Stained Glass Snowflake Cookies

Found in SL Dec 2024 here

 

1 1/4 cups unsalted butter, softened 
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large egg yolks
1 tsp. almond extract
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for surface
1 tsp. kosher salt
Hard candies (such as Jolly Rancher), finely crushed
1 large egg
Sparkling sugar

Beat butter and granulated sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in egg yolks and almond extract until just combined, about 30 seconds.
 

Add flour and salt; beat on low speed just until combined, about 30 seconds. Divide dough in half. Shape each half into a 6-inch disk, and wrap each disk tightly with plastic wrap. Chill until dough is firm, at least 2 hours or up to 3 days.
  

Preheat oven to 350°F. Let dough stand at room temperature 10 minutes. Roll each dough half on a lightly floured surface to 1/4-inch thickness. Cut dough using a 4-inch snowflake cookie cutter. Working in batches, transfer cookies to parchment paper-lined baking sheets, spacing about 1 inch apart (about 8 cookies per baking sheet). Using a 2-inch snowflake cookie cutter, cut center out of each larger cookie. Reroll and cut scraps twice; chill if dough becomes too soft to work with.
    

Sprinkle about 1/2 teaspoon crushed candies in center of each cutout cookie. (Don’t worry about spreading to edges; candies will melt and fill in.) Brush tips of dough with egg white, and sprinkle with sparkling sugar.

Bake in preheated oven, 1 baking sheet at a time, until lightly browned around edges and candies have melted, 10 to 12 minutes. Let cool slightly on baking sheets, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack, and let cool completely, about 20 minutes. Transfer to a resealable container, and store at room temperature up to 4 days.