How to Make Swig Sugar Cookies, But Better

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I don’t know if this is popular in the rest of the US, but here in Utah we have drive-thru soda shops that sell mixed sodas. You can get different fruit purees, flavorings, etc. My favorite is Coke Zero with raspberry puree. The first of these soda places that I was aware of is called Swig, and they sell a dense sugar cookie with pink frosting on top. They usually serve them a little chilled, and they are delicious, especially alongside a Coke Zero with raspberry puree.

I have two complaints against the Swig sugar cookie.

• They are around $2.50 a piece. Now, I fully support bakers getting paid for their work. Baked goods are usually labor intensive. It’s just hard to pay $2.50 for a cookie when my drink costs less than that. Do I do it sometimes though? Yes.
• The Swig cookie is pretty intense. It’s very dense, very big, and very sweet. They sell a smaller version, but it costs almost as much as the regular size.

I set out to make a smaller, lighter, tastier soda shop style sugar cookie, and I feel that I succeeded. Also, you can make the whole batch for around $4.00. That’s $.09 per cookie!

The Process

This dough comes from Mel’s Kitchen Café. The dough really is perfect. It’s soft and pillowy, and bakes up beautifully. I adapted her cookies to be half the size, and have a less sweet icing. Here’s how you make them:

• Cream the butter, oil, sugars and vanilla until fluffy and lightened, about 5 minutes.
• Add the eggs, sour cream, salt, baking powder and cream of tartar and mix.
• Add the flour and mix until just combined.
• To shape the cookies, you scoop 1 and 1/2 Tablespoons of dough about an inch and a half apart on a parchment lined baking sheet. The easiest and fastest way to do this is with a medium cookie scoop. I dragged my feet about getting a cookie scoop, and now I’m obsessed with it. Just get one. You’ll love it.
• Next, take a flat-bottomed glass, spray the bottom with cooking spray, and dip it in sugar.
• Press each cookie so that it’s between 1/4 and 1/2 inches thick, like so:

• Bake at 350 degrees F for 8-10 minutes. Check them at 8. You want them to be just set, but not browned. You don’t want to overcook these cookies.
• Cool on a wire cooling rack.

The Cream Cheese Buttercream Frosting

For the frosting, I wanted a kind of hybrid of buttercream and cream cheese frosting. To me, American buttercream is often way too sweet, but cream cheese frosting can be kind of heavy. To get the best of both worlds, I made a cream cheese frosting with more butter than you would typically see. That, along with heavy whipping cream and whipping the frosting for 5 whole minutes, achieves a lighter cream cheese frosting that is way less sweet than buttercream. It’s still sweet though, don’t you worry.

Decoration

You can decorate these with all sorts of things! Fruit is very yummy on top. I used fresh strawberries from our garden, and they did not disappoint. My daughter wanted to add sprinkles to some, so we did that too. Both were very fun. You could also dye the frosting pink for that true Swig look.

Whatever you decide, send me a picture when you make them! Tag me @athometestcook.

I hope you love these cookies as much as we do. They would be awesome to take to a baby shower, family dinner, or party.

Swig Sugar Cookies, But Better

Gracious Cooking

These soft, sweet but not too sweet sugar cookies are perfect for any holiday or event.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 30 mins

Cook Time 8 mins

Total Time 38 mins

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Servings 38 cookies

Ingredients

  

For the Cookies

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened 1/2 cup is 1 stick.
• 3/4 cup canola or vegetable oil any neutral flavored oil will work.
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 and 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup powdered sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 Tablespoons sour cream
• 2 large eggs
• 5 and 1/2 cups all-purpose flour fluff the flour before scooping it to prevent accidently adding too much flour.
• 3 or 4 Tablespoons granulated sugar for pressing the cookies

For the Cream Cheese Buttercream

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 8 oz cream cheese, room temperature
• 3 Tablespoons heavy whipping cream
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 pinch salt
• 4 cups powdered sugar

Instructions

 

For the Cookies

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
• In a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, add the butter, oil, vanilla, granulated sugar, and powdered sugar together and beat until very creamy, about 5 minutes.
• Sprinkle the cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt over the mixture, and beat until well combined.
• Add the eggs and sour cream, and mix until well combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl when needed.
• Add the flour and mix on low speed until combined (no floury pockets), but do not overmix. This only takes about 10 seconds in my mixer. Also, if your mixer bowl does not have a lid, cover it with a towel so you don't spray flour everywhere.
• On your lined baking sheet, scoop out cookies that are 1 and 1/2 Tablespoons' worth of dough. I use a #40 (medium) cookie scoop to do this. I can fit 16 cookies per sheet. Leave about an inch or an inch and a half between cookies.
• Spray the bottom of a flat glass with cooking spray. Dip the bottom of the glass in granulated sugar, and lightly press each cookie until it is between 1/4 and 1/2 inches thick. Dip the glass in sugar after each cookie to prevent sticking.
• Bake the cookies in a 350 degree oven for 7-9 minutes, until set but not browned. 8 minutes was perfect in my oven. If overcooked, these will be crumbly and not soft.
• Remove cookies to a wire cooling rack, and let cool completely before frosting.

For the Frosting

• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (I use the cake paddles on my Bosch), add the butter and cream cheese. Beat until combined and smooth.
• Add the heavy cream, and beat until smooth again.
• Add the vanilla, salt, and powdered sugar. Beat until very smooth and fluffy, about 5 minutes. If the frosting looks too thick, you can add a little more cream.
• Frost your cookies and enjoy!

Notes

Top these cookies with fruit or sprinkles for a festive touch. Serve immediately if using fruit.

Store covered. I store mine in a cake saver. These can stay at room temperature for about a day, but after that should go in the fridge. Try them cold! They’re tasty. Of course you can bring them back to room temperature before eating, too.

These should freeze great. I haven’t personally tried it, but I would press the cookies, freeze them on a tray, and them put them in a Ziplock bag in the freezer. When ready to bake, take them out of the freezer and bake in a 325 degree oven for 10 ish minutes. Check them at 8.

Keyword Baked, Cookies, Cream Cheese, Frosting, Sugar