To make the classic Christmas cookie you’ll need cookie dough, frosting or icing, and decorations. You have options for all three so choose your own adventure and pick the options that you are most comfortable with. Making cookies is fun, and there’s no need to stress out. We’re here to help!

Cookie Dough:

• Basic Method: Pillsbury Sugar Cookie Dough + Flour
• Deluxe Method: Pillsbury Sugar Cookie Dough + Flour + Cream Cheese + almond or vanilla extract + sprinkles
• From Scratch Method: cookie dough from scratch

Frosting or Icing:

• Store-Bought Frosting
• Homemade Frosting
• Store-Bought Icing
• Homemade Icing
• Sprinkles
• Colored Sugar
• Assorted Candies
• Food color, optional

Kitchen Tools Needed:

• Mixing Bowls
• Rolling Pin
• Cookie Cutters
• Spatula
• Cookie Sheets
• Parchment Paper (optional)
• Oven Mitts
• Cooling Racks
• Plastic Squeeze Bottles (optional for icing)

If you have a busy holiday schedule and want to skip the hassle of making sugar cookie dough from scratch, starting with refrigerated dough can make things way easier. All you need to do is remove dough from the package, place into a mixing bowl and mix in 1/4 cup flour per cookie dough package with your fingers, a rubber spatula, or wooden spoon.

See how easy the basic method is with homemade icing.

Are you feeling a little more adventurous, but not quite ready to make your own dough from scratch? Use our deluxe method to make a richer, more decadent cookie dough by adding cream cheese and other ingredients to a roll of refrigerated dough.

If you have more time on your hands, you can also make your cookie dough from scratch with this easy, classic recipe. Shape the dough into disks, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for about one hour—this will make the dough much easier to roll out later!

Depending on your dough, you can prepare the sheet with nonstick cooking spray or line with parchment to prevent sticking. With this recipe, we found the best result straight on an ungreased cookie sheet. Win-win!

Now, gather up your scraps and repeat the rolling and cutting process as needed. Don’t forget to put any extra cookie dough in the fridge.

Switch to your thin icing for flooding, which is just a fancy word for filling in the outline you created. Think of it as coloring inside the lines of your cookie. You can leave a few gaps—as the thinner icing settles, it will spread out a bit to fill in the outline.

Ready to put all these methods and tips into action? Check out these recipes that mix and match the techniques we just went over in more detail.