In a large bowl, combine the granulated sugar, and butter. Cream the butter and sugar together using a stand mixer or hand mixer on high until smooth. This will take about 2 minutes. Pro Tip. The butter should be room temperature.

Next, add the eggs, vanilla extract, and almond extract if desired. I find that just a bit of almond in the cookie mix adds a lovely flavor. You can leave that out and just use the vanilla extract if you wish. Continue mixing about 1 more minute or until the mixture light, fluffy, and a little glossy looking. Pro Tip. Make sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl and beat again to make sure all the ingredients are incorporated.

In a separate bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, and salt so all the dry ingredients are combined before adding to the butter and sugar mixture.

Add the dry ingredients to the wet and continue mixing on low speed just until the mixture comes together.

After mixing the cookie dough, shape it into a disc and wrap in plastic wrap. Chilling Time. It is a good practice to chill at least one hour, but preferably overnight for best results.

While the cookie dough is still cool, roll and cut cookie dough into shapes. Pro Tip. Lightly Flour Work Surface. Too much flour can make the cookie dough drier and tough. Start with a lightly floured surface and add extra flour as needed. Make sure to lightly flour the rolling pin to prevent that from sticking.

Roll Cookie Dough to ¼-inch thick.

Use cookie cutters to cut shapes close together. This way, you will get the most cookies cut out each time you roll the dough. Place the cutout cookies on a cookie sheet. Pro Tip. Line 2-3 large baking sheets with parchment paper or non-stick silicone baking mats to prevent sticking.

Re-roll the remaining dough scraps until it is all used up.

Bake cookies for 7 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit or until cookie is starting to brown on the edges.

Cool on the baking sheet 3 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling. A cooling rack helps the air get around the whole cookie helping it cool faster. Frost as desired.

In a small bowl, stir together powdered sugar and milk until smooth. Beat in corn syrup and vanilla extract until icing is smooth and glossy. If icing is too thick, add more corn syrup.

The best way to color the frosting is to divide the icing into separate bowls and add food colorings to each as desired.

To frost cookies, you can use an offset spatula to spread the frosting or add the icing to a piping bag to pipe on the frosting. Another option is to dip the cooking in the icing and place on a wire rack to drip off any excess.

Add sprinkles and candies to decorate as desired.