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Frosted Lemon Sour Cream Sugar Cookies

written by Ashley Fehr

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4.08 from 14 votes
Prep Time 20 mins
Total Time 30 mins
Servings 24 cookies

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Published on March 28, 2017 / Last updated on March 22, 2021

These Lemon Sour Cream Sugar Cookies are soft, moist and loaded with lemon! There’s no chilling or rolling — just stir, drop, bake and frost (if you want to!). Perfect for Easter or Christmas baking. Includes how to recipe video

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long image of lemon sour cream cookies overhead on blue plate with lemon slices
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So I stumbled upon the recipe for these Sour Cream Sugar Cookies in the cookbook my Grandma made for me last fall.

I never would have guessed how popular it would become! The problem is, some people loved it and some people hated it.

The issue was that those who didn’t like the recipe really didn’t know what to expect — the cookies are soft and cakey. They are not sugar cookies for rolling or cutting, and they’re pretty delicate.

close up of lemon sour cream cookies with lemon frosting on blue plate

So I’m back again with another variation, obviously. Bring on the haters! 😉

I wanted to try leaving out some of the moisture this time to get a slightly firmer cookie. These cookies are still very soft, and cakey, and delicious. If you’re looking for a firm sugar cookie — this recipe is not it. But they melt in your mouth and will be gone in no time!

I also wanted to add lemon because we love lemon. We love it big time.

square image of lemon frosted sour cream cookies with lemon slices on blue plate

With Easter coming up, my mind always goes to fresh, Springy flavors and potluck foods. Easter is a bit of a wildcard here in Manitoba — it can be cold, it can be really cold, or it can be pretty warm. You never really know what you’re going to get!

Regardless of what the temperature is, I am always so ready for Spring. The winter is long and cold and snowy and blowy and we are all anticipating blue skies and green grasses. Bring on the fresh, fruity treats! (And swimsuit-friendly meals… )

I would love to hear what your favorite Spring meals or treats are! Smoothies, popsicles, fruit salads, Easter meals? I’m itching for some fresh inspiration!

If you haven’t yet, be sure to join my Facebook group to stay up to date on new recipes and take part in polls and surveys to help me pick the best recipes to show you here!

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Frosted Lemon Sour Cream Sugar Cookies

written by Ashley Fehr

4.08 from 14 votes
These Lemon Sour Cream Sugar Cookies are soft, moist and loaded with lemon! There’s no chilling or rolling — just stir, drop, bake and frost (if you want to!). Perfect for Easter or Christmas baking.
Review
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Prep Time 20 mins
Cook Time 10 mins
Total Time 30 mins
Cuisine American
Course Dessert
Servings 24 cookies
Calories 269cal

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup butter room temperature
  • 2 cups granulated sugar approx. 400g
  • 4 large eggs
  • 1/2 cup sour cream I use 5%
  • zest of 2 lemons
  • 1/4 cup lemon juice (1 lemon)
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 3 teaspoons baking powder
  • 4 1/2 cups all purpose flour about 575g

Frosting:

  • 1/4 cup butter room temperature
  • 2 1/2 cups powdered icing sugar
  • juice of 2 lemons*
  • yellow food coloring optional

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and line 4 baking sheets with parchment paper.
  • In a large bowl with an electric mixer, beat butter until smooth. Add sugar and beat until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes.
  • Add eggs, sour cream, lemon zest, and lemon juice and beat until combined.
  • Add the baking soda, baking powder and flour and beat just until combined. Dough will be the consistency of thick cake batter — it is quite sticky and soft.
  • Drop dough by heaping tablespoonfuls onto prepared baking sheets (I get 6 on a regular baking sheet — my cookies are large!), trying to make drops as round as possible. Bake for 10-11 minutes or until no longer glistening in the center. Cool completely.
  • FrostingWith an electric mixer, beat butter until smooth. Add sugar and just enough lemon juice to make a smooth, thick frosting (you can add a teaspoon of milk if it is too thick). Color with yellow food coloring if desired.
  • When cookies are completely cool, spread with an even layer of frosting and serve.

