These sour cream cookies are fluffy, tender, and delicate. The rich buttercream is the perfect accompaniment. These are just like the cookies my grandma used to make. They’re perfect for every holiday, just change the jimmies or nonpareil and you have the best cookie for any celebration!
I love how simple these cookies are to make with easy-to-find ingredients. You can whip up a batch of these in no time. No need to chill the dough and they don’t need to be rolled out and shaped. Just simply drop and bake.
I hope you’ll try my Italian Christmas cookies, cinnamon sugar cookies, cream cheese spritz cookies, and no chill sugar cookies next!
Let’s bake some cookies!
Ingredients For Sour Cream Cookies
- All-purpose Flour: Use moderate protein flour, like Gold Medal unbleached all-purpose flour or Pillsbury unbleached all-purpose flour.
- Baking Powder: Leavening agent.
- Baking Soda: A secondary leavening agent.
- Salt: Enhances flavor and aids in tenderness. I use regular table salt, not Kosher.
- Nutmeg: Nutty warm flavored spice.
- Sugar: Granulated.
- Butter: Unsalted.
- Eggs: Large eggs. Best used at room temperature.
- Sour Cream: Regular, full fat sour cream.
- Lemon Extract: Adds a mild lemon flavor.
How Do I Know My Cookies Are Ready?
The cookies will just begin to brown on the edges when they’re baked and the center no longer looks raw. The rest of the surface of the cookie will still be rather pale.
Tips
- Butter: Make sure the butter is at room temperature.
- Egg: Eggs need to be at room temperature as well. They blend into the dough better and create a smoother dough as well.
- Cookie Scoop: I used a medium cookie scoop with the dough leveled off to shape the cookies.
Storing + Freezing Tips + Make-Ahead
- How Long Can You Keep This In The Fridge? Sour cream cookies with frosting can last up to a week in the fridge in an airtight container.
- Can You Freeze This? Yes, these sour cream cookies can be frozen for 3 months.
- Make-Ahead Tips: The dough can be made ahead and refrigerated. Cookie dough will last up to 1-2 days in the fridge. You can also bake the cookies ahead of time and then make the butter cream frosting the day you serve it.
- Food Safety: Here are some articles about cookie dough, cookies, and sour cream storage tips.
How to Make Sour Cream Cookies
- Combine butter and sugar.
- Cream it until light and fluffy.
- Stir in sour cream and lemon extract.
- Mix.
- Gradually mix the flour mixture into creamed butter mixture.
- Mix until the dough is combined.
- Bake. Add frosting.
See full instructions below.
More Delicious Cookie Recipes
- Danish Wedding Cookies
- Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies
- Haystack Cookies
- Peanut Butter Cookies
- Tollhouse Cookies
- Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
- Chocolate Chunk Cookies
- Chocolate Christmas Cookies
TRIED THIS RECIPE?
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Sour Cream Cookies
These sour cream cookies are fluffy, tender, and delicate. The rich buttercream is the perfect accompaniment. It's easy to make and perfect for any holiday!
Servings: 24 cookies
Ingredients
Cookies:
- 2 ¾ cups sifted all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 ½ cups white sugar
- 1 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
- 2 eggs, at room temperature
- ½ cup sour cream
- ½ teaspoon lemon extract
Buttercream Frosting
- 3/4 cup butter, at room temperature
- 3 cups confectioners sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3 tablespoons milk
Instructions
Make The Cookies:
- Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C). Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together flour (2 ¾ cups), baking powder (1 ½ teaspoons), baking soda (½ teaspoon), salt (½ teaspoon), and nutmeg (¼ teaspoon) until evenly combined.
- Using an electric mixer set on medium speed, cream together 1 1/2 cups sugar and butter (1 cup) until smooth and creamy, about 3 minutes. Stir in sour cream (½ cup) and lemon extract (½ teaspoon). Gradually mix the flour mixture into creamed butter mixture until the dough is combined.
- Add in eggs (2), one at a time, mixing until the yolk disappears.
- Drop dough by medium cookie scoops, about 3 inches apart, onto the prepared baking sheets.
- Bake in the preheated oven until edges just begin to brown ( the rest of the cookie will be pale), about 6-7 minutes. Transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.
Make The Frosting:
- Start frosting as the cookies bake. In a mixing bowl, using a handheld electric mixer, cream together butter (3/4 cup) and confectioners sugar (3 cups).
- Stir in vanilla (1 1/2 teaspoons) and milk (3 tablespoons) and mix until smooth. If the frosting is too thick, adjust by adding more, a little at a time.
- When cookies are completely cool, use an offset spatula to spread them on cookies.
Fans Also Made:
Notes
- Butter: Make sure the butter is at room temperature.
- Egg: Eggs need to be at room temperature as well. They blend into the dough better and create a smoother dough as well.
- Cookie Scoop: I used a medium cookie scoop with the dough leveled off to shape the cookies.
Nutrition
Serving: 1cookie | Calories: 294kcal | Carbohydrates: 39g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 15g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Cholesterol: 52mg | Sodium: 186mg | Potassium: 59mg | Sugar: 27g | Vitamin A: 466IU | Calcium: 27mg
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Delicious Kathleen. I love the cake texture of these cookies and the sour cream guarantee they will very moist.
Happy New Year!
Velva
That’s amazing! Thank you so much for your positive feedback. I’m so happy you like these cookies 🙂
This my new favorite cookies aside from your Italian Christmas Cookies. 🙂
Yaaay! Thanks, Ellen 🙂
Hello thank you for sharing this recipe…question, would it be ok to use real lemon juice rather than extract?
Hi Deborah. I’ve only made these with the extract. The lemon flavor is very light. I’m not sure how much fresh lemon juice would be needed to create the same flavor.
Is the butter salted or unsalted?
I used unsalted butter.:)