Ingredients
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1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
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2 cups confectioners' sugar, divided
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1 large egg
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1 tsp vanilla extract
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1/2 tsp salt
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3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
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Cooking spray
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32 clear or yellow gummy bears
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2 tbsp whole milk
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Holiday sprinkles, as needed
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Store-bought cookie icing (optional)
Steps
1
In a large bowl, using a hand mixer or stand mixer, cream the butter on low speed until smooth. Add 1 cup confectioners’ sugar, beating on medium 3–4 min., until light and fluffy, scraping down the sides of bowl as needed. Add the egg, vanilla, and salt, and mix well. On low speed and in batches, add the flour to the mixer and beat until just combined. Shape cookie dough into a disk, wrap tightly in plastic wrap, and chill for 1 hour, until firm.
2
Preheat oven to 350°F with racks in center and upper third of oven. Line 3 cookie sheets with parchment and grease well with the cooking spray. On a lightly floured surface, roll cookie dough out to ¼-inch thickness. Using a 3-inch round cutter, cut out rounds, rerolling scraps as needed. (Dust the work surface with flour as needed too.) Using a 2-inch round cutter, cut out the center from half of the cookies. (These scraps can also be rerolled as needed.) If you want to hang the cookies, use a chopstick to make a hole in the top of each cookie.
3
Bake cookies 10 min. Remove cookies with the cuts in the center, adding 2 gummy bears to each one. Return to oven and bake 2–3 min., until all cookies are golden and gummy bears have dissolved. Cool cookies and allow centers to harden for 5 min. In a small bowl, combine remaining 1 cup confectioners’ sugar and the milk, stirring until combined. Transfer icing to resealable plastic bag.
4
Top the “glass” of each filled cookie with a pinch of holiday sprinkles. Snip off a tiny piece of the corner from the resealable bag with the icing. Working one at a time, pipe a thin line of icing around the “glass” and sprinkles. Place a second whole cookie on top and press gently to seal. Repeat with remaining cookies, sprinkles, and icing. Carefully flip the cookies, “glass”-side up. If desired, use the cookie icing to decorate the cookies.
