These sour cream cookies are light and fluffy, they are a no-chill cookie recipe, and they are topped with a creamy and delicious buttercream frosting.
Sour cream has an important role in these cookies. It gives these cookies the softest and melt-in-your-mouth texture that you will fall in love with!
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Why this recipe works
- This recipe is a not chill cookie recipe which means it's very straightforward and quick to make.
- They are topped with silky smooth buttercream frosting.
- These cookies have a soft, light, and fluffy texture that resembles a cake texture.
- These cookies can be decorated for any occasion, with green buttercream for Christmas, pink for valentines day, etc.
Ingredients
Before you start to make this recipe, measure and prepare your ingredients so the cooking process will go smoothly and easily.
Full measurements are in the recipe card below.
Butter- use unsalted butter for this recipe. Only butter will work for this recipe, no margarine, and no coconut oil. Margarine has a weird taste and can ruin the flavor of these delicious cookies.
Sour cream- use full-fat sour cream for this and ensure that it's at room temperature.
Flour– we used all-purpose flour for this recipe. cake flour will work great as well.
Baking soda and baking powder – baking soda and baking powder help the cookies rise and spread. Make sure that your levelers aren't expired.
Sugar- we used granulated sugar for this recipe. You can use caster sugar as well.
Eggs- you will need 1 large egg for this recipe. Make sure that your egg is at room temperature.
Vanilla extract- adds extra flavor.
Kosher salt- you will need about ½ teaspoon of kosher salt for this recipe.
For the buttercream (optional):
Butter- use unsalted butter for this recipe. If you want to use salted butter, skip the salt.
Powder sugar- you will need powdered sugar for this recipe. you don’t have to buy powdered sugar, you can simply make it at home by blending granulated sugar in a blender or food processor.
Kosher salt- to balance out the sweet flavor.
Vanilla extract- vanilla extract is an essential ingredient for frosting.
Heavy cream- use room temperature heavy cream. If you don't have heavy cream you can use milk instead.
Food coloring- this is optional, I highly recommend using gel food coloring. Use your favorite color. I added a drop of red to create a baby-pink color.
Instructions
Preheat an oven to 180c (350f) and prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Into a big mixing bowl, add the room temperature butter, and sugar, and cream it with an electric hand mixer for 2-3 minutes or until it's creamy and light in color.
Add the egg, sour cream, kosher salt, and vanilla extract, and mix until combined and creamy.
Then, add the flour, baking powder, and baking soda, and mix with the hand mixer until just combined. Do not overmix!
Use a 2 tbsp cookie scooper to scoop out the cookies or scoop the cookies with a regular tablespoon, 2 tablespoons at a time.
Bake in a 180c (350f) preheated oven for 10-11 minutes or until the cookies are puffed and they have a light golden brown color.
Let the cookies cool for 5 minutes, and then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Frost the cookies with the buttercream and sprinkle it with your favorite sprinkles if desired! Serve and enjoy.
Expert Tips
- Use room temperature ingredients. It is important that you use room-temperature ingredients like eggs and butter. This step ensures that your mixture mixes into a homogenous mixture and bakes perfectly.
- Don’t overmix the batter, you don’t want to develop the gluten in the flour. This step ensures you have moist cookies and not dense and dry cookies.
- Make sure that your butter is at room temperature. An hour or two before making these cookies, take the butter out of the fridge and let it come to room temperature. The butter should be soft to the touch. If your butter is too cold, it will be harder to mix and there will be lumps of butter in the dough.
- Measure your flour correctly! When measuring your flour, avoid scooping it with a measuring cup. Instead, stir the flour with a spoon to create as many air pockets as possible, and spoon it into your measuring cup. Finally, level it with a back of a knife.
- Line your sheet pan with parchment paper or a silicone mat! This step helps the cookies to bake evenly, and it makes sure that your cookies release easily from the pan.
- Use a cookies scoop to scoop out the cookies, that way you will have even-sized cookies, plus it ensures that your cookies bake evenly.
- Be patient! I know it’s extremely tempting to eat these cookies as they are pulled out of the oven, but let these cookies cool for at least 15 minutes so they will be more firm and won’t crumble up.
- We suggest letting these cookies cool for 5 minutes and then transferring them to a wire rack to cool for at least 10 more minutes. This step ensures that the bottom of your cookies will not be soggy from the steam.
Faq's
Your cookies should puff up and turn a light golden brown when they are ready. This usually takes about 10-11 minutes. You don't want to overbake them to keep them moist.
Yes! You can make the recipe as written, cover the bowl with the dough with plastic wrap, and let it chill in the fridge for a day or two. When you are ready to bake, follow the instructions exactly as written.
