Start with this simple cookie dough to make classic sugar cookies, festive holiday spice cookies, cinnamon-covered snickerdoodles or all of the above!

Preparation

For Classic Sugar Cookies:

Preheat oven to 350°F.

In a medium bowl, mix flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside. 

In a large mixer bowl, beat butter and sugar together at medium-high speed until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla. Turn mixer down to medium-low speed and gradually add flour mixture until well combined.

Hand-flatten rounded teaspoons of dough into pancakes, or roll dough out to ⅛ inch thick and cut out shapes with cookie cutters. Place cookies onto greased cookie sheet and bake for 8–10 minutes. Be careful not to overbake! Cookies will set when cooled.

Once cookies are cool, decorate with fondant or colored sugar.

Fondant is a 3-to-1 mixture of powdered sugar and water cooked to 235°F and cooled.

For Snickerdoodles:

• ¼ cup sugar
• 4 teaspoons cinnamon 

Combine sugar and cinnamon, and generously sprinkle onto the sugar cookies before baking.

For Holiday Spice Cookies: 

• ¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon ground ginger
• ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
• ¼ teaspoon ground allspice

Add above spices to the sugar cookie batter and substitute ½ cup sugar with light brown sugar.