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Old-Fashioned Soft Cookies Recipe with Sour Cream

Old-Fashioned Soft Cookies

Tender sour cream sugar cookies with soft centers and lightly colored edges, finished with optional vanilla frosting and sprinkles. This recipe yields about 5 dozen cookies.
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Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 8 minutes
Total Time 1 minute
Servings: 5 servings
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Cookie Dough
  • 1 cup Unsalted or salted butter, softened
  • 1 1/2 cups Granulated sugar
  • 2 Large eggs, preferably room temperature
  • 1 cup Sour cream
  • 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
  • 4 cups All-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon Baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon Baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon Salt
Optional Frosting
  • 1/2 cup Butter, softened
  • 4 1/2 cups Confectioners' sugar
  • 1/3 cup Evaporated milk
  • 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
  • As desired Food coloring and sprinkles

Method
 

Step-by-Step
  1. Cream the softened butter and granulated sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then mix in the sour cream and vanilla extract.
  2. Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a separate bowl. Gradually add the dry mixture to the butter mixture, mixing only until combined.
  3. Cover the dough and refrigerate it for about 1 hour. Heat the oven to 375°F (190°C), then drop rounded tablespoonfuls onto greased or parchment-lined baking sheets, leaving about 2 inches between cookies.
  4. Bake for 8–10 minutes, until the cookies are set and the edges are only lightly colored. Cool them briefly on the baking sheet before transferring them to a wire rack.
  5. For the frosting, beat the softened butter, confectioners' sugar, evaporated milk, and vanilla until smooth. Tint with food coloring if desired, frost the cooled cookies, and add sprinkles.

Notes

Chill the soft dough before scooping so the cookies hold their shape. Remove them from the oven as soon as they are set; waiting for deep browning will make them less soft. Store frosted cookies in an airtight container.