Softest Sugar Cookies Ever - Sour Cream Cut-Outs

These cookies get their softness from sour cream and a low oven. You roll the dough half an inch thick, bake at 300°F for 8 minutes, and pull them while the tops are still pale. That pale top is the whole trick.

The batch makes about 24 cookies depending on your cutter size. The dough needs an hour in the fridge, so start there and the rest moves fast.

Frosting is optional but it's what makes them look like the ones on a party platter. A simple butter and powdered sugar icing takes five minutes.

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. Mix the dry ingredients

Whisk the flour, baking soda and salt together in a medium bowl. Set it aside.

2. Cream butter and sugar

Beat the softened butter with the sugar on medium speed for about 5 minutes, until it looks light in color and fluffy. Scrape down the bowl once or twice.

3. Add the wet ingredients

Beat in the egg until it disappears into the mixture. Then beat in the sour cream and vanilla until the mixture looks creamy and smooth.

4. Bring the dough together

Add the flour mixture in three batches, mixing on low after each one. Stop as soon as the last of the flour disappears. Overmixing makes a tougher cookie.

5. Chill the dough

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and press it into a flat disc. Wrap it in plastic and refrigerate for 1 hour.

6. Heat the oven

Set the oven to 300°F (150°C) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

7. Roll and cut

Unwrap the dough and roll it out on a lightly floured surface to about 1/2 inch thick. Cut circles with a glass or cookie cutter and lift them onto the lined sheet, leaving about 1 inch between each one.

8. Bake

Bake for 8 minutes. The bottoms should be golden and the tops should still look pale. Let them cool on a wire rack.

9. Make the frosting

Beat the softened butter until fluffy. Sift in the powdered sugar and mix until combined, then add the milk and beat until smooth and velvety. Add food coloring if you like.

10. Frost and decorate

Spread frosting on the cooled cookies and add sprinkles right away. Let the icing set before stacking them.

Tips & Tricks

• Chill the dough for the full hour. Skip it and the butter warms up, the dough gets sticky, and the cookies spread in the oven.
• Roll to about 1/2 inch. Thinner cookies bake faster and lose that soft middle.
• Pull the cookies when the edges and bottoms are golden and the tops are still pale. That's the doneness cue, not the timer alone.
• Let the cookies cool completely before frosting. Warm cookies melt the icing and it slides off.
• Keep the dough you aren't rolling yet in the fridge. It softens fast on the counter.

Variations

Colored dough

divide the dough and tint each piece with gel coloring before chilling, then cut shapes from each color.

Almond flavor

swap half the vanilla for almond extract for a different finish. This is a change to the original recipe, not part of it.

Thinner icing for dipping

add an extra tablespoon of milk so the frosting runs off the spoon, then dip the tops of the cookies instead of spreading.

How to Store Softest Sugar Cookies Ever

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Softest Sugar Cookies Ever – Sour Cream Cut-Outs

Soft sugar cookies made with sour cream and butter, rolled thick and baked at 300°F so the tops stay pale. Frost them with a simple vanilla icing.

20 minPrep time8 minCook time88 minTotal24Servings

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Ingredients

• 3 ½ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1 cup unsalted butter (softened)
• ¾ cup granulated sugar
• 1 egg
• ½ cup sour cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ½ cup unsalted butter (softened)
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 2 tablespoons milk
• food coloring (for decorating)
• sprinkles (for decorating)

Instructions

1. 1Mix the dry ingredients — Whisk the flour, baking soda and salt together in a medium bowl. Set it aside.
2. 2Cream butter and sugar — Beat the softened butter with the sugar on medium speed for about 5 minutes, until it looks light in color and fluffy. Scrape down the bowl once or twice.
3. 3Add the wet ingredients — Beat in the egg until it disappears into the mixture. Then beat in the sour cream and vanilla until the mixture looks creamy and smooth.
4. 4Bring the dough together — Add the flour mixture in three batches, mixing on low after each one. Stop as soon as the last of the flour disappears. Overmixing makes a tougher cookie.
5. 5Chill the dough — Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and press it into a flat disc. Wrap it in plastic and refrigerate for 1 hour.
6. 6Heat the oven — Set the oven to 300°F (150°C) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
7. 7Roll and cut — Unwrap the dough and roll it out on a lightly floured surface to about 1/2 inch thick. Cut circles with a glass or cookie cutter and lift them onto the lined sheet, leaving about 1 inch between each one.
8. 8Bake — Bake for 8 minutes. The bottoms should be golden and the tops should still look pale. Let them cool on a wire rack.
9. 9Make the frosting — Beat the softened butter until fluffy. Sift in the powdered sugar and mix until combined, then add the milk and beat until smooth and velvety. Add food coloring if you like.
10. 10Frost and decorate — Spread frosting on the cooled cookies and add sprinkles right away. Let the icing set before stacking them.

Cook's note: These are cut-out cookies, so the yield depends on your cutter: a 2-inch cutter gives you roughly 24, a larger one gives fewer. Use an oven thermometer if your bakes brown unevenly, since 300°F is a low temperature and small differences matter here.

Servings: 24

Cuisine: American

Course: Dessert

RecipesCooker20 minutes8 minutes88 minutes