Crystal Snowflakes

By carvalhohm

Ingredients

• 3 sticks (11/2 cups) unsalted butter, softened
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp each ground cinnamon and salt
• 4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 bag (about 10 oz) silver mint (clear) hard candies or ice-blue hard mint candies, unwrapped
• hick Decorating Icing (recipe follows)
• White candy snowflakes and white edible glitter or decorating sugar
• You'll also need: 4 1/2-in. and 2-in., or
• 1/2 -in. and 1-in., snowflake cutters; pastry bag with #3 writing tip

Details

Servings 38
Preparation time 45mins
Cooking time 285mins
Adapted from womansday.com

Preparation

Step 1

1. Beat butter and sugars in a large bowl with mixer on medium speed until fluffy. Beat in egg, extract, cinnamon and salt. Add flour just until blended.

2. Divide dough into four portions. Shape each into a 1/2-in.-thick disk; wrap separately. Refrigerate 1 hour or until firm.

3. Place unwrapped mint candies in plastic food storage bag; seal bag. Crush with a rolling pin until very fine and slightly powdery.

4. Heat oven to 350°F. You'll need a baking sheet(s) lined with nonstick foil.

5. Place 1 disk at a time (keep others refrigerated) between 2 sheets of wax paper. Roll out to a scant 1/4-in. thickness. Remove top sheet of paper. Cut out desired shapes with floured large cookie cutters (don't cut centers yet). Carefully transfer shapes to prepared baking sheet(s), spacing them 2 in. apart. Chill scraps; reroll and cut.

6. Bake 8 minutes. Remove sheet from oven to a wire rack; let stand 1 minute. For each 4 1/2-in. cookie, center the 2-in. snowflake cutter (for 3 1/2-in. cookie, use the 1-in.) and press straight down until cutter hits baking sheet; gently squeeze edges of cutter, lift off the cutout cookie and discard. Using a tiny spoon, spoon crushed mints inside cutout, mounding slightly higher than cookies to fill. Using drinking straw, make small hole in cookie for hanging.

7. Return to oven and bake 7 to 10 minutes longer, or until candy has melted completely and edges of cookies are golden. Cool 2 minutes on sheet on a wire rack. Remove to rack to cool completely. Roll, cut and bake remaining dough.

8. To decorate: Fill a pastry bag fitted with a #3 plain writing tip with thick decorating icing. Pipe an outline around edges and cutouts of cookies. Let icing dry completely.

9. To thin icing for spreading: Add drops of water to thick white icing just until thin enough to spread. Spread icing within the piped outlines to fill cookie. Let dry slightly, then decorate with candy snowflakes and edible glitter, if desired. Let cookies dry 1 hour. Using thick icing, pipe decorative snowflake lines on cookies, if desired. Let dry completely, about 3 hours.

DECORATING ICING: Beat 1 lb confectioners' sugar (3 1/4 cups) and 1/4 cup Just Whites in a large bowl with mixer on low speed until combined. Add 1/3 cup water; beat until blended. Increase speed to high; beat 8 minutes or until icing is very thick and white. Makes 2 1/2 cups.