Stained Glass Critter Cookies Recipes

STAINED-GLASS CRITTER COOKIES

Steps:

• Sift flour and salt into a bowl; set aside.
• Put butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium speed until pale and fluffy. Mix in eggs and lemon juice. Reduce speed to low. Gradually mix in flour mixture. Divide dough in half; flatten each half into a disk. Wrap each in plastic. Refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour or overnight.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees with racks in upper and lower thirds. Let one disk of dough stand at room temperature just until soft enough to roll, about 10 minutes. Place dough on a nonstick baking mat; place a piece of plastic wrap over dough. Roll out dough between baking mat and plastic wrap to 1/4 inch thick. Remove plastic wrap. Cut out cookies with a 5-inch butterfly- or dragonfly-shaped cookie cutter; cut out negative space in the wings using both sides of a small heart-shaped cookie cutter to create a mirror image (see Butterfly or Dragonfly templates). Use a drinking straw to create a hanging hole at top of cookie, if desired. Transfer baking mat to a baking sheet. Transfer baking sheet to freezer, freeze until very firm, about 15 minutes. Remove baking sheet from freezer; remove scraps and reposition cookies so that they are at least 1 inch apart. Roll out scraps, and repeat. Repeat with remaining disk of dough.
• Transfer to oven and bake for 8 minutes. Let cool and sprinkle candy in a single layer in negative space of each cookie. Return to oven and bake until lightly golden, 8 to 10 minutes. Let cool on sheets on wire racks; carefully remove with a metal spatula.
• Mix together some of the royal icing with food coloring until desired shade is reached for wings. Transfer to a small squirt bottle. Outline wings (see Butterfly or Dragonfly templates) with colored icing. Draw several zigzags across entire surface of the outlined area. If necessary, use a toothpick to spread evenly. Using tweezers, add candy decor to wing edges, if desired (see Butterfly or Dragonfly templates). Let dry.
• Mix together some of the royal icing with food coloring until desired shade is reached for bodies. Transfer to a small squirt bottle. Outline body (see Butterfly or Dragonfly templates) with colored icing. Draw several zigzags across entire surface of the outlined area. If necessary, use a toothpick to spread evenly. Using tweezers, add dragees or candy eyes to create eyes (see Butterfly or Dragonfly templates). Let dry.

STAINED GLASS COOKIES

Steps:

• Beat the butter and sugar in a large bowl with a mixer on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes. Beat in the egg and vanilla. Reduce the mixer speed to low; add the flour mixture in 2 batches and beat until just incorporated. Divide the dough in half; wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour and up to 1 day.
• Meanwhile, separate the candy by color and place each color in a separate resealable plastic bag. Crush into small pieces using a rolling pin; do not pulverize.
• Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Working with 1 piece of dough at a time, lightly dust the dough with flour and roll out between 2 pieces of parchment paper until about 1/8 inch thick. Refrigerate until slightly firm, about 15 minutes. Cut into shapes using 2-to-4-inch cookie cutters and transfer to the prepared baking sheets. Gather the scraps and refrigerate until firm; reroll once to cut out more cookies. Cut out shapes from the centers of the cookies using smaller cutters; fill the cut-out areas about two-thirds full with the crushed candy. Refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes.
• Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Bake the cookies, switching the position of the pans halfway through, until the candy melts and the cookies are just golden, 12 to 15 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes on the baking sheets, then transfer to racks to cool completely.

STAINED GLASS COOKIES

Steps:

• Line baking sheets with aluminum foil and spray lightly with cooking spray. Alternatively, you can use a silicone baking mat.
• In a large bowl, stir together all ingredients, except hard candies, until dough ball forms. Split dough in half and form into disks.
• Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface to 1/4-inch thick. Cut out cookies with oversized (4 to 5-inch) ornament-shaped cookie cutters. Place cookies on prepared baking sheets spaced 1-inch apart. On each of the large cookies, cut out 3 or 4 smaller shapes using 1/2 to 1-inch cookie cutters. If cookies are to be used as ornaments, make a hole at the top with a straw. Chill in refrigerator for 30 minutes.
• While cookies chill, place unwrapped hard candies, sorted by color, in separate zip-top resealable bags. Squeeze air from bags and seal; crush candies with rolling pin. Set aside.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
• Remove cookies from refrigerator and fill centers of cookies with
• crushed hard candies.
• Bake for 9 to 12 minutes or until edges just start to turn golden. Cool completely on baking sheet on a rack.
• Repeat with remaining dough.
• Store completely cooled cookies separated by waxed paper in an air-tight container for 1 week.

STAINED GLASS COOKIES

Steps:

• Cream the butter and sugar in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on medium-high speed until smooth, about 2 minutes. Reduce the speed to low and add the eggs 1 at a time, mixing after each addition until fully incorporated. Add the vanilla and then slowly mix in the flour until well combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Remove the dough, press into a flat rectangle, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour and up to overnight.
• Position oven racks in the top and bottom thirds of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment.
• Cut the dough into thirds, wrap 1 piece back in the plastic wrap and return it to the refrigerator. Dust your work surface and the remaining 2 pieces of dough well with flour and roll out each to 3/16 inch with a rolling pin, moving the dough and dusting the top and bottom with additional flour if it becomes sticky. Cut out as many large stars as possible with a 4-inch star cookie cutter and place on the prepared baking sheets. Gather the scraps and reroll once to cut out more cookies. You should have a total of 12 stars. Cut a small star out of the middle of each large star with a 2-inch star cookie cutter and reserve for another use. (You can chill and bake the small stars separately or freeze for later.) Refrigerate the baking sheets until the dough is firm, 15 to 20 minutes.
• Meanwhile, separate the candy by color and place each color in a separate resealable plastic bag. Place a kitchen towel over the bags and crush the candy into small pieces using a rolling pin or meat mallet; do not pulverize. Fill the cut-out areas of the cookies two-thirds full with the crushed candy.
• Bake the cookies, rotating the baking sheets from top to bottom and front to back halfway through, until light golden brown and the candy has melted, 12 to 15 minutes. Cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely. Repeat the rolling, cutting, filling and baking process with the remaining piece of dough.

STAINED GLASS COOKIE ORNAMENTS

Steps:

• In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Combine the flour, baking soda, cream of tartar and salt; gradually add to the creamed mixture and mix well. Divide into three portions; cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes or until easy to handle. , On a lightly floured surface, roll out one portion to 1/4-in. thickness. Cut with a floured 2-1/2-in. ornament-shaped cookie cutters. Cut out centers with a 1/2-in. cookie cutters. Place larger cutouts 2 in. apart on greased baking sheets. Poke a small hole in the top of each cookie. Repeat with remaining dough; reroll small cutouts if desired. , Place the same color of hard candies in small resealable plastic bags; crush candies. Sprinkle in center of each. Bake at 350° for 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool for 2-3 minutes or until candies are set before carefully removing to wire racks. , In a small bowl, beat meringue powder and water until soft peaks form. Gradually add the confectioners' sugar. Decorate cookies with icing.

STAINED GLASS WINDOW COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets.
• In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar. Stir in vanilla and eggs.
• In another bowl, sift together flour, baking powder and salt; add to egg mixture alternately with milk.
• On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough 1/4 inch thick. Cut into 1/4 to 1/2 inch wide strips and, on a well-buttered baking sheet, form into window frames.
• Keeping the colors separate, place candy in plastic bags and crush with a meat mallet. Place crushed candies inside window frames.
• Bake for six minutes, or until candy is just melted. Cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes, until candy is hard. Carefully lift cookies off baking sheet with spatula.