Stained Glass Cookies

By Makinze GorePublished: Sep 22, 2021

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sugar cookies with cutouts filled with melted jolly ranchers to look like stained glass

ERIK BERNSTEIN

Looking for the easiest, cutest, MOST impressive holiday cookies out there? Look no further—these stained glass cookies nail all three with flying colors (literally!). No complicated cookie cutter shapes, no royal icing or buttercream frosting, no piping bags...all you need is a simple cut-out sugar cookie dough (we like homemade but store-bought works too) and a bag of Jolly Ranchers to make these absolutely gorgeous cookies. Bring these to your next holiday party (or use them to decorate your Christmas tree, see below!), and be prepared to bowl over everyone who tries them.

How to make stained glass cookies:
In this recipe, sugar cookies get cut out (whatever shape you like works) and filled with crushed hard candy that melts and creates a beautiful stained glass window effect while baking. It’s as simple as that! The cookies bake up crispy and melt-in-your-mouth buttery, while the bright centers stay soft and chewy.

Hot tip: most hard candies aren’t the easiest to crush, so we recommend the ole hammer, bag, and towel method—place your candies into a bag, cover it with a towel, and go at it with a hammer, rolling pin, or meat tenderizer. Be prepared to put some elbow grease in!

Whatever you do, make sure to keep your colors separated. Otherwise they melt into an unappetizing brown puddle in the oven. Speaking of, make sure not to over-bake your cookies. If the cookies themselves begin to take on color, so will your candies, and their colors won’t be as bright.

You can also turn these cookies into ornaments for your Christmas tree. Before baking, use a plastic straw to punch out a hole at the top of whatever cookie shape you like. Once your cookies are cooled, you should be able to pull a piece of string or ornament hook through and hang them.

Made these? Let us know how it went in the comments below.

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Yields:: 24 serving(s)
Prep Time:: 15 mins
Total Time:: 3 hrs 30 mins

Ingredients

3 c.
all-purpose flour
1 tsp.
baking powder
1/2 tsp.
kosher salt
1 c.
(2 sticks) butter, softened
1 c.
granulated sugar
1
large egg
1 tbsp.
milk
1/2 tsp.
almond extract
Hard candies, such as Jolly Ranchers

Directions

1. Step 1In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.
2. Step 2In another large bowl using a hand mixer, beat butter and sugar until creamy. Add egg, milk, and almond extract and beat to combine. Add dry ingredients and beat until fully incorporated.
3. Step 3Divide dough in half and shape each into a disk and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate until firm, at least 2 hours and up to 3 days.
4. Step 4Sort jolly ranchers by color and use a rolling pin or meat tenderizer to crush into small pieces, keeping the colors separated.
5. Step 5Line two large baking sheets with parchment. Working one disk at a time, roll dough out on a lightly floured surface to 1/4" thick. Cut shapes out with large cookie cutters, then cut the centers out with a small cookie cutter of the same shape. Place on prepared baking sheets.
6. Step 6Fill the centers about ¾ full with crushed jolly ranchers. Refrigerate until chilled, at least 30 minutes.
7. Step 7Preheat oven to 350°F. Bake cookies until edges are lightly golden, 8 to 10 minutes. Let cool completely before removing from baking sheets.