A fun and festive recipe, these Stained Glass Window Cookies are so simple to make!
This fun recipe looks fabulous but is really easy to make. A simple sugar cookie with a hard boiled sweet centre. There are a few tips for getting them just right but they are a really great activity.
I have used my sugar cookie recipe that I used for my iced shape biscuits as it is lovely to work with. For the boiled sweets there are many options. Any hard boiled sweet or candy works well, from barley sugars, lollypops, candy canes and more!
We love making these at Christmas time, they looks so cool and are a great gift. This is a super old idea that I cannot find the origins of but everyone seems to have their own version.
The ingredients are also simple
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Butter
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Sugar
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Salt
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Vanilla
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Egg
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Flour
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Boiled Sweets
Today I have used some simple small boiled sweets in 5 colours so that the variety looks great. You can use any shape cookie cutters that you have on hand.
To begin you prepare the cookie dough ahead of time, it needs to chill for at least two hours. This is best done in a food mixer as you begin by creaming together the butter and sugar.
Place the prepared dough in two batches in some plastic wrap and pop aside in the fridge until firm.
Once you are ready to bake have everything set up. You will need 2-3 baking trays lined with baking paper, and also your sweets crushed. To crush the sweets I add each colour to a zip lock bag.
To crush them you will need to use a hammer or a marble rolling pin. Something really hard. If you use your wooden rolling pin you are likely to leave indents on it. Ditto for the surface you place it on, preferably use a plastic chopping board or something that will not dent or does not matter if it does dent.
Crush the sweets into small and medium crumbs and set aside. Then roll out and begin to create the cookie shapes, you can use any shape cookie cutters you have. The key is to find something to take out the centre with.
Today I have used a combination of shape cookie cutters and for the centres either a smaller version of the larger cutter or in the case of the round cookies I have used a large piping bag nozzle to cut circles as it is the perfect size.
You cook this recipe in two stages, first the cookies themselves are baked for 7 minutes, then remove them from the oven while still soft and half cooked and add the crushed sweets to the centre in a pile and bake for a further 5-7 minutes until they just become lightly golden brown and the centre has melted to create the window look.
If you find at 5 minutes that there is not enough “glass” you can add more and pop back in the oven for a further 2 minutes.
Allow these to fully cool on the tray before removing them and adding to an airtight container. I hope you love this fun and at times messy recipe!
If you are looking for more delicious Christmas treats check out my latest eBook – 40 pages of Cookies & Confectionary
Stained Glass Window Cookies Recipe
Stained Glass Window Cookies
Delicious sugar cookies with a stained window feature
Ingredients
COOKIES
- 225g Butter - Room Temp
- ¾ Cup White Sugar
- ¼ teaspoon Salt
- 1½ teaspoon Vanilla
- 1 Egg
- 2 Cups Flour
WINDOWS
- 20-25 Hard Boiled Sweets or Lollypops
Instructions
- Combine the butter and white sugar together in food mixer until it is pale and creamy, scraping down the sides of the bowl occasionally, approx 4-6 minutes
- Add the salt and vanilla and mix well into this mixture.
- Add the egg and beat well.
- Slowly add the flour and mix until only just combined.
- Place some plastic wrap on the bench and tip the mixture into this, slightly flatten into an oval shape, or can make two ovals so they cool quicker.
- Cover well in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least two hours
- Add each colour boiled sweet to a small plastic zip lock bag, using a hammer or marble rolling pin (wooden will dent) bash the sweets until they are well crushed. Do this on a hard surface or a plastic one where it will not dent or matter if it does dent. The bag may rip a little. Set aside for later
- Once chilled pre heat the oven to 160 C Bake, ideally work with one tray at a time.
- Split the dough into two portions to make it easier to work with. Knead the dough gently using well floured hands, then on a well floured bench roll the dough to the desired thickness, 5mm works well.
- Use the cookie cutter to cut the shape and gently transfer to a baking tray lined with baking paper.
- Once on the tray use the smaller cutter and remove the centre of each shape. Doing this on the tray means it will not lose its shape as you transfer it.
- Repeat with the remaining dough until the tray is full.
- Bake for 7 minutes and remove the tray from the oven
- Add a generous sprinkle of crushed sweets to the centre of each shape. Can be a sticky job, use your fingers or a small spoon
- Place the cookies back in the oven for a further 5 minutes. The sweets will melt and boil down.
- Remove from the oven, if you have not added enough of the sweets add a little more and cook for a further 2 minutes until the cookies are lightly golden brown.
- Remove from the oven and allow them to cool on the tray for at least 15 minutes or until cold
- Store in an airtight container, they will last well.
- Enjoy!
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 46 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 112Total Fat: 7gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 116mgSodium: 78mgCarbohydrates: 8gFiber: 0gSugar: 4gProtein: 4g
JustAMumNZ.com, occasionally offers nutritional information for recipes contained on this site. This information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. This information comes from online calculators. Although justamumnz.com attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures are only estimates.
What do you think? Have you made these before? Let me know in the comments below if you make them.
Check out all my other Christmas recipes here
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Happy Baking!
Anna
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Abby says
Hi there,
I’m in Sydney, where did you get the lollipops? I want to make it for the whole time but never find the desired lollipops. Thanks.
justamumnz says
I would search online for boiled sweets in your country and see what comes up.