These beautiful stained glass cookies are buttery sugar cookies with a candy center. A holiday classic that tastes as good as it looks!
If you’ve never made stained glass window cookies before, this is the year you need to try. They’re unique, pretty and so very festive!
I’m not going to lie, I was a little nervous when I put these stained glass cookies into the oven. Would they come out like the pretty pictures you see in magazines, or would they melt everywhere and be a Pinterest fail? Imagine my relief when I pulled the cookies out of the oven and found these beautiful little gems. If I can make picture perfect stained glass window cookies, so can you! This is a great project to do with the kids, my girls had so much fun making these with me.
How to make stained glass cookies
This recipe starts with a basic sugar cookie dough that will hold its shaped when baked. The dough needs to chill before you start rolling and cutting, so plan accordingly. I used star shaped cookie cutters here because that’s what I had on hand, but you can use any holiday cookie cutters you like, as long as you have them in two different sizes so you can cut out your windows! I press sparkling white sugar into the tops of the cookies before I fill the windows to add more sparkle. The windows are made with crushed hard candy. I used Jolly Ranchers, but you can also use Lifesavers or any other hard candy. You’ll want to separate the candies by color, then put them in a resealable bag and crush them with the flat end of a meat mallet, or a rolling pin. The candy should NOT be ground into a super fine powder, otherwise it might get over caramelized in the oven. You also don’t want huge chunks of candy, think coarse sand or small pebbles.
You only need to fill the centers of the cookies about 2/3 of the way full with the candy, otherwise you run the risk of it overflowing onto the cookie. I use a toothpick to gently nudge the candy into each point of the star.
You’ll be rewarded for your efforts with cookies that are beautiful and delicious! These cookies keep at room temperature for about 2 days, but you should store them in a single layer or place parchment in between layers so that they don’t stick together.
If you’re looking for an impressive treat to bring to a cookie exchange this year, these stained glass cookies can’t be beat!
More holiday cookie recipes
- Christmas Wreath Cookies
- Peppermint Bark Cookies
- Avalanche Cookies
- Almond Roca Cookies
- Chocolate Fudge Sprinkle Cookies
Stained Glass Cookies Video
Stained Glass Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter softened
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3 cups all purpose flour
- 2/3 cup coarse sparkling sugar
- 1/2 cup crushed hard candies Jolly Ranchers or Lifesavers work great, separate them by color them crush in plastic bags using a rolling pin or flat end of a meat mallet.
Instructions
- In the bowl of a mixer, beat the butter and sugar until smooth, about 2 minutes.
- Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
- Add the vanilla and salt, then slowly mix in the flour until thoroughly combined.
- Remove the dough from the bowl. Place the dough on a large piece of plastic wrap and shape it into a disc. Wrap the plastic wrap around the dough and chill for at least 1 hour, or up to 1 day before you plan to bake your cookies.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat.
- Divide the dough in half. Re-wrap one half of the dough and place it in the fridge. Roll the remaining dough into a 1/2 inch thick rectangle.
- Using a 4 inch star shaped cookie cutter, cut out as many shapes as you can from the dough. Place the stars 1 inch apart on the cookie sheet, and use a 2 inch star cookie cutter to cut out your windows.
- Re-roll the dough and repeat the process until you've filled your first baking sheet.
- Gently press sparkling sugar into the tops of the cookies.
- Place the pan of cookies in the fridge and chill for 20 minutes.
- Remove the cookies from the refrigerator. Fill each cookie 2/3 of the way full of crushed candy, using a toothpick to nudge the candy into small crevices.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes or until cookies are light golden brown and the candy has melted. Cool completely.
- Repeat the same process with the other half of the dough that you previously put in the refrigerator.
- Store covered in a single layer for up to 2 days.
Nikita says
I make these but make two and once cool fill the hole with some edible stars and sprinkles then ice the two together it has a kind of snow globe effect 🙂
Sara says
That sounds amazing I’ll have to try that next time!
