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–+ servings
Cookies on the table with glass effect.

Stained Glass Cookies

Author: Veena Azmanov
Prep Time: 10 mins
Cook Time: 10 mins
Chilling time: 20 mins
Total Time: 40 mins
Coooking Temperature: 177°C / 350°F / Gas Mark 4
Calories: 146kcal
Adjust Servings Here: 20 Cookies

Description

Whether you’re making craft cookies or preparing for an upcoming holiday party, consider decorating your cookies with stained glass designs. Kids can get in on the fun by making their favorite gingerbread flavor cookies and decorating them with hard candy for the stained glass effect.

Ingredients 

  • 3½ cup (440 g) All-purpose flour
  • 10 tablespoon (140 g) Butter unsalted, room temperature
  • ¼ cup (50 g) Sugar white
  • ½ cup (110 g) Brown sugar light or dark
  • ½ cup (120 ml) Molasses unsulphured
  • 1 large Egg large
  • ¼ teaspoon Salt
  • 1 tablespoon Ground ginger
  • 1 tablespoon Cinnamon powder
  • ½ teaspoon Ground cloves
  • ¼ teaspoon Nutmeg freshly grated
  • 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract

Stained glass window

  • 1 cup Candies various colors

Instructions

Cookie dough

  • Dry ingredients - In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and spices - cloves, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg.
  • Dough - In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter with white and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add the molasses and egg. Followed by flour mixture, orange, and vanilla extract. Combine well.
    Pro tip - Make sure to cream the butter and sugar until the sugar is almost dissolved in the butter and it all becomes very lighter in color.
  • Chill dough - Divide the dough into two, wrap in plastic wrap, and let chill until firm enough to roll - about 2 hours or overnight.
    Pro tip - Do not skip on the chilling time. Otherwise, it will be too soft to roll and the cookies will spread.

Roll and cut cookies

  • Roll - Roll dough on a lightly floured surface to about ⅛ inch thick.
    Pro tip - I use a rolling pin with spacers so the dough is the same thickness all over. If necessary, chill the excess dough before you gather the scraps together and re-roll the cookie dough again.
  • Large cookie - Use a snowflake cookie cutter, cut the shape and place it on a parchment-lined baking tray.
  • Center cookie - Use a smaller snowflake cutter (about two sizes smaller) for the center.
    Pro tip - You can use the center as a small size snowflake cookie as well.
  • Fill - Fill the center with crushed candy keeping it well within the cavity.
  • Hole - If you plan to hang these on the Christmas tree as ornament cookies, make a hole on top using a small round piping tip (about size 5), to tie the string and make sure it's not too close to the edges.

Chill and bake

  • I usually prefer to chill my cookies in the fridge for 15 minutes while the oven is preheating.
    Pro tip - Chilling the cookies is a sure way to ensure the cookies do not spread. You can leave the rolled cookies well wrapped in the fridge for up to 48 hours before baking.
  • Preheat the oven at 177°C / 350°F / Gas Mark 4. And line 2 x baking trays with parchment paper.
  • Bake the Christmas tree cookies for 10 to 12 minutes, or until slightly golden around the edges.
    Pro tip - If you do not want to frost the baked cookies, you can also add sprinkles or colorful dragees cookies before baking.
  • Cool - When baked, let the cookies cool in the baking tray. When cool, use a flat spatula to remove them from the tray and cool them on a cooling rack completely before you transfer them to a cookie jar.
    Pro tip - If you move the cookies while they are hot the melted candy will spread. Plus you can get scald yourself with hot melted sugar.
  • I like to dust the cookies with confectioners sugar (powdered sugar).
    Pro tip - Alternatively, you can put the frosting in a piping bag and pipe the edges and dust with snow-white sprinkles.

Recipe Notes

  1. Always have all the ingredients at room temperature so the butter and sugar can cream until light and fluffy. 
  2. Rest the dough before rolling the cookies. Resting helps the butter firm up again which makes it easier to work and prevents spreading
  3. If the rolled cookie dough is soft, put it back in the refrigerator for 15 minutes. Chilled cookie dough will give well-defined shapes so you won't have to struggle with them being so soft. 
  4. Preheat the oven for a good 15 minutes making sure the oven is at the right temperature. A cold oven will spread the cookies.
  5. Place cut cookies in the fridge while the oven is preheating to prevent them from spreading.
  6. When baked leave the cookies on the baking sheet for 5 minutes then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely. This will prevent them from sweating on the bottom. 
  7. When the cookie is done. The centers will still be melted and bubbling. CAUTION!! Keep the kids away as the sugar center is really hot.
  8. Do not try to move the cookies from the baking tray until they are completely cooled. This can cause the center to break off.
  9. I waited for 10 minutes until I could move the spatula under each cookie. Then I moved it to the drying rack.
  10. Attempted to add a ribbon through the hole only when completely cooled.
  11. Bake Ahead and Freezing Instructions
    • Dough - You can freeze the dough for 3 months wrapped well in a ziplock bag. Then, thaw in the fridge overnight when ready to use.
    • Rolled cookies - And, you can also freeze the rolled cookies on a cookie sheet between parchment papers. In addition, wrap the tray in plastic to prevent drying out. They will stay for up to a month.
 

The nutrition information and metric conversion are calculated automatically. I cannot guarantee its accuracy. If this data is important to you please verify with your trusted nutrition calculator. Thank you

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