Making Christmas sugar cookies? Here are a few of the best recipes.

No Christmas cookie collection is complete without a batch of delicious sugar cookies decorated with festive icing.

Whether you want to get fancy with neatly cut-out and frosted sugar cookies or play it safe with easy-to-bake bars, we’ve got some mouthwatering recipes that will make you a sweet star at holiday cookie swaps.

Baking and decorating sugar cookies is a treasured holiday tradition that brings family and friends together to have fun and get creative. If you’ve never made sugar cookies, these uncomplicated recipes just might inspire you to start a new baking tradition.

Cut-out sugar cookies

From Thanksgiving (thanksgiving.com)

Yields: 32–36 cookies

Pull out your holiday-themed cookie cutters for these gorgeous cut-out sugar cookies. Decorated with royal icing and sprinkles, these impressive sugar cookies will become the edible holiday gift your family and friends request every year.

MORE RECIPES: The Homemade for the Holidays cookbook

INGREDIENTS

• 6 cups flour (750 grams)

• ⅛ teaspoon baking powder

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 2 cups butter, softened

• 2 cups sugar

• 2 eggs

• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

• Royal icing (recipe below)

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Place flour in large mixing bowl. Add baking powder and salt. Stir until well combined.

2. Using a stand mixer with paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.

3. Beat in eggs one at a time, then add vanilla extract. Mix well. Blend one more minute.

4. Slowly add in dry ingredients, 1 cup at a time. The dough will come together and turn into a ball. Be patient: This is a slow process.

5. Smooth freshly mixed dough into a ball. Cut into thirds.

6. With a rolling pin, roll the first portion of dough between 2 sheets of parchment paper to ¼-inch thickness. Place sheet of dough in the refrigerator. Repeat with remaining thirds of the dough.

7. Chill sheets of dough overnight.

8. Preheat oven to 350F.

9. Line 2 baking trays with parchment paper.

10. Cut out cookies with cookie cutters, and place on cookie sheet. Return to refrigerator until ready to bake.

11. Roll any dough scraps and cut out additional cookies. Continue until all dough is used.

12. Ovens vary, but total baking time will be approximately 11–12 minutes. The size of the cookies makes a difference; cooking time will be less for smaller cookies. Tip for most even baking: Halfway through cooking time, move cookie sheet on oven's upper rack to lower rack, and move the sheet from lower rack to upper rack.

13. After baking, allow cookies to cool on cookie sheet for 5 minutes, then move them to wire rack to cool completely.

14. When cool, frost as desired with royal icing.

Royal Icing

From Thanksgiving (thanksgiving.com)

Yields: 2 cups

INGREDIENTS

• 5 tablespoons meringue powder

• ¾ cup very warm water

• 1 teaspoon cream of tartar

• 2¼ pounds (36 ounces) powdered sugar

• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

• Food coloring

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Ensure that the kitchen tools you use are grease free and dry.

2. In a stand mixer, using the whisk tool, blend meringue powder and warm water until mixture is foamy. Add cream of tartar and whisk again by hand.

3. Place bowl back on mixing stand and add powdered sugar one cup at a time. Once all powdered sugar has been added, blend together for 9 minutes.

4. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add vanilla extract. Continue to blend together for another minute.

5. The icing will be very thick. If you want to use food coloring, remove part of the icing to another bowl so you can color only as much as you need.

6. Add any desired food coloring, and continue mixing until well-blended. Add a small amount of water (½ teaspoon at a time) until the desired consistency is reached.

7. Repeat this process for the remainder of the frosting until all colors are completed.

8. Frost cookies using a piping bag and piping tips.

Easy frosted bar sugar cookies

From Amanda Formaro, Amanda’s Cookin’ (amandascookin.com)

INGREDIENTS

• 1½ cups sugar

• 1 cup butter, softened

• 8 oz cream cheese, softened

• 1 egg

• ½ teaspoon almond extract

• 1 teaspoon vanilla

• ½ teaspoon baking soda

• 1 teaspoon baking powder

• 2½ cups all-purpose flour

For the frosting

• ½ cup butter softened

• 4 oz cream cheese, softened

• 3½ cups powdered sugar

• 3-5 tablespoons milk

• 1 teaspoon vanilla

• food coloring or icing paste

Helpful kitchen tools

• Large jelly roll pan

• Stand Mixer or hand mixer

• Frosting spatula

• Mixing bowls

INSTRUCTIONS

1. In a large mixing bowl or stand mixer, beat the butter, cream cheese, sugar, and egg until nice and frothy. About 4 minutes.

