Sugar and Spice | Ursula Boyd’s Great Grandma’s Sour Cream Frosted Cookies Recipe

Ursula Boyd - Seacrest Country Day School Cookie ExchangeUrsula Boyd shares her great grandmother’s recipe for Sour Cream Frosted cookies for Seacrest Country Day School‘s cookie exchange.

 

When Ursula Boyd and her family landed at Seacrest eight years ago, Boyd volunteered to work on the Gala for Treasures, the school’s largest fundraiser. At the time, she and two committee members were racking their brains for creative auction items when Boyd suggested a cookie-swap party. People could reserve a spot through the auction or purchase tickets later on. “We had 30 women sign up off the bat, so the school said, let’s start a tradition.” Boyd says the frosted confections she contributes to the event are softer than typical sugar cookies because of the sour cream in her great-grandmother’s recipe.

   “These cookies have become the “go-to” recipe in our house for the past 20 years! Unlike typical sugar cookies, these are soft and the sugar icing is delicious! I have served them at dozens of Christmas celebrations, Halloweens, birthdays, Easters, beach picnics and any other festive gathering in between. They can even be frozen (although I believe nothing is as good as freshly made!).”

 

Ursula Boyd shares her great grandmother's recipe for Sour Cream Frosted cookies for Seacrest Country Day School's cookie exchange.Great Grandma’s Sour Cream Frosted Cookies

Ingredients:

   For Cookies

  • 1 cup sour cream
  • 1 tsp. baking soda
  • 1 cup butter, softened
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 4 egg yolks, beaten
  • 1 tsp. vanilla
  • 4 cups flour
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • 1/4 tsp. nutmeg
  • Christmas Cookie Icing (recipe below)
  • Sprinkles, sugars and other toppings

Method:

  1. Mix sour cream with baking soda, and set aside.
  2. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar, then add egg yolks. Add sour cream-baking soda mixture to bowl, then add vanilla. 
  3. Sift flour before measuring and sift remaining dry ingredients together three times, then add to the mixture. 
  4. Chill dough in the refrigerator for a few hours, or better yet, overnight.
  5. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Knead half of dough on a floured surface to get it more “pliable” and better to work with. Keep other half of dough in the fridge. 
  6. Roll out kneaded dough on a floured surface and cut with cookie cutters. Cookies are better thicker than too thin! Repeat process with rest of dough.
  7. Place cookies on baking sheets, and bake 10 minutes or until the cookies are golden brown on bottom. Do not over-bake or they will be dry.
  8. When completely cool, decorate with icing and sprinkles. If not serving immediately, place cookies in fridge until icing dries—do not stack cookies until icing has hardened. If freezing, place wax paper in between and store in airtight containers.

For Chrismas Cookie Icing

Ingredients:

  • 2 Tbsp. butter
  • 2 Tbsp. milk (or more, if needed)
  • 1/4 tsp. vanilla
  • 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
  • Food coloring (optional)

Method:

  1. Melt the butter and milk over low heat.
  2. Add vanilla, then add powdered sugar. If icing is too thick, use more milk sparingly.
  3. If desired, add food coloring.
  4. Ice cookies immediately. If icing gets too thick to spread, zap in the microwave for 6 seconds then continue to ice cookies.

 

Cookie photography by Vanessa Rogers

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