Sugar Cookie Recipe

This is my one and only sugar cookie recipe- handed down from my wonderful Aunt Jan.  These cookies are soft and layered and they stay soft with proper storing.  My aunt baked frosted sugar cookies for my birthday and would ship them to me each year until I was old enough to bake them on my own.  I'd say this recipe is one of the best gifts she has ever given me.  Wait, she still sends me huckleberry jam.  That's another favorite.

Sugar Cookie Recipe:

2 sticks of room temperature butter

2 cups of sugar

2 eggs

1 cup of sour cream

1 teaspoon of baking soda

2 teaspoons of vanilla extract

5-6 cups of flour

Preheat oven to 350F. Combine butter, sugar, eggs & sour cream. Add baking soda and vanilla extract. Stir. Add 5-6 cups of all-purpose flour. I bake at high altitiude, so I add 6 cups and then add more to the dough as I knead it on the rolling surface until the dough does not stick to my fingers, surface or rolling pin.  No need to chill this dough!

I roll my cookie dough on a large glass cutting board with a washcloth placed underneath so the glass doesn't slide as I roll. Roll dough to desired thickness:

Cut shapes with your selected cookie cutters.  If the cut out shapes stick to the surface, then add more flour.  You get a lot of leeway with this recipe as you add flour.  I keep a measuring cup of flour to the side to add as needed- lightly dusting the surface and the sometimes the top of the dough or rolling pin as I roll.

Here is a pan lined with parchment paper, but you can bake on the bare cookie sheet as I usually do:
Bake for approximately 8-10 minutes. I've used different ovens ranging from 4 minutes in a professional convection oven, to 7 minutes in an electric oven, to 12 minutes in a gas oven. Ovens vary. Different cookie sizes and thicknesses may also affect baking times. The first cookie sheet usually takes an extra minute or two.

If the edges begin to brown, you've baked too long. You want a nice even color and slight shine across the top of the cookie right before you remove from the oven.

The texture should be nice and smooth when you remove from the oven to cool.

Don't let the edges brown!

Again, these cookies will stay soft if you leave them out overnight.  They will stay soft for up to 3 weeks in a sealed container.  For longer than 3 weeks, store in a sealed container and place in the freezer.

Bottom of cookie- same color as top.  Don't let it brown

Ready to decorate!

For more decorating ideas, you can click here to the cookie tab at the top of the page.