The other day we had some sort of freak cold front roll through here in June and let me just tell you that the 69 degree weather that day had me inspired to turn my oven on for one of the FEW times during the summer. I ended up making chili and these absolutely delicious Lightened-Up S’more Chocolate Chip Cookies.
What’s a s’more cookie? Well, it’s everything that you love about a s’more… put into a cookie! Not just any cookie though. The base chocolate chip cookie here is pretty damn good all on it’s own. But, add on the graham, chocolate chunks, and marshmallows and you’ve got one heavenly cookie.
Copycat Swig Sugar Cookies are buttery, soft and somewhere in between a sugar cookie and shortbread, with a little bit of delicious frosting on top! This sugar cookie recipe doesn’t require any chilling and you don’t have to roll them out either! The best copycat Swig cookie recipe that I’ve ever tried!
What are Swig Sugar Cookies?
Swig Sugar Cookies are easier to make than traditional sugar cookies because you don’t have to roll out the dough! Have you tried the sugar cookies from Swig? (Swig is a popular cookie and soda shop with locations all over Utah.) I’m going to be completely honest and in the spirit of full disclosure confess that I’ve never actually had a Swig cookie but I’ve heard so many people rave about them and have seen so many copycat recipes that I felt like I needed to see what all the hype was all about.
I have tried several copycat recipes now and ended up combining elements from several of them to create an amazing cookie – I can’t verify that it tastes just like a Swig cookie because I’ve never had one, but these cookies look like Swig cookies and my husband has declared that they are the best sugar cookies I’ve ever made so I consider them a success!
Tips for making the best sugar cookies
Do not melt the butter! The butter needs to be softened (at room temperature), but using melted butter will ruin the cookies.
Spend a little extra time when you mix the butter/shortening and sugars. Creaming them together for 2-3 minutes will improve the consistency of your cookies.
Preheat the oven. This will help your cookies turn out right every time!
Use parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Doing this will make it really easy to remove the cookies from your cookie sheet so that you don’t have to scrape them off the pan – they will just slide right off in perfect shape!
Make sure that you don’t press the cookies too thin! You want them to be about 1/4 of an inch thick. If the cookies are too thin, they will get crispy and not be the deliciously thick and soft cookies that you are hoping for!
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!
Ingredients in Swig Sugar Cookies
1 cup butter, softened to room temperature
3/4 cup Butter Flavored Crisco (I also used coconut oil once and it worked amazingly – it does add a slight coconut flavor though)
1 1/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup powdered sugar
2 Tbsp milk
2 eggs
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp Cream of Tartar
1 tsp salt
5 1/2 cups flour
How to make Swig Sugar Cookies
In a large mixing bowl (or stand mixer), cream together butter, Crisco, sugar, powdered sugar and milk.
Add eggs and mix until well combined.
In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda, cream of tartar and salt. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix until smooth and well combined.
Roll the dough into *1-inch balls and place on a greased cookie sheet. Spray the bottom of a glass or measuring cup with cooking spray and then dip into a plate coated with a thin layer of sugar. Press each ball down slightly to get the rough edge that Swig cookies are known for. You don’t want to smash them too thin because these cookies are best when they are thick and soft.
Bake for 8-9 minutes at 350°. Cool completely on wire racks and then frost.
*If you make 1-inch balls, you should get closer to 48 cookies from one batch. Sometimes I use a larger cookie scoop and make 24-28 cookies. If you make them larger, the cook time will be closer to 9 minutes, the smaller cookies will be done closer to 8.
Ingredients in sugar cookie frosting
The frosting on these cookies perfectly complements the flavor of the cookie so don’t be tempted to try a different kind of frosting! I know it seems a little strange to put sour cream in the frosting, but I promise you will love it. Trust me!
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 Tbsp sour cream
4 cups powdered sugar
2 tsp vanilla
food coloring (if desired)
1-2 Tbsp of milk, to consistency
How to make Swig Sugar Cookie frosting
To make the frosting, just mix the butter, sour cream, powdered sugar and vanilla together with an electric mixer until well combined. Add food coloring if desired and then add the milk, just a little bit at a time to get the consistency that you want.
COPYCAT SWIG SUGAR COOKIES
Swig Sugar Cookies are buttery, soft and somewhere in between a sugar cookie and shortbread, with a little bit of delicious frosting on top!
Print Pin Rate
Course: Cookies
Cuisine: American
Keyword: swig sugar cookies
Prep Time: 15minutes
Cook Time: 10minutes
Total Time: 25minutes
Servings: 36cookies
Author: Butter With a Side of Bread
Ingredients
1cupbutter softened
3/4cupButter Flavored CriscoI also used coconut oil once and it worked amazingly – it does add a slight coconut flavor though
1 1/4cupsugar
3/4cuppowdered sugar
2Tbspmilk
2eggs
1/2tspbaking soda
1/2tspCream of Tartar
1tspsalt
5 1/2cupsflour
Frosting
1/2cupbuttersoftened
2Tbspsour cream
4cupspowdered sugar
2tspvanilla
food coloringif desired
1-2Tbspof milkto consistency
Instructions
In a large mixing bowl (or stand mixer), cream together butter, Crisco, sugar, powdered sugar and milk.
