Gumdrop Cookies

I've been wanting to make gumdrop cookies for a while now after seeing a pin on Pinterest that led to In Katrina's Kitchen.

The description says, "These soft, buttery Gumdrop Cookies studded with sugar-coated candies are perfect for any holiday dessert table and are sure to stand out from the rest!"

I'm not sure I would agree with that statement completely. They are soft when they come out of the oven. However, they turn hard upon cooling which was disappointing. The recipe says to bake the cookies until the edges turn brown. Thankfully, I didn't do that or they would have been even harder.

I think to best enjoy these cookies, they'll need to be microwaved for a few seconds so they soften a bit.

Gumdrop Cookies

INGREDIENTS:

• 16 ounces fruit-flavored gumdrops
• 1/3 cup sugar to coat gumdrops
• 1 cup margarine, softened (I used butter)
• 1 3/4 cups sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 3 1/2 cups flour
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

DIRECTIONS:

Use kitchen shears or a sharp knife to cut gumdrops into small pieces, drop into a bowl of sugar, toss to coat. Remove from sugar, allowing excess sugar to fall back into the bowl.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cream margarine and sugar together until fluffy. Mix in eggs and vanilla. In a separate bowl whisk together flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda. Stir dry ingredients into the wet mixture just until blended.

Stir in half of the gumdrop pieces. (Note: the dough is crumbly and doesn't stick together on it own. At this point, I hand-squeezed the dough so it would stick together.)

Scoop out 2 tablespoons of dough. Place on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Flatten cookies. Top with more gumdrop pieces.

Bake 8-12 minutes until tops of cookies look dry, but edges are not yet browned. Cool on cookie sheet for 2-3 minutes, then move to a cooling rack to cool completely.

Store in an airtight container for 2-3 days or wrap and freeze for up to a month.

Makes 3 dozen cookies.