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
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.
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.
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!
Frosted Lemon Sour Cream Sugar Cookies
written by Ashley Fehr
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
**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
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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.
Ashley Fehr says
It will definitely depend on how large your lemons are! But yes, still a good idea to add gradually
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
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
Ashley Fehr says
Thanks Rachael! I’m so happy to hear you liked them!
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. ?
Lori says
My comment was in reply to Belinda’s post.
Ashley Fehr says
Thanks for sharing your experience Lori!
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.
Ashley Fehr says
I would use hard margarine if you have it (not the tub) and then it will work fine!
Jenna says
Made them, LOVE THEM!!!!! Thank you ♡
Ashley Fehr says
I’m so glad! Thank you!
Nor says
Wow! This is awesomely yummy! Thank you so much!
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.
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.
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!
Ashley Fehr says
For sure! I think it will work out just fine!
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!
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?
Ashley Fehr says
It will depend on the lemon. 1 lemon might yield a couple of tablespoons.
Katie says
This was a very easy recipe and they are delicious. I will be making them again for my husband, he loved them.
Ashley Fehr says
Yay! I’m so happy to hear that!
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.
Ashley Fehr says
I’m so so glad you enjoyed them Kathryn!
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!!!
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.
Lisa says
Extra zest worked perfectly!!! Thank you!!
Ashley Fehr says
Wonderful!
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
Ashley Fehr says
That’s a great idea! Thanks for sharing!
Mary Kay says
Susan, get a microplane ( with the fine screen) zester/grater and you will get that fine consistency with the lemon zest.
Kimberly Jones says
I mixed cookies. Can I refrigerate them and cook next day?
Ashley Fehr says
I honestly have never tried that so I’m not sure what would happen. How did it go for you?
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!
Ashley Fehr says
That makes me so happy Debra! I’m glad you liked them!
Jamie says
Do you think I could use gluten free baking flour instead?
Ashley Fehr says
I really can’t say as I’ve never tried it with gluten-free flour. If you do try it I’d love to hear how it turns out!
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!
Ashley Fehr says
I’m so glad to hear that worked well!
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.
St❤cy says
Do you have to use parchment paper? Will greasing the pan work or no grease?
Ashley Fehr says
I would grease the pan just to be sure!
Linda Skow says
Could you put these thru a cookie press, do you think, or are they too soft? Maybe if I chilled the dough overnight?
Ashley Fehr says
I think they’d definitely be too soft. I have never tried refrigerating the dough so I can’t advise on that.
Staci says
These sound delicious. Do you use salted or unsalted butter?
Jeryl Kissling says
Absolutely delish cookie. It sings spring. The only thing I did different was that I only used 4 cups of flour. They turned out wonderful Just like the pics.
Ashley Fehr says
Thanks Jeryl! So happy to hear you enjoyed them!
Rick Hokanson says
So I made these cookies yesterday. They went over well with folks at my Mother-in-laws place of employment. Some of the comments I got back were “soft, fluffy, melt in your mouth, just the right amount of lemon, thanks for bringing them”. Plus I got a number of requests for the recipe and the website in which I found it.
However my one SOLE Comment is on the Recommended Yield that should come if you follow the recipe. The Count on the Recipe stated that this recipe “Serves 24”. Does that mean that the serving size is 2 cookies or that you should only get 24 cookies from the recipe?
I ask because I followed the Recipe exactly and with using the Biggest Cookie measuring scoop available. I got 48 cookies out of this recipe. I wanted to bring this to your attention so that you can correct it on the website in case anyone else is equally confused.
I have quite a bit of personal baking experience…but for the sake of the new and inexperienced baker…this should be clarified a bit more. Can you do this? This was an EXCELLENT Recipe and I look forward to making it again and perhaps making a few personal changes to it and experimenting with it featuring other citrus flavors.
Ashley Fehr says
Hi Rick! I’m so glad that you and the rest of your taste testers enjoyed them! I put that it serves 24 because I get 24 cookies out of this recipe. I’m not sure if you can tell from the photos or the video, but my cookies are quite large. I use a tablespoon, get a large scoop of dough and drop onto the pan. On a regular baking sheet I bake 6 cookies (as I think you can see in the video). So I don’t think it’s misleading because that’s exactly what I get. I understand some may make smaller cookies and will get more, but that’s not really something I can control. I will update the recipe to give more details about the size. Thanks for your feedback!
Connie Alderson says
Who cares how many they actually make as the cookie is fabulous! More is great! It’s an added bonus. LOL!
Perhaps if a person actually wants only ‘X’ number of cookies, they should try freezing the remaining cookie dough. ?
Erin L says
I used the Pampered Chef medium cookie scoop which holds 2 Tbsp and ended up with 28 and I made a half a recipe (trial run because I was using GF flour and True Lemon instead of zest), so mine must be the size of Rick’s. I used GF flour and they didn’t spread much, nice little humps 2.25 inches in diameter each.
Terri says
Can you make them a few days prior to needing? Store in refrigerator? Thank You
Ashley Fehr says
Yes absolutely! They freezer perfectly too
Andrew says
Do they have to be refridgerated? For instance, if you wanted to bake them and mail them. Or would they be fine in transit.
Thanks,
Ashley Fehr says
I generally wouldn’t mail frosted cookies because they keep best refrigerated.