Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray light-colored baking sheets* with nonstick cooking spray. Then line with parchment paper or use a silicone baking mat and set aside.
Crush Red Hots by placing them into a ziploc bag and crushing with a rolling pin. Set aside.
In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Whip in vanilla and egg. Scrape sides and mix again.
Stir salt, baking powder, baking soda, and flour together in a small bowl and then pour into the mixer and slowly mix until just combined. Scrape sides of the bowl and mix again briefly.
Hand stir in crushed red hots candy.
Pour powdered sugar onto a large plate. Roll a heaping teaspoon of dough into a ball and roll in powdered sugar. Place cookie dough on the prepared baking sheet and repeat with remaining dough.
Bake for 9-11 minutes or until the bottoms begin to barely brown and cookies look matte (not melty or shiny). Remove from oven and cool the cookies about 3 minutes before transferring to a cooling wrack.
Notes
*If using a nonstick darker baking tray, reduce baking time by about 2 minutes.