Super Soft Sugar Cookies made with butter, sugar, flour & sour cream for great flavor and soft texture! Softest sugar cookies you’ve ever had- & they decorate beautifully! Save this recipe!
Soft sugar cookies are one of the greatest things about holiday baking. Of course, you don’t need a holiday or reason to break out the best cut out sugar cookie recipe in the world (and that’s exactly what this is!)
Making soft sugar cookies with sour cream is the trick to making the perfect sugar cookie recipe. You don’t taste the sour cream at all and the texture and softness of the sugar cookies speak for themselves. They’re so good and even better with sugar cookie icing. I mean, who doesn’t love soft sugar cookies with icing?
Best Sugar Cookie Recipe
I’m going to make a confession right now and admit that I’m a little bit obsessive about cookies. Not necessarily because I really love eating them (I’m actually more of a dough fanatic), but because I am constantly on a quest to find the absolute best cookie recipes. I’ve spent years trying many different sugar cookie recipes and although they are all similar and pretty yummy, I do believe this recipe is the best one I have found yet! It produces thick, soft cookies, which is an absolute must for me!
How do you keep sugar cookies soft?
There are many different tips and tricks out there for soft cookies, but not all of them work. With these cookies, the sour cream in the dough really helps. Another big thing is to make sure that you don’t roll out your cookie dough too thin or else it would turn into a cracker and lose its softness after its baked. After they’ve finished baking, make sure to let them cool completely and keep stored in an airtight container or Ziploc bag to keep them fresh and soft for as long as possible.
How long will decorated sugar cookies last?
If you keep your decorated sugar cookies properly stored, you can expect them to last up to a week at room temperature and be just fine.
Super Soft Sugar Cookies Ingredients
-granulated sugar
-softened butter: I use salted butter, but you can use unsalted if you prefer. No margarine!
-1 egg
-vanilla extract: I suggest using a good quality vanilla extract or a Vanilla Bean Paste. I linked my favorites!
-sour cream: adds to the soft texture of the cookies. You can use plain or vanilla Greek yogurt instead.
-salt & baking soda: leavening agent and flavor! I always add a bit of salt to all my cookies- it doesn’t take much to make a difference!
-flour: you can use all purpose flour, bread flour, or even pastry flour in this recipe
Sugar Cookie Frosting Ingredients
-butter: Again, I use salted butter, but you can use unsalted if you prefer. No margarine!
-powdered sugar
-milk: you can use almond milk, coconut milk or cashew milk in place of cow’s milk
-vanilla: soo note above about what vanilla I use. I’m a huge proponent of good, high quality vanilla! The brand I love isn’t crazy expensive either.
How to Make Super Soft Sugar Cookies
In a bowl, cream together the sugar and butter. Add in the egg and the vanilla and mix well.
In a separate bowl, combine the sour cream, salt, and baking soda. Add the flour and sour cream to butter mixture, beat until smooth.
Cover the bowl and chill the dough for several hours.
Roll it out and then and cut with shaped cookie cutters. Bake at 375 degrees F for 10 minutes.
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!
After the cookies are cooled, decorate them however you want! This frosting recipe is very basic, yet it is one of my favorites!
How to Make Sugar Cookie Frosting
In a mixing bowl, beat the butter until smooth. Beat in the remaining ingredients until smooth, about 2 minutes.
Add in additional milk a little at a time if a thinner consistency is desired. (I had a little bit of half and half in the fridge that I needed to use up, so I used that instead of milk- I figured a few more calories wouldn’t matter much at this point)!
Frosted Soft Sugar Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup softened butter
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1/3 cup sour cream
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 2 cups flour
Sugar Cookie Frosting
- 1/2 cup soft butter
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- 1/4 cup milk
- 2 tsp vanilla
Instructions
- Cream together sugar and butter. Add egg and vanilla.
- In separate bowl, combine sour cream, salt and baking soda.
- Add flour and sour cream to butter mixture, beat until smooth. Chill dough for several hours.
- Roll and cut with shaped cutters. Bake at 375 for 10 minutes. Make sure not to overbake your cookies.
- After the cookies are cooled, decorate them however you want!
How to Make Cookie Frosting
- In a mixing bowl, beat the butter until it's smooth.
- Beat in the other ingredients until smooth, about 2 minutes.
- Add in any additional milk if a thinner consistency is needed. Spread frosting on cookies using a knife, then top with sprinkles. Frosting can also be piped onto cookies.
Nutrition
How do you store frosted sugar cookies?
Let your frosted sugar cookies sit out for an hour or two to help the frosting solidify. Place them in an airtight container and then lay a cut piece of parchment paper over the top before laying more cookies on top. They can last this way up to a week.
Can you freeze sugar cookies and decorate later?
Absolutely! Freezing unfrosted cookies is very easy. After letting them cool completely, you can freeze them flat on a baking sheet for about 15 minutes (or an hour) and then transfer them to a freezer-friendly container. They can last in the freezer this way for up to 6months. Thaw and frost.
Thanksgiving Sugar cookies
I made this recipe into super cute turkeys for Thanksgiving and everyone went crazy! I used Wilton cake decorating colors to tint my frosting. I used mini M&Ms for the eyes and then I dipped a toothpick in some blue gel icing that I had to make the eyeballs!
If you love sugar cookie recipes then you’re going to love these other cookie recipes
- Strawberry Cake Mix Cookies
- Hot Chocolate Cookie Cups
- Christmas Sprinkle Sugar Cookies
- Almond Crescent Cookies
- Hot Cocoa Cookies
- Eggnog Cookies
- Cherry Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Mint Chocolate Pudding Cookies
- Ginger Spice Cookies
- Pumpkin Spice Snickerdoodle Cookies
- Caramel Snickerdoodle Cookies
- Lemon Butter Cookies
- Double Chocolate Mint Cookies
- Reeses Krispie No Bake Cookies
These super soft sugar cookies are delicious and once you try them you’ll agree. With the added sugar cookie icing on top, these cookies are irresistibly good. Super Soft Sugar Cookies made with butter, sugar, flour & sour cream for great flavor and soft texture! Softest sugar cookies you’ve ever had- & they decorate beautifully! Save this recipe!
Higley. says
What a great and creative cookie! <br />Fantastic use for candy corn.
bygrace3202 says
These look great! How many cookies does this recipe make?
Sophie Atkins says
Cute and creative cookies! I’m so excited to try it on weekend with my friends from <a href="http://www.irishcoffeepub.com/" rel="nofollow">long island catering halls</a>!
Unknown says
is the soda in this recipe baking soda or soda water?
Jessica Williams says
It's baking soda!
JUDY Champion says
Love your recipie’s
Jessica says
thank you!
Allisa Zilm says
Hello. I am going to try and make these for Thanksgiving. I’ve never made homemade sugar cookies (I know; how is that possible right). Do these have to be rolled out or can you just use a roll them into a ball? I noticed the pictures above show them rolled into a ball so I didn’t know if they have to be rolled out. If so, what thickness?
Jessica says
We usually just scoop the dough out and roll them into a ball!