High Altitude Sugar Cookies
These are my favorite sugar cookies. Not overly sweet, perfectly thick and chewy, I’m just sorry I haven’t shared the recipe sooner!
This recipe for High Altitude Sugar Cookies is long overdue. A basic sugar cookie is a must- especially during the holidays- and I’m just sorry I’ve been hoarding it for so long. This is my “go-to” sugar cookie recipe and it works beautifully at high altitude every time. While not a cut out cookie, these suit me so much more. I prefer a thicker, chewier cookie and let’s be honest, I’m not big on the decorating. I could care less how the cookies look. As long as they taste good, you know? 🙂
If you live in Utah it’s likely you’ve heard of Swig. If not, then let me fill you in. Swig is a drive up cookie and soft drink shop that opens at 7:30am. Yep. That’s right. Soda first thing in the morning. Welcome to Utah: where drinking coffee is frowned upon but hopping yourself up on soft drinks sweetened with flavored syrup is a morning staple. It’s kind of weird. And something I’m not into. But it’s totally a thing. In fact, it’s pretty popular in Utah. Swig is most famous for two things: “dirty diet coke”- a fountain diet coke with vanilla syrup and half & half and their ridiculously huge and sweet sugar cookies. Breakfast of champions, eh?
Why am I tell you about Swig? I guess because these cookies are loosely adapted from a copycat Swig cookie recipe I stumbled upon years ago. This recipe to be exact. It went viral! Which is totally funny because when I found this recipe I’d never even heard of Swig. I loved this sugar cookie recipe and was so happy to find it that when I finally figured out what Swig was, I was super excited to try the real deal. Except my cookies and Swig cookies taste nothing alike. Like not at all! Swig cookies are uber sweet. They have more of an icing than a frosting- I think it might be sour cream based- and the cookies are, no joke, gigantic.
These cookies aren’t Swig. If you have no idea what Swig is, you’re not missing out. (And sorry for the rambling.) If you’re looking for a Swig copycat, keep on looking. However, if you’re here for a perfect sugar cookie recipe for high altitude, PRINT THIS RECIPE! I like the cookies on the smaller side though you could make them any size you like. I use a more traditional butter cream frosting and I also cut the sugar from the original recipe so they cookies aren’t too sweet. The texture of these cookies is spot on. It’s truly the best sugar cookie I’ve ever had!
I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and as always, thanks for reading! Happy baking!! xo, Kelley
High Altitude Sugar Cookies
Prep Time: 10- Cook Time: 10
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 3 dozen cookies 1x
Prep Time:
Yield:
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My go-to high altitude sugar cookie recipe! It’s fluffy, fool-proof, and absolutely delicious!
Ingredients
Cookies:
- 2 1/4 cups flour
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1/3 cup flavorless oil (avocado, canola, vegetable…)
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/3 cup powdered sugar
- 1 egg
Frosting:
- 2 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
- 4 tablespoons butter, room temperature
- 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 tsp. heavy cream
- splash of vanilla extract
- pinch of salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F degrees.
- Line baking sheet(s) with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, salt, baking soda, and cream of tartar; set aside.
- In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream together butter and both sugars until well combined. Add in oil, egg, and vanilla. (It’s likely going to look a little chunky but that’s a-ok!) Add flour mixture to the butter mixture and beat on low speed just until combined.
- Fill a small bowl with 1/4 cup of granulated sugar that you’ll use to flatten the cookies.
- Roll dough into balls (I use a heaping tablespoon) and place 2-inchs apart on prepared baking sheet. Using the base of a glass cup or other flat base (with the tiniest shmear of water to get the sugar to initially stick), dunk in sugar, and press out dough so cookies are about 1/4-inch thick.
- Bake for 8-10 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool on pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack to continue cooling completely before frosting.
- To make the frosting, place softened cream cheese and butter in a small bowl. Using a hand held mixer, beat the butter and cream cheese until light and fluffy. Add the powdered sugar, cream, vanilla and pinch of salt. Carefully mix until fully incorporated. Adjust sugar or cream if necessary until you have the right frosting consistency.
- Frost cookies and decorate with colored sugar and/or holiday decorations if desired.
Notes
These cookies are easily adaptable- swap the vanilla extract for almond, mint, or lemon!
photos by Kellie Hatcher/ recipe by Mountain Mama Cooks
48 Comments
You had me at “not too sweet” but honestly, I can’t imagine anything better than those lemon cherry scones. 🙂
I love those scones, too! I don’t like overly sweet desserts so give these cookies a try!!
They look great but I’m curious: What makes it a high-altitude recipe? I’m wondering because I’m new to high altitude cooking and would like to be able to adapt ALL my favorite cookie recipes.
I’ve adjusted the flour, sugar, and leavening so that they work in my kitchen. I sit just below 7000 feet altitude and they work beautifully for me every time. Fluffy, light and they don’t dry out!
I am sitting at 4900 feet and am wondering if I should make any adjustments, or if I should follow your recipe exactly. Thanks!
I would try as is!
Made these today…they are AMAZING!!! I alway dread baking because more often than not it ends badly. But this was magic!
-another, less talented, Kelly from Park City!
Yay! I’m so glad they turned out. It’s one of my favorites. So easy and fail proof. Love it when I hear from fellow Parkites!!
Hi Kelley!! Same instructions at sea level?? XO–sally
Yes, ma’am!!