These cookies will last for up to 4 days stored at room temperature unfrosted or in the fridge frosted in an airtight container.
We use all-purpose flour for this recipe, and cake flour will work great as well.
Storing
If you frost these cookies, store them in the fridge because the frosting has a high dairy content. If you do not frost these cookies, you can store them at room temperature.
Make sure these are stored in an airtight container to prevent them from drying out.
Freezing
Bake these cookies according to the instructions, letting the cookies cool completely, and freezing them in an airtight freezer-friendly container for up to 2 months.
To thaw, place them at room temperature for 1-2 hours to defrost.
Substitutions
Gluten-free- you can swap the flour with gluten-free flour to make these gluten-free. I never tested this recipe with gluten-free flour, but it should work.
Dairy-free- it’s easy to make this recipe dairy-free. Simply replace the butter with vegan butter and use vegan sour cream.
Variations
Cinnamon- add ½ teaspoon of cinnamon to the cookie dough to add a delicious cinnamon flavor.
Flavors- you can add your favorite flavors to these cookies by using lemon extract, lavender extract, almond extract, etc.
Zest- you can add 1 teaspoon of lemon or orange zest for a delicious citrusy aroma.
More cookie recipes
Chocolate dipped shortbread cookies- These chocolate dipped shortbread cookies are crispy, melt in your mouth deliciously, and are dipped in your favorite chocolate! These cookies are made with only 5 ingredients!
Chewy pistachio cookies- These pistachio cookies are made with a chocolate chip cookie base filled with chopped pistachios and chocolate chunks and topped with flakey salt!
Lemon crinkle cookies- These lemon crinkle cookies are chewy and soft and are filled with lemon zest and lemon juice for a delicious citrus flavor.
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📖 Recipe
Sour Cream Cookies With Buttercream Frosting
Ingredients
- 115 g Butter
- 1 cup Granulated sugar
- ½ cup Sour cream
- 1 Egg
- ½ teaspoon Kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
- 2 cups Flour
- ½ teaspoon Baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon Baking soda
Buttercream frosting
- 115 g Butter
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
- 2 cups Powder sugar
- ½ teaspoon Kosher salt
- 3 tablespoon Heavy cream
- 1 drop Gel food color
Instructions
- Preheat an oven to 180c (350f) and prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Into a big mixing bowl, add the room temperature butter, and sugar, and cream it with an electric hand mixer for 2-3 minutes or until it's creamy and light in color.
- Add the egg, sour cream, kosher salt, and vanilla extract, and mix until combined and creamy.
- Then, add the flour, baking powder, and baking soda, and mix with the hand mixer until just combined. Do not overmix!
- Use a 2 tbsp cookie scooper to scoop out the cookies or scoop the cookies with a regular tablespoon, 2 tablespoons at a time.
- Bake in a 180c (350f) preheated oven for 10-11 minutes or until the cookies are puffed and they have a light golden brown color.
- Let the cookies cool for 5 minutes, and then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Make the buttercream frosting
- Into a big mixing bowl, add the room temperature butter, powder sugar, vanilla extract, a food coloring, and heavy cream. Mix with an electric hand mixer for a few minutes until the buttercream is light in color and creamy.
- Frost the cookies with the buttercream and sprinkle it with your favorite sprinkles if desired! Serve and enjoy.
Notes
- Use room temperature ingredients. It is important that you use room-temperature ingredients like eggs and butter. This step ensures that your mixture mixes into a homogenous mixture and bakes perfectly.
- Don’t overmix the batter, you don’t want to develop the gluten in the flour. This step ensures you have moist cookies and not dense and dry cookies.
- Make sure that your butter is at room temperature. An hour or two before making these cookies, take the butter out of the fridge and let it come to room temperature. The butter should be soft to the touch. If your butter is too cold, it will be harder to mix and there will be lumps of butter in the dough.
- Measure your flour correctly! When measuring your flour, avoid scooping it with a measuring cup. Instead, stir the flour with a spoon to create as many air pockets as possible, and spoon it into your measuring cup. Finally, level it with a back of a knife.
- Line your sheet pan with parchment paper or a silicone mat! This step helps the cookies to bake evenly, and it makes sure that your cookies release easily from the pan.
- Use a cookies scoop to scoop out the cookies, that way you will have even-sized cookies, plus it ensures that your cookies bake evenly.
- Be patient! I know it’s extremely tempting to eat these cookies as they are pulled out of the oven, but let these cookies cool for at least 15 minutes so they will be more firm and won’t crumble up.
- We suggest letting these cookies cool for 5 minutes and then transferring them to a wire rack to cool for at least 10 more minutes. This step ensures that the bottom of your cookies will not be soggy from the steam.
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