Great Grandma's Sour Cream Drop Cookies

This recipe was on a card tucked into my mom's recipe box; it's pretty similar to a number of variations that seem to be from the 1930s. A note said "flavor with whatever you like" and of all the flavors I played around with, I thought lemon zest balanced the sweet dough the best. These bake up into tender little cakes that make a great base for whoopie pies. Once baked, they freeze well (thaw for an hour or so on the counter to eat), but start losing their tenderness after more than one day at room temperature.

• Preparation Time: 15 mins
• Cooking Time: 10 mins
• Total Time: 25 mins
• Calories: 168 Calories

Ingredients

• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ¾ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon baking powder
• 3 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
• ¼ cup shortening
• 2 large eggs
• 1 ⅓ cups white sugar
• ¼ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 large lemon, zested
• 1 cup full-fat sour cream

Recipe Instructions

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Line two rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper.

Step 2

Cream sugar, shortening, and butter together in the bowl of a stand mixer on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 1 minute.

Step 3

Mix in sour cream and lemon zest on low speed until no streaks of sour cream remain. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing on medium-low just until there are no streaks of yolk, and scraping down the sides of the bowl between additions. Add flour, salt, baking soda, and baking powder all at once and mix just to combine.

Step 4

Drop by heaping tablespoons on the prepared baking sheets, about 2 inches apart.

Step 5

Bake in the preheated oven until the tops are puffy and spring back when lightly touched with a finger, about 10 minutes. They should be light golden, with occasional spots of pale golden brown.