Just made these for my son’s 1st grade class, and they’re so good!! (We’re at 7,000 ft. in Flagstaff, AZ.) I’m trying not to eat them all! 🙂
They’re my favorite too! Enjoy!! 🙂
Just made these!! Everyone loved them! Thanks!!
Made these today in Santa Fe (7,000 feet) and they are amazing! Love the frosting, too. This recipe is a keeper. Thanks!
Yay! So glad you liked them.
Are these good without frosting, or does the session just make the cookie?
You could easily roll them in sugar and they’d be just as good! Or any frosting you like would work, too.
I made them & didn’t frost them & I think they’re amazing! Light, buttery, & just sweet enough.
Thank you!!!
The cookies are delicious on their own though kind of plain.
I love these cookies! Thank you for the recipe. I made 3 batches for Christmas and each batch was gone about as quick as I could bake and decorate them! I am new to high altitude baking and cooking, my husband and I just moved to the Salt Lake Area so I am glad I found your blog! Thank you!
Yay! I’m so glad you liked the cookies and thanks for coming back and leaving a comment. Happy New Year!
Would it be possible to roll out this dough for cut-out cookies? Am thinking of heart shapes for Valentine’s and am just curious. Regardless, I can’t wait to make these!
You could try but I’m not sure it will cut out very well. The dough is on the wetter side. But give it a go and let me know how it turns out!
I can’t seem to find the sugar cookie recipe anymore. It has been my go to. Could you help?
When we switched to the new site, some of the recipes didn’t migrate. I’m working on getting them back up asap. Thanks for understanding!
Saw these on your Instagram and got inspired to bake. Noted that on the recipe there is NO vanilla I did some comparisons of your recipes and your note said that the recipe are “easliy adaptable – swap the vanilla extract with…” Went with 1 teaspoon. Hopefully that is correct
Fixed it. Yes, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract. Or Almond extract. Whichever you prefer!
These are absolutely the BEST sugar cookies I have ever tasted. I make them every time I am in the mountains. I am wondering how to adapt them to turn out the same delicious way at sea level. Could I use the same recipe or would I change some of the ingredients. Thanks!
I love them too! Thanks for the kind comment.
Delicious! I’ve tried so many “best…high altitude” recipes over the years for Christmas cookies, only to be disappointed. These are amazing! Will be our new go to recipe for the holidays. (Baking at 5280 in Denver)
Having grown up at sea level, I’ve never been successful with high-altitude baking until I tried these cookies this Christmas. They are fantastic and will be on regular rotation in my kitchen (Easter, birthdays, July 4th, no-reason!). I also enjoy your website, thank you for all the info.
Great! Glad you enjoyed them!!
Very nice recipe! I ☆wanted☆ a rolled cookie, so I added 1/3 cup flour and chilled the dough overnight. It rolled out beautifully. I chilled the cutouts while the oven pre-heated, and the cookies baked without spreading. After cooling they were fun to decorate.
After that I made a new batch in which I modified the recipe slightly to make chocolate peppermint kiss bites. Just add 1/3 cup Dutch processed cocoa to the batter, reduce the flour by 1/4 cup, mix. Then put batter into mini muffin tins about 3/4 full, bake 8 – 10 minutes. As soon as they come out of the oven, pop one peppermint kiss into the center of each cookie. Cool in the tins.
Thanks for the tips! I will play with it. I get asked for rollout sugar cookie regularly.
Thank you so much for this recipe! These cookies aren’t too sweet, they are soft and remind me of childhood. Tried all kinds of sugar cookie recipes and this is the only one that came out perfect for the 7,000 ft elevation I live in. Can’t wait to try more of your recipes!
Thank you! I feel the same way about them- they’re just the right sweetness. So glad you liked them. Hope you’ll find some other recipes to try! Happy baking!!
Hi there! Do you recommend any special flour (such as the Hungarian High Altitude)? I’m at 9600 feet. Thanks!
I use regular all-purpose but I’m at 7,000 feet. I don’t have any experience with the Hungarian brand. Sorry that’s not much help.
This is a great recipe for the holidays (they were a big hit at Christmas!) or for any time of year. Probably the best sugar cookies I’ve ever made!
Thank you for all the high-altitude recipes! It has been baffling to me as a part-time, high-altitude resident and your site is a huge help!
Can you make this recipe with 1:1 gluten free flour?
Of course!
We made these last week and decorated them for Hanukkah. My husband said – more than once – that these are the best cookies we’ve ever made! We’ll definitely be making them again!
I am at 9,000 feet in CO and despite having been to Utah a LOT I’ve never heard of Swig (maybe because I’ve mostly been in the Moab area, not around SLC?). I was looking for a high altitude sugar cookie and found this recipe (not the first time I’ve been to your site).
I am having a rotten morning. Your entire Swig rant made me laugh like I really, really needed to, so thank you. Even if I’m years late to this party.
I live in Colorado, and Kelley’s recipes always come out perfectly. Currently on a mission to make them all!
I love these and am traveling to sea level for Christmas. What adjustments should I make?
I used your recipe as the base for King Arthur’s Olive Oil-Orange sugar cookie and it worked PERFECTLY. I’m at 9,200 ft. Thanks for a great recipe!
https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/recipes/olive-oil-orange-sugar-cookies-recipe
Can these cookies be frozen?