These are cookies which have open spaces which are filled with crushed hard candy (yellow and red work best). When baked, the candy melts and gives the appearance of "stained glass".
My mother and I loved making these cookies! We took the advice from the reviewer who recommended increasing the sugar to 1 and 1/4 cup, cutting the milk down to about 3 Tablespoons, and boosting the vanilla to 1 teaspoon. Make sure you use lots of flour while rolling out. Keep the dough chilled. There is no need to break the candy up, unless you want to combine colors; we found that both lifesavers and jolly rancher candies melted completely just as they are. DO use aluminum foil instead of putting the cookies directly in the cookie sheet. DO spray Pam on the foil. The cookies will come off the foil easily once they are cooled. And you can re-use that foil, too, for a second round. Finally, we increased our baking time to about 10 minutes. At 6 minutes, the dough was not quite done to our taste. A truly beautiful (and tastey) result!
Read MoreCookies were good but they stuck fast to the cookie sheet and broke when trying to get them off. I would not make this again.
Read MoreMy mother and I loved making these cookies! We took the advice from the reviewer who recommended increasing the sugar to 1 and 1/4 cup, cutting the milk down to about 3 Tablespoons, and boosting the vanilla to 1 teaspoon. Make sure you use lots of flour while rolling out. Keep the dough chilled. There is no need to break the candy up, unless you want to combine colors; we found that both lifesavers and jolly rancher candies melted completely just as they are. DO use aluminum foil instead of putting the cookies directly in the cookie sheet. DO spray Pam on the foil. The cookies will come off the foil easily once they are cooled. And you can re-use that foil, too, for a second round. Finally, we increased our baking time to about 10 minutes. At 6 minutes, the dough was not quite done to our taste. A truly beautiful (and tastey) result!
After reading the other reviews, I decided to make these cookies, but keeping in mind that some people found the dough sticky and a bit bland, I increased the sugar by about 1/4 cup, cut the milk down to about half the suggested amount, and increased the vanilla to about 1 teaspoon. I added the last cup of flour at the end and then used lots of flour on my rolling surface to stop them from being too sticky. They turned out great, and my kids loved them! I did large star shapes with smaller star cut outs in the middle, and found I needed 2 Jolly Ranchers to have the "windows" look really full. Try using 2 different colours of candy in one cookie--it's a great effect!
I used this recipe with stars at Christmas...I found that using the lifesavers-R five flavors works better than the black cherry rolls...also I used aluminum foil on my baking sheets. This kept mess to a minimum, and made it easy to transfer cookies off the sheet so I could use the sheet for the next batch. They peel off the aluminum very easily when they cool.
This recipe is awesome! The only thing I might suggest is spliting up the dough into 3 sections, wrapping it up with wax paper, and chilling it for a half hour to forty-five minutes before you roll it out. You also might want to use parchment paper instead of foil. You don't have to grease it or anything. You also might want to roll it out on powdered sugar instead of flour. If after you cut your dough with cookie cutters, you like to re-use it... this is good because it prevents the dough from getting too dry.
Like others, I increased the sugar and vanilla and decreased the milk. The dough was still very sticky, so I ended up using about twice the amount of flour. They are easier to cut out when thick and less likely to break but they took 9-10 minutes to bake. For the centers of the heart shape I used leftover strawberry candy canes. I didn't bother to crush them, just broke them into small enough pieces to fit in the centers. They looked great with red "zebra stripes" in the middle from the candy canes and red sugar sprinkles around the outside. Around Christmas you could use peppermint candy canes and mint flavoring and green food coloring for the dough to make them more festive.
Our "Valentine Window" cookies turned out beautifully! We used a 4" heart with a smaller 1-1/2" heart cut out for the window. Rather than crushing the candy we used full size watermelon/cherry jolly ranchers. My boys had lots of fun unwrapping the candy and putting it in the windows then watching it melt in the oven. I added about 1/4 to 1/2 cup extra flour to stiffen up dough enough to make it easy to roll. Next time I try this recipe I think I'll refrigerate the dough and skip the extra flour as the cookies were somewhat bland by my standards. However, my kids and husband like them.
