PREPARATION:

1. Divide cookie dough in half and return one half to the refrigerator. Dye the remaining half orange by kneading orange food coloring into the dough. Refrigerate the orange dough until firm enough to roll out, about 20 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, dye the other half of the dough black. (Use plenty of coloring; dough will become lighter in color as cookies bake.) Refrigerate black dough 20 minutes.
3. Preheat oven to 350°F. Roll out orange dough and cut out with the cookie cutters. Place the cut-outs on a parchment-lined cookie sheet, and, using a smaller cookie cutter of the same shape, cut out the middle of the cookies. Or, cut out the middle of the cookie with a knife. Use cut-out dough for more cookies. Sprinkle crushed hard candies in the opening. (Orange hard candies look particularly good with the orange cookie dough.)
4. Repeat with the black cookie dough. (Red hard candies look particularly good with the black cookie dough.)
5. Bake 8 to 10 minutes.
6. Cool cookies on cookie sheet 5 to 10 minutes. Transfer to cooling rack and cool completely.