These Soft Frosted Sugar Cookies are perfectly delicious! A soft and sweet cookie with fluffy buttercream frosting! This is the only sugar cookie recipe you’ll ever need!
Valentine’s Day is coming! The kids begged to put up our decorations last weekend, so we did. Whenever this special day rolls around, I can’t stop thinking about sugar cookies. Something about Valentine’s Day and sugar cookies just go together!
I typically always make these phenomenal Sugar Cookies. But I decided to try my hand at coming up with a new recipe, this time with almond extract. I love the unique and amazing flavor almond extract lends to baked goods! I have to say, I can’t pick which which sugar cookie recipe is my favorite between the two. So I’ll be alternating between them.
There’s something you have to know about me. I detest crispy, hard sugar cookies. I feel like they’re not worth the calories. There’s so many ways I’d rather satisfy my sweet tooth craving than with a crunchy sugar cookie.
But give me a soft frosted sugar cookie like these and I’ll never say “no”. In fact, I’ll have to stop myself from eating the whole batch. 🙂
The key to making the perfectly soft sugar cookie is first using the right recipe. I’ve found that sour cream makes the resulting cookie really soft! Also, they need to be rolled out on the thicker side. But the biggest contributing factor is baking time. These are baked at a higher temperature than your typical cookie (375 Fahrenheit). But you only bake them for 7 to 8 minutes max. I do 7.
I always laugh and cringe when we watch “Jingle All the Way” when the guy is at their house baking sugar cookies and he says something to the effect of, “I know, I know. Bake them for 12-15 minutes till golden brown.” Please promise that you won’t bake these for 12-15 minutes, or any sugar cookie for that matter. They’ll be rock solid!
Soft Frosted Sugar Cookies
Ingredients
- 3/4 c. butter softened
- 1 1/2 c. sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp. almond extract
- 1/2 c. sour cream full fat
- 3 c. all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
- 3/4 tsp. salt
- Buttercream frosting:
- 3/4 c. butter softened
- 5 1/4 c. powdered sugar
- 3/4 tsp. almond extract
- 3-4 Tbsp. milk a little more or less-just enough for thinning
- Food coloring optional
- Sprinkles optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Line cookie sheets with nonstick baking liners or spray lightly with nonstick baking spray.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream together softened butter and sugar well.
- Add the egg, almond extract and sour cream and mix well, scraping down the sides of the bowl in between.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda and salt.
- Add flour mixture to wet mixture and mix just until combined.
- Flour a surface on the counter. Form about 1/3 of the dough into a ball and place it in the center of the floured surface. Flour a rolling pin and roll the dough evenly out to 1/4" or 1/3" thick.
- You want it to be thick so they'll be soft. Cut out into shapes and place the cutouts about 1 1/2" to 2" apart on the prepared cookie sheets.
- Gather up the remainder of the dough and add another 1/3 of the dough from the bowl to it. Form it into a smooth ball, add more flour to your surface, and place the ball in the center.
- Repeat the process, then add the leftover dough to the last bit of dough in your bowl. Roll into a smooth ball and repeat the process for rolling and cutting it out until all the dough is gone.
- Bake cookies for 7 to 8 minutes maximum. Let them cool for a few minutes on the cookie sheet before removing them carefully to a cooling rack to cool completely.
- For the frosting, cream together softened butter, powdered sugar, vanilla, and just enough milk for thinning. Add the milk a tablespoon at a time, mixing in between for a bit, until it's nice and creamy and spreadable, but not runny. Mix it for 4-5 minutes on high speed to make it extra creamy and fluffy!
- Frost and decorate cookies. Store in an airtight container.
These really are the perfect sugar cookie. I hope you get to make them soon!
If you love sugar cookies, be sure to also try these No Cutout Sugar Cookies and these Back to School Apple Sugar Cookies!
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