Stained Glass Trees Recipes

STAINED GLASS WINDOW BISCUITS

Steps:

• Measure out the butter, sugar and vanilla extract and pop them in a large mixing bowl or freestanding mixer. Cream them together until the mixture is light and fluffy.
• Crack the egg in a small bowl and add to your mixture. Mix everything together. If you need to, use a spatula to scrape unmixed ingredients from the side of the bowl.
• Measure the flour, salt, cream of tartar and add to the butter/sugar mixture. Mix everything together so it comes together into a ball of soft dough.
• Dust your work surface with a little flour and roll out your dough until it is about ½ a cm thick.
• Use festive cutters to cut shapes out and place them on your baking trays. If you have two cutters of the same shape but in different sizes, these work well for making your window. If you don't, just use a knife to cut a hole in the middle of your biscuit.
• Crush the boiled sweets (while still in the wrapper) with the end of a rolling pin. Sprinkle some of the crushed sweets into the middle of your biscuits.
• Pop the cookies in the oven for around 10 minutes. They're ready when the edges are starting to turn a little golden and the window sweets have melted. As soon as you remove them from the oven use a straw or something similar to poke a hole at the top of each biscuit if you want to hang them up.
• Leave them to cool until the windows have hardened. Place them on a wire rack to cool completely. If you're planning to hand them up, thread a ribbon or thread through the hole.

STAINED-GLASS CHRISTMAS TREE COOKIES

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper. Place each color candy in separate resealable freezer plastic bag; seal bag. With rolling pin, coarsely crush candy; set aside.
• In large bowl, beat butter and sugar with electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. Beat in corn syrup, vanilla and lemon extract. On low speed, gradually beat in flour, baking powder and salt.
• Divide dough in half. On floured cloth-covered work surface, roll each half to 1/4-inch thickness. Cut dough with 3-inch Christmas tree-shaped cookie cutter. Cut out and remove several smaller dough shapes from each cookie. Place tree shapes 2 inches apart on cookie sheets. If desired, reroll small cutouts with remaining dough. Fill each hole in tree shapes with about 1/2 teaspoon crushed candy.
• Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until edges are light golden brown and candy is melted. Place cookie sheets on cooling racks; cool cookies 8 minutes. With back of metal pancake turner, gently lift warm cookies from foil; place on cooling racks. Cool completely, about 15 minutes, before storing in loosely covered containers.

STAINED GLASS TREES

Steps:

• Sift together flour, salt, and baking powder into a bowl.
• Put butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment; mix on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add egg; mix until smooth, 1 minute. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture, and mix until combined. Stir in vanilla. Wrap dough in plastic, and refrigerate until cold, about 45 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 325°F with racks in upper and lower thirds. Roll out chilled dough on a well-floured surface to a little more than 1/8 inch thick. Cut out shapes using a 5-inch tree-shape cookie cutter. Using a metal spatula, transfer shapes to baking sheets lined with parchment paper, spacing 2 inches apart. Using the tip of a paring knife, make a triangular cutout in center of each cookie for candy filling. Reroll scraps, and cut.
• Sprinkle candy in a single layer in hole of each cookie, avoiding edges of triangle. Refrigerate until dough is firm, about 15 minutes.
• Bake cookies until candy has melted and completely filled cutout and cookie edges are just starting to turn pale golden brown, 11 to 12 minutes. Do not let the cookies brown, or the candy centers may become bubbly. Let cool completely on sheets on wire racks. Use a metal spatula to remove cookies from parchment. Cookies can be stored in airtight containers at room temperature up to 5 days.
• How to makes Stained Glass Trees
• Use a paring knife to cut out a triangular center from each tree; fill each triangle with a single layer of chopped candies. Keep the pieces a slight distance from the edge of the triangle, as the heat of the oven will melt the candy, and it will spread. Midway through baking, quickly open the oven door and check for any little holes in the "glass"; use a toothpick to fill them in.

STAINED-GLASS SUGAR COOKIES

Steps:

• In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar on medium-high until light and fluffy, 3 minutes. Add egg yolks and vanilla and beat to combine. With mixer on low, gradually add flour mixture and beat to combine. Form dough into 2 disks, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate 30 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees, with racks in upper and lower thirds. Working with 1 disk at a time, roll out dough between floured parchment paper to 1/8-inch thickness. Stack dough in parchment on a baking sheet; refrigerate until firm, 30 minutes. With a 2 1/2-inch Christmas-ball-shaped cutter, cut out dough (reroll scraps, if desired). Place cookies, 1 inch apart, on two parchment-lined baking sheets. With a 1-inch star cutter, cut out dough in center of each cookie. Bake until cookies are pale but set, 8 to 10 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through. Remove sheets from oven; fill cutouts with crushed candy. Bake until cookies begin to brown at edges and candy is melted, 3 minutes. Let cool completely on sheets on wire racks.