Cooking, like any skill, deserves time and attention. Unlike other hobbies, however, there are three opportunities every day to practice.

Building a collection of recipes is like building a repertoire of music. When you learn to play an instrument, the first piece you learn isn’t Beethoven’s “Moonlight Sonata,” it’s “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.” With culinary endeavors, it is also best to start small and build with baby steps.

Even if what you make is stupid simple, it’s “Top Chef” material if it tastes great.

Cookies Three Ways

This recipe is wonderfully versatile because depending on how much time you have, you can have elegant and festive cutouts or uncomplicated and homey circular cookies.

2 1/2 cups flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 sticks softened butter

3/4 cups sugar

2 egg yolks

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/4 teaspoon lemon zest

Preheat oven to 360 degrees. In a medium bowl, mix baking powder, salt and flour. In a bigger bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until they form a light fluffy mixture. Add the egg yolks, vanilla and zest. Beat until smooth. Slowly add the dry mix to the wet ingredients. Beat until the dough comes together. Now, you can decide what kind of cookies you want. For drop cookies, roll about a tablespoon of dough into a ball using your hands. Place on ungreased cookie sheet. For circular sliced cookies, divide the dough in half. Roll into two-inch wide logs. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least two hours. Cut quarter-inch thick slices and place on ungreased cookie sheet. For cutouts, divide the dough in half, pat into flat, one-inch wide disks, and refrigerate for two hours. Roll the dough out on a floured surface until it is a quarter-inch thick. Cut out shapes, and place on ungreased cookie sheet. For all types, leave a one-inch space between cookies and bake for 10 to15 minutes until the bottoms are golden.

Adapted from Food Network Kitchens’ 3-in-1 sugar cookies.

Beginner’s Cookie Glaze

Once you’ve grasped the concept of the dough, you can move on to decorating your confections.

2 tablespoons water

1 teaspoon lemon juice

2 cups powdered sugar

Food coloring (optional)

Combine ingredients in a small bowl. It should be a semi-thick mixture with a smooth consistency. Spoon the mixture onto your cookies. Feel free to add sprinkles or other embellishments Let dry for at least one hour.

Intermediate Royal Icing

If you want your cookies to have a more refined look, there is a more sophisticated option. This recipe is great for small decorative accents.

2 egg whites

3 cups powdered sugar

1 teaspoon lemon juice

Food coloring (optional)

Beat the egg whites in a large bowl until they are opaque and shiny. Add sugar, lemon juice and food coloring. Beat until all the ingredients are well mixed. Transfer immediately into a plastic baggie. Cut the corner off of the bag, and pipe details and designs on the cookies.

Advanced Butter Cream Frosting

For a topping that is both decadent and tricky to tackle, try buttercream. Once this bad boy has been tamed, you’ll have dessert skills that rival Willy Wonka.

2 sticks softened unsalted butter

3 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

2 tablespoons cream

1/4 teaspoon salt

With an electric mixer, beat the butter until it is light and fluffy. Add three cups of sugar. With the mixer on low, beat together the sugar and butter until they form a smooth mixture. Add the cream, vanilla, food coloring and salt. Beat for three to five minutes until fluffy.

 Once you master these simple recipes, you can whip up a batch of Christmas cookies as fast as if you used the prepackaged dough but skipped the hard-to-pronounce chemicals. Nothing beats the finals blues like an apartment that smells of vanilla and butter.