Sparkling Glass Christmas Cookies!

Buttery cut-out tree cookies with sparkling candy-glass ornaments! Not only beautiful Christmas treats- but delicious ones!

These fun candy-filled cookies are not an original idea- just an idea I’ve seen around for years and always wanted to try. These turned out great. You need a cut-out recipe that holds it’s shape and size well- otherwise when the cookie bakes, those little holes will expand shut and you won’t have any room to put candy. You also need a cookie that tastes AWESOME without icing. I think these accomplished both goals!!! These were just delicious 🙂

Here is how we made them: (printable recipe here)

 INGREDIENTS: (makes about 24 cookies- depending on the size cutter you use)

• 2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter (softened)
• 1 1/2 cups of granulated sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla
• 1 teaspoon of butter flavoring
• 3 cups of flour
• 1 teaspoon of baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt
• Green food coloring
• 1 large bag of Jolly Rancher candies
• Star sprinkles (if desired- plus a tiny bit of melted chocolate to attach them)

DIRECTIONS:

• Unwrap candy and divide into colors.
• Use a hammer on a solid surface (one that can’t be damaged by a hammer) to crush the candy. Crush it very finely- mine was a little big still, and it made it harder to spoon into the openings. Set aside.
• Preheat oven to 350F degrees.
• In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugar until smooth.
• Add eggs, vanilla and butter flavoring and mix well.
• Add all dry ingredients and mix until able to knead into a firm ball of dough (add additional flour if necessary).
• Add green food coloring and knead with hands until dough reaches desired shade. 
• Roll out on a floured counter with a flour coated rolling pin to desired thickness (I made them fairly thick)
• Cut into Christmas tree shapes
• Place on a parchment paper-covered baking sheet.
• Use a straw to poke “ornament” holes. I used a small straw and a jumbo one to give different sizes. 
• Bake at 350F degrees for 4-5 minutes.
• Remove from oven and use a small spoon (I used a tiny little appetizer spoon) to spoon candy colors into each hole.

• Bake at 350F degrees for an additional 4-5 minutes until candy is entirely melted. Check after 2-3 minutes and add a little candy if needed, as the pieces melt and settle. 
• Remove cookies from oven and slide the parchment papers off the cookie sheet onto a counter to cool. 
• Use a bit of melted chocolate to attach a star on top (if desired).
• Enjoy!

My thoughts: These were fun to make and they are just so cute and yummy! A few changes I will make the next time: I’d use bigger straws. The larger size was fine, but the mini size holes were hard to fill. I would also crush the candy to a sugar consistency. I had a few bigger pieces that made it harder to fill those tiny holes. I loved the flavor of those buttery cookies with the sweet fruity candy bits- I will definitely make these again!  Enjoy! ~r

Other fun treats for Christmas: (click on a photo to see the recipe)