STAINED GLASS SUGAR COOKIE RECIPES

Steps:

• In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar on medium-high 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 in parchment on a baking sheet; refrigerate until firm, 30 minutes. With a 2 1/2-inch Christmas-ball-shaped cutter, cut out dough (reroll scraps, if desired). Place cookies, 1 inch apart, on two parchment-lined baking sheets. With a 1-inch star cutter, cut out dough in center of each cookie. Bake until cookies are pale but set, 8 to 10 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through. Remove sheets from oven; fill cutouts 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.

Steps:

• Place each flavor/color of candy in a separate resealable plastic bag. Using a meat mallet or a small saucepan, crush the candy into small pieces. Set aside.
• Whisk all-purpose flour, whole-wheat flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl. Beat butter, sugar and egg in a mixing bowl with an electric mixer on low speed until well blended. Beat in vanilla and almond (or lemon) extract until evenly incorporated.
• With the mixer on low speed, then medium speed, beat about half the flour mixture into the wet ingredients until incorporated. Beat in the remaining flour mixture until just incorporated.
• Divide the dough into thirds. Place one third on a 12-inch-long sheet of parchment paper and shape into a disk. Top with a second sheet of parchment. Roll the dough out between the parchment into an 8-inch circle about 1/4-inch thick. Place the parchment with the rolled dough on a baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining dough, stacking each piece of parchment with rolled dough on top of the previous one. Freeze on the baking sheet until cold and firm, at least 30 minutes and up to 1 day.
• To shape and bake cookies: Position rack in middle of oven; preheat to 350 degrees F. Line 2 to 3 large baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Working with one portion of dough at a time, remove from the freezer. Remove the top sheet of parchment and cut out cookies with 3- to 4-inch cookie cutters. Transfer the cookies to a prepared baking sheet with a wide, thin spatula, spacing them about 1 1/2 inches apart. Using a 1-inch cookie cutter, cut out the center of each larger cookie. (Save the scraps for rerolling or refreeze and bake the smaller "cookies" later.) Fill each center with about 1/2 teaspoon crushed candy and spread in an even layer so it is just touching the sides. Repeat with the remaining dough. (If the dough gets too soft, freeze until firm again. As you cut out cookies, set aside the scraps. Shape all the scraps back into a disk and reroll between parchment. Freeze for at least 30 minutes before cutting out.)
• Bake the cookies on the center rack, one baking sheet at a time, until lightly browned on the bottom, 8 to 12 minutes. Let cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.