Name: Sourdough Sugar Cookies
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 8 min
Ingredients: 120 g sourdough discard ((½ cup)); 227 g unsalted butter ((1 cup/2 sticks) softened); 164 g vegetable oil (or neutral oil like canola oil) ((¾ cup)); 250 g granulated sugar ((1 ¼ cups)); 86 g powdered sugar ((¾ cup)); ¾ teaspoon fine sea salt; ½ teaspoon baking powder; ½ teaspoon baking soda; 28 g sour cream ((2 tablespoons)); 1 large egg; 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract; ¼ teaspoon almond extract; 570 g all-purpose flour ((5 ½ cups)); 100 g granulated sugar (for dipping); 170 g unsalted butter ((¾ cup) softened); ⅛ teaspoon fine sea salt; 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract; 28 g sour cream ((2 tablespoons)); 684 g powdered sugar ((6 cups)); 2-3 tablespoons whole milk; sprinkles (for topping)

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These sourdough sugar cookies are so soft and buttery and best enjoyed cold from the fridge! They’re so easy to make and topped with a yummy sour cream frosting! This is my favorite sourdough discard cookie recipe, and I know you’ll love it too!

Several sourdough sugar cookies with white frosting and colorful sprinkles.

I’ve been making my Soft and Puffy Sugar Cookies for years. They’re the yummiest cut out sugar cookie!

But, every once in a while, I treat myself to a swig sugar cookie from our neighborhood soda shop. If you know, you know. They’re so soft and buttery. The sour cream icing is slightly tangy, but also has the right amount of sweetness. And swig cookies are always served cold. Now you can make swig cookies at home with your sourdough starter! You’ll also love my Coconut Lime cookies version too!

Why you’ll love sourdough sugar cookies

I decided it was finally time to recreate these swig cookies at home, but with a sourdough twist. Since I love dessert recipes, I was definitely up for the task! What I came up with turned out so much better than I thought possible! (And if you like sugar cookies with a twist, make sure you check my recipe notes for a Coconut Lime Sugar Cookie variation!)

It’s so easy to make.
No rolling out cookie dough, or cut out cookies here. These drop sugar cookies are so easy to shape!
No chilling required!
The flavor from the sourdough discard makes these cookies taste so rich, just like a bakery style cookie.
The sour cream icing has the yummiest flavor – a slight tang, but still sweet and delicious. If you like sour cream frosting, you’ll also love my Lemon Cheesecake Cookies.
These sugar cookies stay soft and fresh for several days. I like to keep mine in the fridge.
Like my Funfetti Sourdough Bread, these are perfect for birthdays and celebrations!
Its a quick and easy discard recipe. You’ll also love my Brown Butter Sourdough Chocolate Chip Cookies!

Ingredients

There’s a long list of ingredients, but don’t let that fool you. This recipe comes together so quickly! This cookie dough can be made in less than 30 minutes. A few important ingredients to understand:

Sourdough Discard: For this recipe, I suggest using a discard that was fed in the past 1-3 days. If you use really runny, overly hungry discard, you will notice it gives the cookies a slight tang. I don’t love it, so I use my newer discard for this cookie recipe. This recipe is based on using a 100% hydrated starter.
Sour Cream: Using sour cream in the cookie dough, helps create a tender, fluffy texture. In the frosting, it adds a tangy flavor that compliments the sweetness perfectly.
Vanilla and Almond Extracts: These extracts add a smooth, sweet flavor. If you don’t love almond extract, you can leave it out. But it’s a small amount, so it’s not overpowering.
Baking Soda and Baking Powder: Baking soda and baking powder are still necessary to provide a perfect rise and texture for this cookie.
Powdered sugar: adds sweetness and lightens up the cookie texture.
Butter: I’ve always used unsalted butter in my recipes. It allows you to control the saltiness of your recipe.

How to make sourdough sugar cookies

My number one pro tip: It’s so important to use a kitchen scale for measuring your ingredients, especially for sourdough recipes. One cup of active starter is not the same as one cup of runny, hungry starter. Weighing your ingredients gives you much more accurate and reliable results. On my recipe cards, you can choose either US Customary or Metric measurements.

If you don’t have a kitchen scale, make sure you fluff your flour and then spoon it into your measuring cup. Level it off with a straight edge. Please, for the love, don’t pack the flour into the measuring cup!

A stainless steel bowl with sourdough sugar cookie dough inside, with a cookie scoop resting inside.

Use the cookie paddle attachment for your mixer and mix together the discard, butter, oil, and sugars. Add the salt, baking powder, and baking soda. I sprinkle them over the top to make sure they get easily incorporated into the butter mixture. Mix until smooth and creamy. Add the eggs, sour cream, vanilla and almond extracts. Mix until fully combined. Next add the flour gradually and mix until incorporated. Avoid overmixing.

Shaping the cookies

A hand rolling a ball of sugar cookie dough in a small white bowl of sugar.

A hand holding a glass, pressing it into a ball of cookie dough, flattening it out.

Scoop the dough into balls, about 3 Tablespoons in size. These cookies are then rolled in sugar. Slightly press them with the flat bottom of a glass. You can see how the edges kind of crack apart. This is what you want.

Bake until the edges are just set. The center may initially look underbaked, but that’s normal. The cookies will spread when baked, so make sure you space them 2-3 inches apart.

A baking sheet lined with parchment paper with 8 baked sourdough sugar cookies.

While the cookies are cooling, get the yummy frosting ready. I love to use heavy cream to thin it just a bit. It makes the frosting super rich and velvety. Once completely cooled, slather on the frosting. These are some serious melt in your mouth sourdough cookies!

Storing tips

Since there is sour cream in the frosting, store any leftover cookies in the fridge. They’ll stay fresh and soft for up to 5 days or so. Plus, they are so tasty cold!

You can also freeze them, frosted, for up to 3 months. To freeze, place them on a baking sheet and freeze until the frosting is hard. Then you can place them in a freezer bag or airtight container and stack them.

Sourdough sugar cookies with colorful sprinkles on a white marble cutting board.

Sugar Cookies with a twist

You can easily switch up your sugar cookie with some minor changes. Try these variations:

Add citrus zest like lemon or orange to the dough and/or frosting.
Add a different flavored extract to the frosting like raspberry, coconut, almond, or pistacchio.
Add colorful sprinkles to the cookie dough. Or add chopped nuts.

Coconut Lime sugar cookies with a lime wedge on top.

Whatever you do, make sure you try making my favorite, Coconut Lime Sugar Cookies! I added coconut extract to the frosting and place a lime wedge on top. When you eat it, squeeze the lime over the cookie and enjoy! The coconut and fresh lime combo is life changing! Check the recipe notes for this version.

FAQs

This recipe was written specifically to use sourdough discard. If you want to make it without sourdough, add one egg and increase the flour to 780g.

This cookie dough is meant to be used for drop sugar cookies. It is not an ideal cookie dough for cookie cutters. If you need a Holiday sugar cookie, make my cutout Christmas Sugar Cookies with Buttercream Frosting.