Stained Glass Cookies
These stained glass cookies are a real showstopper! They’re SO PRETTY, but they’re actually incredibly easy to make. Simply crush up jolly ranchers and place them in the center of a sugar cookie before baking.
Impress your family and friends with these cookies that are beautiful and tasty, with no extra decorating required. It’s so cool how you can see through the center of these cookies, just like real stained glass windows!
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Looking for more sugar cookie decorating ideas? Here’s a few of our favourites:
Equipment
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Hand mixer(or stand mixer)
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Plastic wrap
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Hammer(or meat mallet)
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Rolling pin
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Baking sheet
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Parchment paper
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Cookie cutter(s)(at least 2 sizes)
Ingredients
- 1cupSugar
- 1/2teaspoonSalt
- 1TablespoonVanilla extract
- 1largeEgg
- 3/4cupButter(room temperature)
- 2-1/2cupsFlour
- 16Jolly ranchers
Instructions
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Gather your cookie ingredients and supplies.
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Add the sugar, salt, vanilla, egg, and room temperature butter to a mixing bowl.
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Combine the ingredients in a stand mixer or with a hand mixer.
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Add the all purpose flour and mix until the dough starts to clump together.
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Transfer the dough to your working surface and knead briefly.
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Cover your dough with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for 1 hour.
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Unwrap two jolly ranchers and place them in a plastic baggie.
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Use a hammer or meat mallet to crush the jolly ranchers into very small pieces. Powder is okay as well, but try and get rid of any large chunks.Repeat with other jolly rancher colours. Two jolly ranchers will fill 3 – 4 cookies, depending on your cut out size.
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Add flour to your working surface. Place the dough on top and add a bit more flour on top of the dough.
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Roll out the dough until it’s just over 1/4 inch thick.
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Use a cookie cutter to cut out star shapes, or whatever shape you’d like!
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Place the cookies on a parchment lined baking tray.You can also use a silicone mat, but you need to cover your baking sheet with something to stop the candy from sticking.
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Cut out the centers of the cookies with a smaller cookie cutter of a similar shape.
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Fill the center of the cookies with the crushed candies. Make sure they don’t overflow; just add enough to cover the hole.Try and remove any pieces that fall on the top of the cookies prior to baking.
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Preheat your oven to 350F and bake the cookies for 12 minutes.Allow the cookies to cool on the tray for 20 – 30 minutes, until the candy center has hardened.
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Your stained glass cookies are complete!
Notes
Will any cookie dough recipe work to make stained glass cookies?
This sugar cookie recipe is perfect for making stained glass cookies because it doesn’t spread. If you have another favourite cookie recipe that doesn’t spread, feel free to use that!
Do I need to chill the dough?
Yes, chilling the dough before rolling it out and baking the cookies is an important step. Chilling the dough helps stop the cookies from spreading! It also makes it way easier to roll out the dough and cut clean shapes with the cookie cutters.
What other candies can I use to make stain glass cookies?
You can use any hard candies that are semi-translucent. Try crushing up suckers, Life Savers, or even butterscotch candies!
Do the jolly ranchers make these cookies hard to eat?
No, the jolly rancher part of the cookie is thin enough that you can bite right into it. It might stick to your teeth a bit, but they’re definitely not too difficult to eat!
How can I get rid of air bubbles in the center of the stained glass cookie?
Most of the air bubbles in the candy should disappear as the cookies cool. If you want to make sure all the bubbles are gone, keep an eye on the cookies as the candy begins to harden and pop the bubbles with a toothpick.
What size and shape of cookies can I make?
We cut out the main cookie from 3 inch star cookie cutters. The inside cut outs were 1-1/4 and 2 inch star shapes. You can definitely use whatever shape cookie cutters you’d like – as long as you have another one that fits inside!
Hearts would be so pretty for Valentine’s Day, while trees and gingerbread people are super fun for Christmas. Ornament shaped cookies also look great with different shapes inside, like a star or a snowflake.
These stained glass cookies are perfect for Christmas parties, cookie exchanges, or really for any time of year.
You can also use these windowpane cookies as Christmas tree decorations! Simply poke a hole in the cookie with a straw or skewer before baking and then tie a ribbon to hang them.
Here’s even more sugar cookie decorating ideas:
Our book Low-Mess Crafts for Kids is loaded with 72 fun and simple craft ideas for kids! The projects are fun, easy and most importantly low-mess, so the clean up is simple!
