christmas cookies #5

 i'm always on the lookout for new holiday cookie recipes, and this stained glass cookie caught my eye.  but i wanted to keep the candy areas small so that the cookies were easy to eat - because you cannot really chew a jolly rancher in the same bite with soft sugar cookie dough.

first i made the dough and chilled it in the freezer overnight.  i never seem to have the stamina to make and bake cookie dough all in the same day.  i let the dough sit out for about 30 minutes so it would be easier to work with.

then i sorted the bag of jolly ranchers by flavor, and unwrapped and placed 6 pieces of each flavor into separate zip-top bags.  then i used a meat mallet to crush them.  i could already start to feel the stickiness of the candy dust on the countertop and on my hands, so just be warned you are likely to make a mess before all is said and done.

i sorted thru my holiday cookie cutters and selected a fancy ornament, and then decided to try using an extra-large drinking straw to make the "windows" in the cookie.  i think the design turned out cute.  plus, i had five candy flavors, so 5 windows would be perfect.

i let the cookies chill in the refrigerator as i cut out the remaining dough.  i ended up with 4 sheet trays of cutouts.  then i took the first tray (which was chilled the longest), and added the candy.  i was careful to removed any excess candy chips from the dough face and the surrounding pan.  i let the tray chill another 10 minutes or so before placing in the oven.

i skipped the step in the recipe that said to add more candy chips to the cookies halfway thru baking.  i think i would still be baking the first tray if i had stopped each batch to do this step - BUT, seeing how thin the windows turned out, maybe this was an important step.

some cookies were rolled thinner than others, thus the uneven baking of some.  no worries - those are the first to get eaten, because a baker has to taste-test her projects, right??  the cookies turned out crispy, and the window panes are slightly crunchy without being a jaw-breaker.  i ended up having a lot of leftover crushed candy, which started to clump together the longer it sat out open to the air.  i will definitely try these again, and maybe look for tiny decorative cutters to use as the windows.  big sister helped for a little bit with the candies, but mostly i did the bulk of the work.