Glowing Jack O’ Lantern Cookies

Crushed candies give these cookies their glow, and thanks to refrigerated dough, carving these pumpkins is child’s play.

Ingredients

• 1 (16.5 oz.) pkg. refrigerated sugar cookie dough
• ⅔ cup all-purpose flour
• ¼ tsp. + ⅛ tsp. orange concentrated food coloring
• 14 green hard candies, crushed
• 1 (4.25 oz.) tube green decorating icing, fitted with writing tip
• Fine green decorating sugar

Instructions

1. On low speed, beat dough with flour until combined; form into ball. Lightly flour a sheet of wax paper. Transfer dough to paper. Wearing plastic gloves to protect your hands, if desired, knead food coloring into dough. Divide dough in half. Between sheets of wax paper, roll each half to ¼” thickness; stack on baking sheet. Freeze until firm, 10 min.
2. Line baking sheets with foil. On surface, using 4½” pumpkin-shaped cookie cutter, cut out cookies, re-rolling scraps as necessary. Using knife, cut face out of each cookie. Transfer to baking sheets. Freeze until firm, about 15 min. Heat oven to 350°F. Bake cookies until set, but not yet starting to brown around edges, 10 min. Cool 5 min.
3. Fill cutouts with even layer of crushed candies. Bake until candy melts, about 3 min. Cool on pans until candy hardens, about 20 min.; peel off foil. Outline cookies, eyes, noses and mouths with icing. Pipe lines on stems; sprinkle with sugar.