Christmas Tree Ornament Cookies

To hang these cookies as ornaments from tree, with skewer, poke small hole in each unbaked cookie. After baking and cooling, thread ribbon, string, or nylon fishing line through hole.

INGREDIENTS

Basic Cookie Dough (see recipe index to find this)
1 bag (6.25-ounce) hard candy, such as sour balls

DIRECTIONS

Prepare Basic Cookie Dough; divide into 3 pieces. Flatten each piece into a disk; wrap each in plastic wrap. Refrigerate at least 2 hours or overnight, until firm enough to roll.
While dough is chilling, place each color hard candy in separate heavy-duty plastic bag. Place 1 bag on towel-covered work surface or floor. With meat mallet or rolling pin, lightly crush candy into small pieces about the size of coarsely chopped nuts, being careful not to crush until powdery. Repeat with remaining candy.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line large cookie sheet with foil. Between 2 sheets of waxed paper, roll 1 disk of dough 1/8 inch thick. Remove top sheet of waxed paper. With 3- to 4-inch holiday-shaped cookie cutters, cut out as many cookies as possible. Place 1 inch apart on prepared cookie sheet. Cut out centers of cookies with 1 1/2- to 2-inch cookie cutters. Remove and refrigerate trimmings and cutout centers.
Bake cookies 7 minutes. Remove cookie sheet from oven; fill each cookie's center with 1/2 teaspoon crushed candy. Return to oven and bake 3 to 4 minutes longer or until cookies are lightly browned and candy is melted. Cool cookies on cookie sheet on wire rack. With metal spatula, remove cookies. Repeat with remaining dough, trimmings, and candy.
Store cookies in tightly sealed container at room temperature up to 2 weeks or in freezer up to 3 months.