewier cookies.

What is the secret ingredient to keep cookies soft? ›

Cornstarch Is The Secret To Soft And Chewy Cookies.

Should I use baking powder or baking soda for cookies? ›

Baking soda is typically used for chewy cookies, while baking powder is generally used for light and airy cookies. Since baking powder is comprised of a number of ingredients (baking soda, cream of tartar, cornstarch, etc.), using it instead of pure baking soda will affect the taste of your cookies.

How do I make my cookies chewy instead of crunchy? ›

Double Your Yolks Most cookie recipes call for at least one egg. You can try omitting the white of each egg, which tends to dry out when baked, and replacing it with an additional yolk. Plus, egg yolks have more fat than egg whites, which helps to keep your cookies moist and chewy.

What makes sugar cookies tough? ›

Over-working the dough yields a tough cookie, which is not at all what you want. The very best sugar cookies are soft and tender. → Follow this tip: One of the keys to great sugar cookies is mixing the dry ingredients only until they're just incorporated, and not a second longer.

What does cornstarch do in sugar cookies? ›

Cornstarch makes dough easier to handle

A common issue with sugar cookie dough is its sticky consistency. Resist the urge to add more flour which will result in tougher cookies, and add cornstarch instead.

Why are my sugar cookies not crunchy? ›

To make cookies crispy, add less liquid or bake it in the oven for longer to dry out the dough. Generally bake around 13-15min at 180C for a crispy cookie. But if you want a thoroughly crispy cookie – not those just charred on the outside – decrease the temperature to 140C and bake for 30min.

How to balance out too much sugar in cookies? ›

Mix in water or stock.

In some cases, incorporating a little extra liquid in a recipe can help balance out excessive sweetness. Water is an ideal choice because it is flavorless, so it will dilute the sugar without changing the taste of your dish.

How to fix adding too much sugar? ›

If your dish is a little too sweet, try rounding out the sweetness by adding flavors or ingredients that are sour, bitter, or spicy. It may be obvious not to add more sweet ingredients, but you should also stay away from salty ones since they actually bring out the sweetness in food.

What happens if you use too much sugar in baking? ›

However, if too much sugar is added (these simple vanilla cupcakes had twice as much as they should have), then not only do they rise to the extreme but the structure takes so long to set (these were baked for 15 minutes longer than a normal batch) that they then collapse dramatically towards the end of baking.

Can too much sugar make cookies flat? ›

Common measuring mistakes like using too little flour or too much sugar can lead to a flat cookie, so always use measuring cups and spoons when adding dry and wet ingredients to your dough.

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