This is a good basic cut out cookie recipe which works well as a Stain Glass cookie. Taken from a recipe in Gourmet. (Dec. 2004).
You will need two cookie cutters of the same design, or a small round cookie cutter that fits inside a larger one. To use as a Christmas tree ornament, make a hole in the top with a straw or a tooth pick and then run a ribbon through it!
Ingredients:
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup unsalted butter, softened
- ¾ cup sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 6-8 oz hard candy*
- 3” and 1” same shape cookie cutter
Directions:
Whisk together flour and salt and set aside.
Beat together butter and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer, for 3 minutes for standing and 6 minutes for hand-held, until light and fluffy.
Add egg and vanilla extract.
Add flour mixture and mix at low-speed until just combined. (a lot of handling will toughen the cookie).
Form dough into three balls and then place on a piece of plastic wrap about 24”long.
Flatten the ball with your hands so that you end up with a disk 5-6 inches in diameter.
Fold over the plastic wrap and place the dough in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours.
Meantime, separate the candy into colors and if they are individually wrapped, crush them without unwrapping them. If candies are loosely packed, place each individual color in separate plastic bags and pound them using the rolling pin until they are crushed into small pieces.
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees and prepare 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
Roll out dough between the plastic wrap into a round 1/8th” thick (or thin!)
Cut out as many cookies as possible using the large cookie cutter and place on baking sheet.
Cut out centers from the cookies using the small cookie cutter and fill with ½-1 teaspoon crushed candy.
Save scraps, form them into a bowl, flatten them, and place them in the refrigerator to cool
Bake in middle of oven until edges are golden, about 10-12 minutes and then cool cookies completely on baking sheet on a rack for about 10 minutes.
Transfer to air tight container.
Note: Life Savers sells a 6.25 oz. package of 5 flavors – watermelon, pineapple, cherry, raspberry, orange, which are individually wrapped and perfect for this project.
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