Classic sugar cookies and more treats for Santa

Here's the perfect, all-purpose sugar cookie dough. If you want to add whole-grain goodness to your sugar cookies, replace half the flour with white whole-wheat flour.

In large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt. In separate large bowl, with mixer at low speed, beat butter and sugar until blended. Increase speed to high; beat until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Reduce speed to low; beat in eggs and vanilla until mixed, then beat in flour mixture just until blended, occasionally scraping bowl with rubber spatula. Divide dough into 4 equal pieces; flatten each into a disk. Wrap each disk in plastic and refrigerate overnight.

Preheat oven to 350°F. On lightly floured surface, with floured rolling pin, roll 1 piece of dough until slightly less than ¼ inch thick; keep remaining dough refrigerated. With floured 3- to 4-inch cookie cutters, cut dough into as many cookies as possible; reserve trimmings. Place cookies, 1 inch apart, on 2 ungreased large cookie sheets.

Bake until edges are golden, 12 to 15 minutes, rotating cookie sheets between upper and lower oven racks halfway through baking. With wide metal spatula, transfer cookies to wire racks to cool completely. Decorate with ornamental frosting, if desired.

Repeat with remaining dough and trimmings.

Each cookie: About 60 calories | 1g protein | 8g carbohydrate | 3g total fat (2g saturated) | 0g fiber | 13mg cholesterol | 47mg sodium

Like cheerfully wrapped packages, cutout cookies with bright trimmings are always inviting. A basic recipe for Ornamental Frosting follows, along with suggestions for tools to apply it. But if you don't have time to pipe on intricate designs, here are some other easy and fun techniques that work their magic in minutes.

This fluffy frosting is perfect for holiday cookies. The recipe originally called for three raw egg whites, and you can use them if pasteurized eggs are sold in your area. We prefer meringue powder, which is sterilized and now available at many supermarkets and baking supply stores.

In large bowl, with mixer at medium speed, beat confectioners' sugar, meringue powder, and water until mixture is stiff and knife drawn through leaves path, about 5 minutes.

If desired, tint frosting with food colorings. Keep tightly covered to prevent drying out. With small metal spatula, artist's paintbrushes, or decorating bags with small plain tips, decorate cookies with frosting. (You may need to thin frosting with a little warm water to obtain ideal spreading or piping consistency.)

Each tablespoon: about 40 calories | 0g protein | 10g carbohydrate | 0g total fat (0g saturated) | 0g fiber | 0mg cholesterol | 2mg sodium

Originating in New England in clipper-ship days, these spicy fruit bars got their name because they keep so long. Sailors would stow them away "like hermits" for snacking on extended voyages.

Preheat oven to 350°F.  Grease and flour 2 large cookie sheets.

In large bowl, with wire whisk, mix flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, ginger, nutmeg, salt, and cloves.

In separate large bowl, with mixer at medium speed, beat brown sugar and butter until light and fluffy.  Beat in molasses until well combined.  Beat in egg.  With mixer at low speed, beat in flour mixture just until blended, occasionally scraping bowl with rubber spatula.  With spoon, stir in raisins and pecans, if using, just until combined.

Divide dough into quarters.  With lightly floured hands, shape each quarter into 12" by 1½" logs.  On each prepared cookie sheet, place 2 logs, leaving about 3 inches in between.

Bake until logs flatten and edges are firm, 13 to 15 minutes, rotating cookie sheets between upper and lower oven racks halfway through baking.  Cool logs on cookie sheets on wire racks 15 minutes.

Transfer logs to cutting board. Slice each log crosswise into 8 bars.  Transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

Each bar: about 105 calories | 1g protein | 19g carbohydrate | 3g total fat (2g saturated) | 1g fiber | 15mg cholesterol | 80mg sodium

We dolloped these cookies with homemade blueberry jam, but raspberry or strawberry would be equally good.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease 2 large cookie sheets.

In large bowl, with fork, beat eggs lightly. Measure out 3 tablespoons beaten egg and transfer to small bowl for later use.

Add butter, sugar, vanilla and almond extracts, and salt to eggs in large bowl. With mixer at medium speed, beat until evenly mixed, occasionally scraping bowl with rubber spatula. Add flour and stir just until blended.

Divide dough into 4 equal pieces. Divide each piece into 14 pieces and shape into balls. Spread walnuts on a sheet of waxed paper. Dip balls in reserved egg, then roll in walnuts, gently pressing nuts into dough.

Place balls, 2 inches apart, on prepared cookie sheets, rotating cookie sheets between upper and lower oven racks halfway through baking. With thumb, make small indentation in center of each ball. Bake until golden, 20 minutes. Transfer cookies to wire rack. Immediately fill each indentation with a rounded ½ teaspoon of jam. Cool cookies completely on wire rack.

Repeat with remaining balls and jam.

Each cookie: about 90 calories | 1g protein | 10g carbohydrate | 5g total fat (1g saturated) | 0.5g fiber | 9mg cholesterol | 55mg sodium