I followed the others reviewers recommendations with 1.25 c sugar, 1 tsp vanilla, and 3 tbsp milk, and the dough tasted good. I chilled and rolled out on parchment paper and didn't need any extra flour when rolling out. Also baked on parchment paper, no cooking spray needed and no sticking. I made a variety of sizes and used several kinds of candies we had around the house. I think 1" holes with one candy are the best combo for eating. I found with too much candy in the center, the cookies stuck to my teeth when warm and then were too hard to chew when cool. With bigger centers, one candy wasn't enough to fill it and 2 was too much candy for comfortable eating. Some brands of candy didn't melt well and needed to be broken up before putting in oven, but some brands melted great and made beautful centers with no breaking. It took me 2 experimental batches to figure out a happy combo that was pretty, edible and properly melted.
Cookies were good but they stuck fast to the cookie sheet and broke when trying to get them off. I would not make this again.
Read rewiew on how the dough wasn't to flavorful so decided to make sugar cookie dough. The first batch was hard to get the timing right burned a few.) (daugther loved them anyway) After that worked like a charm. Found that only had to leave them cook for 11 min.(depending on oven an thickness of cookie) Came out beautifuly. Everyone was impressed. Thanks
try using hard cinamon candy instead! makes a very nice twist!
I was really disappointed... The dough was too soft, and the "cutting and pasting" was a pain. Then, they don't taste good at all! Although my kids *loved* making them, not one out of three will eat a second one...:(
My three year old and I loved making these cookies. I rolled the cookies and placed them on the pan and he helped me cut the cookies, unwrap the candies, and sprinkle them with colored sugar. I only gave it a four star because I used the changes previous reviewers mentioned like using 1 1/4 cups sugar, increasing the vanilla to 1 tsp. and decreasing the milk to 3 tbsps. The cookie part was very good. I was able to fit an entire jolly rancher, or 3 lifesavers, in my heart shaped cut out which was about 2 inches. I found the cooking spray on the foil was the best- I didn't have any problem with sticking. I only left them in the oven for 6 minutes. It was enough time for the candy to melt and just come to a boil (which helped it to spread out). I sprinkled colored sugar on the cookies before baking and sprinkled the candy as soon as the bubbles dissappeared after baking and it gave it a real glittery look. Everyone thought they looked and tasted great.
absolutely wonderful! i did increase the sugar to 1 1/4 cup...decreased the milk and increased the vanilla like a couple of the other users did...i did add a 1/2 cup more flour as well....i used halloween cookie cutters...the pumpkins looked awesome with orange in the middle...
I have no idea how the other cooks got their cookies to come out. These were very unsuccessful. I would never make them again. These were A LOT of work for very little return. It was near impossible to find a small roll of Life Savers for one. Crushing the cookies might be fun for kids but it was a pain for me. It created quite a mess. The candy part stuck to the pan, no matter what I did. I used parchment paper, wax paper, butter, shortening.. I tried everything. I got a few cookies to come out (see rack photo) but most of them ended up crushed pieces (see plastic bowl pic). The cookie part was very bland and had no flavor. The candy part ended up gummy. On a good note (the one star that i can give) is that my dogs LOVED the busted up pieces. I'll never make these again, ever.
I am about to delete this recipe from my box, but I just wanted to go ahead and say that this recipe was terrible. I even followed the other reviewers recommendations, and the dough was still horribly sticky, impossible to work with, and cooked too slow (so the cookies weren't done, even though the candy had all burned to a horrible brown). I am quite unhappy
if i could put zero stars on this i would . they came out terrible they were going to be a christmas gift but the cookie part wasn't the right kind to have candy in the middle! they stuck to the pan and i spent two hours scraping it off cookie sheets will never make agian!!!!!;(
Absolutely one of the worst tasting cookies ever! A pain the neck to make (separating the hard candies, then crushing them took time). What I disliked most, however, was the dry, bland cookie dough and then the hard center. This Stained Glass Windows recipe deserves to be hit by a rock!
