Looking for the best holiday cookie recipe? This buttery sable dough is your ultimate baking hack. Start with one simple base and create multiple cookie flavors—no extra bowls, no separate doughs. Just add your favorite mix-ins! —Hetal Vasavada, San Francisco, California

If you’re a peppermint patty lover, you will adore these thumbprint cookies. There’s something about the combination of peppermint and dark chocolate that just feels like the holidays, and these thumbprint cookies lean all the way into that nostalgia. The base is a soft, black cocoa-rich cookie with just enough chew, but the real magic is the homemade peppermint patty filling nestled in the center. It’s creamy, cool and kind of like the inside of a York patty but richer. A quick drizzle of dark chocolate on top makes them look bakery-level without any extra fuss! These are the cookies you bring out when you want something classic but still a little extra. —Hetal Vasavada, San Francisco, California

Mashed potatoes seem simple, but we’ve all had the gluey, lumpy, "what went wrong?" version at least once. This method fixes every common mistake, starting the potatoes in salted cold water for even cooking, driving off excess moisture for a lighter texture, and finishing with room-temp butter and warm milk for cloudlike fluffiness. A bright, punchy horseradish-dill compound butter melts over the top, cutting through the richness and turning a simple side into the dish everyone reaches for twice. —Hetal Vasavada, San Francisco, California