These Amish Sugar Cookies, topped with Sour Cream Icing, are not your typical roll and cut sugar cookie. These are drop cookies, and use a combination of butter and oil as well as granulated and powdered sugar in the dough that results in a light, crispy, crumbly cookie. The sweet sour cream icing pairs perfectly with the unique texture of these little gems. I love eating them cold out of the fridge!
Ingredients Needed
This is just a preview of ingredients and method, keep scrolling for full printable recipe.
Cookies
- Butter – Always use real butter!
- Vegetable oil
- Granulated sugar
- Powdered sugar
- Eggs
- Vanilla extract
- All-purpose flour
- Baking soda
- Salt
- Cream of tartar
Icing
- Butter
- Sour cream – Full fat is best. Avoid fat free.
- Salt
- Powdered sugar
- Vanilla extract
- Food coloring – As desired.
How to Make Amish Sigar Cookies
- In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, beat some butter and oil at medium speed until blended. Gradually add some sugar and powdered sugar, beating well. Add in eggs and vanilla.
- Combine some flour, baking soda, and salt and add to the butter mixture, beating at low speed until combined. If desired, chill for 30-60 minutes.
- Using a 1-tablespoon cookie scoop, scoop the cookies out onto a parchement-lined cookie sheet. Gently press the bottom of a smooth glass onto the bottom of one of the dough balls (to gather a little moisture on the glass), then dip the glass in some sugar, then press back onto the first cookie. After the first time, you can just dip the glass in the sugar and press it into the next cookie.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes or until very lightly brown around the edges. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely.
- To make the icing, beat some softened butter, sour cream, powdered sugar, salt, and vanilla together in a medium mixing bowl. Add food coloring as desired. When the cookies are cool, spoon about 1 teaspoon of icing on top of each cookie and spread it with the back of a spoon. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Makes about 42 cookies.
Storing and Other Tips
- Store finished, unfrosted cookies in an airtight container at room temperature and enjoy within 3-4 days.
- Store frosted cookies in an airtight container in the refrigerator and enjoy within 5-7 days.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I make these ahead of time?
Yes. Feel free to make the dough and store in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours before baking. You can also bake, cool, and frost the cookies and store in the refrigerator in an airtight container until ready to serve.
Could I roll and cut the dough into shapes if I wanted to?
No, this dough is loose and will spread when baked. If you’d like to use cookie cutters, you’re better off using a traditional sugar cookie recipe like The Best Sugar Cookies.
Can I make these smaller or larger?
Yes. You’ll just have to adjust the baking time. Keep a close eye on smaller cookies after about 8 minutes. If going larger, they may take closer to 13-14 minutes.
Amish Sugar Cookies with Sour Cream Icing
These soft, crumbly sugar cookies are delicious right out of the fridge. No rolling or cutting necessary– these drop cookies are quick and easy!
Servings cookies
Equipment
Ingredients
Cookies
- 1 cup softened butter
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup sifted powdered sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 4 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon table salt
- 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
- ½ cup sugar
Icing
- 4 tablespoons softened butter
- ½ cup sour cream
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 ¾ cups sifted powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Food coloring as desired
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350℉. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or non-stick mats and set aside.
- In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter and oil at medium speed until blended. Gradually add 1 cup sugar and powdered sugar, beating well. Add in eggs and vanilla.
- Combine flour, baking soda, and salt and add to the butter mixture, beating at low speed until combined. If desired, chill for 30-60 minutes.
- Using a 1-tablespoon cookie scoop, scoop the cookies out onto the pan. Gently press the bottom of a smooth glass onto the bottom of one of the dough balls, then press in the 1/2 cup of sugar, then press back onto the first cookie. After the first time, you can just dip the glass in the sugar and press it into the next cookie (it needs the moisture from the first cookie to stick to the glass).
- Bake for 10-12 minutes or until very lightly brown around the edges. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely.
- To make the icing, beat the icing ingredients together in a medium mixing bowl. Add food coloring as desired.
- When the cookies are cool, spoon about 1 teaspoon of icing on top of each cookie and spread it with the back of a spoon. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
Notes
- Store finished, unfrosted cookies in an airtight container at room temperature and enjoy within 3-4 days.
- Store frosted cookies in an airtight container in the refrigerator and enjoy within 5-7 days.
Nutrition
Serving: 1cookie, Calories: 218kcal, Carbohydrates: 27g, Protein: 2g, Fat: 12g, Saturated Fat: 5g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g, Monounsaturated Fat: 3g, Trans Fat: 0.3g, Cholesterol: 24mg, Sodium: 157mg, Potassium: 35mg, Fiber: 0.4g, Sugar: 17g, Vitamin A: 197IU, Vitamin C: 0.02mg, Calcium: 8mg, Iron: 1mg
Calories: 218kcal
Cost: $9
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Questions & Reviews
I have made these since I was a kid with my mom. I have never used oil, it’s not needed. Delicious!!
I am kind of grossed out by veggie oil. Can I substitute liquid coconut oil or anything else?
We’ve never tried it, but you can try–if you do, let us know how it goes! 🙂
These are the most delicious frosted sugar cookies! I’m so excited to have a recipe that’s more enjoyable than rolled, cut-out cookies to make and to eat! For Christmas, I didn’t color the icing and used Christmas sprinkles and red and green sprinkling sugar. They are festive and oh so good! Thank you so much!!!
Thanks for this delicious recipe! My kids wanted cut out cookies for Christmas and I was tired of baking, so we made these instead. So easy, my 11-year-old did most of the work. It made a lot, enough to share, and they were so good! Our new favorite sugar cookie recipe.
These would be great to make with my kids. I love the taste of sugar cookies, but I can’t stand how tedious it is to roll them out, cut them, move them to the cookie sheet, and start all over again. Rolling them in a ball and squishing them with a glass would totally take care of that problem.
I hope you girls are taking next week off. Merry Christmas to both of you!
I’d sure like to know what these cookies have to do with the Amish. Other then that, I like an easy sugar cookie. Thanks for the recipe.
No idea, haha! That’s just what they’re called.
Are these a bake at 350 special? 🙂
Oh my gosh, I totally forgot to put that in. My brain was gone, haha!! But yes, in fact, they are! 🙂
If we lived there, I’d probably go there frequently. I thought my husband’s Mountain Dew with mango was better than my dirty diet coke. Fountain drinks are so hit and miss, you know? I will say I missed the half and half…they should do that, lol.
Okay, I think I fixed it! Chalk it up to one of the weirder things that’s happened here, hahaha.
These are my Nanny’s sugar cookies! As soon as you said butter and oil I wondered if they were the same, and they are, except for the cream of tartar. She always pressed hers down with a fork like peanut butter cookies. Looking at her handwriting in my cookbook this morning brought back a flood of memories; this is our first Christmas without her. I have become the designated cookie baker in the family (I actually made sugar cookies for my cousins for after her funeral) and will definitely be making a batch of these over the holidays.
Thanks for sparking some precious memories this morning!
Oh, my gosh, that’s awesome!!! Merry Christmas!