Yields 6 to 7 dozen 2 1/2” to 3” cookies

To crush and color the candy by hand: If you don’t have a food processor, place the candy on a piece of parchment or clean work surface. Use a rolling pin to roll or hit the candy until it’s as fine and the pieces are as evenly sized as you can get them. Transfer the pieces to a bowl (or several bowls) and stir in your desired colors.

If you’re using natural food colors, we recommend 30 drops of color per 1/4 batch of sugar. You can adjust the batches and color amounts from there according to how many different colors you want.

If you’re mixing colors to make another color, combine the colors before adding them to the sugar. Otherwise, you’ll end up with more of a marbling effect.

The bake time for these cookies is precise because you don’t want the sugar in the windows to bubble over onto the cookies. If you know your oven runs hot, watch the cookies toward the end of the bake time. If the sugar starts to bubble, remove the pan from the oven for a few seconds until the bubbles settle, then place back in the oven for 1 to 2 minutes more. Do this as many times as it takes to get the cookies to the desired color.

To make the cookies into hanging ornaments, poke a hole into the top of each (a drinking straw works well here) before baking. When baked and cooled, thread ribbon or yarn for hanging through the hole.

Recipe courtesy of King Arthur Baking Company