Meet the Swig cookie
These are some of the easiest, most delicious sugar cookies ever — crumbly and chewy, soft and buttery, rich and decadent. They have the perfect balance of sweet and tang, thanks to the secret ingredient: sour cream. These are popular with crowds, so you’d best make a few batches! They’re also regular prize-winners at cookie exchanges, and disappear quickly in family kitchens.
These cookies are usually served cold (Swig pulls them straight out of the freezer when they’re ordered), with room-temperature frosting added to the tops just before serving.
Swig cookies have rough edges
Unlike many other sugar cookies that are perfectly round and smooth, a Swig cookie has uneven edges created by pressing down on the middle of the cookie with a glass (or something similar). This creates a divot to hold all of that smooth, delicious frosting. Those rough edges get a little bit crispy after cooking, though the rest of the cookie stays nice and soft.
These shortbread-like cookies pair gorgeously with this basic creamy frosting recipe, but you can add different extracts to the dough and make up your own luscious icing flavors. Try cookie-icing combos such as chocolate and caramel; almond and coconut; lemon and peppermint; and peanut butter and Nutella.
Frosted beauties
And now you have some delicious Swig-style sugar cookies!
Yield 3 dozen cookies Courses Desserts
1 cup butter at room temperature3/4 cup vegetable oil1-1/4 cups sugar3/4 cup powdered sugar2 tablespoons water2 eggs1/2 teaspoon baking soda1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar1 teaspoon salt5-1/2 cups unbleached flour
Frosting
1/2 cup butter at room temperature3/4 cup sour cream4-1/2 cups powdered sugar1/4 cup milk1 teaspoon vanilla (or extract of your choice)Food coloring
The cookies will be soft when they come out of the oven, so let them cool a few minutes on the sheet before moving to a cooling rack. Store unfrosted cookies in the fridge. Frosting You can store the frosting and cookies separately in the fridge. If you make these ahead of time, let the icing warm to room temperature before spreading it on the cookies.
