Swig Sugar Cookies
Swig Sugar Cookies are truly sensational! I was wondering what all the fuss was about. Now I know. I kept seeing these cookies all over Pinterest so I did some investigation. It turns out there’s a string of bakeries across Utah that sells these scrumptious treats.
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And scrumptious they are. These cookies start with a traditional shortbread crust. When you dip the bottom of the glass into the cookie it spreads out and cracks form around the crust. After the cookies bake, they’re spread with a luscious sour cream icing. Fantastic is not a strong enough descriptor for this amazing cookie!
A couple of weeks ago our church hosted a Christmas celebration/festival in our city. We had all kinds of games, a bounce house, snow slides for the kids–just all kinds of fun. We gave out hot dogs and sugar cookies. I recruited about 15 people to each make about 50 sugar cookies. They could ice them, decorate them, or bake them plain rolled in sugar. I decided to give this Swig Sugar Cookies recipe a try for the ones I planned to make. I was not disappointed and neither was anyone else!
As best as I can tell, this is where the food blog version originated. Everyone else (whether they gave credit or not), started from this recipe. And it’s a dandy. Personally, I don’t think you can have too many great recipes. Even though I already have at least five Sugar Cookie recipes posted, there’s always room for one more. Right?? Especially one that’s as good as this one is.
I had no less than four of our staff tell me they thought the cookies were awesome. (I don’t know how many cookies made it out into the community because our church staff sure got their share! I nibbled on one trying to save them for everyone else, and all I can say, is this is a cookie that has to be made again and again. It really is something to fuss about.
I stayed pretty close to the original recipe except I added a little more flour to the cookies. I specified how much powdered sugar in the icing (rather than just saying a two-pound bag), and I added a little more food coloring to the icing.
I also found that even though the original recipe called for using the mixer to add the flour into the cookie batter, it overmixed my dough. I could never get the right consistency. I had to stir the flour into the cookies to get the right texture. (Otherwise I had to add like 3-4 cups more flour!)
I recommend setting these cookies farther apart on the baking sheets than I did in my pictures. They expand a lot while baking. Finally, even though I gobbed on the icing, there was still enough icing to ice two batches of these cookies.
If you’re still needing to make a dessert for Christmas, then look no farther than Swig Sugar Cookies. They are incredibly good, and even though there’s more work involved than some cookie recipes, they’re so worth it. They are so heavenly you will start drooling from the first bite. Enjoy the holidays!
Swig Sugar Cookies are some of the best cookies you’ll ever eat.
These cookies are divine. I guarantee you won’t want to stop eating them after one bite!
Swig Sugar Cookies are great to make for the holidays or Valentine’s Day. Everybody loves them!
Here’s what I did.
I used these ingredients for the cookies.
Soften butter and place in a mixing bowl. Add sugar, powdered sugar, eggs, salt, baking soda, cream of tartar and water.
Mix with an electric mixer until smooth.
Add UNBLEACHED all-purpose flour. Bleached flour toughens baked goods.
Stir ingredients with a wooden spoon to combine. (I did this for my second batch). When I tried to do this on low speed in the mixer it overmixed the dough and it was really gooey. I had to add additional flour to get the right consistency. So I recommend just stirring the flour into the batter with a wooden spoon.
Grease cookie sheets. Form dough into large golf ball-sized balls. You will have to space your cookies a little farther apart than these. These cookies expand a lot while baking since they have so much leavening.
Dip the bottom of a glass in sugar. Press the bottom into each ball of cookie dough until cracks form around the edges. (I found the only way to get the sugar to adhere to the glass was by wetting the bottom. Every now and then I would have to clean it off and start over with a clean wet glass dipped in sugar).
These are really spaced too close together!
Bake at 350 for 12-15 minutes or until done. (My oven took about 25 minutes for these to bake fully). Allow cookies to cool before adding icing. You can also put them in the refrigerator before icing.
I used these ingredients for the icing.
Cream butter, sour cream, vanilla and salt with an electric mixer until smooth.
Slowly add powdered sugar.
When the ingredients start getting really thick, add a tablespoon or so of milk. Cream until smooth. Add red food coloring.
Mix again until food coloring is thoroughly incorporated.
Spread icing into the indentations of the cookies made by the glass bottom. Swirl in attractive patterns. No matter how much icing you gob on these cookies, you will find there’s enough icing for two batches of cookies.
Place cookies on racks until the icing hardens slightly. Then refrigerate.
Swig Sugar Cookies are an excellent choice to take to Christmas Cookie Exchanges or other holiday parties.
Prepare yourself for an incredible sugar high!
Here’s the recipe.
