Food Cooking Tips & Techniques Baking 9 Clever Ways to Use Sugar Cookie Dough Stroll into your next cookie bake-off with confidence. By Sara Quessenberry Updated on February 12, 2023 Share Tweet Pin Email Trending Videos Photo: Lucas Allen Sure, sugar cookies are tasty in their own right. But once you've made the dough, there are countless ways to make even more unique treats. Try these clever recipes with sugar cookie dough the next time you have some leftover dough and want to get creative. First, we're sharing an easy sugar cookie dough recipe (in case you didn't have one). Follow the instructions, then add ingredients like chocolate, pecans, peppermint, or cinnamon for a simple upgrade. Take that dough one step further with all the other innovative sugar cookie recipes that don't just look impressive—they'll dazzle your taste buds, too. 01 of 09 Basic Sugar Cookie Dough zoff-photo Follow this simple sugar cookie dough recipe, then bake these basic cookies at 350 F on parchment-lined baking sheets. The dough itself should take you no more than 25 minutes to make. If you're short on time, you can start with slice-and-bake dough from the supermarket.Get the recipe: Basic Sugar Cookie Dough 02 of 09 Tie Dye Sugar Cookies Betty Gold Start with the sugar cookie dough recipe above, then cool the cookies completely. Use this creative icing trick that only looks difficult to pull off. You'll need several colors of icing on hand, which can be store-bought or homemade. Get the recipe: Tie Dye Sugar Cookies 03 of 09 Soft-Baked Froot Loops Sugar Cookies Grace Elkus Fruit Loops are a fun and colorful addition to sugar cookies. You still get to enjoy the soft gooey center (especially if served warm), but the rainbow of colors adds a festive birthday party effect. Get the recipe: Soft-Baked Fruit Loops Sugar Cookies 04 of 09 Peppermint Checkerboard Sugar Cookies To make these impressive cookies, split the sugar cookie dough into two parts, adding peppermint extract and red food coloring to one of them. Then use our simple method of slicing, stacking, and layering the two different dough colors. Get the recipe: Peppermint Checkerboard Cookies 05 of 09 Marbled Sugar Cookies Caitlin Bensel Start by adding a few drops of food coloring to half the sugar cookie dough. Then follow our stacking and kneading directions to produce the marbled effect. This one requires some patience because you need to freeze the dough before baking. Oh, but it's worth it! Get the recipe: Marbled Cookies 06 of 09 Hamantaschen Sugar Cookies blueenayim/Getty Images These classic Jewish sugar cookies can be savory or sweet, depending on the filling. Our recipe allows for your own creativity, so go ahead and choose among ingredients like poppy seeds, jams or preserves, chocolate chips, or nut butters. Get the recipe: Hamantaschen 07 of 09 Pecan Sugar Cookie Logs David Prince This simple recipe involves rolling the sugar cookie dough into ½-inch-thick cords, brushing with egg wash, and sprinkling with a mixture of pecans and sugar. You'll love the rich and nutty flavor of this traditional Southern treat. Get the recipe: Pecan Logs 08 of 09 Chocolate-Hazelnut Sugar Cookie Sandwiches David Prince Use the sugar cookie dough recipe to make round cookies, then make them into sandwiches with a store-bought chocolate hazelnut spread in the middle. Sprinkle confectioners’ sugar on top. Get the recipe: Chocolate-Hazelnut Sandwiches 09 of 09 Jam Sandwich Sugar Cookies Raymond Hom This sugar cookie alternative is similar to the recipe above but uses jam instead of chocolate. Simply spread ½ teaspoon of jam between two cookies made with the sugar cookie dough recipe. We recommend seedless raspberry jam, but the flavor is up to you. Sprinkling confectioner's sugar on top gives this cookie a festive look. Get the recipe: Jam Sandwich Cookies Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit