The basic Christmas cookie in the States? Sugar cookies. The dough is easy to make. You get to roll it out, use cookie cutters, bake them and then frost them. Fun-wise it doesn't really get any better than that.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="614" caption="Christmas Sugar Cookies"]<a class="tt-flickr tt-flickr-Large" title="Christmas Sugar Cookies" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6563179553/"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7013/6563179553_8d28a1b974_b.jpg" alt="Christmas Sugar Cookies" width="614" height="410" /></a>[/caption]

Sugar cookies are the gold standard of the holidays.

When I was growing up we'd make dozens of these cookies. They went on every cookie try and we gave them as gifts to everyone--teachers, neighbors, friends and family.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="614" caption="Cutting out cookies"]<a class="tt-flickr tt-flickr-Large" title="Cutting out cookies" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6563173503/"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7156/6563173503_31eb51c554_b.jpg" alt="Cutting out cookies" width="614" height="410" /></a>[/caption]

Now that I am older, they seem like a little more work than I'd like to do to on my own. The thought of little kids rolling sugar cookies out is cute. While the thought of me cutting cookie, after cookie out is not so cute. Not mention frosting all of these cookies after they bake and cool.

But you these are the things you do for Christmas. <!--more-->

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="614" caption="Cookies fresh out of the oven"]<a class="tt-flickr tt-flickr-Large" title="Cookies fresh out of the oven" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6563174145/"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7152/6563174145_33f021720b_b.jpg" alt="Cookies fresh out of the oven" width="614" height="410" /></a>[/caption]

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="614" caption="Stacks of sugar cookies"]<a class="tt-flickr tt-flickr-Large" title="Stacks of sugar cookies" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6563175759/"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7147/6563175759_d00fdf7b3c_b.jpg" alt="Stacks of sugar cookies" width="614" height="410" /></a>[/caption]

Anyhow, I pushed these thoughts out of my mind and I threw together a batch of sugar cookie dough (<a href="http://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/sugar-cookies/90993177-b5fe-4cc7-a6b6-8f58913d36e8#?st=6&amp;term=Sugar%20cookies&amp;ps=9&amp;pi=9&amp;fv=AND%28HasGridViewImage%3ATrue%29" target="_blank">thanks once again Betty Crocker</a>). The thing about sugar cookies is that it's really important for the dough to chill at least 2 hours before you try to roll the dough or to cut it out. So I figured that I'll make the dough one night, bake the cookies another and wrap the whole thing up with frosting them the next night. That way I can really stretch these (damn) cookies out as long humanly possible.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="614" caption="Frosting in green and red"]<a class="tt-flickr tt-flickr-Large" title="Frosting in grenn and red" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6563176463/"><img class=" " src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7156/6563176463_c8935c5c8f_b.jpg" alt="Frosting in green and red" width="614" height="410" /></a>[/caption]

Only thing is that I made the cookie dough a week ago, stored it away in a tupperware container and promptly ran out of time to do anything at home but sleep and make coffee for a week. <em>Awesome</em>. So yesterday on my first day of vacation I rolled out the cookies.  I cut out hearts because I don't actually have any Christmas cookie cutters and I baked the cookies.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="614" caption="Green tree, red cookie"]<a class="tt-flickr tt-flickr-Large" title="Green tree, red cookie" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6563177823/"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7157/6563177823_429e9c6603_b.jpg" alt="Green tree, red cookie" width="614" height="410" /></a>[/caption]

Now I've got to frost them. These cookies are taking <em>forever</em> to actually make.

Oh well, they are pretty cute (and tasty) and now that I've made the frosting and frosted them, I am ready for Santa. Santa don't forget, I've been a good girl this year.