2. Add the vanilla and almond extract and beat for 1 minute more.

3. In a small bowl combine the flour, baking powder and baking soda. Mix them around so that all ingredients are well incorporated.

4. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and beat for about 2 minutes. Press the dough into a large jelly roll (cookie sheet) pan.

5. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Let the pan cool completely.

6. To make the frosting, in a medium-sized bowl (or your stand mixer) combine the butter and cream cheese. Beat for about 2 minutes.

7. Add the powdered sugar, milk, vanilla and food coloring. Mix for 1-2 minutes or until smooth.

8. Frost your pan of cookies using each different color.

9. Cut the frosted sugar cookie bars into squares and serve!

Soft cakey drop sugar cookies with frosting

From Sally McKenney, Sally’s Baking Addiction (sallysbakingaddiction.com)

Yields 36 cookies

INSTRUCTIONS

• 3 cups (370g) all-purpose flour

• 1 teaspoon baking powder

• ½ teaspoon baking soda

• ½ teaspoon salt

• 1 cup (2 sticks; 235g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature

• 1½ cups (300g) granulated sugar

• 2 large eggs, at room temperature

• 1 cup (240g) full-fat sour cream, at room temperature

• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

• ½ teaspoon almond extract

• vanilla buttercream and sprinkles for decorating

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt together. Set aside.

2. In a large bowl using a hand mixer or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and granulated sugar together on high speed until smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. Add the eggs, sour cream, vanilla extract, and almond extract. Beat on medium-high speed until combined. The mixture may look curdled; that's ok. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl as needed. With the mixer on low speed, mix in the dry ingredients until combined. The dough will be very thick, creamy, and silky. Cover dough tightly with aluminum foil or plastic wrap and chill for 1 hour and up to 2-3 days.

3. Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C). Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Set aside.

4. Remove cookie dough from the refrigerator. Measure cookies to be 1½ tablespoons each. Arrange 3 inches apart on the baking sheets.

5. Bake for 13-14 minutes or until a cookie springs back when lightly poked with your finger. Remove from the oven and allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely before frosting.

6. Prepare frosting and spread onto each cooled cookie. Garnish with sprinkles, if desired.

7. Frosted cookies will stay fresh covered at room temperature for 2 days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

8. Make ahead tip: You can chill the cookie dough in the refrigerator for up to 3 days (see step 2), but you can also freeze it for up to 3 months. Allow to thaw overnight in the refrigerator before baking. Unfrosted cookies freeze well for up to 2-3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and bring to room temperature before frosting and serving.

Recipe Notes:

Sour cream is a key ingredient in these cookies. For the best flavor and texture, I strongly recommend full-fat sour cream, but in a pinch light sour cream can work. Do not use fat free. Plain full-fat yogurt can be substituted. I don't suggest subbing the sour cream with a liquid.

Why room temperature? All refrigerated items should be at room temperature so the batter mixes together easily and evenly. It really makes a difference!

In these photos, the buttercream has been tinted with 1 small drop dusty rose gel food coloring and topped with natural color rainbow sprinkles.

The USA TODAY Network and Thanksgiving.com, America’s home for the holidays, are here to help you make those special times of year with family and friends even brighter. Whether you're looking for recipes, how-to food videos, seasonal decor ideas, or delicious new desserts, we've got you covered. Thanksgiving.com is produced by USA TODAY Network newsrooms and Grateful Ventures, a part of the Network.

This article originally appeared on Grateful: Making Christmas sugar cookies? Here are a few of the best recipes.