Notes

*I use the juice of 2 lemons and no milk and the frosting has a strong lemon flavor — if you prefer less zing, use the juice of 1 lemon and just enough milk to reach desired consistency.
**My cookies are very large. You can definitely make smaller cookies and the recipe will yield more, you will just want to decrease the baking time.

Nutrition Information

Calories: 269cal | Carbohydrates: 47g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Cholesterol: 45mg | Sodium: 89mg | Potassium: 92mg | Sugar: 29g | Vitamin A: 245IU | Vitamin C: 0.1mg | Calcium: 36mg | Iron: 1.3mg

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Meet Ashley

My name is Ashley Fehr and I love creating easy meals my family loves. I also like to do things my way, which means improvising and breaking the rules when necessary. Here you will find creative twists on old favorites and some of my favorite family recipes, passed down from generations!

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Comments

  1. lyn says

    Why go to all the trouble of making the icing when you can buy it on Amazon.ca. It’s made by Betty Crocker and as usual her icing is creamy and very lemony. It is amazing what cooking products that can be found just browsing. I only have one problem and that is I get so engrossed in the hunt that time just flies by.

    Have tried this recipe with the Betty Crocker icing and it was awesome and saved a lot of time.
    Lyn

    Reply

  2. Shelby says

    I made these today, measured everything out exactly, spooned my flour and all, but the dough just didn’t feel “right” to me. I actually added in one more egg, baked 10 minutes and they are divine! I’m sure we all do things a bit differently when measuring so I would love to suggest to anyone who’s cookies may have come up dry, add a 5th egg 🙂 these are so moist and cakey and wonderful.

    Reply

  4. Jill says

    Could you please please put in the amount if lemon juice in the recipe? Lemons and the amount of juice they produce vary widely. The lemons from my tree generally produce 1/2 c per lemon. Since ratios are important in baking, telling us the amount makes for a more accurate recipe and better results.

    Reply

  5. LuAnn says

    I followed the recipe to a tee and they turned out like beautiful lumps of paste. Dry and tasteless. Tbe batter tasted better. And we were so looking forward to eating them. Won’t make again
    My lemons were large so I had to pay attention when making the frosting. The frosting was awesome.

    Reply

  7. Denise says

    I made this frosting to use on lemon cake and only used the juice from 1 1/2 lemons and it was very runny. I ended up adding a lot more powered sugar to thicken it up. Next time I’ll start with the juice from maybe half a lemon and add as needed to get a thicker, creamy consistency.

    Reply

    • lyn says

      Why go to all the trouble of making the icing when you can buy it on Amazon.ca. It’s made by Betty Crocker and as usual her icing is creamy and very
      lemony. It is amazing what cooking products that can be found just browsing. I only have one problem and that is I get so engrossed in the hunt that time just flies by.

      Have tried this recipe with the Betty Crocker icing and it was awesome and saved a lot of time.
      Lyn

      Reply

  8. Rachael says

    I made these for Easter and they were AMAZING!!! So lemony and delicious! Not dry at all. Everyone loved them…… The only issue I had was with the cook time. My first batch I made the cookies a little smaller than suggested and baked for 10min, they were all undercooked and squishy (I know it could be my oven, or the fact that I am a horrible baker). Second batch I made the cookies bigger and baked and extra 2 min over suggested time, they were fluffy and perfect! Will def be making again

    Reply

  9. Lori says

    I tried it with coconut flour and got the same result. They were incredibly dry (even though I only used 4 cups of flour) and just crumbled. I either needed less flour or more liquid for sure. I would recommend sticking to the recipe without any substitutions. I’ll give it another shot someday because they do look incredibly good. ?

    Reply

  10. Pam says

    Can you use margarine instead of butter? I’ve made them a few times and everyone loves them and I need to make more and don’t have any butter and there’s a winter storm going on right now so I can’t get out to the store.

