Decorate Cookies Like the Pros... Cheating :P

I’ve always admired how people can take a simple sugar cookie and transform it into a work of art. Some of the creations are absolutely beautiful. I’d love to be able to do even 1% of what they do, but I can’t :(. I’m taking it up as a challenge, and WILL decorate cookies with royal icing at some point of time.
But until then , I’m going to rely on TRIOS – I love them. They are my favourite thing to take to a party, because people can’t stop gushing about the cuteness :D And an added bonus is that I love looking at them, too.
I first made trios when I had to take something to a party, and decided it was time to take something that didn’t involve chocolate, and looked great too. I’d seen the recipe around a lot, and it was on top of my to try list. I’ve made it manyy times since, and everytime I just marvel at how easy they are. After making it a few times, I can have them ready in about 2 hours [from making the dough, to them being ready to eat] – a far cry from the *almost* 5 hours that I took the first time,

TRIOS
Adapted from gourmet

yield: Makes about 3 1/2 dozen cookies
Ingredients

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 sticks (1/2 pound) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
About 2 tablespoons seedless raspberry jam
About 2 tablespoons apricot preserves
About 2 tablespoons strawberry preserves [Use any 3 jams you have handy, just make sure they aren't too similar colorwise]
Equipment: a 1/2-inch-thick wooden spoon handle or dowel




Instructions -
Make dough:
1. Cream butter and sugar using a mixer until pale and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating in between additions. Beat vanilla in.
2. Sift together the flour and salt. Add in 3 parts to the butter mixture.
3. Wrap dough in plastic wrap, and refrigerate until firm, or atleast 1 hour.

Assemble and bake cookies:
Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in middle. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper.
Roll 3 separate level teaspoons of dough each into a ball, then flatten each ball slightly (to 1 inch wide and less than 1/2 inch thick). Arrange them in a triangle on baking sheet with edges touching in center, then make a deep indentation in center of each round with wooden spoon handle. Make more cookies, arranging them 1 inch apart on baking sheets.
Fill each indentation with jam, using a teaspoon. - I found it much easier to cut a hole in a bag and pipe it out. Make sure not to overfill. You might want to try a few first, to get the exact amount.
Bake until cookies are baked through and golden-brown on edges, 15 to 20 minutes. Cool on baking sheets 5 minutes, then transfer to racks to cool completely.