How to Make Sugar Cookies 10x Better, According to the 'King of Cookie Week'

Now that the calendar has turned to December , it's time to preheat our ovens and get moving on our holiday baking . Even if you're not a big baker the rest of the year, the holidays might inspire you to bust out the flour and sugar and splurge on the fancy butter because it's holiday cookie time . 

Early December is also the time that the new holiday cookies drop at major publications, including The New York Times . For the past five years, we've looked forward to the paper's Cookie Week , seven days full of the must-make cookies of the year. 

This year, in honor of Cookie Week and all things holiday baking, Parade was lucky enough to chat with  Vaughn Vreeland , supervising video producer for NYT Cooking. Vreeland—who produced videos for Cookie Week, is the author of the Cookie Week newsletter author and developed a holiday cookie recipe of his own—has been dubbed 'The King of Cookie Week.' 

"Cookie Week is definitely a humongous group effort and so I would never want to be the sole person taking credit for everything," he says. "But I'm honored and I love Cookie Week so much, so if it's a title that befits me for the holiday season, I'll take it." 

When we chatted with the benevolent cookie king he gave us the inside scoop on how Cookie Week comes together (the process starts in June!), shared some of his favorite recipes (read on for his ultimate cookie box ideas) and gave us some tips that we're definitely using this holiday baking season. His advice will help you become baking royalty at your house too. 

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3 Easy Ways to Make Your Holiday Baking Better

Vreeland might work for The New York Times , but he sees himself as very much a home baker. "I think that I relate a lot to home bakers because I am a home baker," he says. After five years on the Cookie Week crew, he's picked up tips and tricks that have helped improve his baking that can make you a better baker, too.

1. Follow the recipe.This might seem obvious, but the recipe comments suggest that maybe not every baker is following the recipes as written. "We test our cookies a bunch as developers, and thenthey also go through at least a couple rounds of external testing," he says. "So the recipes are written like that for areason. I think that sometimes people try to take shortcuts or liberties with certain things and it doesn'tturn out for them. And I think that is a big thing that has gotten me in some hot water before, but I've learned my lesson."

2. You need a scale (for real).You might have heard baking pros say this before, but using a scale to weigh your ingredients really does make a difference. If you want to know why, let's just take flour, for example. "People just really pack the flour into that cup," he says. "And it seems like 10 to 15 grams here or there wouldn't be the end of the world in a cookie, but when you're dealing with three cups of flour, that's 50 extra grams of flour, which is basically almost a whole half cup of extra flour. That can really dry your cookies out." At the end of the day, baking is a science, so make sure you have the right tools. 

3. Take a classic cookie and make it your own.While it's important to be precise with your measurements, that doesn't mean that you can't have fun with your bakes. When we asked Vreeland how to take classic cookies up a notch, we started with sugar cookies. "I love adding a little rubbing orange zest into the sugar for sugar cookies and then adding a little bit of spice,maybe some cardamom, cinnamon, nutmeg or ginger," he says. "I love those warmingcitrus and spice flavors for the holidays. 

If you're a fan of thumbprints, think of new flavor combos that might make the cookies pop. Vreeland likes the combination of pistachio and raspberry, so try a pistachio thumbprint filled with raspberry jam. Or do a peanut butter cookie with some grape jelly for a fun take on PB&J. This is also a great place to use any fancy jelly you get for the holidays or at the farmers market. "I think just using good quality jam also reallymakes thumbprint cookies shine," he says.

How to Build a Great Cookie Box

We couldn't let Vreeland get away without asking him what would be in his ultimate cookie box. His collection might inspire you to add another cookie or two to your must-bake list this year. 

• Start zesty:"I would say I would want maybe a lemony or a citrusy shortbread of some sort that's maybe aslice and bake that's rolled in some beautiful sanding sugar to give it more sparkle and color or a stamped shortbread," he says. "I love, love,love citrus shortbread." 

•  Chocolate + mint is a must-have: For Vreeland, it just wouldn't be the holidays without chocolate and peppermint. He's a big fan of brownie cookies and adding mint to the equation makes it ideal for this time of year. 

• Add a whimsical thumbprint:"I love a thumbprint," he says. "I'm a fan of those classic holiday flavors, but I also really think that the holidays lendthemselves well to trying new. So maybe there's a blacksesame thumbprint with yuzu curd or yuzu ginger curd."

• Include a no-bake option: Give yourself a bit of a break with a no-bake option in the mix. Vreland loves a rum ball and is also a big fan of the Holiday Rocky Road  by Sohla El-Waylly that's in this year's Cookie Week collection. Is it technically a candy and not a cookie? Yes, but because the recipe is in the Cookie Week collection (and it's gorgeous and delicious) we'll give it a pass. If you're looking for a no-bake option that's a bit more classic, Vreeland also loves a rum ball. 

• Get spicy: "And then obviously, there's got to be somethinggingery," he says.  This year, he's thinking that the Ginger Cheesecake Cookies that Samantha Seneviratne developed this year would be a great addition. 

• Don't forget the nuts: For his final cookie pick, Vreeland suggests including a nutty cookie. There are lots of options in this category, but his pick this year is his 2024 Cookie Week contribution: Rum-Buttered Almond Cookies . They're nutty, buttery, boozy, easy and they're gluten-free. 

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