Ingredients
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 7 ounces (about 30) assorted hard candies finely chopped

Directions:

1. Sift together flour, salt and baking powder into a bowl.

2. Mix butter and sugar on medium speed with an electric mixer until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add egg, mix until smooth, 1 minute. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture and mix until combined. Stir in vanilla. Wrap dough in plastic, and refrigerate until cold, about 45 minutes.

3. Preheat oven to 325 F with racks in upper and lower thirds. Roll out chilled dough on a well floured surface to a little more than 1/8 inch thick. Cut out shapes using a cookie cutter. Using a metal spatula, transfer shapes to baking sheets lined with parchment paper, spacing 2 inches apart. Using the tip of a paring knife, make a cutout in the centre of each cookie for candy filling.

4. Sprinkle candy in a single layer in the hole of each cookie, avoiding the corners. Refrigerate until dough is firm, about 15 minutes.

5. Bake cookies until candy has melted, completely filled cutout and cookie edges are just starting to turn pale golden brown, 11 to 12 minutes. Do not let the cookies brown, or the candy centres may become bubbly. Let cook completely on sheets on wire racks. Use a metal spatula to remove cookies from parchment.

Notes: I wanted to try out a new recipe. I used a star and a heart cookie cutter. I was able to fit two in each ziplock bag to give as a small present. The cookies can be stored in airtight containers in room temperature for up to 5 days.

Adapted from: All Recipes Banana Crumb Muffins