The final product was OK, but the dough was very difficult to work with. I did increase the sugar to 1 1/4 c. and used 1 tsp. vanilla. Even after refrigerating the dough overnight, it was still very sticky and hard to work with. I had to add a LOT of extra flour to keep it from sticking to the counter. Very frustrating. I baked the cookies for 8 minutes. For me, the end result is just not worth the hassle.
Meh.. I added extra sugar and decreased the milk in the dough, and I still found it to be bland. I probably won't make these again, except maybe for children. They look prettier than they taste!
I don't know what I did wrong, but when the candy melted, it seeped underneath the sugar cookie, and bubbled up. The center cutout shrunk and the shape deformed. I was trying to make them heartshaped, and the center heart ended up looking like a blob instead. I followed the directions exactly!! And I ended up throwig an entire batch of cookies away. So I'm sorry for giving a bad review and sounding bitter, but this was just awful!!
These were really cool! My sister and I had fun making them. We added more sugar & flour both - more flour because we used a lot of food colouring. We also used less milk (about 3 tbsp total). Used jolly ranchers and found that the holes couldn't be too small or else it doesn't work!!! Make sure they're about an inch in diameter.
Cookies didn't turn out for me, I had to add way to much flour and they tasted like a cracker in the end. Could be me, try them yourself if you want or take my review to heart. Nice idea, my kids loved the candy cracking.
This is not the best cookie dough recipe for this sort of cookie. The dough is way sticky and even after chilling it for a long time and working in more flour, they still spread out way too much when baking. Six minutes is not nearly enough to cook the cookies all the way through. I baked for 8-9 minutes and they still came out very soft. If you're trying to fill shapes with the candy, definitely crush the candy and fill the enclosure all the way to the edges. Whole Jolly Ranchers just sank into the cookies while baking and didn't spread at all. I found a great stained glass cookie recipe a few years ago and couldn't find it, so I decided to try this one. I'm going to look some more to find the original again since it made sturdier, prettier cookies. The only reason I'm giving this a 3 star instead of a 2 is that they taste fine and we'll eat them - they're just very much not what you'd expect from a stained glass cookie.
Growing up, I LOVED these cookies. I was waiting for my mom's recipe but decided to try this one out. This recipe, I apologize, was not good. :( My "dough" turned into batter. And, the batter tasted like chalk. Needless to say, I threw it out after attempting to use the batter-like mix for cookies. Needless to say, I was highly upset and disappointed as I gathered all the called for ingredients and followed it step-by-step. I'm going to use my moms recipe this time around and see what happens!
This recipe is absolutely unusable unless you increase the flour quantity by another 75%. It is more of a sloppy semi-batter consistency than a dough that can be rolled. Even after adding all that flour the cookies are tough, bland and not worth the time, ingredients and electricity. There are much better recipes around.
I was very confused with this cookie. I layed out the strips and put the candy in. When I took them out the strips were puffy and you could hardly see the candy. Also very doughy. I ended up rolling them into balls with the candy in the middle. What did I do wrong?
I used cookie cutters and used lifesavers. I will add more flavor to the dough next time. I really love the crunch of the cookie. Thanks for this recipe. I will be making these with my granddaughters. Irene
They looked pretty, but when people tried them, once they got to the candy part, they didn't like it very much. I used life savers, and even after just 6 minutes, the candies got a burnt taste to them and sometimes started turning black. If I try it again, I may use a different candy.
Amazing! Tried it with my friends! Wow! i loved them. We had to make more and more batches. supply and demand, my friend!
I would suggest not putting too much candy in the middle because then it hurts your teeth when you bite into them!
This recipe was a big disappointment. The cookies did not taste good at all and they weren't even particularly pretty.
Great recipe! I used ready-to-go sugar cookie dough from the supermarket, and clear candies, as I was making a "window" for a Toy Story birthday cake! It came out perfectly!! Awesome concept!
