Sour Cream Sugar Cookies

Sugar cookies’ plain looks belie the emotion that sugar-cookie connoisseurs carry about them. “Our favorites were sugar cookies with a little confectioner’s sugar sprinkled on top.” “We ate lots of sugar cookies, sometimes with a little lemon in the batter.” “We made our batter with sour cream, rolled out the dough and put a raisin on top of each.” “I can’t make them like my mother, who used buttermilk!” “Drop sugar cookies are much more common than rolled-out ones.” “I make drop sugar cookies but my mother made rolled ones. Hers were spongy soft. When they’re rolled and cut out, they rise to the same height all over.” Here is the first of five batters—4 family-size batters and one crowd-size to make with visitors.