When it comes right down to it, the simplest holiday cookie is, hands down, this sugar cookie. No rolling pin or sheets of wax paper are required. Just roll the dough into balls between your palms, then coat them with decorative coarse sugars. This is the perfect cookie for children starting out in the kitchen, by the way. They'll have loads of fun mixing up different colors of the sanding sugar, and messy kitchen aside, everyone will be happy when they sink their teeth into the first ones warm from the oven.
Although this dough makes a delightful cookie on its own, it also serves as the base for four more surprisingly different yet super delicious holiday confections, from Caramel Cheesecake Bites and Chocolate Peppermint Stars to Raspberry-Almond Linzer Cookies and Chocolate-Dipped Spritz Washboards with Pistachios . Make one recipe, or make all five. You'll be the hit of the neighborhood cookie swap.
•Coarse sanding sugars come in many different colors and are available at specialty foods stores and New York Cake & Baking Distributor. Use one color or mix up several colors. The most important thing is to have fun.