SWIG SUGAR COOKIES
(Recipe adapted from Vintage Revivals)
Swig Sugar Cookies
Equipment
- 2 18x26" cookie sheet pans
- 2 large mixing bowls
- 1 electric mixer
- 1 wooden spoon
- measuring cups
- measuring spoons
- 1 regular dinner glass to make the swig indention in the dough
- 1 small bowl
- 1 spatula
- 2 wire cooling racks
Ingredients
COOKIES:
- 1 cup unsalted butter softened to room temperature (2 sticks)
- 3/4 cup canola oil or use coconut oil or avocado oil
- 1 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup powdered sugar
- 2 tbsp. water
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 tsp. baking soda
- 1/2 tsp. cream of tartar
- 1 tsp. sea salt
- 6 cups UNBLEACHED all-purpose flour (Bleached flour toughens baked goods)
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- pinch sea salt
SOUR CREAM FROSTING:
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter softened to room temperature (1 stick)
- 3/4 cup sour cream
- 4 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 1/4 tsp. sea salt
- 1 tbsp. 2% milk (or more if needed)
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 2 drops red food coloring or as needed
Instructions
COOKIES:
- Cream together butter, canola oil, sugars, water, eggs, baking soda, cream of tartar and salt in a large mixing bowl with electric mixer.
- Add flour and stir with a wooden spoon until thoroughly mixed.
- Roll dough into golf ball-sized balls and place three inches apart on greased cookie sheets.
- Combine ¼ cup granulated sugar and a pinch of salt in a small bowl.
- Dip the bottom of a flat drinking glass into the sugar mixture.
- Firmly press each dough ball with the sugar-coated glass.
- Bake cookies at 350° for 12-15 minutes or until lightly browned on the bottom.
- Rotate cookie sheets on oven racks after seven minutes of baking time.
- Remove to cookie rack.
- Refrigerate cookies once cool. (I omitted this step).
- Add icing and allow to set up.
- Refrigerate cookies until ready to serve.
SOUR CREAM FROSTING:
- Cream butter with sour cream, vanilla and salt in a large mixing bowl with an electric mixer.
- Slowly add powdered sugar.
- When the ingredients get really thick add a tablespoon or so of the milk.
- Beat until the frosting reaches the desired consistency.
- Add 1-2 drops of red food coloring and mix with beater on high for 1 minute.
- Dollop 1-2 tbsp. frosting into the indentation of each swig cookie and smooth with the back of a spoon.
- Allow icing to set up before storing cookies in the refrigerator.
Notes
Recipe adapted from Vintage Revivals.
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Nutrition
Swig Sugar Cookies will satisfy any sweet tooth craving you have!
These heavenly cookies will have you drooling in no time.
Give Swig Sugar Cookies a try the next time you have to make a dessert. All your guests will rave over these jewels.
You may also enjoy these delicious recipes!
Cracked Sugar Cookies with Vanilla Buttercream Frosting
Swig Sugar Cookies
Equipment
- 2 18×26" cookie sheet pans
- 2 large mixing bowls
- 1 electric mixer
- 1 wooden spoon
- measuring cups
- measuring spoons
- 1 regular dinner glass to make the swig indention in the dough
- 1 small bowl
- 1 spatula
- 2 wire cooling racks
Ingredients
COOKIES:
- 1 cup unsalted butter softened to room temperature (2 sticks)
- 3/4 cup canola oil or use coconut oil or avocado oil
- 1 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup powdered sugar
- 2 tbsp. water
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 tsp. baking soda
- 1/2 tsp. cream of tartar
- 1 tsp. sea salt
- 6 cups UNBLEACHED all-purpose flour (Bleached flour toughens baked goods)
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- pinch sea salt
SOUR CREAM FROSTING:
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter softened to room temperature (1 stick)
- 3/4 cup sour cream
- 4 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 1/4 tsp. sea salt
- 1 tbsp. 2% milk (or more if needed)
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 2 drops red food coloring or as needed
Instructions
COOKIES:
- Cream together butter, canola oil, sugars, water, eggs, baking soda, cream of tartar and salt in a large mixing bowl with electric mixer.
- Add flour and stir with a wooden spoon until thoroughly mixed.
- Roll dough into golf ball-sized balls and place three inches apart on greased cookie sheets.
- Combine ¼ cup granulated sugar and a pinch of salt in a small bowl.
- Dip the bottom of a flat drinking glass into the sugar mixture.
- Firmly press each dough ball with the sugar-coated glass.
- Bake cookies at 350° for 12-15 minutes or until lightly browned on the bottom.
- Rotate cookie sheets on oven racks after seven minutes of baking time.
- Remove to cookie rack.
- Refrigerate cookies once cool. (I omitted this step).
- Add icing and allow to set up.
- Refrigerate cookies until ready to serve.
SOUR CREAM FROSTING:
- Cream butter with sour cream, vanilla and salt in a large mixing bowl with an electric mixer.
- Slowly add powdered sugar.
- When the ingredients get really thick add a tablespoon or so of the milk.
- Beat until the frosting reaches the desired consistency.
- Add 1-2 drops of red food coloring and mix with beater on high for 1 minute.
- Dollop 1-2 tbsp. frosting into the indentation of each swig cookie and smooth with the back of a spoon.
- Allow icing to set up before storing cookies in the refrigerator.