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Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup butter or margarine, softened
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/3 cup red hot candies, crushed
• Frosting (optional)

Directions:

• In mixing bowl cream together butter and sugar. Beat in eggs and vanilla extract. Stir together flour and baking powder.
• Gradually stir in flour mixture until dough is very stiff. Cover and chill about 3 hours. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
• Roll out dough to 1/8-inch thickness on a lightly floured surface. Cut out cookies using a large heart-shape cookie cutter or use a sharp knife and cut around a heart pattern. Transfer cookies to a foil-lined baking sheet.
• Using a small heart-shaped cookie cutter, cut out and remove heart design from center of each cookie. Fill the cut out sections with crushed candy. Bake 7 to 8 minutes or until cookies are lightly browned and the candy has melted. Slide foil off baking sheets.
• When cool, carefully loosen cookies from foil. If desired, pipe decorative frosting borders along edges.

Yields: 2 1/2 dozen.