Stained Glass Cookies

Stained Glass Cookies
Makes about 3 dozen
I make these cookies every year for the holidays with the excuse that the kids love them, but I’ll let you in on a little secret. It never fails, by the time the adults are finished rummaging through the cookies, theirs generally none of these left for the kids. If you can’t find Jolly Rancher candies, I often use left over lollipops for Halloween that I break up into pieces with my kitchen hammer. Talk about a great way get rid stress…

2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for work surface
1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
7 ounces assorted clear colored hard candies, such as Jolly Rancher, colors separated and finely chopped (about 30)

Directions

1. Sift together flour, salt, and baking powder into a large bowl; set aside.

2. Put butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment; mix on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add egg; mix until smooth, 1 minute. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture, and mix until combined. Stir in vanilla.Wrap dough in plastic, and refrigerate until cold, about 45 minutes.

3. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.with racks in upper and lower thirds. Roll out chilled dough on a well-floured surface to a little more than 1/8 inch thick. Cut out shapes using a 5-inch cookie cutters. Using a metal spatula, space 2 inches apart on baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Using the tip of a paring knife or smaller cookie cutter, make a cutout in center of each cookie for candy filling. Reroll scraps, and cut.

4. Sprinkle candy in a single layer in hole of each cookie, avoiding edges of cookie. Refrigerate until dough is firm, about 15 minutes.

5. Bake cookies until candy has melted and completely filled cutout and cookie edges are just starting to turn pale golden brown, 11 to 12 minutes. Do not let the cookies brown, or the candy centers may become bubbly. Let cool completely on sheets on wire racks. Use a metal spatula to remove cookies from parchment. Cookies can be stored in airtight containers at room temperature up to 5 days.