Mysticandy Dough

This is a versatile cookie dough base designed for creative baking with kids or for making stained-glass style cookies. The dough itself is a rich, buttery shortbread made with egg yolks (no whites), which keeps it tender, easy to handle, and perfect for rolling and cutting into shapes.

Crushed Lifesavers candy is the twist. You wrap the rolls in multiple layers of plastic wrap and smash them with a mallet into colorful shards. These candy pieces can be pressed into the dough, used to fill cutout centers that melt into translucent “windows” during baking, or mixed directly into the dough for colorful, candy-studded cookies.

Food coloring lets you tint portions of the dough to match individual recipes or themes. Split the dough into batches, color each one differently, and you’ve got a whole palette to work with.

Pro Tips

• Mix the flour in by hand, not with a mixer. This keeps the dough tender and prevents overworking the gluten.
• Wrap the candy in at least 4 layers of plastic wrap before crushing. Lifesavers shatter and the shards are sharp.
• Chill the dough before rolling if it’s too soft to handle. Warm butter dough sticks to everything.
• If making stained-glass cookies, place crushed candy in the cutout centers before baking. The candy melts and fills the shape.

Variations

• Use different Lifesavers flavors for different colored candy pieces.
• Add a teaspoon of almond extract instead of vanilla for a different flavor profile.
• Roll the dough into logs, chill, and slice for simple round cookies studded with candy bits.