Sweet n Sour: Old Fashioned Sour Cream Cookies Recipe

There are many moments in life to enjoy over-the-top desserts (seriously--just read the responses in the "what would your last-meal dessert be?" giveaway).

But sometimes, you just need a good old-fashioned cookie. Or, as Betty Crocker of the 60's would say, a cooky.

After all, Betty Crocker's Cooky Book is where I found this understated gem of a recipe for Old Fashioned Sour Cream Cookies. It's listed in the "Heritage Cookies" section of the book, which is where you'll find, as I think of them, the frumpy forefathers of today's cookies. I don't mean this as an insult--I simply mean that while they're not the sexiest-looking cookies, they're substantial enough in flavor that it's no secret why these recipes have stuck around through the years.

This particular recipe yields a cookie that is lightly tangy, and yet somehow fluffy without being "light"--they have a compelling flavor which keeps bringing you back for more. And with a sprinkling of sugar on top, they have a satisfying crunch, too.

Old-Fashioned Sour Cream Cookies

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 2/3 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/2 cup sour cream

Procedure

1. Heat oven to 425 F.
2. Mix butter, sugar, egg, and vanilla thoroughly. 
3. Sift the dry ingredients together; add to the sugar mixture alternately with the sour cream.
4. The original recipe suggests rolling the dough out, but I simply pinched off pieces and rolled them into approximately 1 1/2-inch diameter balls and placed them on the baking sheet, about 2 inches apart. 
5. Place on a greased (or parchment-lined) baking sheet. Sprinkle with sugar.
6. Bake 8-10 minutes, or until lightly browned on the sides. Makes about 36-48 cookies.

Comments

[diva]

Oh the Betty Crocker cookbook, what a classic. These are so pretty and I just wanna eat em all up with some hot chocolate.

[Wei-Wei]

Yumm! Greek yogurt is so often used as a substitute for sour cream, I wonder if it'd work in this recipe?

Wei-Wei

[Nicole]

I bet the cookie dough is delish, i wonder if it would be good with a twist of citrus. meyer lemon? key lime? tangerine? pink grapefruit?

[Lucie from Bilingual Butter]

I made these once and loved them--unfortunately my boyfriend thought they had a "weird taste", which I guess means he doesn't know how to appreciate the slight tanginess in sour cream cookies...these are one of my favorites, though!