3 Easy Holiday Desserts With Store-Bought Cookie Dough

Holiday baking just got easier.

The holidays come up so fast, and sometimes you don’t have time for mixing, baking, and decorating cookies. All is not lost! Convenient tubes of sugar cookie dough are already mixed and ready to go. Skip creaming the butter and cracking the eggs and go straight to playing with dough.

Here are three holiday dessert recipes that make good use of Pillsbury refrigerated sugar cookie dough. It’s widely available and easy to use. It’s even safe to eat raw, so if you are baking with kids, taking a taste of the dough is fine.

Using the dough as it comes from the tube makes a thin, crisp cookie, so if you want a crisp, round cookie to decorate, just slice and bake per the instructions on the package. That’s not all it can do. With a quick and easy tweak or two, you can turn the dough into three totally different (but equally delicious) treats.

Caramel Pecan Bars

The dough is great for cookie bars like these caramel pecan bars, which are a little gooey and studded with crunchy nuts. You’ll just crumble some of the dough into a cup, then press the rest in a pan and sprinkle with chopped caramels and pecans. The reserved dough gets sprinkled over the top and pressed down to show off the add-ins. So much easier than shaping a dozen cookies.

To make 9 bars, you’ll need:

• 1 (1-pound) tube refrigerated sugar cookie dough
• 1/2 cup pecan halves and pieces
• 10 soft caramel candies, cut in quarters

Oil an 8-inch baking pan. Preheat the oven to 350°F. 

Crumble about 1/3 of the cookie dough into a 1 cup measure and reserve. Crumble the remaining dough into the prepared pan. Press the dough into an even layer. Sprinkle with the pecans and caramel pieces, then sprinkle the reserved dough over the top. Pat with your fingers to make it roughly even.

Bake until golden around the edges, 25 to 30 minutes. Cool on a rack before serving.

Peppermint Blossoms

For a thicker cookie that spreads less, Pillsbury recommends stirring in some flour. That’s what you’ll do to make these showy peppermint blossoms (as well as the pumpkin spice doodles below). Crushed candy canes and Candy Cane Hershey’s Kisses add festive minty flavor. 

To make about 28 cookies, you’ll need:

• 10 mini candy canes or 4 regular candy canes, crushed (1/4 cup crushed)
• 1 (1-pound) tube refrigerated sugar cookie dough
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 28 Candy Cane Hershey’s Kisses

Crumble the dough into a large bowl and sprinkle the flour and crushed candy canes over the top. Use your hands to mash and mix into the dough. Use a 1 tablespoon-sized scoop to make balls of dough, place back in the bowl, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. 

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment. Place the chilled dough balls on the pans with 2 inches in between. Bake for 5 minutes, then swap the pans and bake until just set, 4 to 6 minutes longer. 

Place the pans on racks and press a chocolate kiss in the center of each cookie while warm. Cool completely before serving.

Pumpkin Spice Doodles

For these doodles, you’ll mix in a little flour to give the final cookie a puffier profile. Rolled in a mix of pumpkin spice mix and sugar, these cookies are spiced just right for the holidays.

To make about 16 cookies, you’ll need:

• 2 tablespoons pumpkin pie spice
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1 (1-pound) log refrigerated sugar cookie dough
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour

In a small bowl, combine the pumpkin spice and sugar and set aside.

Crumble the dough into a large bowl and sprinkle with the flour. Mash and mix with your hands. Scoop 2 tablespoon-sized portions of dough, then roll in the sugar mixture. Place on a plate and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Line two large baking sheet pans with parchment. Arrange the dough balls 2 inches apart. Bake for 7 minutes, then swap the pans and bake until no longer shiny, about 7 minutes longer. Cool on racks before serving.