No matter how busy this time of year can be, I always find time to make Christmas cookies!

While I love baking, I try not to eat the entire yield, which is rather tempting now that I live alone, so I often bring cookies to work. My team and I sit near a highly-trafficked printer, so this strategy a good way to protect my waistline and connect with coworkers throughout the day.

This past weekend, I made a big batch of my all-time favorite sugar cookies—Martha’s Stewart’s Old-Fashioned sugar cookies. They’re soft, they’re chewy, they’re lemony—they’re pretty much everything I look for in a sugar cookie. And, for a homemade cookie, they are relatively easy to make and require no unusual ingredients, which means no frantic trips to a holiday-level-crowded grocery store.

I’ve shared the recipe for these cookies below—and also included a link to Courtney’s delicious Grinch Crinkle Cookies at the end of this post. For the second year in a row, I’ve teamed up with 10 of my favorite bloggers for a virtual cookie exchange so that you have nearly a dozen great recipe ideas at your fingertips! Calories don’t count during the holidays you know ;]!

Here’s what you’ll need and the recipe:

Ingredients //

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup packed light-brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest, plus 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1 cup unsalted butter, (2 sticks), softened
• 2 large eggs
• Sanding sugar, for sprinkling

Directions // 

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Sift flour, baking soda, and salt into a bowl, then set aside. (As an aside, sometimes I’m too lazy to sift and the cookies still turn out fine!)
2. Put sugars and lemon zest in a large bowl bowl. Mix on medium speed with a hand mixer for 30 seconds. Add butter, then mix until pale and fluffy. Mix in eggs, one at a time, and then add the lemon juice. Reduce the mixer speed speed and gradually add in flour mixture. Mix until well combined.
3. For best results, chill the dough for at least one hour. If you want to roll out the dough for cookie cutters, I’d definitely chill the dough over night.
4. When ready to bake, scoop dough using a two-inch ice cream scoop. Space the dough balls two inches apart on parchment-lined baking sheets. Flatten cookies slightly with a spatula. If you aren’t going to ice the cookies, you can sprinkle the top with sanding sugar, then lightly brush with a wet pastry brush and then sprinkle with more sanding sugar. Since I knew I was going to be decorating my cookies, I skipped this step.
5. Bake cookies until golden brown, about 15 minutes. Transfer to wire racks and let cool completely before decorating* or eating. Enjoy!

* These were super easy to decorate—all I did was ice them using vanilla icing, and then I drew abstract Christmas trees using green decorative icing. For the ornaments, I used colorful ball sprinkles. The result is so cute and requires minimal effort or skill.

And, as promised—here’s a teaser of Courtney’s Grinch Crinkle cookies. How cute are these?! Head on over to her blog for the complete recipe and to be linked to another delicious cookie idea!

PS—if you still need more ideas for your last-minute baking needs, you should also check out my favorite Christmas cookie bars and my easy ginger Christmas cookies!