Copycat Swig Sugar Cookies are buttery, soft and somewhere in between a sugar cookie and shortbread, with a little bit of delicious frosting on top! This sugar cookie recipe doesn’t require any chilling and you don’t have to roll them out either! The best copycat Swig cookie recipe that I’ve ever tried!
What are Swig Sugar Cookies?
Swig Sugar Cookies are easier to make than traditional sugar cookies because you don’t have to roll out the dough! Have you tried the sugar cookies from Swig? (Swig is a popular cookie and soda shop with locations all over Utah.) There are a lot of other cookie stores open these days as well, and many of the sugar cookies at these places are similar. Big, soft and perfectly sweet – best sugar cookies ever!
I have tried several copycat recipes now and ended up combining elements from several of them to create an amazing cookie – and these cookies are AMAZING! They look just like Swig cookies and everyone that tries them has declared that they are the best sugar cookies I’ve ever made. Definitely consider that a success!
Tips for making the best sugar cookies
- Do not melt the butter! The butter needs to be softened (at room temperature), but using melted butter will ruin the cookies.
- Spend a little extra time when you mix the butter/shortening and sugars. Creaming them together for 2-3 minutes will improve the consistency of your cookies.
- Make sure that you don’t press the cookies too thin! You want them to be about 1/4 of an inch thick. If the cookies are too thin, they will get crispy and not be the deliciously thick and soft cookies that you are hoping for!
- Preheat the oven. This will help your cookies turn out right every time!
- Make sure not to over bake your cookies. They may not even look totally done on the tops, but if the bottoms start to brown, I take mine out and they are perfect!
- Use parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Doing this will make it really easy to remove the cookies from your cookie sheet so that you don’t have to scrape them off the pan – they will just slide right off in perfect shape!
- Make sure you’re making the best cookie possible, check out the perfect sugar cookies recipe here!
Ingredients in Swig Sugar Cookies
- 1 cup butter, softened to room temperature
- 3/4 cup Butter Flavored Crisco (I also used coconut oil once and it worked amazingly – it does add a slight coconut flavor though)
- 1 1/4 cup sugar
- 3/4 cup powdered sugar
- 2 Tbsp milk
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp Cream of Tartar
- 1 tsp salt
- 5 1/2 cups flour
How to make Swig Sugar Cookies
- In a large mixing bowl (or stand mixer), cream together butter, Crisco, sugar, powdered sugar and milk.
- Add eggs and mix until well combined.
- In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda, cream of tartar and salt. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix until smooth and well combined.
- Roll the dough into *1-inch balls and place on a greased cookie sheet. Spray the bottom of a glass or measuring cup with cooking spray and then dip into a plate coated with a thin layer of sugar. Press each ball down slightly to get the rough edge that Swig cookies are known for. You don’t want to smash them too thin because these cookies are best when they are thick and soft.
- Bake for 8-9 minutes at 350°. Cool completely on wire racks and then frost.
*If you make 1-inch balls, you should get closer to 48 cookies from one batch. Sometimes I use a larger cookie scoop and make 24-28 cookies. If you make them larger, the cook time will be closer to 9 minutes, the smaller cookies will be done closer to 8.
Ingredients in sugar cookie frosting
The frosting on these cookies perfectly complements the flavor of the cookie so don’t be tempted to try a different kind of frosting! I know it seems a little strange to put sour cream in the frosting, but I promise you will love it. Trust me!
- 1/2 cup butter, softened
- 2 Tbsp sour cream
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla
- food coloring (if desired)
- 1-2 Tbsp of milk, to consistency
How to make Swig Sugar Cookie frosting
To make the frosting, just mix the butter, sour cream, powdered sugar and vanilla together with an electric mixer until well combined. Add food coloring if desired and then add the milk, just a little bit at a time to get the consistency that you want.
COPYCAT SWIG SUGAR COOKIES
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter softened
- 3/4 cup Butter Flavored Crisco I also used coconut oil once and it worked amazingly - it does add a slight coconut flavor though
- 1 1/4 cup sugar
- 3/4 cup powdered sugar
- 2 Tbsp milk
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp Cream of Tartar
- 1 tsp salt
- 5 1/2 cups flour
Frosting
- 1/2 cup butter softened
- 2 Tbsp sour cream
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla
- food coloring if desired
- 1-2 Tbsp of milk to consistency
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl (or stand mixer), cream together butter, Crisco, sugar, powdered sugar and milk.
- Add eggs and mix until well combined. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda, cream of tartar and salt.
- Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix until smooth and well combined.
- Roll the dough into 1-inch balls and place on a greased cookie sheet.
- Spray the bottom of a glass or measuring cup with cooking spray and then dip into a plate coated with a thin layer of sugar. Press each ball down slightly to get the rough edge that Swig cookies are known for. You don't want to smash them too thin because these cookies are best when they are thick and soft.
- Bake for 8-9 minutes at 350. Cool on wire racks and then frost.
