Sugar Cookies, FINALLY

I know, I know you have been begging me for this recipe for so long and the day has finally come. (PIN IT HERE) I alway put it off thinking I need better pictures of the process. Ya know, pictures of my KitchenAid and all the ingredients laid out perfectly. Well, I’ve come to accept that those pictures will probably never exsist because honestly, that’s just not how I bake. I bake when my kids are sleeping (night baking doesn’t lend itself to pretty pictures) or bouncing back and forth from the kitchen to wherever my kids are playing kissing boo boos and opening baggies of goldfish. But today is the day, and guess what, still no pictures of the process. (Sorry, but also kinda not.)

These are my favorite sugar cookies for a few reasons. First, the frosting. YOU GUYS. This is a vanilla sour cream frosting and it will rock your world. The cookies are sweet, but not so sweet you can’t enjoy a big heap of that frosting. Second, NO CHILLING or ROLLING. *raises the roof* (#90sgirlforlife). Thirdly, the texture is soft and dense and buttery, but with crispy little edges. It checks all the texture boxes. And lastly, you can color the frosting any color and add a variety of sprinkles or candies to fit any theme. (This makes them especially fun to make decorate with your kids.)

Guys, my kids decorated these ones!!! ^^^ With coordinating frosting and sprinkles, its hard to go wrong! Here are a few of our favorite combinations. (links below)

Before I get to the recipe, here are a few tips to make sure you’re successful.

BUTTER TEMPERATURE
I talk about this in every baking post I’ve ever written. If this is your first time reading one of my recipes click here or here to read about why butter temperature matters. If you don’t want to click through, I’ll just give you the short version. Make sure your butter is soft, but not melted. Ideally leave it out over night before you bake. If you need it last minute, chop it into 1/2 inch cubes and let it sit out for 20-30 min.

DOUGH TEXTURE
This dough will be light and very soft, but should not be wet. It should not stick to your fingers when you touch it. If your dough is really wet and sticky, you may need a touch more flour. Sometimes on a humid day I have to add an extra 1/4 cup or so.

SMUSHING
When smushing your cookies, you’ll want to make sure they stay nice and thick. We’re talking almost half an inch. So, make sure you’re using the right size cup or jar or whatever you’re smushing with so that you get a little lip around the cookie and the edges crack, but without having to smush it down too thin. This may take some trial and error. I use two different size mason jars depending on what size of cookie I’m making. The perfect smush will give you a half inch thick cookie with a lip and cracked edges. Each will ensure you have a moist cookie with crunch edges.

BAKING TIME
You do not want to bake these cookies to golden brown. Pull the cookies out as soon as the shiny wetness is gone from the top. You may see the sliiiiiiightest golden around the edges which is fine, but no more than that! Stay nearby the oven for the first tray to figure out how long it takes to get there, then use that time with the rest of the trays.

Okay, enough chatting. On to the recipe, which is what you all came for anyways!!!

SUGAR COOKIES

Ingredients

1 C       butter
3/4 C    vegetable oil
1 1/4 C white sugar
3/4 C    powdered sugar
2 TB     water
2           eggs
5 1/2 C AP flour
1 tsp     salt
1/2 tsp  baking soda
1/2 tsp  cream of tartar
extra sugar for smushing

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Measure all dry ingredients into a bowl, run a fork through to break up lumps, and set aside.
3. In a mixer cream butter, oil and sugars until light and fluffy.
4. Add eggs one at a time
5. Gradually add dry ingredients
6. Scoop large scoops onto ungreased tray
7. Dip a jar or cup in sugar and use to smush cookies to 1/3 - 1/2 inch. Use something small enough to maintain a thick cookie with a lip and cracked edges. (see above if this is confusing)
8. Bake for about 8 minutes (more or less depending on cookie size)

VANILLA SOUR CREAM FROSTING

3/4 C butter
3/4 C sour cream
2 tsp  vanilla
8 C    powdered sugar
splash of milk or buttermilk

1. Mix butter and sour cream and vanilla together. It is ESSENTIAL that your butter and sour cream are both room temperature. If either one is cold, you'll get a lumpy frosting.
2. Gradually add powdered sugar
3. Add a splash of milk as the frosting gets thicker. If you add too much, no worries, you'll just add a little more powder sugar.
4. This is a pretty loose frosting. It won't get very stiff, but shouldn't be runny.
**If you need the frosting to set once on the cookies, toss them in the fridge for 20 minutes, or just let them set on the counter for a while. You will be able to stack them as long as they are set before you do so.

Okay, now go make these ASAP and blow up my instagram with the results!!

LINKS

gold sprinkles | heart sprinkles | snowflake sprinkles | rainbow jimmies | gold stars | bug sprinkles | frog toys

Disclosure: this post contains some affiliate links which it won't cost you anything extra, but I may earn a commission if you click my link and make a purchase. :)