Jazz up that roll of sugar cookie dough

I love having easy recipes on hand for those occasions when you need to come up with something fast. Maybe a friend needs to be cheered up. Your sister had a baby. Things are crap at work and you want to treat your colleagues. Your kid says, “Mom/Dad, I am supposed to take cookies to school tomorrow.” Or maybe you just need that cookie fix.

Keep a roll or two of sugar cookie dough in the fridge and don’t panic. You can vary the ingredients depending on what you have: Chopped peppermint patties or Heath bars. Pecans and cinnamon chips. Milk chocolate chips and peanuts. Chopped dates and walnuts. A 16.5-oz. roll makes 24 to 30 cookies.

These two  are favorites among my experiments.

Chocolate Cherry Lemon Cookies

1 roll of (Pillsbury) sugar cookie dough

1 cup dark chocolate chips

1 cup white chocolate (or vanilla-flavored) chips

1/2 cup chopped, dried cherries

Zest of two lemons (minced if pieces are large)

Preheat oven to 350.

Let cookie dough soften in a medium mixing bowl at room temperature for a few minutes as you gather ingredients.

Use your hands (it really  is easiest) to thoroughly mix in the ingredients. Use a small cookie scoop to form cookies and place them on parchment paper-lined cookie sheets. (Alternatively, you can shape dough into a roll on waxed paper and roll up to chill an hour or two to firm up the dough. Slice and bake.) Bake 6 to 10 minutes. Remove from the oven when cookies are just brown around edges; they will firm up as they cool and have a nice, chewy texture.

Ginger White-Chocolate Lemon Cookies

1 roll of Pillsbury sugar cookie dough

1 cup white chocolate (or vanilla-flavored) chips

1/3 cup (to 1/2 cup if you love ginger) minced crystallized ginger

Zest of two lemons, minced if pieces are large

Preheat oven to 350.

Let cookie dough soften in a medium mixing bowl at room temperature for a few minutes as you gather ingredients.

Again, use your hands to mix in the ingredients. Use a small cookie scoop to form cookies and place them on parchment-paper-lined cookie sheets. (Or shape dough into a roll on waxed paper and roll up to chill an hour or two to firm the dough. Slice and bake.) Bake 6 to 10 minutes. Remove from the oven when cookies are just brown around edges.