How To Decorate Sugar Cookies Like a Pro

It can be difficult to get kids and adults to see eye to eye on a lot of things — but one thing they can both agree on is just how delicious sugar cookies are! The melt-in-your-mouth treats are beloved by people of all ages, and their versatility makes them both a year-round and Christmastime favorite.

If you're wondering what makes sugar cookies so popular, we have some ideas. Not only can they be shaped however you like — round! snowflake! heart! tree! — but fresh from the oven sugar cookies also provide you with a "blank canvas" that can be decorated in any delicious way you choose.

One of our all-time favorite ways to decorate sugar cookies is by flooding them with royal icing. Want to try the technique for yourself? Be sure to wait until the cookies have cooled completely before you begin decorating them, and cover the icing with a damp paper towel and plastic wrap until you're ready to use it; this will prevent the icing from drying out. Then, click through the rest of this gallery to see more of our go-to sugar cookie decorating tips, tricks and favorite designs.

"Flooding" is a technique used to cover a cookie completely with royal icing. Here's how to do it:

Transfer about 1/2 cup of the royal icing to a resealable plastic bag and snip a small corner. Use this icing to pipe a thin border around the edge of each cookie. Let set for a few minutes. Thin the remaining icing with a few drops of water until it's the consistency of syrup.

These cute-and-cozy cookies rely on the same technique as the Candy Stripes cookie, above. Simply add some shredded coconut around the edges to give the appearance of a fuzzy sweater.

After adding a border and flooding your snowflake cutouts with royal icing, simple sprinkle with a generous amount of sanding sugar and leave them to dry. This simple decorating technique produces shimmering results that look just like a crisp layer of frost.

One of the easiest ways to dress a sugar cookie up for the holidays is to simply spread some icing on top and then turn them over onto a plate that's full of assorted sprinkles. The entire surface of the cookie will be coated and colorful — and for almost no work at all!