Stained Glass Sugar Cookies

star shaped cookies with brightly colored centers

INGREDIENTS:

  • One large and one small star or tree cookie cutter
  • Jolly Ranchers hard candies 
  • 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 3 cups all-purpose flour (plus more for dusting)
DIRECTIONS:
  1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
  2. Choose red, green, and blue colored Jolly Ranchers and crush into small chunks
  3. With mixer, cream together butter, sugar and salt until well combined
  4. Add in eggs and vanilla and blend
  5. Slowly add in flour and mix until well combined
  6. Wrap in plastic wrap and and chill 1 hour
  7. Roll dough out onto a floured surface (about 1/5-inch thick). Cut out as many large shapes as possible
  8. Transfer cut stars to baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Cut a smaller from the center of each and remove. Re-roll and cut scrap dough.
  9. Bake cookies 6 minutes. Remove tray and fill centers about 3/4 of the way with crushed jolly ranchers. 
    cut outs with crushed candy in the center ready to bake

  10. Bake cookies until set and candy center has melted, about 5-6 minutes. WATCH CAREFULLY.
  11. Let cool on baking sheet until Jolly Ranchers have set and hardened. Repeat process with remaining refrigerated dough. Store in an airtight container.
  12. You can lightly decorate the cookies with white royal icing or leave as is.
NOTE: These cookies are primarily for decoration as they are hard to eat with the solid candy in the middle, and because the flavor of Jolly Rancher candy is not very Christmas flavored.