- To make the frosting, mix all of the ingredients except for the milk until well combined. Add milk to desired consistency and then frost the cooled cookies.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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Can you freeze sugar cookies?
I have made these cookies many times and have had the best luck with baking the cookies and then freezing them without the frosting. Just place the completely cooled cookies in an airtight container or ziplock freezer bag and they can be frozen for up to a couple of months. A few hours before serving, pull them out of the freezer and lay them out to thaw. Make the frosting and then frost the thawed cookies.
You can also freeze the dough once it has been formed into balls. Lay the balls out onto a baking sheet and freeze them individually for about an hour and then place all of the frozen balls into a ziplock freezer bag. When you are ready to bake them, lay the balls out on a baking sheet and let them thaw so that you can press them down. Bake like normal, cool and then frost.
How do you soften butter to room temperature?
The best way to soften butter is to set it out for a few hours before you make your cookies. Since most of us (or maybe just me!) aren’t that prepared or don’t think that far in advance, there are a few tricks to softening butter perfectly in just a matter of minutes.
My favorite way to soften butter is in the microwave. It’s definitely fast, but you do have to be very careful not to melt it. Just put the whole stick of butter in the microwave (as long as it isn’t wrapped in foil!) and microwave for about 6-7 seconds. If the butter is still really cold, try another 5-7 seconds and check it again. You may need a few intervals, and if the butter is starting to feel soft, you can shorten the final interval to just a few seconds to make sure it doesn’t start melting.
I actually prefer to use the defrost setting on my microwave – I don’t know exactly what that mode does differently, and it takes a little bit longer (closer to 30 seconds), but it seems to be easier to get the butter to soften without melting.
Love cookies? So do we! Here are some of our other favorite cookie recipes:
- Banana Cream Cookies
- The BEST Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies EVER
- Blueberry Cream Cookies
- Raspberry Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Cookies & Cream Cookies
- Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Potato Chip Cookies
- Mint Chocolate Pudding Cookies
- Raspberry Meltaway Cookies
- Mrs. Fields White Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Snickerdoodle Apple Pie Cookie Cups
- The Best Snickerdoodle Cookies
- Lemon Cake Mix Cookies
Copycat Swig Sugar Cookies don’t require any chilling or rolling out and this is the best copycat Swig cookie recipe that I’ve ever tried! This sugar cookie recipe yields soft and buttery cookies that are topped with the most delicious frosting!
Lexi says
Love this recipe! I’m curious what your thoughts are, if you do freeze the baked cookies how long do you suppose they would be good for unthawed? A day? A couple days? A week? I need to freeze them for about a week after I bake them.
Jessica says
They’ll be great for 3-4 days after unthawing!
Karen says
I’ve looked for a sugar cookie recipe with more flavor. The Swig cookie is it. I made these as a possible addition to my yearly Christmas cookie gift boxes and will be making them from now on. I used coconut oil for the additional fat and followed the recipe exactly. Not being a fan of soft cookies, I baked some til they browned around the edges and some that didn’t. I think the slight browning deepens the shortbread flavor and give them a nice crisp bite. My family decided that they’re just as good without the frosting. So I made some with , and some without.
Thank you for a wonderful recipe!
cassie collins says
i make these ALL the time! great recipe 🙂
Andrea says
WHat happens if I leave out the cream of tartar?
Nellie says
I’m not sure! Let us know!;)
Mogivi says
UGh so helpful. Thanks for the tips! Love your post, advice, and your style too!
Leigh says
Can these sit at room temperature once made?
Nellie says
Yep, they can! They hold up beautifully at room temperature for several days.
Dale says
Can You use reg Crisco for this recipe instead of butter Crisco.I only have reg Crisco on hand.
Nellie says
You can use regular Crisco, but the flavor will be a little less buttery. Still delicious!
Julie Edge says
Hi what would be the uk version of butter flavoured Cristobal as we don’t have that.
Would really like to try these ,many thanks
Nellie says
You can swap out the Crisco with butter. The texture will be a bit different, but the taste should be pretty similar.
Kimye says
Help! Mine came out sooo flat. Not nearly as thick as SWIG. What did I do wrong? I live at 6200 feet altitude.
Nellie says
Oh no! Sounds like you might need to add a little bit of flour. I would start by adding an additional 1/4-1/3 cup and see if that helps. Just bake a couple of cookies as a test and if they are still flat, maybe add another 1/4 cup flour and test again.
Bobbi LeSueur says
Made these and they were a hit! I added almond extract and vanilla to the batter, also omitted the crisco and used all grass fed butter instead. Wowzers! Some of the best cookies I’ve ever made. Thank you!
Nicole says
those sound like awesome substitutions, thanks for sharing! Glad you liked them!
Janice says
Can you use yogurt instead of the sour cream in the frosting?
Nellie says
I swap out sour cream with plain greek yogurt all the time! Vanilla would probably work too if you want some extra sweetness and flavor. I’d use Greek yogurt though since regular yogurt may be too runny.