    Reply

  12. Belinda says

    Please tell me what I did wrong….I love a soft, cake-like cookie. So I was excited when I found this recipe. The cookie tasted like flour—just not good 🙁 I used Bob’s gluten free flour and I sifted it. I’m thinking that’s where I went wrong.

    Reply

    • Ashley Fehr says

      I haven’t ever made them with gluten-free flour so I can’t really say for sure. I would try adding a little more vanilla or lemon zest to mask the flavor if you find it’s a problem.

      Reply

  13. Lori A Putnam says

    Love all the helpful comments/ideas here! I have too many limes, and need recipes to use them up, so what’s your opinion on using fresh lime juice and zest here in an even swap? Will it end up too bitter? Maybe I’ll lemon half the batch and lime the other half to see. Thanks for sharing!

    Reply

  14. Jessica says

    These cookies are AH-MA-ZING! They combine my two favorite things… Yes, lemon and sour cream are my favorite flavors. Why? My husband says (in jest) that it’s because I’m bitter and don’t like to share. On that note, I am happy to report that my kids hate these cookies, so I do not, in fact, have to share. ?

    Thanks for an amazing recipe!

    Reply

  15. Tammy Seegmiller says

    I’m never sure how much zest to use on things. When you say you used the zest of 2 lemons about how much do you think that yield?

    Reply

  16. Katie says

    This was a very easy recipe and they are delicious. I will be making them again for my husband, he loved them.

    Reply

  17. Kathryn Beneden says

    Not a huge fan of lemon but love to try new things. OMG!! Next batch will need more lemon, I scaled back my first try, but they are lemony, light, delicious. Love the frosting, adds a zing that compliments the cookie so well. Thank you for sharing this fabulous recipe.

    Reply

      • Lisa says

        How much extra lemon juice do you think could be added without impacting the consistency of the batter? I botched a “tried and true” lemon bar recipe by adding too much lemon juice (they didn’t set), and my husband isn’t a fan of zest… Can’t wait to try this recipe!!!

        Reply

        • Ashley Fehr says

          If you are wanting to add more lemon to the cookie, I definitely recommend zest. You will get a more concentrated lemon flavor, and you will never notice any change in texture. Your only other option might be to try a lemon extract, but I definitely wouldn’t add more juice.

          Reply

        • Susan says

          I zest my citrus (I’ve tried this with lemon, as well as an orange/grapefruit combo that turned out great!) then chop it up as fine as I have the patience for. This avoids any strips of zest for those that don’t care for them and helps ensure the flavor is spread everywhere. I also add zest to the frosting, again chopping it up super fine.

          I really like the light, not too sweet taste of the cookie, letting me frost if I want sweet, and not frost if I am being good, LOL

          Reply

  19. Debra nielson says

    Jusr finished a double batch for a BBQ, and they are wonderful! Added a little salt just because I think it brings out the flavor and POW these are GREAT! Will make these again for sure! Love lemon and this is LEMON!

    Reply

      • Ana says

        I made these using King Arthur 1 for 1 gluten free flour. Couldn’t tell the difference! Came out light and moist. Son ate them all in 2 days. I added about 4 ozs. cream cheese to frosting and a little extra lemon juice. Great cookies!

        Reply

      • Erin L says

        I used Bob’s Red Mill GF 1:1 (the blue label, not the red label) and I think I may have overcooked a little as mine turned out a little crunchier on the outside, but the middle was still nice and soft. I’m interested to see what liquid you took out as it might be perfect for the GF flour which tends to be drier, my frosting ended up more of a glaze, though. I dipped the top of each cookie in and let them set on a cookie rack over the parchment paper. 1 lemon usually yields 1 Tbsp zest and 2 Tbsp juice. I used 1 Tbsp True Lemon powder in place of the zest (tried these the day before Canadian Thanksgiving, no way am I going near a store today!) and the flavour was great.

        Reply

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