Quick, easy stained glass cookies recipe, homemade with simple ingredients. These classic Christmas cut out sugar cookies are filled with rock candy or Jolly Ranchers to create the illusion of a window.
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These pretty cookies are great for Christmas, Mother's Day or even Valentine's Day. They make a great homemade gift for the holidays and are very fun to make with kids. They have a clear candy center so that light can shine through them. They would make such beautiful windows in this How to Make Gingerbread House {Homemade} recipe. These cookies are not to be confused with my Church Window Cookies. They are both classics and both referred to as windows, but the similarities end there.
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Key ingredients for glass window biscuits
- Cookie dough- You will need a double recipe of sugar cookie dough.
- Candy- Such as Rock candy, Jolly Ranchers, or Life Savers in various colors.
How to make easy stained cookies recipe from scratch?
- Prepare cookie dough- Roll it out.
- Cut shapes- Cut out the larger shape, and then hollow out the center.
- Place on a baking tray- Fill the centers with candy.
- Bake and cool- Enjoy.
Variations
- Fill them with something else- You can bake hollow cookies without rock candy. Then, when they cool down, fill them with melted chocolate and sprinkles and let it set.
- Use other decor options- Such as Royal Icing Recipe. Use this to pipe intricate designs on top of the stained glass, once the cookies cool completely.
- Try multiple colors- Melt more than one color candy in the center. Just make sure to not over-fill the center.
- Color the cookie dough- Dye the dough whatever color matches your theme, or that you prefer, for even more colorful cookies.
- Use another cookie- Any cut out cookie recipe would work well here. I used sugar cookies but you also use Chocolate Sugar Cookies or Gingerbread Cookies.
Tips and techniques
- Best candy for stained glass windows? After trying a few different candies, I found that hard rock candies like Life Savers and Jolly Ranchers work the best plus they have beautiful vibrant colors.
- Make sure all ingredients are at room temperature- Because this helps them blend together smoothly and evenly.
- Cookies need to be rolled thick- Because this allows them to handle the weight of the rock candy. Half inch thickness works best.
- Don't overfill the cookies with candy- Because they can overflow during baking and make a sticky mess. Only fill halfway.
- Don't use cutters that have a diameter of less than 3 inches- Because these cookies look best when they are a bit large.
- How many cookies does this make- This recipe made 15 cookies for me, but it depends on the size and shape of the cutters you use. Larger cookies will result in fewer cookies, and smaller ones will make more.
- Use parchment paper to roll out the dough- Because this prevents it from sticking and becoming difficult to roll.
- How to know when cookies are done? They are done when the edges are golden brown and the candy is fully melted.
- Cool cookies completely before removing them from the baking tray- Because this ensures that the center is fully set and helps prevent the cookie from breaking.
Storage of jolly rancher cookies
- Room Temperature- In a box from up to 3 days.
- Refrigerate and Freeze- I avoid both because the candy center can become sticky due to the moisture.
More cut out cookie recipes
- Pistachio Cookies {Cut Out}
- Easy Funfetti Cookies {Cut Out Recipe}
- Easy Gingersnap Cookies {Cut Outs}
- Easy Cut Out Sugar Cookies (With Cake Mix)
Recipe
Stained Glass Cookies (Glass Window Cookies)
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Ingredients
- 15 Sugar cookies Double the recipe
- 15 Rock candies Crushed, Various colors, E.g. Jolly Ranchers or Life Savers
Instructions
- Roll out cookie dough between 2 sheets of wax paper at half inch thickness.
- Use a large cutter to cut out a piece and then, use a small cutter to cut out the center. Discard this little piece.
- Place the large hollow cookie on a cookie tray, lined with parchment paper.
- Add some crushed candy in the center and use a toothpick to spread it out evenly. Only fill halfway to prevent candy from overflowing.
- Bake at 350 degrees F for 10-12 minutes or until edges are golden brown and candy is fully melted.
- Let cookies cool completely before removing them from the tray. Enjoy!
Notes
- Read all my tips above.
- Leftovers can be stored in a box at room temperature for up 3 days.
Nutrition
An automated tool is used to calculate the nutritional information. As such, I cannot guarantee the accuracy of the nutritional information provided for any recipe on this site.
Nami
Wow... these look so pretty and this will be an amazing gift! So detailed and too precious to eat! What a nice job! Happy Mother's Day Weekend to you Abeer!
Chrissy
So cute! I love it. Have a great mothers day!
yummychunklet
Love the list. And totally adorable cookies!
torview
this looks beautiful delicious dessert
Wendy Irene
They look AMAZING!!! I love all the color and sparkle. Any Mom would absolutely love that, and it does make a fantastic centerpiece. I love your stunning pictures of it all!
Belinda
So sweet. And these treats are absolutely awesome!
paddlea
Wow! These look lovely! Thank you for all of the detailed instructions!
anncoo
Happy Mother's Day to all Mom in the world.
These are very lovely and so perfect for all Moms!
Eftychia
What a lovely idea! I think I will bake something for my mother and mother-in-law, and decorate it with my kids. I never thought I would say this but I really understood my mother's behaviour when I had my own kids, and believe it or not she was far a better mother than I am :-)...
Junia
oh my, these are lovely!!! love the heart pops especially!!! wow!!!
Kats
I really love how the cookies look on cupcakes. But about crushed candy - that's the method I used with gingerbread house windows, works really well. Add the candy bits to the cookies while they are still in the oven and just a few minutes (or even less!) from being completely ready. The candy melts really fast, you don't have to add water or anything, it will just melt into place. Remove the cookies from the oven before the melted candy starts to bubble.
To get more interesting sugar "pictures" you can combine different colored candy in one cookie and the colors will fuse. Once they are fresh out of the oven, you can pull patterns in them with a toothpick.
Becky
Your cookies are amazing. They always look perfect and beautiful I like your little chain message, which is so true! Sometimes. you don't know what you had, until it's gone
Trish
I love these just great! Thanks for sharing, have wanted to do ths for awhle!
Manu
Oh my! This look FANTASTIC! Such a great idea. You are a genius! I'd love to try and make something like this! Thank you so much for the great idea!
daksha
your cookie tree is simply beautiful! i love how you decorated it with a simple pink sugar. have a great holiday.
Little Miss
What a creative idea. that cookie tree looks beautiful