Stained Glass Tree Cookies

These are Martha`s versions...
so beautifully back lit and practically
perfect in every way!

Okay, so this post is a little Christmassy for Spring but I was chatting with a dear, very pregnant Aussie friend of mine this morning and remembered that I'd made these cookies at her wedding a couple of years ago and just had to share them on the blog. I will be upfront with you all and tell you 2 important things about these cookies 1) they`re gorgeous and you will get tonnes of compliments on your baking prowess and 2) they are an unbelievable pain in the butt to make.  You will probably end up crying and cursing and tossing a third of em' because they'll break or crack or the candy center will leak all over your cookie... you get the idea. I recommend a couple of things: use a nice, wide cookie cutter and do not make the inside triangle too big (or else the dough is bound to break when you transfer it to the cookie sheet). Also, use nice, FRESH candy or else you'll be hammering away at a horrible, gooey mess. Yah. Been there. These little guys really are lovely at a wedding, shower, Christmas party or to hang on your tree... next year! Bon appétit!

Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for work surface
1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
7 ounces assorted clear colored hard candies, such as Jolly Rancher, colors separated and finely chopped (about 30)

Directions
1. Sift together flour, salt, and baking powder into a large bowl; set aside.

2. Put butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment; mix on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add egg; mix until smooth, 1 minute. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture, and mix until combined. Stir in vanilla.Wrap dough in plastic, and refrigerate until cold, about 45 minutes.

3. Preheat oven to 325 degrees, with racks in upper and lower thirds. Roll out chilled dough on a well-floured surface to a little more than 1/8 inch thick. Cut out shapes using a 5-inch tree-shape cookie cutter. Using a metal spatula, space 2 inches apart on baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Using the tip of a paring knife, make a triangular cutout in center of each cookie for candy filling. Reroll scraps, and cut.

4. Sprinkle candy in a single layer in hole of each cookie, avoiding edges of triangle. Refrigerate until dough is firm, about 15 minutes.

5. Bake cookies until candy has melted and completely filled cutout and cookie edges are just starting to turn pale golden brown, 11 to 12 minutes. Do not let the cookies brown, or the candy centers may become bubbly. Let cool completely on sheets on wire racks. Use a metal spatula to remove cookies from parchment. Cookies can be stored in airtight containers at room temperature up to 5 days.

- recipe cred to Martha Stewart Holiday Cookies

Here`s what mine looked like... not too bad if you ask me!