• In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.
• In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar on medium-high until light and fluffy, 3 minutes.
• Add egg yolks and vanilla and beat to combine.
• With mixer on low, gradually add flour mixture and beat to combine.
• Form dough into 2 disks, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate 30 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 350ºF with racks in upper and lower thirds.
• Working with 1 disk at a time, roll out dough between floured parchment paper to ⅛ inch thickness.
• Stack dough in parchment on a baking sheet; refrigerate until firm, 30 minutes.
• With a 2 ½ inch Christmas-ball-shaped cutter or any shape, cut out dough (reroll scraps, if desired).
• Place cookies, 1 inch apart, on two parchment-lined baking sheets.
• With a 1-inch star cutter, cut out dough in center of each cookie.
• Bake until cookies are pale but set, 8 to 10 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through. Remove sheets from oven; fill cutouts with crushed candy.
• Bake until cookies begin to brown at edges and candy is melted, 3 minutes. Let cool completely on sheets on wire racks.

  Recipe from Martha Stewart’s Cookie Perfection

To Crush the Candy

• Seal in a zip-top bag and pound with a meat mallet or small skillet.

Note

• Disks of dough can be refrigerated overnight or frozen, up to 1 month, and thawed in the refrigerator. Let sit at room temperature until soft enough to roll. Cookies can be stored in airtight containers, up to 1 week.