Add eggs and mix until well combined. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda, cream of tartar and salt.
Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix until smooth and well combined.
Roll the dough into 1-inch balls and place on a greased cookie sheet.
Spray the bottom of a glass or measuring cup with cooking spray and then dip into a plate coated with a thin layer of sugar. Press each ball down slightly to get the rough edge that Swig cookies are known for. You don’t want to smash them too thin because these cookies are best when they are thick and soft.
Bake for 8-9 minutes at 350. Cool on wire racks and then frost.
To make the frosting, mix all of the ingredients except for the milk until well combined. Add milk to desired consistency and then frost the cooled cookies.
Notes
If you make 1-inch balls, you should get closer to 48 cookies from one batch. Sometimes I use a larger cookie scoop and make 24-28 cookies. If you make them larger, the cook time will be closer to 9 minutes, the smaller cookies will be done closer to 8.
Can you freeze sugar cookies?
I have made these cookies many times and have had the best luck with baking the cookies and then freezing them without the frosting. Just place the completely cooled cookies in an airtight container or ziplock freezer bag and they can be frozen for up to a couple of months. A few hours before serving, pull them out of the freezer and lay them out to thaw. Make the frosting and then frost the thawed cookies.
You can also freeze the dough once it has been formed into balls. Lay the balls out onto a baking sheet and freeze them individually for about an hour and then place all of the frozen balls into a ziplock freezer bag. When you are ready to bake them, lay the balls out on a baking sheet and let them thaw so that you can press them down. Bake like normal, cool and then frost.
How do you soften butter to room temperature?
The best way to soften butter is to set it out for a few hours before you make your cookies. Since most of us (or maybe just me!) aren’t that prepared or don’t think that far in advance, there are a few tricks to softening butter perfectly in just a matter of minutes.
My favorite way to soften butter is in the microwave. It’s definitely fast, but you do have to be very careful not to melt it. Just put the whole stick of butter in the microwave (as long as it isn’t wrapped in foil!) and microwave for about 6-7 seconds. If the butter is still really cold, try another 5-7 seconds and check it again. You may need a few intervals, and if the butter is starting to feel soft, you can shorten the final interval to just a few seconds to make sure it doesn’t start melting.
I actually prefer to use the defrost setting on my microwave – I don’t know exactly what that mode does differently, and it takes a little bit longer (closer to 30 seconds), but it seems to be easier to get the butter to soften without melting.
Love cookies? So do we! Here are some of our other favorite cookie recipes:
Copycat Swig Sugar Cookies don’t require any chilling or rolling out and this is the best copycat Swig cookie recipe that I’ve ever tried! This sugar cookie recipe yields soft and buttery cookies that are topped with the most delicious frosting!
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Patriotic Jello Sugar Cookies are easy to make with red and blue jello and a simple buttercream frosting that can be flavored to match! These sugar cookies can be rolled and cut out into shapes or just quickly scooped out into balls.
Patriotic Jello Sugar Cookies are made like regular sugar cookies but you can add your favorite red and blue Jello flavors to the dough! The Jello adds a very strong flavor, so you can make cherry cookies, strawberry cookies, blue raspberry cookies – any flavor you want! If you reserve a little bit of the Jello powder before adding it to the cookie dough, you can use it to flavor the buttercream frosting to match. Or you could mix and match – blue raspberry cookies with strawberry frosting or cherry cookies with blueberry frosting. So many possibilities!
The best part is that you can choose if you want to roll them out and cut shapes or you can just make regular ball-shaped cookies and the frosting is also optional. Since the Jello adds so much flavor and color to the cookies, you honestly don’t really need fancy shapes or frosting and the cookies are delicious (and cute!) just plain. I’ve made the sugar cookies both ways and both were a huge hit.
What ingredients are in Jello Sugar Cookies?
1 cup butter, softened to room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 (3 oz) box Jello (any red or blue flavor will work!)
3 eggs
3 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
If you want to add frosting, you’ll just need a few basic ingredients.
1/4 cup butter, softened to room temperature
1 Tbsp sour cream
2 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1-2 Tbsp milk
How do you make Jello sugar cookies?
To start making this sugar cookie recipe, you will cream the butter and sugar together with the Jello powder. Next you will add the eggs and mix everything until well combined. Add in the dry ingredients and mix some more. At this point, you can scoop the dough and roll into balls to cook immediately, or you can chill the dough for a couple of hours if you want to roll it out and cut it into shapes.
If you are rolling the dough into balls, I like to scoop the dough out with a cookie scoop. This helps to ensure that all of the balls are the same size and it is just so easy – I’m not sure how I ever made cookies without it. Scoop the dough and then roll it between your hands to make a smooth ball. Place the dough balls on a cookie sheet.
