Stained Glass Cookies

Slowly add in the flour in about ½ cup at a time until incorporated – do not overmix. Form dough into a ball and divide in half.

Line the countertop or work surface with a sheet of parchment paper. Place half of the dough onto the parchment and roll out to ¼ inch thick. Repeat with the remaining half of the dough.

Place parchment and dough onto large baking sheets and cover with plastic wrap.. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours (or overnight).

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Set aside.

Grab two cookie cutters that are the same shape but slightly different sizes with the largest being about 2 to 3 inches in size.

Use the large cookie cutter to carefully cut out a cookie from the dough. Now use the smaller cutter to cut out the center. Remove the center and place on the prepared baking sheet, leaving about an inch or two in between the cookies.

Repeat until you run out of dough, re-rolling the dough when necessary. If the dough softens and gets sticky or the cutout shapes become difficult to handle, gather the remaining dough, form into a ball and roll out flat. Cover with plastic wrap and freeze for 5 to 10 minutes or until the dough is firm enough to handle.

Sort the jolly ranchers by color. Unwrap and place each color in a separate ziploc bag. Gently beat with a rolling pin until the candies are finely crushed.

Spoon a small amount into the center of each cookie, do not overfill. Just enough to fill the space, about a teaspoon but it will depend on the size of your cookies.

Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, or until the jolly ranchers have completely melted and the edges of the cookies have just a hint of color.

Remove cookies from the oven and cool on the baking sheet for about 10 minutes.

Gently transfer the cookies to a wire rack and allow to cool completely before serving.