One of my most vivid memories from Hebrew school is taking a weekly cooking class at the synagogue.
In one class we made these incredibly simple yet impressive-looking cookies that were essentially basic sugar cookies with crushed candy melted inside of them. Now, 20 years later, these cookies are a Pinterest darling, with recipes all over the Internet. Mine isn’t much different from all of those, except that the cookie recipe I use here is the same one I first made as a kid at Temple B’nai Shalom. I remember enjoying making them so much back then, and I felt the same sense of excitement recreating them so many years later.
Stained Glass Cookies
Makes about 20 cookies
1 large egg
2¼ cups flour
¾ cup sugar
¾ cup butter
1 tablespoon milk
1½ teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla
¼ teaspoon salt
Colored hard candy (such as Jolly Ranchers), crushed
1. Combine everything but the crushed candy in the bowl of a stand mixer. Mix on low until dough looks shaggy and slightly wet. Turn out onto counter and shape into ball. Divide in two halves, wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheet with parchment paper. On lightly floured counter, roll one dough ball about 1/8-inch thick. Using cookie cutters, cut out cookies. Using a smaller cookie cutter, a knife or something circular in your kitchen (such as the top of a jar of vinegar), cut out an insert in each cookie. Transfer to prepared baking sheet. Sprinkle crushed candy in one scant layer inside each cookie opening.
3. Bake until cookies start to brown around edges, about 10 minutes. Transfer to cooling rack and let cool before serving.