Super Soft Sugar Cookies made with butter, sugar, flour & sour cream for great flavor and soft texture! Softest sugar cookies you’ve ever had- & they decorate beautifully! Save this recipe!

Soft sugar cookies are one of the greatest things about holiday baking. Of course, you don’t need a holiday or reason to break out the best cut out sugar cookie recipe in the world (and that’s exactly what this is!)

Best Sugar Cookie Recipe

I’m going to make a confession right now and admit that I’m a little bit obsessive about cookies.  Not necessarily because I really love eating them (I’m actually more of a dough fanatic), but because I am constantly on a quest to find the absolute best cookie recipes.  I’ve spent years trying many different sugar cookie recipes and although they are all similar and pretty yummy, I do believe this recipe is the best one I have found yet! It produces thick, soft cookies, which is an absolute must for me!

How do you keep sugar cookies soft?

There are many different tips and tricks out there for soft cookies, but not all of them work. With these cookies, the sour cream in the dough really helps. Another big thing is to make sure that you don’t roll out your cookie dough too thin or else it would turn into a cracker and lose its softness after its baked. After they’ve finished baking, make sure to let them cool completely and keep stored in an airtight container or Ziploc bag to keep them fresh and soft for as long as possible.

How long will decorated sugar cookies last?

If you keep your decorated sugar cookies properly stored, you can expect them to last up to a week at room temperature and be just fine.

Super Soft Sugar Cookies Ingredients

-granulated sugar

-softened butter: I use salted butter, but you can use unsalted if you prefer. No margarine!

-1 egg

-vanilla extract: I suggest using a good quality vanilla extract or a Vanilla Bean Paste. I linked my favorites!

-sour cream: adds to the soft texture of the cookies. You can use plain or vanilla Greek yogurt instead.

-salt & baking soda: leavening agent and flavor! I always add a bit of salt to all my cookies- it doesn’t take much to make a difference!

-flour: you can use all purpose flour, bread flour, or even pastry flour in this recipe

Sugar Cookie Frosting Ingredients

-butter: Again, I use salted butter, but you can use unsalted if you prefer. No margarine!

-powdered sugar

-milk: you can use almond milk, coconut milk or cashew milk in place of cow’s milk

-vanilla: soo note above about what vanilla I use. I’m a huge proponent of good, high quality vanilla! The brand I love isn’t crazy expensive either.

How to Make Super Soft Sugar Cookies

In a bowl, cream together the sugar and butter. Add in the egg and the vanilla and mix well.

In a separate bowl, combine the sour cream, salt, and baking soda. Add the flour and sour cream to butter mixture, beat until smooth.

Cover the bowl and chill the dough for several hours.

Roll it out and then and cut with shaped cookie cutters.  Bake at 375 degrees F for 10 minutes.

Make sure not to over-bake your cookies.  They may not even look totally done on the tops, but if the bottoms start to brown, I take mine out and they are perfect!

After the cookies are cooled, decorate them however you want!  This frosting recipe is very basic, yet it is one of my favorites!

How to Make Sugar Cookie Frosting

In a mixing bowl, beat the butter until smooth.  Beat in the remaining ingredients until smooth, about 2 minutes.

Add in additional milk a little at a time if a thinner consistency is desired.  (I had a little bit of half and half in the fridge that I needed to use up, so I used that instead of milk- I figured a few more calories wouldn’t matter much at this point)!