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12 Days of Cookies
Our showcase concludes with some show-stopping batches of holiday joy
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Red Velvet Sandwich Cookies taste just like the cake, without all the fuss. - photo by SARA GUEVARA

Snickerdoodles and chocolate-chip cookies may be delicious, but when you’re trying to impress a holiday crowd, sometimes you have to pull out all of the stops.

This is why for our last installment of the "12 Days of Cookies," we decided to pull out the fancy-pants recipes.

You know, the ones where you’re bound to hear at least one whispered, "She made those?"

Don’t be fooled by the list of ingredients and names. They sound more complicated than they really are.

In most cases, you want to chill the dough before slicing or taking the cookie cutters to them.

If your cookie recipe requires you to bake dollops of dough, try using a small ice cream scoop, or even invest in a cookie scoop. These scoops will help ensure that you have same-sized cookies, which is especially important if you’ll be sandwiching them together.

You also don’t want to forget your parchment paper.

The availability of it can make the difference between your guests getting a taste of your black-tie dessert or simply admiring their beauty because they’re stuck to your baking sheet.