Spray the bottom of a flat glass or measuring cup with cooking spray. Place a little bit of sugar onto a plate and then press the prepared measuring cup into the sugar. Press each dough ball down slightly, just until flat. You don’t want to smash them down too much – you still want your cookies to be soft and thick, but pressing them down helps them to bake more evenly and also provides you with a nice flat surface on top for frosting. You will not need to re-spray the measuring cup in between each cookie, but you will want to press it into the sugar in between pressing each cookie ball. Bake for 8-9 minutes at 375°.
How do you make cut out sugar cookies?
Once the dough has chilled for at least 2 hours (you can chill it longer – even overnight), divide it in half. Prepare the surface that you where you will be rolling out the dough. You can prepare the surface in any of these ways:
–Flour. Sprinkle a little bit of flour onto your countertop and make sure that the flour is covering the entire surface where your dough will be rolled out.
–Cooking spray or oil can also be used to coat the surface where you will be rolling your dough out.
–Wax paper. This method is definitely the easiest one to clean up!
Use a rolling pin to roll out the dough. The dough is much easier to handle and work with if you have divided it into halves (or even thirds) before rolling it out. The dough should be about 1/4″ thick. Use cookie cutters to cut out shapes in the dough and place the cut out shapes onto a prepared cookie sheet. Bake at 375° for 8-9 minutes.
How do you make sugar cookie frosting?
This sugar cookie frosting is made with butter, sour cream, powdered sugar, vanilla and a little bit of milk. I prefer this buttercream frosting on sugar cookies – it pairs so well with a soft and chewy cookie! If you want to flavor the frosting to match the cookie, reserve a tablespoon of the Jello powder before making the cookie dough and then add that reserved amount to the frosting. This adds color and an amazing amount of flavor to the frosting!
PATRIOTIC JELLO SUGAR COOKIES
Patriotic Jello Sugar Cookies are easy to make with red and blue jello and a simple buttercream frosting that can be flavored to match! These sugar cookies can be rolled and cut out into shapes or just quickly scooped out into balls.
Print Pin Rate
Course: Cookies
Cuisine: American
Keyword: jello sugar cookies
Prep Time: 10minutes
Cook Time: 1hour10minutes
Servings: 30cookies
Ingredients
1cupbuttersoftened to room temperature
1cupsugar
13 obox Jello (reserve 1-2 Tbsp for frosting if desired
3eggs
3cupsflour
1tspbaking powder
1/2tspsalt
FROSTING
1/4cupbuttersoftened to room temperature
1Tbspsour cream
2cupspowdered sugar
1tspvanilla extract
1-2Tbspmilk
1Tbspreserved Jello
Instructions
Cream butter and sugar together for about 2 minutes with an electric mixer.
Add Jello and continue to mix for 1-2 minutes.
Add eggs and mix well.
Mix flour, baking powder and salt together in a separate bowl and then add to the Jello mixture. Mix just until thoroughly combined.
If rolling into ball, scoop the dough out by tablespoons and roll into smooth balls. Place on prepared cookie sheet. Spray the bottom of a measuring cup with cooking spray and then press the measuring cup onto a plate with a thin layer of sugar on it. Press each cookie ball with the bottom of the measuring cup, dipping into the sugar in between each cookie.
If making cut-out cookies, chill the dough for at least 2 hours. Divide in half and roll out each half to about 1/4″ thick. Cut out shapes and place on a prepared cookie sheet.
Bake cookies at 375° for 8-9 minutes.
Let cool and then add frosting if desired.
FROSTING
Mix butter, sour cream, 2 cups powdered sugar, 1 tsp vanilla and reserved Jello power with an electric mixer until smooth. Add milk 1/2 Tbsp at a time until the mixture reaches desired consistency.
Tips for making the best sugar cookies
Sugar cookie dough is sticky, but once it’s sufficiently chilled, it’s much more workable. Resist the urge to add more flour to the dough before chilling! If you add too much flour, the ratio of wet to dry ingredients is off and the cookies end up drier and more crumbly.
Do not melt the butter! The butter needs to be softened (at room temperature), but using melted butter will ruin the cookies.
Spend a little extra time when you mix the butter and sugars. Creaming them together for 2-3 minutes will improve the consistency of your cookies.
Preheat the oven. This will help your cookies turn out right every time!
Use parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Doing this will make it really easy to remove the cookies from your cookie sheet so that you don’t have to scrape them off the pan – they will just slide right off in perfect shape!
Make sure that you don’t roll out the dough too thin before cutting your sugar cookies out. You want the dough to be about 1/4″ thick. If the dough is too thin, your cookies will be crispy and hard and easily breakable, but if the dough is too thick, the cookies may not bake all the way through the middle.
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!
Want to see more patriotic recipes? Here are a few favorites:
Patriotic Jello Sugar Cookies are made with your favorite flavor of red or blue jello mixed into the cookie dough and the buttercream frosting too! These sugar cookies can be rolled and cut out into shapes or just quickly scooped out into balls.
Related
We send FREE RECIPE cards every month! Want ’em?
FREE Printable Recipe Cards + have access to our FREE 15-Minute Meals!
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