‘Tis the season for Christmas cookies. There’s the three dozen to bake for your neighbor’s cookie swap party, the batch to bring to the church pot luck, and the tray to take to your in-laws. So many cookies, so little time. Why not make it easier for yourself?

With just one simple sugar cookie recipe, you can actually concoct a multitude of cookie creations, from pinwheels to thumbprints, for each of the season’s events. So go ahead and make a few batches ahead of time to freeze. Then take out the dough and transform it for the latest holiday shindig.

Start with a basic sugar cookie dough recipe. With just a few extra ingredients, that dough can become:

1. Candy Canes, from Parenting
2. Chocolate-Raspberry Thumbprints, from Martha Stewart
3. Cinnamon Pinwheels, from Real Simple
4. Peppermint Frosted Cookies, from The New York Times
5. Shining Star Sandwich Cookies, from Midwest Living
6. Chocolate Orange Cocoa Hearts, from Food Network
7. Red Sugar Dome Cookies,  from Country Living
8. Raspberry-Almond Linzer Cookies, from Gourmet
9. Stained Glass Cookies, from Pilsbury
10. Pecan Logs, from Real Simple

Now that’s being a smart cookie.