Snow Globe Cookies

Ingredients:

• 450 g of store-bought sugar cookie dough, such as Pillsbury
• Premium flour for working with dough
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 0.5 cup light corn syrup
• Snowflake sprinkles, nonpareil sprinkles, or other holiday sprinkles, for decoration
• 3 cups powdered sugar
• 3 tbsp. dry egg white
• 2 tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
• Red food coloring, for decoration
• Special equipment: a round cookie cutter with a diameter of 8.5 cm and a small cutter with straight edges; a pastry bag with a small round tip or a plastic zip-lock bag

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 160°C and line 3 baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. Dust your work surface with flour, then form the cookie dough into a rectangle and roll it out to a thickness of about 0.3-0.5 cm. If the dough is too large to handle, cut it into two equal pieces. Using a large circle cutter, cut out as many circles as possible from the dough (you should end up with about 10). Transfer them to a baking sheet.
3. Using a 2.5-inch (6-cm) round cutter, cut out the centers of the larger circles to form letter "O"s. Roll out the scraps and, using a cutter with straight edges, cut out snow globe bases from the dough. Place the bases on a baking sheet so they touch the bottom of each "O" (they will seal when baked). Freeze the baking sheet with the dough for 20 minutes. Gather the dough scraps, form them into a disk, and refrigerate until slightly firm, then cut out more snow globes. When ready to bake, transfer the frozen cookies to 2 parchment-lined, room-temperature baking sheets, spacing 5 cookies evenly per baking sheet. Bake the cookies, rotating halfway through, until golden brown, about 15 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and cool completely.
4. Glass centers:
   
   Place the cooled cookies and any decorations on a work surface, as you'll need to work quickly once the glass syrup is ready. Transfer the cookies to clean sheets of parchment on baking sheets. Mix the sugar and corn syrup until it resembles wet sand. Microwave until the sugar is completely dissolved and begins to bubble but is still colorless, about 2-2.5 minutes. Stir and microwave for another 30 seconds. This will depend on the power of your microwave. The syrup should bubble but not darken.
5. Pour syrup into the center of 2-3 cookies, allowing it to spread and fill the entire opening. Working quickly, while the syrup is still hot and hasn't started to set, decorate with any sprinkles you like. Continue decorating, filling a few cookies at a time, microwaving the syrup for 5-10 seconds as needed.
6. Glaze:
   
   In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the powdered sugar and dry egg whites and beat with a whisk until smooth. Reduce the mixer speed to low, add the lemon juice and 3 tablespoons of water. Mix until smooth, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add about 1-3 tablespoons of water, a little at a time, if the icing is too thick. Increase the mixer speed to high and beat until the icing is very smooth, about 1 minute. Spoon half the icing into a pastry bag fitted with a small plain tip. Alternatively, transfer it to a resealable plastic bag and snip off the corner. Tint the remaining icing in the bowl with red food coloring and transfer it to another pastry bag fitted with a small plain tip.
7. Pipe white icing onto the tops of the snow globes, reserving some in the bag for decorating the glass if desired. Pipe red icing onto the bases of the snow globes. If desired, pipe small snowmen onto the stele using white icing. Let the icing set for 20-30 minutes.