In a mixing
bowl, sift the flour, baking powder and salt together.
In another large
mixing bowl beat the butter and sugar together until pale and fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla, mix until
combined. Gradually add the flour mix in
a little at a time, mix until dough is formed.
Shape into disc and cover in plastic wrap and chill for minimum 30
minutes.
Using your
rolling pin, gently crush the lollipops while still in their package. Discard sticks and save crushed candy in
package until ready to use.
Roll cookie dough
out onto a lightly floured surface a ¼” thick.
Using the large star shape cookie cutter, cut as many stars as you can fit
and place them on a parchment lined baking sheet. Using your smaller star shaped cutter, cut
out the center of each star. Re-roll the
remaining dough and repeat the process until all the dough is used up. Using the crushed lollipops, carefully open
the package just enough to pour out the candy into each of the centers of the
cookies. No need to fill them up, half
full is enough as the candy will melt and fill the space, too much candy and it
will bubble over in baking and overflow onto your cookies.
Chill the raw
cookies on the baking sheet(s) in fridge for 10-15 minutes before baking. This helps the cookies retain a nice crisp
shape during baking.
Preheat the oven
to 350°F. Bake cookies one tray at a time
for 12 minutes or until just golden at edges.
Let cool for a few minutes before transferring to cooling rack to cool
completely before icing.
To make the
icing, add icing sugar to a mixing bowl.
Gradually add half of the water, mix well, add the corn syrup and vanilla
extract, mixing well. If the icing is
too thick, add a bit more water, one teaspoon at a time. Adjust consistency of
icing with more water if too thick or more icing sugar if too runny. Fill a piping bag or small plastic bag with
icing and cut a tiny whole out of the corner to use like a piping bag, time to have
fun decorating your cookies!