Description
Delicious cookies with a center filled with translucent hard candy, perfect for any occasion.
Ingredients
Scale
- 1 cup unsalted butter (softened)
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 large egg (at room temperature)
- 3 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 36 translucent hard candies (unwrapped (I used Jolly Ranchers))
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C), or 160°C fan oven. Prepare a cookie sheet by lining it with parchment paper or silicone mat and set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment or a mixing bowl with a hand mixer, cream the butter with the sugar until smooth, light in color and creamy (2-3 minutes).
- Add vanilla and egg and mix again until the egg is incorporated but don’t over whip (the longer you whip the egg, it can souffle up and the cookies will rise and you don’t want that).
- Add in the flour, baking powder, and salt and mix again until just combined. Scrape the sides with a spatula so no dry flour is left.
- The cookie dough should pull away from the sides of the bowl (if it doesn’t, add up to ½ cup of additional flour).
- Divide the dough into 4 portions, and roll out each using a rolling pin into ¼ inch thickness.
- Cut out shapes using a larger cookie cutter for the outer shape and a smaller cookie cutter for the inner shape. Then with the help of an offset spatula, transfer to the cookie sheet.
- Place one unwrapped hard candy in the empty center of each cookie. If your inner shape is too small you may crush the candies to create smaller pieces. Avoid having the candy touch the edges of the cookie.
- Bake for 8 minutes (one sheet at a time), then check the cookies – if the candies are bubbling or close to bubbling, remove the cookies from the oven for 2 minutes, then return to the oven for an additional 2 minutes or until the cookies are set. To obtain a clean final look you want to avoid having the candies bubble up too high.
- When cookies are set, remove from the oven and allow to cool on the cookie sheet completely.
- Store in an air tight container for up to 1 week.
Notes
- Make sure the butter is softened but not melted for the best texture.
- Consider using different flavors of hard candies for variety.
- Ensure to line the cookie sheet properly to prevent sticking.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 120
- Sugar: 10g
- Sodium: 50mg
- Fat: 7g
- Saturated Fat: 4g
- Unsaturated Fat: 2g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 14g
- Fiber: 0g
- Protein: 1g
- Cholesterol: 30mg