I found the key ingredient to these very soft and chewy bites of heaven.......SOUR CREAM! The cookies can be rolled out thick or thin depending on your preference. You will just have to watch your baking time if you roll them thinner or thicker than the recipe calls for. A great tip I found while baking mine (because I tried some thicker than other) was when the bottom of the cookie started to look a bit brown, they were done!
Cut-out sugar cookies are popular for every occasion. All you need is THIS recipe and a collection of cookie cutters. I'm very excited to make these over and over again with Ella and "sunshine" when he/she is old enough thanks to this awesome cookie cutter set I found on Amazon (and my wonderful mom who is buying it for Ella as an Easter present). It seems a bit cheap but I used similar cookie cutters when making the Easter cookies above and found that it was great for little hands. There were no sharp edges like you find on some of those heavy metal cutters and the point of cut out cookies is for little hands TO HELP!!
I came across this recipe on The Yummy Life blog, so I really can't take any credit for just how awesome the recipe is, but I'm so glad Monica was willing to share it.
Cut-Out Sour Cream Sugar Cookies
By Monica
Servings: 5 dozen
Ingredients
- FOR COOKIE DOUGH:
- 5-1/2 cups flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup sour cream, room temperature
- 1 cup butter, softened
- 2 cups sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- FOR FROSTING (makes 1 cup of frosting): (I needed 2 cups for this recipe)
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons butter, softened
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 3-4 tablespoons canned evaporated milk
- food coloring (optional)
Directions
MAKE COOKIE DOUGH:
In large bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, & salt; set aside. In second large bowl, with an electric mixer, cream the sour cream and butter at low speed; add sugar, eggs, and vanilla & mix until combined. (It's okay if it's a little lumpy as long as no butter chunks are visible.) Gradually add the flour mixture to the sour cream mixture, mixing until well combined. Dough will be sticky. (If cookie dough is too thick for your mixture to handle, you can stir it by hand with a wooden spoon.) Divide dough onto two pieces of plastic wrap; flatten dough, wrap tightly, and refrigerate until chilled, 1-2 hours. (Make ahead tip: Dough may be made to this point and refrigerated for up to 3 days or frozen for up to 1 month.) I made my dough the day before and it was perfect the next morning when I was ready to roll it out and cut the shapes.
ROLL, CUT, & BAKE COOKIES:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside. Generously flour your counter or work surface to prevent dough from sticking. Rub flour on the rolling pin. Put one of the chilled pieces of dough on top of the floured surface and sprinkle the top of the dough with more flour. Starting at the center, roll the dough out to one edge; return to the center and roll to the opposite edge. Continue rolling until dough is an even 1/4" thick all over, sprinkling with additional flour, if needed, to avoid sticking. Dip cookie cutter in flour and cut out dough shapes. Transfer dough shapes to baking sheets. Continue rolling dough, cutting shapes, and adding to baking sheets until they are filled. Bake 2 sheets at a time for 8-10 minutes, rotating and switching pans half way through cooking time. Bake them just until they are baked all the way through but haven't started browning on the bottom. If a soft textured cookie is desired, it's very important not to over bake them. Transfer hot cookies to a baking rack to cool completely. (Make-ahead tip: Cooled, unfrosted cookies may be stacked in a sealed container and stored at room temperature for up to 3 days, or frozen for up to 2 weeks.) I didn't try freezing any but would be interested to see how they taste after being in the freezer. Because the batch makes so many for just the 3 of us, next time I will try and freeze some.
MAKE FROSTING:
Combine powdered sugar, softened butter, vanilla, and half of the evaporated milk in a large bowl. Use an electric mixer to combine ingredients on a low speed until its' a thick paste consistency and all of the lumps are gone. Gradually add remaining milk and continue mixing on medium speed until frosting is a smooth, silky, spreadable consistency. If it's still too thick, add more milk 1/2 teaspoon at a time until it's desired consistency. Mix in food coloring, if desired.
FROST & STORE COOKIES:
Frost each cookie and decorate with sprinkles while frosting is still wet. Leave out to dry for several hours until dry to touch before storing in an airtight container. If stacking frosted cookies, put waxed or parchment paper between layers.
In large bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, & salt; set aside. In second large bowl, with an electric mixer, cream the sour cream and butter at low speed; add sugar, eggs, and vanilla & mix until combined. (It's okay if it's a little lumpy as long as no butter chunks are visible.) Gradually add the flour mixture to the sour cream mixture, mixing until well combined. Dough will be sticky. (If cookie dough is too thick for your mixture to handle, you can stir it by hand with a wooden spoon.) Divide dough onto two pieces of plastic wrap; flatten dough, wrap tightly, and refrigerate until chilled, 1-2 hours. (Make ahead tip: Dough may be made to this point and refrigerated for up to 3 days or frozen for up to 1 month.) I made my dough the day before and it was perfect the next morning when I was ready to roll it out and cut the shapes.
ROLL, CUT, & BAKE COOKIES:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside. Generously flour your counter or work surface to prevent dough from sticking. Rub flour on the rolling pin. Put one of the chilled pieces of dough on top of the floured surface and sprinkle the top of the dough with more flour. Starting at the center, roll the dough out to one edge; return to the center and roll to the opposite edge. Continue rolling until dough is an even 1/4" thick all over, sprinkling with additional flour, if needed, to avoid sticking. Dip cookie cutter in flour and cut out dough shapes. Transfer dough shapes to baking sheets. Continue rolling dough, cutting shapes, and adding to baking sheets until they are filled. Bake 2 sheets at a time for 8-10 minutes, rotating and switching pans half way through cooking time. Bake them just until they are baked all the way through but haven't started browning on the bottom. If a soft textured cookie is desired, it's very important not to over bake them. Transfer hot cookies to a baking rack to cool completely. (Make-ahead tip: Cooled, unfrosted cookies may be stacked in a sealed container and stored at room temperature for up to 3 days, or frozen for up to 2 weeks.) I didn't try freezing any but would be interested to see how they taste after being in the freezer. Because the batch makes so many for just the 3 of us, next time I will try and freeze some.
MAKE FROSTING:
Combine powdered sugar, softened butter, vanilla, and half of the evaporated milk in a large bowl. Use an electric mixer to combine ingredients on a low speed until its' a thick paste consistency and all of the lumps are gone. Gradually add remaining milk and continue mixing on medium speed until frosting is a smooth, silky, spreadable consistency. If it's still too thick, add more milk 1/2 teaspoon at a time until it's desired consistency. Mix in food coloring, if desired.
FROST & STORE COOKIES:
Frost each cookie and decorate with sprinkles while frosting is still wet. Leave out to dry for several hours until dry to touch before storing in an airtight container. If stacking frosted cookies, put waxed or parchment paper between layers.
ENJOY!!
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