The recipe prices will vary based on fluctuating grocery costs. Please use what is posted as a guide.
Stained glass cookies are a beautiful and delicious treat for the holidays or any time of year. These cookies are sure to impress your guests and add a touch of fun to any celebration.
It costs approximately $5.33 to make these cookies. The recipe makes fifty-two cookies, which cost about $0.10 per cookie.
These fun and festive cookies look just like little church window cookies. Make these for your next party or holiday cookie exchanges, or add them to a cookie tray to deliver to friends and family and impress everyone who tries them.
People are always amazed by these Stained Glass Window cookies and will ask you how to make them. You will surprise them with how easy they are!
We love making them because there is no extra decorating to finish them. They are simple sugar glass cookies that are an impressive addition to your holiday cookie trays.
What You’ll Love About Stained Glass Cookies:
- Beautiful Presentation: These cookies are not only delicious but also very festive looking.
- Family Fun: Kids of all ages enjoy making these cookies.
- Easier To Make Than You Think: You’ll wow your guests with these cookies that look complicated but are very simple to make with our step-by-step instructions.
Ingredients & Estimated Cost:
- 1 cup unsalted butter – $2.24
- 1 cup granulated sugar – $0.30
- ¼ teaspoon salt – $0.01
- 2 large eggs – $0.46
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract – $0.46
- 3 cups all-purpose flour – $0.36
- 25 hard candies – $1.50
The recipe cost is calculated by the amounts needed for the recipe. To find out more about how we price our recipes, check out Budget Recipes Explained. The pricing for this recipe was updated in November 2023.
How To Make Stained Glass Cookies:
***For complete recipe instructions, see the recipe card below.
- First, whisk together the flour and salt in a medium bowl.
- Then, using a large bowl, cream the room-temperature butter, sugar, and vanilla until fluffy.
- Using an electric mixer, beat in the eggs until combined.
- Slowly stir in the dry ingredients.
- Transfer the dough to a smaller bowl and cover with plastic wrap to chill for at least one hour.
- Next, separate the hard candies by color and place them in a resealable bag.
- Beat the candies with a rolling pin until the small pieces are finely crushed.
- Line the cookie sheet with parchment paper and remove the dough from the fridge.
- Use ⅓ of the dough at a time and roll it on a floured work surface to about ¼ inch thick.
- Cut the dough with cookie cutters and set them on the prepared baking sheets.
- Cut the center of each cut-out cookie with a smaller shape.
- Then, fill the centers with the crushed candies and place them back in the fridge to chill for about twenty to thirty minutes.
- Next, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and bake for ten to twelve minutes.
- Finally, allow the cookies to cool for ten minutes before moving them to wire racks to cool completely for fifty minutes before serving.
Stained Glass Cookies Recipe Variations and Substitutions:
- Use any shape cookie cutters to fit any holiday. Use a Christmas tree with green Jolly Ranchers for Christmas. You can do hearts with red, pink, and purple Jolly Ranchers for Valentine’s Day, red and blue candies for the Fourth of July, and shamrocks with green Jolly Ranchers for St. Patrick’s Day. Be creative and make them for almost any occasion.
- You can substitute life savers if you cannot find Jolly Rancher candies. Or you can use candy canes. However, while they have a hard candy center, they will not produce the same glass windows effect as the other candies.
Stained Glass Cookies Storage Tips:
SERVE: Serve at room temperature.
STORE: Store these cookies in an airtight container for 3-4 days.
FREEZE: Cool the cookies completely, then flash and freeze them on a baking sheet for 1-2 hours. Wrap them individually in plastic wrap and place them in an airtight container or zip-top bag. Freeze for 2-3 months.
THAW: When you’re ready to enjoy the cookies, remove them from the freezer and let them thaw at room temperature for about 30 minutes to an hour.
Sugar Glass Cookies Recipe FAQs:
After crushing the candy in a Ziploc bag, fill the centers of the cookies with the crushed candy, being careful not to overfill the cookies. Then, put the cookies in the oven and bake for ten to twelve minutes at 350 degrees F. The candy will melt in the oven during the baking process.
Our best tip for making these cookies is to chill the dough before rolling them out and again after cutting out the shapes. This helps harden the butter again, as well as keep the cookies from spreading during the baking process.
Yes, you want to mix the cookie dough until it is well combined. Overmixing can create excess gluten growth, which leads to dense cookies. Overmixing the dough can also lead to extra gluten development, resulting in dense cookies.
Get Kids Involved
Ages 2-3: This is the perfect opportunity to work on colors. Show your child how to separate the candies into different colors.
Ages 4-5: Ask your child to help pick out the cookie cutter shapes and help cut out the cookies. Talk about the different sizes and matching the large cookie cutter with the smaller one.
Ages 6-8: Your child will have so much fun being able to crush the candy with a rolling pin or the end of a meat mallet. This is a hands-on interactive activity where you can talk to them about the science of baking and what they think will happen to the candy as it bakes in the oven.
Ages 9-11: Supervise them while they prepare the entire recipe. Remember to have them read it twice before beginning the recipe.
Ages 12+: Let them prepare the entire recipe unsupervised while you do the happy dance in the corner!
Budget Tips
As the holidays arrive, pantry staples such as flour and sugar often go on sale. This is a fantastic time to stock up on these items for all your holiday baking.
More Christmas Recipes:
- Graham Cracker Gingerbread House
- Peppermint Shake
- Broken Glass Jello
- Christmas Roast
- Christmas Fudge
- Gingerbread Whoopie Pies
- Homemade Gingerbread House Recipe
- Cranberry Mocktail
Stained Glass Cookies
Equipment
- mixing bowls
- whisk
- Measuring cups and spoons
- handheld mixer
- baking sheets
- rolling pin
- wire rack
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter softened
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 3 cups all-purpose flour plus some for rolling
- 20-25 hard candies such as Jolly Ranchers or Lifesavers
Instructions
MAKE COOKIE DOUGH:
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour and salt.
- In a large bowl, cream together butter, sugar, and vanilla until fluffy.
- Add eggs and beat until well combined.
- Gradually add dry ingredients until well combined.
CHILL DOUGH:
- Transfer the dough to a smaller bowl and cover with plastic wrap.
- Chill for at least 1 hour or overnight.
PREP CANDIES:
- While the dough is chilling, crush hard candies by separating the colors and adding them to a resealable bag.
- Beat the candies with a rolling pin or flat end of a meat mallet until finely crushed.
PREP BAKING SHEETS:
- Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats.
FORM COOKIES:
- Remove dough from the refrigerator and work with about ⅓ at a time.
- Cover the work area with a dusting of flour.
- Roll dough to about ¼ thick.
- Cut dough with cookie cutters of your choice.
- Transfer the cut dough to the prepared baking sheet.
FILL COOKIES;
- Cut the center of the cookie dough with a smaller cookie cutter.
- Repeat with the remaining dough.
- Fill the centers with crushed candies, being careful not to overfill them.
CHILL AGAIN:
- Chill the filled cookies in the refrigerator until firm, about 20-30 minutes.
PREP OVEN:
- Move the oven rack to the middle position.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
BAKE:
- Bake for 10-12 minutes or until lightly golden brown, rotating the baking sheets halfway through.
COOL AND SERVE:
- Remove the baking sheets from the oven and cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes.
- Transfer the cookies onto the wire rack to cool completely, about 50 more minutes.
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