This Essential Holiday Cookie Recipe Can Be Customized 30 Different Ways—Here's How

We've got a sweet proposal for you: All of your Christmas cookie needs can be filled by making just one cookie dough and customizing it. Our very versatile Vanilla Cookie Dough is the base of all the variations you need. It's a simple butter, sugar, eggs, and flour mixture, but, oh, the possibilities: Switch up the flavor from vanilla to spice, chocolate, or citrus; add mix-ins or decorations; form it into different shapes or use cookie cutters. Make multiple batches and get a head start on those holiday cookie boxes!

Thumbprints and Ball Cookies

You don't need any special equipment to make these sentimental favorites, just your hands to shape the dough and a thumb to make the indentation to hold the filling. Will you make apricot or raspberry thumbprints, or ones with ganache filling? We've got five different options, plus three ball cookies—the peppermint ones are a must.

Icebox Cookies

Add mix-ins to the dough, refrigerate, slice, and bake. That's the drill for icebox cookies. You can shape them into bars, coins, or triangles, also layer and sandwich them with jam and nuts. We've developed nine variations, from almond-ginger bars to white-chocolate, hazelnut, and cherry triangles.

Spritz Cookies

Grab your cookie press as our basic Vanilla Cookie Dough also works for spritz! It's a press, bake, and glaze process. There are four variations using different flavored doughs and citrus, vanilla, or white chocolate glazes.

Cutout Cookies

They're a holiday classic (the holiday classic?), and the options are endless. Start with our six variations, including wreaths, snowmen, and Christmas trees, that include decorating ideas like stained glass windows and sugaring techniques.

If you're ready to bake, download our ultimate guide for all the delicious details and directions for making all 30 variations.