Frosted Sour Cream Cutouts

These light and soft sugar cookies are a family favorite and can be decorated however you like!

Welcome to Day 11 of cookies and candies leading up to Christmas! (That sounded so cliche. Ick.) Anyway, today I’m sharing my husband’s #1 favorite Christmas cookie recipe, Sour Cream Cutouts. These cookies are definitely a tradition with his family, and now they are a tradition in our house as well. I contacted my mother-in-law for the recipe after Casey and I got married, and added Sour Cream Cutouts to our “holiday favorites” baking list. 🙂

Jump to Recipe!

Casey isn’t that into baking. Occasionally he might find himself in the mood to cook something, but most of the time he’s not particularly interested in what’s going on in the kitchen and would rather focus on other hobbies. That is, until the completed product is ready to eat. 😉 This works out well because our kitchen is fairly small, and when we try to make something together we usually find ourselves tripping over each other. With these cookies, however, he makes a once-a-year exception and joins me for rolling out, cutting, and snacking on the unbaked cookie dough. Sometimes I think he likes the dough more than the cookies. Confession: I usually eat some of the dough too. 😀 It’s a team effort, right?

These sugar cookies are light and soft, and perfect for slathering on loads of fluffy frosting. I used sprinkles to keep things simple this year, but I also like to get out my decorator tips and make fun designs when I have more time.

This recipe makes a TON of cookies. I only made half of the recipe at our house this year and still gave a good portion of them away to keep us from eating too many. The cookies also freeze well, so you can double bag them and pop them in the freezer to get out a few weeks later if you like.

I think Sour Cream Cutouts would be perfect for Easter too, with some different cookie cutters and pretty pastel frosting.

Happy baking!

Frosted Sour Cream Cutouts

Servings: about 6 dozen
Time: 1 hour hands-on time, 2-3 hours chill time
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Ingredients

Cookies:

2 cups refined sugar
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup sour cream OR Greek yogurt
3 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 teaspoons almond extract
5 1/2 cups unbleached, all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt

Frosting:

1 cup butter, softened
4 cups confectioner’s sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
2-4 teaspoons milk (as needed for desired consistency)

Directions

For cookies: In a large mixing bowl, beat sugar and butter until fluffy. Beat in sour cream, eggs, vanilla, and almond extract. In a separate bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cornstarch, and salt. Add gradually to wet ingredients, beating until blended and a soft dough forms. Cover and refrigerate for 2-3 hours or until firm.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Remove dough from fridge. Roll out to about 1/4th inch thickness, on a lightly floured surface. Cut into desired shapes using cookie cutters. Place cookies about 2 inches apart on parchment paper lined baking sheets. Bake for 6-8 minutes or just until bottoms of cookies are turning golden. Remove from baking sheets immediately to cool completely on wire racks.

For frosting: Meanwhile, beat butter and powdered sugar in mixing bowl until stiff frosting forms. Beat in vanilla and almond extract. Add milk, 1 teaspoon at a time, until icing reaches a spreadable consistency. Frost and decorate cooled cookies as desired.

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~K in the Kitchen