Candy filled basketball cookies decorated with orange candy melts.
Course:
Dessert
Cuisine:
American
Keyword:
basketball cookies, candy, cookies, cut-out cookies
Servings: 6
Calories: 497kcal
Author: Beth Klosterboer
Ingredients
Cookie Dough:
2cupsall-purpose flourplus more if needed
¼ teaspoonsalt
¼ teaspoonbaking powder
½cupbutter,softened slightly
¾cupssugar
1large egg
¾teaspoonspure vanilla extract
½teaspoonalmond extract
orange gel or paste food coloring
Decorations
4ouncesorange confectionery coating(Candy Melts)
black food coloring marker
Instructions
Cookie Dough
Mix the flour, salt, and baking powder together in a bowl. Set aside.
Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
Stir in the egg, vanilla, almond extract, and enough orange food coloring to make the mixture really bright.
Add the dry ingredients and stir just until combined. If the dough is sticky, add a small amount of flour.
Cut out cookies
Roll some dough out to ⅜ inch thickness.
Cut 6 rounds using the 3 ¼ inch cutter. Remove excess dough, set on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet.
Put the large cutter around one cookie, then cut a smaller hole using the 2 ¾ inch cutter.
Remove the center dough round, then remove the small cookie cutter, then the large cookie cutter. This will help keep your cookies in a nice round shape.
Place the baking sheet in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.
Roll the remaining dough out to 3/16th inch thickness, and cut 12 circles using the 3 ¼ inch cutter, re-rolling as needed.
Set cookies on parchment paper-lined cookie sheets.
Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Bake cookies for 10-12 minutes until the edges look set and the center of the cookie no longer looks wet.
Allow cookies to cool completely on the baking pan.
Decorate and Assemble Cookies
Heat orange candy melts on high in the microwave for 20-second increments, stirring after each, until melted.
Spread a thin layer over 6 of the whole round cookies.
Place those 6 cookies in the freezer for about 4 minutes, just until the candy coating hardens.
Pour the remaining orange candy melts into a small zip-top bag and snip off the tip.
Pipe candy melts around the bottom edge of a cookie with a hole in it.
Set that cookie on top of a solid round cookie.
Fill the holes with Skittles.
Pipe a thin band of orange coating around the top edge of the cookies with holes in them then set a candy-coated cookie on top.
Press down gently to seal the two cookies together.
Use a black food coloring marker to draw on the seam lines.
Recipe Notes
Store cookies in an airtight container for up to a week.