Holiday heaven: the 5 best sugar cookie recipes ever

Making minor adjustments can turn a simple sugar cookie recipe into a mouthwatering masterpiece. Try these five original recipes to bake to-die-for sugar cookies this holiday season.

There are infinite traditional sugar cookie dough recipes, but here is an easy version.

Instructions

• In a small bowl, stir together 655 mL all-purpose flour, 5 mL baking soda and 2.5 mL baking powder. Set aside.
• In a large bowl, cream together 240 mL softened butter and 360 mL white sugar.
• Beat in 1 egg and 5 mL vanilla extract. Blend into the dry ingredients.
• Roll out the dough and cut out shapes with cookie cutters, or simply flatten out balls of dough for round cookies.
• Decorate with sugar before baking, or with coloured icing after they've cooled.
• Bake the cookies at 190 C  for 8 to 10 minutes.

There's something about the combination of cranberry and orange that tastes like the holidays.

Instructions

• Once you've finished making your dough (above), simply stir in the zest of one large orange, 5 mL orange extract and 160 mL dried cranberries.
• The chewiness of the cranberries and the tang of the orange balance the sweetness of the sugar cookie dough for a cookie your guests will gobble up.

Chocolate and peanut butter create the tastiest combination of sweet and salty.

Instructions

• Bake 5-cm sugar cookies and let them cool.
• To make the filling, mix 180 mL peanut butter with 60 mL confectioner's sugar.
• Spread 5 mL teaspoons of the filling on the flat side of half of the cookies.
• Top with the remaining cookies and place in the refrigerator until firm.
• In the meantime, melt 240 mL of semi-sweet chocolate chips with 20 mL of vegetable oil.
• Dip the cooled cookies halfway into the chocolate, lay on a sheet of wax paper and place in the refrigerator to set.

These crisp cookies have a subtle orange flavour and are chock-full of pecans.

Instructions

• Add 160 mL chopped toasted pecans and the zest of one orange to the sugar cookie dough.
• Roll in sugar before baking.

For a cookie that sports the traditional Christmas colours of red and green, try these pistachio cherry cookies.

Instructions

• Simply add 120 mL chopped, salted pistachios and 180 mL dried cherries to the basic sugar cookie dough.

From cranberries and orange zest to sugared pecans to peanut butter, each of these cookies has a special flavour to make it stand out at your next holiday party.

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