12 Cookies of Christmas, Day 9

Happy New Year!

Don’t worry–I didn’t have so much champers last night/this morning to forget that I owe you a cookie recipe. I also knew I should get this done before I start my NYD black eye peas and full day of lounging on the couch, working my way through last night’s left overs (you know, to clean out the fridge–I’m helpful like that!)

Today’s cookies are from One Good Thing–and let me tell you, these are amazing! IF I wouldn’t be so bad at decorating, they might be my favorite cookie of all time. But since they generally fall in the too hard basket, I save them for occasions where I’m feeling extra productive.

Also, let me clarify: they’re not hard to make by any stretch of the imagination. They are incredibly melt-in-your-mouth delicious. You should definitely give them a try and maybe double or triple the batch, so you have plenty to sample yourself.

Sour Cream Cookies

For the cookies:

3 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup shortening
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 cup sour cream
1 tsp vanilla extract

For the frosting:

2 cups powdered sugar
2 Tbsp butter, softened
1 tsp vanilla
2-3 Tbsp milk
4-5 drops food coloring

Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt to a mixing bowl, then stir to combine. Set aside.

In a large bowl/stand mixer bowl, mix the shortening and sugar together on medium-high speed until soft and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, fully mixing in before adding the second. Then add the sour cream and vanilla, mixing until creamy.

Reduce speed and slowly add flour mixture. Continue mixing until thoroughly blended. Dough will be quite sticky and will need to be chilled at least an hour before rolling and cutting.

When the dough is ready, preheat oven to 350F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or silicone baking mat. On a well-floured surface, roll dough out to ¼” thick and cut into shapes. Place on baking sheet, evenly spaced apart. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until edges just start to brown. Keep an eye on them–they tend to go from perfect to overbaked in the blink of an eye. Transfer to a wire rack and cool completely before decorating.

While cookies are cooling, make the frosting by mixing all the ingredients together and adjusting milk and powdered sugar as needed to get the frosting thick and fluffy. If you feel so adventurous, divide the frosting into smaller bowls and use food coloring to make various colors. Sprinkles are also great. And my favorite (as you can see in the picture below): red hots (or cinnamon imperials), which give a nice kick to the creaminess of the cookie.