Sour Cream Sugar Cookies

The secret’s out: Adding sour cream to your sugar cookies gives you the best batch ever! Our sour cream sugar cookies are so tender and moist that you’ll never make a batch again without this secret ingredient.

Sour cream enhances more than just sugar cookies. There are tons of sour cream desserts out there that have been upgraded with this refrigerator staple. Try our sour cream sugar cookie recipe below so you can taste the difference for yourself.

Why do you put sour cream in sugar cookies?

Sour cream is made from adding lactic acid-producing bacteria to dairy cream, which results in a slightly tart, thick substance. When you add sour cream to your cookie dough, the acid tenderizes the dough by breaking down the gluten molecules into smaller pieces. This leads to a softer, cake-like cookie, just like the ones Grandma used to make. (She probably used these other secret ingredients in her sugar cookies, too!)

The lactic acid also helps activate the baking soda, which gives the cookies a fluffy texture. Plus, the slightly tangy sour cream helps prevent the cookies from tasting overly sweet, which means they can pair perfectly with your favorite buttercream frosting.

When you make a sour cream sugar cookie dough, don’t be surprised or concerned if the dough is thick. This just means that you’ll get moist, fluffy cookies in the end!

Ingredients for Sour Cream Sugar Cookies

• Shortening: For extra-soft cookies that hold their shape after baking, shortening is our fat of choice.
• Sour cream: Sour cream is key for keeping these sugar cookies soft and tender.
• All-purpose flour: All-purpose flour is the best flour for this recipe. It’s not too tough like bread flour, and not too delicate like cake flour. A cookie’s texture usually falls somewhere in the middle.
• Butter: Butter adds flavor and richness to the frosting.
• Confectioners’ sugar: Confectioners’ sugar dissolves more easily than granulated sugar, so we use it in the creamy frosting. We don’t want any grainy sugar chunks in our frosting!
• Milk: Milk moistens the frosting and adds flavor. Be sure to only add a little bit of milk at a time to the creamed butter and sugar until you achieve the right frosting consistency.
• Paste food coloring: There are lots of different types of food coloring, but we love paste (aka “gel paste”) food coloring because it creates a bolder color than other food coloring.

Directions

Step 1: Beat the wet ingredients

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In a large bowl, use a hand mixer or stand mixer to cream the shortening and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg, sour cream and vanilla.

Step 2: Beat in the dry ingredients

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In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt. Gradually add the flour mixture to the shortening mixture, and beat well. Cover and refrigerate the dough until it’s easy to handle, about one hour.

Step 3: Roll out, and cut out

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Preheat the oven to 350°F. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough to 1/4-inch thickness. Cut dough into rounds using a floured 3-inch circle cookie cutter.

Step 4: Bake the cookies

Place the cookies 1 inch apart on baking sheets lightly coated with cooking spray. Bake until the cookies are set, 8 to 10 minutes. Cool the cookies at room temperature for one minute. Transfer cookies to wire racks, and let cool completely.

Editor’s Tip: You can tell when your sugar cookies are done baking if they’re lightly browned on the bottoms.

Step 5: Create the frosting

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In a large bowl, use a hand mixer or stand mixer to cream the butter until light and fluffy. Beat in the confectioners’ sugar and vanilla. Add enough milk to achieve desired frosting consistency. Tint the frosting with food coloring.

Editor’s Tip: When working with paste food coloring, use a toothpick to transfer the food coloring to the frosting for less mess.

Step 6: Decorate the cookies

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Decorate cookies as desired.

Editor’s Tip: Need some sugar cookie design inspo for the holidays? Check out our decorated Christmas cutout cookies, Halloween party cutout cookies or Easter sugar cookies. If you want to make this a family activity, then learn how to decorate sugar cookies with kids.

Sour Cream Sugar Cookies Variations

• Sprinkle in spice: Bump up the flavor of these cookies by adding in fall spices, pumpkin pie spice or chai spice for an autumnal spin.
• Grate in zest: Citrus zest is such a simple way to bump up the freshness and brightness of sugar cookies. Make sure you know how to zest a lemon and orange properly so you don’t get any bitter pith in the dough.
• Splash in extract: Extracts let you take the flavor of these sour cream sugar cookies anywhere you’d like. Lovely options are almond, lemon, orange, lavender, maple and peppermint.
• Add a floral note: Fold some culinary lavender into the dough of these sour cream sugar cookies for a delicate floral flavor.
• Decorate with icing: If you prefer an icing on your sugar cookies, omit the frosting from this sour cream sugar cookie recipe, and use our royal icing recipe.
• Finish with sugar: Not a fan of frosting or icing? Finish these sour cream sugar cookies with a sprinkling of turbinado sugar.

How to Store Sour Cream Sugar Cookies

To store frosted sour cream sugar cookies, place them in an airtight container, but try not to stack them or it will ruin their design. Store them in the fridge for up to one week.

To store unfrosted sour cream sugar cookies, allow the cookies to cool to room temperature. Place them in an airtight container, and stack them between pieces of parchment or wax paper. Store them in the fridge for up to one week.

Can you freeze sour cream sugar cookies?

Yes, you can freeze sour cream sugar cookies, but make sure they’re not frosted. Allow the unfrosted sugar cookies to cool to room temperature, then place them in an airtight container, and store in the freezer for up to three months. To thaw, place the cookies on the counter at room temperature. Learn more about freezing and thawing cookies in our guide.

Sour Cream Sugar Cookies Tips

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What other cookie cutters can I use for this recipe?

Since this sour cream sugar cookie recipe creates a roll-out cookie dough, you can use any of your favorite cookie cutters! Adjust the bake time as needed for especially small or large cookie cut-outs.

Can you substitute Greek yogurt for sour cream in sugar cookies?

Yes, you can use strained (Greek-style) yogurt as a substitute for sour cream in these sugar cookies. Greek yogurt has a similar tangy taste and thick texture as sour cream. Just make sure to use full-fat Greek yogurt, since nonfat would negatively impact the cookies’ texture. Use Greek yogurt as a 1:1 substitute for sour cream in this recipe.