I never make just one batch of these sour cream cookies. They come out soft and tender, I frost them in whatever color the occasion calls for, and they rarely last a day in my house.
They’re my go-to holiday-tray and cookie-exchange cookie, the one I get asked to make again and again. There’s no dough to chill, so you can mix, bake, and frost them all in the same afternoon.
You will sometimes see these called Amish sour cream cookies, the soft, old-fashioned kind that has been on holiday tables for generations, and my Amish sugar cookies come from that same tradition.
Read Before You Start
The dough is supposed to be thick and scoopable, not a loose batter you chill for hours. That is by design, and it is why there is no chilling step.
If the dough looks stiffer than other cookie doughs you have made, resist the urge to thin it or add flour to firm it up. Extra flour is the fastest way to turn these dry and bready instead of soft.
Ingredient Notes
- Sour cream: Use full-fat and skip the light version here. The fat is part of the structure, not just the flavor. Low-fat sour cream carries more water, which loosens the batter, and a looser batter spreads more and bakes into a thinner cookie instead of the thick, soft one this recipe is built around.
Let the sour cream come to room temperature or you’ll have streaks in your finished cookie.
- If you want the same soft cookie with a brighter frosting, my lemon sugar cookies take the citrus route.
Note From Recipe Testing
If you have found these too sweet before, that was almost certainly an unsalted frosting. It is the most common complaint readers leave on sour cream cookie recipes. The salt in this frosting is doing real work to cut the sweetness, so do not treat it as optional.
Leave it out and you have the one-note sweet frosting you were trying to get away from.
I change the frosting colors depending on the season. For instance, on my holiday tray these are frosted in green and red and go right next to my secret kiss cookies, eclair cookies and Christmas pinwheel cookies.
How To Know The Cookies Are Done
Take them while they still look almost underdone. The edges should be barely tinted, not golden, and the centers should look set and matte rather than wet or shiny.
Sour cream cookies keep cooking on the hot sheet after they come out, so the color you want at the oven door is paler than you think.
Make-Ahead and Freezing
These freeze two ways:
- I freeze the scooped dough balls on a tray, then bag them once they are solid and bake them from frozen. It’s how I keep a holiday-ready stash on hand.
- Or I freeze the baked cookies unfrosted and frost them after they thaw, so the swirl goes on clean and the sprinkles sit on fresh frosting.
This recipe was originally posted in October 2024 and republished with new photos and a creamier frosting in 2026.
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Sour Cream Cookies
Ingredients
Cookies
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 ⅓ cups granulated sugar
- 1 cup sour cream
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 large egg yolk, room temperature
- 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Frosting
- 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- 4 cups powdered sugar, sifted
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 3 to 4 tablespoons heavy cream (start with 3 tablespoons and add the 4th if needed for consistency)
- 2 to 3 drops Gel food coloring
Optional Garnish
- Rainbow-colored nonpareil sprinkles
Instructions
Cookies
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line 3 large baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
- Sift together the all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl, set aside.
- In a large bowl cream together, using a handheld mixer on medium speed, the unsalted butter and granulated sugar for 2-3 minutes or until light and fluffy.
- Add the eggs and egg yolk, one at a time being sure to incorporate well between each addition, sour cream, and vanilla to the bowl. Mix on medium speed just until combined.
- Add the dry ingredients to the bowl of wet ingredients and mix on low just until fully combined. The batter will be thick.
- Scoop out 12 level scoops (using a 1.5 tablespoon sized cookie scoop) onto each of the prepared baking sheets being sure that the dough balls are spaced about 2 inches apart.
- Bake for 10-11 minutes or just until the edges are very lightly browned and the centers are set. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. If needed, rotate the baking sheets half way through to ensure even baking.
Frosting
- To the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium-high speed for 2-3 minutes or until light and fluffy.
- Add the powdered sugar, vanilla extract, salt, and 3 tablespoons of heavy cream. Beat on low speed until all the powdered sugar is incorporated then increase the speed to medium and beat until light and fluffy. The frosting should be thick enough to hold its shape when spread onto the cooled cookies. If too thick, beat in the additional 1 tablespoon heavy cream.
- Add gel food coloring (starting with 2-3 drops and adding more until desired color achieved) mixing until no streaks remain and the frosting is uniformly colored.
- Once the cookies are completely cooled, spread the frosting evenly over the tops of each cookie and garnish with rainbow-colored nonpareil sprinkles if desired.
Notes
- The color of the frosting, and sprinkles, can be customized to coordinate with holidays, sports teams, birthdays or any special occasion.
- For multiple colors of frosting, divide the white frosting evenly between 2-3 smaller bowls. Add 1-2 drops of desired gel food coloring, stirring until fully incorporated and desired color is reached.
- Full-fat sour cream is recommended for the best taste and texture of the cookies.
Nutrition
Comments
lynn Doane says
Looks very good. I am more of a candy person. But come Christmas, I may try these.
Tracy Goff says
Mmm mmm good
Deborah Barnes says
Love fresh cookies, never have heard of this kind before;. thanks for info
Heather N says
I always have to triple the recipe…if not they’re gone in 2 days!
Angie says
Soft and fluffy and so easy to do!!
My kids scarfed these down so fast!!! LoL.
Gail Black says
Kids loved them
Jani says
My Mom always made these cookies and they were so good!!