Stained Glass Sugar Cookies

MAKES 3 DOZEN COOKIES

I used crushed lollipops for the stained glass in this recipe. Martha Stewart’s cookie recipe is no-fail, but any cut-out sugar cookie recipe would work. 3 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and levelled), plus more for rolling ¾ teaspoon baking powder ¼ teaspoon fine salt 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature 1 ¼ cups sugar 4 large egg yolks 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract Very finely crushed hard candy in various colours (1 cup total)

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar on mediumhigh until light and fluffy, 3 minutes. Add egg yolks and vanilla and beat to combine. With mixer on low, gradually add flour mixture and beat to combine. Form dough into 2 disks, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, with racks in upper and lower thirds.

Working with 1 disk at a time, roll out dough between floured parchment paper to 1/8-inch thickness. Stack dough on parchment on a baking sheet; refrigerate until firm, 30 minutes.

With a 2 ½-inch ball-shaped cutter, cut out dough (reroll scraps, if desired). Place cookies, 1 inch apart, on 2 parchment-covered cookie sheets. With a 1-inch star cutter, cut out dough in centre of each cookie.

Bake until cookies are pale but set, 8 to 10 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through. Remove sheets from oven; fill cut-outs with crushed candy. Bake until cookies begin to brown at edges and candy is melted, 3 minutes. Let cool completely on sheets on wire racks. Marthastewart.com