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Soft Sour Cream Sugar Cookies

Yield: 36 Cookies (2 to 3 Dozen Depending on Size)
Prep Time: 1 hour
Cook Time: 9 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 9 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 cup (227 g) salted butter, softened
  • 2 cups (424 g) granulated sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 5 ½ cups (781 g) all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg, optional
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup (227 g) sour cream
  • 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda

Instructions 

  • In a large bowl with a handheld electric mixer (or in an electric stand mixer), cream together the butter and sugar for a minute or so. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix until well-combined.
  • Add the flour, baking powder, nutmeg (if using) and salt. Mix until combined; the mixture will be in little pieces.
  • In a separate bowl, stir together the sour cream and baking soda. The sour cream may foam a bit - that's totally normal.
  • Add the sour cream mixture to the cookie dough and mix until combined. Don't overmix - just until it is smooth and looks like sugar cookie dough.
  • Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1-2 hours.
  • Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
  • Roll the dough on a lightly floured counter to about 1/4-inch thick and cut into desired shapes, using additional flour on the counter or rolling pin as needed. Place the cutout cookies on a parchment or silpat lined baking sheet a couple inches apart and bake for 9-11 minutes, depending on the size and thickness of the cookies. Don't overbake. They'll be puffed up a bit and should be lightly browned (or not browned at all) on the bottoms; they'll be softer if there's no browning on the sides and top.
  • Let the cookies rest a minute or so on the baking sheet before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Notes

Flour Amount: there have been a lot of people reporting back about crumbly dough. The original recipe called for 6 1/2 cups flour but after making this over and over, I've changed the amount to 5 1/2 cups. I apologize for the issues (related to an automatic recipe conversion that happened a year or so ago). If you've had good luck using the original amount, stick with it, but I think the lesser flour amount will work better for most people.