Light-up Jack-o-lantern Cookies

I'm so happy I get to a little Halloween baking this year, I missed out while away on holidays last year. I made it up to myself by sampling all the tasty Halloween treats we came across on our travels, I still find myself day-dreaming about pumpkin cupcakes and fall harvest doughnuts. Halloween hasn't been a holiday widely celebrated in Australia, which is sad because its one of my favs. It seems things might be different this year though, the stores are full of creepy decorations and tasty themed treats and sweets.
Its very hard to find an orange pumpkin here at this time of year, unless your happy to pay ridiculous amounts for the ones the shops get in especially for Halloween. Not wanting to fork out $25 for a pumpkin I decided to make my Jack-o-lanterns out of sugar cookies instead. As kids we made stained glass cookies at Christmas, I thought the crushed candy cutouts would suit these pumpkin cookies perfectly. Barley sugars were a great colour for the pumpkin eyes and mouth and melted into a nice thin candy glass when they were baked. These cookies looked great as they were but the candle light behind made them extra awesome.

For the cookies

sugar cookie dough (I used this same recipe for the cookies and icing)

crushed see-through candy

orange and brown royal icing

black edible pen

Halloween themed sprinkles

To make the cookies- first roll out the cookie dough to around a 1/4 inch thick, cut out an even number of pumpkins and bases. I didn't have a pumpkin shaped cutter so instead I used my apple cutter and trimmed off the leaf. For the base cookie I used a fluted circle cuter.

Transfer the cookie cutouts onto a tray lined with baking powder. Using a small sharp knife cut out the pumpkin faces. Chill the cookies in the freezer for a few minutes until they are nice and firm. Preheat your oven while you wait.
Remove the cookies from the freezer. Fill the eye and mouth holes with the crushed candy and bake according to the sugar cookie recipe.
Outline and flood the pumpkins with royal icing. (Looking cute so far)
While the pumpkins are setting pipe a puddle outline on the cookie bases, set aside to dry.
Once the royal icing is completely set draw on the pumpkin details with an edible pen.
Pipe a thick line of icing in the middle of the base cookies to attatch the jack-o-lanterns.
Stand the pumpkin cookies on their bases, I used a cooling rack to keep them in place as they set. Once the icing is completely dry flood the bases with the brown royal icing and add some sprinkles.
To light up the pumpkins I used some thin black birthday candles cut in half. To get the candles to stand up press them into little balls of black fondant. Press the fondant onto the base cookies behind the pumpkins, not to close though or you'll end up with burnt cookies.

Light the candles and admire the glowing pretty pumpkins.