This is the best Sugar Cookie Recipe with Sour Cream

This is probably the most personal recipe on this blog – my family’s Christmas cookie recipe!

My mom got this recipe for Sour Cream Cookies from my grandma, who got it from a coworker, who probably got it from a local newspaper here in the Midwest.

What makes it so special? Two things – flavor and texture. The flavor largely comes from a generous spoonful of nutmeg. While most sugar cookie cutouts have very little flavor other than sugary dough, these ones have a subtle spice flavor.

And the sour cream keeps them extremely soft. They even stay soft for at least a week after they’re baked – an impressive feat for a sugar cookie.

My mom generously helped me translate our family recipe into a foolproof written version, and even helped me make the cookies for this post (those are her hands rolling out the dough in the step-by-step photos below).

What does sour cream do in baking?

Sour cream is magic! It serves several functions in baked goods such as these sour cream sugar cookies:

• Moisture Booster. Sour cream adds extra moisture to the cookie dough, ensuring a soft and tender final product.
• Flavor Enhancer. The subtle tang of the sour cream complements the sweetness of the other ingredients.
• Leavening Agent. The acidity of the sour cream reacts with the baking soda, resulting in a light and airy cookie.

“I had lost my grandma’s recipe last year in a house fire, so one of those small things that hit me when trying to make that holiday cheer. THANKFULLY I found this recipe and it will now be our family traditional Christmas cookie. Husband wasn’t a fan of grandma’s recipe but said I should receive a cookie award for these. Kids loved decorating them. Sturdy enough for little hands to grab, soft and chewy, subtle nutmeg flavor and holds details of cookie cutters very well.”

—Kris

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Deliciously classic Russet Mashed Potatoes with Heavy Cream

Mashed potatoes are my ultimate comfort food, and I was taught to make them the best they can possibly be in culinary school.

This homemade mashed potatoes recipe takes the dish to a new level of creaminess and indulgence with heavy cream and butter. It’s also seasoned to perfection with four secret spices I learned from some of the best chefs in the country.

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You may have noticed that I’ve been on a certain dessert kick. After publishing vanilla bean creme brulee and coconut creme brulee, I kind of just kept going.

Not only is it a fun (and way easier than it looks!) dessert to make, but it’s super portable and easy to give away to friends and neighbors (provided you trust them to bring your little dish back).

I’m even going to publish chocolate creme brulee before I stop my creme brulee flavors marathon. But today, I’m here with one that you can enjoy all fall – pumpkin creme brulee!

Just like my Thanksgiving Rice Krispies treats, this is perfect to take to any autumn gathering or dinner party, and it’s my preferred alternative to pumpkin pie on Thanksgiving (or Christmas, if you’re not making my gingerbread-inspired Christmas creme brulee).

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As I mentioned yesterday, my Thanksgiving Salad and Thanksgiving Fruit Salad recipes have become among the most popular content on this site.

So, I also created a salad for Christmas and Easter salad, and I’m back today with a Christmas Fruit Salad, too. Fruit salad may or may not be something that has a spot on your holiday table, and that’s OK.

I think it’s a nice addition to a meal for a large crowd, especially if lots of kids are in attendance. Even if they won’t eat anything else on their plate, you can usually get a kid to eat a scoop of fruit salad (especially when it’s served in an adorable jar like my Easter fruit salad).

But this holiday fruit salad is delicious for taste buds of all ages. The sweet fruit is balanced with a dressing made with fresh orange juice, honey and seasonal spices. Serve it arranged as a Christmas tree or simply tossed together.

It’s also great as a Christmas breakfast fruit salad or a Christmas brunch fruit salad as part of a brunch buffet.

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Stuffed Baked Apples – Perfect for Fall!

It’s inevitable as the passage of time – toward the end of the winter, I start to long for spring and summer food. And toward the end of the summer, I start to long for fall and winter food.

