Sugar, Sugar

What’s the holiday season without cookies? This lineup features some of the best sugar cookie recipes we’ve created, tested, and tasted over the years.

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ON A ROLL

TO SAVE A LITTLE TIME, ROLL OUT COOKIE DOUGH WHEN IT'S SOFT AND PLIABLE: SHAPE DOUGH INTO A BALL AND FLATTEN SLIGHTLY. LAYER BETWEEN TWO PIECES OF PARCHMENT PAPER AND ROLL TO DESIRED THICKNESS. FREEZE FLAT 30 MINUTES.

CREAM CHEESE SUGAR COOKIES

HANDS ON 25 min. TOTAL TIME 1 hr. 35 min.

½ cup salted butter, softened

4 oz. cream cheese, softened, or 4 oz. mascarpone cheese

1 cup sugar

1 tsp. baking powder

¼ tsp. baking soda

¼ tsp. freshly grated nutmeg (optional)

1 egg

2½ cups all-purpose flour

Cream Cheese Frosting and sprinkles (optional)

1. In a large bowl beat butter and cream cheese with a mixer on medium 30 seconds. Add sugar, baking powder, baking soda, nutmeg (if using), and ¼ tsp. salt. Beat until combined, scraping bowl as needed. Beat in egg. Beat in flour. Halve dough; wrap and chill until easy to handle, 1 hour.

2. Preheat oven to 375°F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper. On a lightly floured surface, roll one portion of dough at a time to ¼-inch thickness. Use floured 2½-inch cookie cutters to cut out shapes, rerolling scraps as needed. Place cutouts 1 inch apart on prepared cookie sheets.

3. Bake until bottoms are light brown, about 6 minutes. Cool on cookie sheets 2 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack; let cool completely. Decorate with Cream Cheese Frosting and sprinkles if you like. Makes 24 cookies.

PER COOKIE 133 cal, 6 g fat (3 g sat fat), 23 mg chol, 106 mg sodium, 19 g carb, 9 g sugars, 2 g pro