Southern Cream Cookies

These are the cookies that turn up at every church potluck and bake sale below the Mason-Dixon, and for good reason.

Sour cream in the dough makes them impossibly soft and cakey, with a tender crumb that stays moist for days.

The trick that sets them apart: each dough ball gets pressed flat with the bottom of a glass dipped in cinnamon sugar, giving every cookie a sparkly, spiced top with a slight crunch against that pillowy center.

Chopped walnuts are optional but recommended. They add a toasty bite that plays well against all that sweetness.

This recipe makes six dozen, so plan on sharing.

Pro Tips

• Cream the shortening and sugar until truly fluffy, not just combined. This step builds the airy, cakey texture.
• Sift the flour before measuring. Five cups of sifted flour is significantly less than five cups of unsifted, and it makes a real difference in how light these cookies turn out.
• Dip the glass bottom in cinnamon sugar before pressing each cookie. Re-dip between every press for an even coating.
• Pull them from the oven when they still look slightly pale on top. They continue setting as they cool, and overbaked cream cookies lose their signature softness.