COOKIES: It’s a busy time of year for all of us, with the hustle and bustle of holiday prep along with community events, charity requests, school plays and performances and more.

Holiday baking isn’t always a priority. Fresh baked cookies can be wonderful, but a lot of work — unless you find recipes with just a few ingredients.

An internet search showed lots of choices. For easy sugar cookies, the ingredients were one cup of unsalted butter at room temperature; 2/3 cup + 3 tablespoons granulated sugar, divided; and 2 cups + 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled; 1 teaspoon vanilla (optional, but recommended), rainbow sprinkles or nonpareils (optional, but recommended)

Instructions: Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl, using a handheld electric mixer, beat together butter and 2/3 cup sugar until combined. (It will be a little gritty – that’s ok.) Add in flour and blend well (then blend in the vanilla, if using.) Using a cookie scoop, roll the dough into 1-inch balls. Gently roll the balls in the remaining 3 tablespoons of sugar until lightly coated; transfer to the baking sheets 2 inches apart.

With the bottom of a measuring cup or glass, press down on the balls to flatten. Sprinkle with some nonpareils (if using) and lightly press down again just so they stick. (The dough should end up being between an eighth- to a quarter-inch thick. They will look pretty small in circumference, but they will spread a bit to a normal size cookie.)

Bake for 14-16 minutes or until just slightly golden around the edges and on the bottom.

Remove from the oven and let rest on the baking sheets for at least 10-15 minutes before removing.