(Opaque) Magnifying Glass Cookies

In case I haven't mentioned it lately, I love living in western Montana. The mountains are gorgeous. Even rainy day, cloudy skies can be beautiful.

The pace of life is slower, too. Which, if you're use to the hectic rush of the modern world, can take some getting use to. And, you have to learn to do without a few conveniences...like packs of light colored Life Savers for making...

...magnifying glass cookies, for a group of super sleuth, tree detecting, children. You would think a Safeway store, even in the middle of nowhere Montana, would carry at least one pack of Life Savers - wouldn't you? Sigh.

Oh well, if you have access to clear, or light colored candies, and want a mystery themed snack, then these Tea Time Magazine inspired cookies, could be just what you need.

We made ours simply, with plain old sugar cookie dough. You could even use the store bought, from the tube, kind - even my grocery store carries those. And then, you would start by slicing the dough into circles.

We rolled out our dough, and used a glass, dipped in flour, to cut the circles.

Then, we used a small funnel, to cut smaller circles, out of the centers.

An, "I" cookie cutter provided our handles - though they could just as easily have been cut with a butter knife. Just press them onto the circles, and you have the magnifying glass frames.

Bake those at 350 degrees Fahrenheit, for around nine minutes - until they are about two minutes from being done. Then, remove them from the oven, and fill the centers with crushed, hard candies - preferably clear, crushed, hard, candies, like pineapple, or lemon Life Savers.

We used Werther's Originals - which while delicious, are not even close to clear. So, after popping them back into the oven, and baking for the additional three minutes it took to melt the candy, and bake the cookies, we got something that looked to me like pumpkins with long stems (although stain glass pumpkin cookies might be fun, too).

Oh well, they tasted good...

...and really, with a sky like this, who can complain about the cookies?

It's great to be a homeschooler.