Stained Glass Christmas Tree Cookies

A while back, I was looking for ways to decorate cut-out sugar cookies, and learned how to make a stained glass effect using crushed hard candies. I decided to try it out with Christmas tree cut-outs.

I used a cut-out sugar cookie recipe from allrecipes, my big and little Christmas tree cookie cutters, and some red lifesavers to make the stained glass cookies. I loved how they turned out. The cookies are a bit delicate though with the middle cut-out. Also when the cookies sit for a long time, the candy layer tends to stick to whatever the cookies are laying on top of.

Yield: approx 5 dozen cookies

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups butter, softened
2 cups white sugar
4 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
5 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
lifesavers or other hard candies in the colors of your choosing (I used red lifesavers)

Directions

In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Stir in the flour, baking powder, and salt. Cover, and chill dough for at least one hour (or overnight).
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Roll out dough on floured surface 1/2 inch thick. Cut into shapes with Christmas tree cookie cutter. Place cookies 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheets. Use a smaller christmas tree cookie cutter and place in the middle of large christmas tree shapes and remove the small cut-out. If you don't have a small christmas tree cutter, you can also use a knife and cut out a smal triangle from the middle of each christmas tree cookie shape.
Take lifesavers or other hard candies and crush into pieces. (I hit them with a butcher's knife. I also used up a whole bag of lifesavers.)
Place crushed lifesavers into the empty middles of each Christmas tree cookie cut out, filling the holes.
Bake 6 to 8 minutes in preheated oven. Cool completely.When the cookies come out, the lifesaver mixture may still be bubbling. Once it is cooled, it will stablize into a thin layer, creating a stained glass effect. You can use several colored candies to create a nicer effect. I stuck with one color for these Christmas cookies.