Even though we’ve had record warm October days in Michigan recently, the calendar still says it’s fall, so I’ve been longing for carrot apple soup, my mom’s lasagna recipe cottage cheese, crackers with savory pumpkin dip and anything involving apples for weeks now. I love you, summer, but I’ve had enough buttermilk grilled chicken for now.

Other than a Halloween charcuterie board, nothing says “autumn” to me more than going to an apple orchard, eating warm donuts with cider for lunch, and buying way, way more apples than my family of three realistically needs.

Then spending the next month putting apples in everything I eat (even on a butter board) to prove to myself that buying all those apples was a great idea. These walnut stuffed baked apples are one of my favorite simple apple desserts.

The best part is that the recipe can easily be adapted to feed a big crowd, or can be prepared as a simple weeknight sweet treat for one or two. They’re even a great addition to your Thanksgiving recipes list, as a unique alternative to traditional apple pie (try a batch of Thanksgiving Rice Krispies treats, too).

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In my house, cocktails are just as seasonal as meals. Summers are spent sipping lemon margaritas and tequila mojitos on the front porch, and winters are endured snuggled up on the couch with a hot caramel coffee or brandy old fashioned.

As we transition from summer to fall (or as I like to call it, Halloween food season) here in Michigan, I wanted to create a cocktail that will take us from one season right into the next. It’s a little lighter and brighter than my bourbon apple cider, which I reserve for the cold, snowy days.

I love the bright flavor of a classic Moscow mule, or even my bourbon mule recipe or a strawberry Moscow mule in the summer. And of course, when I think of autumn, caramel apples are one of the first things that comes to mind. Why not a fall Moscow mule?

So, I present you with this Caramel Apple Cider Mule. Serve with an autumn butter board for maximum deliciousness.

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Well, it’s official – ever since I rescued my Instant Pot from a basement flood, I’ve come to appreciate it more than ever. I think my previous hangup in regards to this appliance is that, despite it’s name, it’s rarely instant. In fact, many recipes I’ve found take just as long to cook in the Instant Pot as they do on the stove or in the oven.

I can’t argue with that – it’s just the way it is. By the time the pot comes up to pressure, does it’s cooking, and then you release the pressure, well, like I said, nothing instant about it.

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It’s kind of a big day around here, because this is the first Instant Pot recipe I’ve shared on this blog! I actually bought an Instant Pot this past spring, because a client requested some freelance recipe development using one.

I borrowed an Instant Pot cookbook from the library and made a bunch of recipes to learn how to use the appliance (including Instant Pot short ribs and Instant Pot sweet and sour chicken), then completed the freelance project.

Then, I kind of tucked the pot in my office and forgot about it all summer.

Until now, because this Instant Pot Butternut Squash Soup with Goat Cheese is on the scene! While I love a long simmered crockpot soup and Old Fashioned Ham and Bean Soup on my stovetop, the depth of flavor of a pressured cooked soup just can’t be beat.

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Some families might have a strict “do not mess with the classics” policy for Thanksgiving, but my family luckily does not. I think the fact that I invite them over and do ALL of the cooking trumps the fact that I take some liberties with my menu.

But even if your family DOES have that policy, I think mashed potatoes and gravy from scratch are a natural place to experiment. Because no matter what you do, they are still mashed potatoes. 

And mashed potatoes are awesome (and even leftover mashed potatoes turned into mashed potato cakes), always and forever.
(more…)

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My family has quite a few traditions around the holidays, most of them very casual and fun. With my mom’s side of the family, we go bowling every Christmas Eve.

At home on Christmas Day, we lounge in pajamas, watch Christmas movies, and make a nice dinner, like salmon stuffed with crab or my lasagna with cottage cheese recipe.

Because that evening tops off nearly two days straight of eating and drinking, I try to keep dessert simple and small. This gingerbread creme brulee is rich, but served in small mason jars for a nice balance.

And it wouldn’t be the holidays with just classic vanilla bean creme brulee, or even lemon creme brulee. This one is full of cinnamon, cloves, ginger and nutmeg – all of those great gingerbread flavors everybody loves.

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