I’d been looking for an excuse to use this sighthound-shaped cookie cutter, and Christmas seemed like the perfect occasion! We made some treats as a thank you for Rigby’s vet and her dogsitter, both of whom have whippets of their own.

My favorite sugar cookie recipe is from In Katrina’s Kitchen. You don’t have to chill the dough, and the cutouts keep their shapes well enough. They bake up slightly soft and chewy, but still sturdy enough to hold plenty of icing.

I decorate with a pretty standard royal icing. It dries hard, which makes it easy to stack the final product.

Using these two recipes together, I usually need to make a bit of extra icing to cover all the cookies (5 egg whites and 6 ²⁄₃ cups sugar).

This awesome cookie cutter is from The Fussy Pup! They carry a bunch of other breeds, too.

Once the cookies have baked and cooled, start by outlining with fairly thick, dark icing. This makes it easier to see the shape of the dog (especially by defining the legs), and keeps the filler colors from leaking off of the cookie’s edge.

For the white parts, water the icing down slightly. You want it thin enough to settle flat, but thick enough to still hold an edge.

For the brindle patches, add just a bit more water than the white, since a thinner consistency will help the colors marble together. Flood the remaining spaces with brown and some thin black lines, and use a toothpick to swirl the colors together.

Use the same black to add a nose and eyes, and you’re done!

I added some scarves once they dried, and they looked great alongside other Christmas shapes (and my favorite Italian spritz cookies).

They taste pretty good, too, if you can bring yourself to eat them!

Have you tried to recreate your breed in cookie form, or do you have a favorite Christmas cookie recipe? Share in the comments below!