Stained-Glass Sugar Cookies

Need the perfect sugar cookie recipe? Look no further! These crispy cookies are packed full of flavor.

Ingredients:

1 cup real butter, 1 cup sugar, 1 egg, 1 1/2 tsp. almond extract, 3 cup flour, 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder, 1/2 tsp. salt, Jolly Ranchers, Star Cookie Cutters (a large and small one), Straw, Thin Ribbon

Directions:

Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Whisk the flour, baking powder and salt together in a separate bowl. Add in the egg and extract and mix to combine. Slowly add in half of the flour mixture and mix to combine. Add in the rest of the flour and mix to create the dough. Roll out the dough between two sheets of wax paper and chill for at least an hour in the refrigerator.

Cut out the cookies using the larger star-shaped cookie cutter, and then cut a smaller star in the center of each cookie using the small cookie cutter. Using the straw, poke a hole in the top of each cookie. Place on a cookie sheet lined with a Silpat (aka the most remarkable invention ever.) Put them in the freezer for 5 to 10 minutes. This helps them retain their shape during baking.

Meanwhile, unwrap red and green Jolly Ranchers and separate into small Ziploc bags according to color. Use a kitchen mallet to break the Jolly Ranchers into small pieces. Remove the cookies from the freezer and place bits of Jolly Ranchers inside the star-shaped holes in the center of each cookie. It’s ok if there are spaces — the candy will melt and completely fill the hole.

Bake according to your cookie recipe (mine is 8-10 minutes at 350 degrees). Let cool completely and decorate as desired.

I piped some royal icing in an outline on the cookies and sprinkled with sanding sugar. A few bits of sanding sugar fell onto the candy center and stuck there. I kind of liked the effect so I dumped even more onto it. Let the icing dry and string the ribbon through the hole at the top.

Recipe Source: http://cooking.thenerdswife.com/2010/12/stained-glass-sugar-cookies.html