Stained Glass Cookies

I have always wanted to make this recipe I've carried around with me for ... oh,...maybe 20 years. I looked at my boys the other day and realized they were growing out of doing these fun, piddly things and if I was ever going to do it with them I had best get on with it. I mixed up the dough and crushed the candies on Sat. The 13 and 9 boys actually sorted the Lifesavers into the bags to be crushed and wielded the hammer some. They deffinately exhibited some enthusiasm for the upcoming project. I'm sure the idea of playing with candy was the lure. Today after church and lunch, we spread the foil in the cookie sheets, the wax paper on the table, selected the desired cookie cutters, found two pencils and the rolling pin, got out the flour, the dough, heated the oven and commenced to play. The basic concept is to roll and cut out cookies then cut out some shapes in the center that you fill with colored candy chips, (after first cooking the cookies almost done), which melt and look like stained glass. It was great fun. I have never made these and we found that the dough swelled up as it cooked, invariably filling in the space we had left for the candy glass. We poked new holes and forced bits of candy in anyway and they did look bright and festive. A few even looked a little like stained glass. They even tasted pretty good. The best part is we had fun together. I would recomend these to anyone who likes to make fun messes in the kitchen.

Stained Glass Cookies

1/2 cup softened margerine
1 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
2 1/2 cup flour
6 Tbsp. water (approx.)
1 lb. assorted colored candies (We used two small packages of Lifesavers and had enough, but like I said the holes closed up on us)

Blend marg., sugar, egg and vanilla. In seperate bowl combine flour, salt, and soda. Add to sugar mixture. Add water till it forms a stiff but workable dough. Cover abd chill one hour. (We did it overnight.) Sort candies by color into strong zip bag and crush (wrap bag in towel and hit with hammer). Put foil in cookie sheets. Use some flour and roll the dough out with the pin resting on two pencils, to keep it from getting too thin. Cut into desired shapes and cut out centers. Be sure to place cookies 2" apart. Remember the dough swells about triple. (Any 1/2" or smaller holes disappeared completely.)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake cookies for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and put candy chips into holes. Rebake for 4 minutes, let cool on cookie sheet.