June says
Ok… here we go! So far these are living up to the post… chilled for 24 hours … at first, the dough felt like a rock, but an it was so easy to work with!!! Used Russell Stover candies…(sugarless) made them a little smaller than 1/2″ and just watched from the 8min mark…crossing my fingers they taste as good as they look!! Thank you…
Sara says
Hope you enjoy them, thanks for reporting back!
Jessica Robinson says
These look pretty. Would be pretty with homemade jam too, sandwiched together.
April says
I made these for our office cookie exchange. They really are beautiful and presented well, and the
cookie flavor was great. However, they met with mixed reviews from a practical/eating perspective. My teenaged, candy-loving son thought they were great, but difficult to eat. My coworkers concurred. At least two people mentioned their fear of “breaking a tooth” because of the extreme differences in textures. My husband suggested using them as ornaments versus eating them. “You have to eat the cookie, then suck the candy. If you try to just bite into it and eat it normally it doesn’t work.” Not exactly the reviews for which I was hoping. For the second half of the batch I will try using a smaller diameter cookie cutter than what is called for in the recipe, which might help with edibility. Disappointing, to say the least.
Sara says
I’m sorry that this happened to you. When I make these cookies the layer of candy is very thin, easy to bite through with your teeth. How full did you fill the empty centers of the cookies? I just add a small amount, enough to cover the bottom. You get that pretty look without a thick candy center. I will take another look at the recipe to see if there’s a way to make this clearer. Thanks for the feedback!
Hllb says
I made these last night. They turned out really cute and they taste really good too! I was worried they may be hard to eat with the candy center but they were fine. Curious though why it says they only keep for 2 days?
Sara says
Glad you liked them! For me, they didn’t keep for that long only because the candy windows got sticky, but sometimes that’s an issue related to humidity etc so they might stay longer for you in your climate!
Veronica Solomon says
Oh wow! I would love to not only eat these, but to display them. Beautiful
Diana Elizabeth says
THose look so beautiful and delicious. Sugar cookies are my favorite! I am going to make them for Christmas!
brianne says
These cookies look super festive and yummy! I am so going to make these!
Annemarie LeBlanc says
This is perfect for the holiday season. I love the colors and the stained glass idea. Its so festive! And of course, delicious too.
Toni | Boulder Locavore says
What a fun and festive treat for the holidays! Perfect for Christmas goodie bags, too!
Tonia says
These cookies are so cute. I can’t wait to try them with my kids. They will love them.
Claudia Krusch says
I have never made STAINED GLASS COOKIES before. They look so delicious. I am sure they will be a big hit with my cookie exchange.
Pam says
These cookies turned out so pretty! I love stained glass cookies but I have never made them myself.
Arlett from Chasing Joy says
These cookies are so beautiful. I would never have thought to use Jolly ranchers or life savers for the window.
kim says
First, I love the name. When i first saw the name I wondered if they would be real!!! you need an amazing job and the really do look like stained-glass!!!
travel blogger says
We always do a cookie swap during Dec, and I am not a great cook. However, if I could pull these cookies off, I might just redeem myself. These look amazing!
Marcie W. says
How fun are these festive cookies?! Not only do they look perfect for the holiday season, I can not believe they are so easy to make. too. Fabulous!
Maureen says
These stained glass cookies are adorable. I honestly think I have seen them around before, like in my younger years. I am going to try to make this, super fun idea.
Dogvills says
Those are such pretty cookies! I would love to make some for my children. They’ll love this. I can also make a batch and give as teacher gifts. Thanks for sharing the recipe!
Christie says
Looks like your creations turned out wonderful! I’ve never heard of these, and they sound yummy. A fun cookie to make with the kids.
Colleen says
I am making SO MANY of these for the Christmas season. They are super cute, and they sound super delicious. You really can’t beat that combo!
Stacie @ Divine Lifestyle says
I can’t think of a better cookie than these for Christmas. It looks like the perfect thing to bring to a party.
robin rue says
Those cookies look awesome. I would love to make a batch of these for my Christmas dessert this year.