Since according to most reviewers the dough from the original recipe is very soft, I omitted the milk completely and used 2 tbs milk powder instead, rolled the dough into 1/4 inch between two plastic sheets, put in the freezer, cut into shapes, and while the dough is still stiff, lift them and put into pan. For the blandness of the taste, try using high quality European butter (ex. H.J. Wijsman and Zonen, Preserved Dutch Butter) or add flavoring to the dough. I didn't increase the sugar because I think the original recipe is already sweet enough.
Looked pretty, not so good to eat. VERY sweet because of the candy and because it has been heated and then rehardened, it sticks in one's teeth.
Ruined my cookie pan which had to thrown away. I could only get 3 cookies barely off the pan and that is with one bloody finger from trying to get it off. Followed the reciepe to the T.
These are amazing! They are so beautiful, what a cute cookie to give out for the holidays (which is what I'm doing!) The only problem I had was the candy sticking to the wax paper, but I got it off by wetting it and it peeled right off. Next time I think I'll use the silicone baking mat, nothing seems to stick to them!
These were fun and easy to make. I did increase the sugar and decrease the milk as suggested in an earlier review. Yummy!
I really had fun making and "taste-testing" this recipe. I have made them as easter gifts for the kids in my family. Instead of forming hearts as suggested in the recipe, I used cookie cutters and made a very large heart and took out a window using a cross cookie cutter and made the cross the stained glass window for an Easter cookie. I followed the suggestions to increase the sugar to 1 and 1/4 cup, the vanilla to 1 teaspoon and cut the milk to 3 TBS. Insteas of foil I use parchment paper and it worked really well. I thought the cookies were pretty and tasty. Using the cookie cutter was tricky so I understand why the recipe has you make strips. If you do choose to use a cookie cutter, I suggest rolling is out on parchment paper removing the excessing and just transferring it directly to the cookie sheet. The parchment paper also helped make the cookies come off the sheet really easily.
There are a few keys to make this a successful cookie: 1. Follow the others advise about increasing the vanilla to a tsp and cutting the milk to 3 tsp. 2. Make sure you have flour or confectioner's sugar to roll out the dough. 3. Use wax paper to cover the baking surface and use non stick spray!! 4. Make sure that your cookie to window ratio is more cookie. These cookies do expand so keep that in mind as well. When you find your groove, these are really yummy cookies and worth the trial and error!
I went a little heavy on the sugar, a little light on the milk, had to add tons of flour while rolling them out, but I always have to do that with sugar cookies for some reason. They turned out great! I used cookie cutters to get my shapes in them, and Jolly Ranchers as the insides. I wish I would've made my "windows" larger, but the recipe is fine, and I will definately use it again!
This recipe turned out great. I followed the reviews and reduced the milk and added extra sugar. I also did not crush the candy. I used a large cookie cutter and then made a small cut out in each cookie. I put one lifesaver in each candy and it worked great. I really like the idea of usind cooking spray to grease the pan. It worked like a charm. The cookies are a little bland but I made up another batch (without the candy) and iced them and they tasted great.
The dough was very sticky, next time I will use more flour in the dough itself (at least 1/4 cup more). They turned out beautiful, everyone raved about how pretty the cookies turned out.
Great recipe with the alternatives written - 1 1/4 cup sugar and 3-4 tablespoons of milk instead of 1/3 cup. Makes perfect dough. After 2 runs here are my lessons learned: Blend mix until just combined and then refrigerate for 5-10 minutes. Always work with cool dough. If your kitchen is warm, work quickly to do the cutouts/ cookie cutting. The longer you wait, the Less firm the shapes and more they stick to the surface. Flour generously where you will be rolling the dough. If you have mini cookie cutters you can cut free the center dough when you cut the cookie shape and put them on the pan you plan to cook them on. We had no mini cutters so: Line pan with parchment paper. (We tried both with and without spraying pam and they pretty much came out the same.) Cut the cookie shape and put them on the pan. Refrigerate 5-10 mins or freeze 3 minutes to firm back up the dough. This allows the ability to cut shapes quick and clean with a butter knife! Cut shapes into your center. Leave big holes (the smaller holes seem to either close up in the baking process or absorb the candy during baking). Use the excess cutout dough to make more! When you add the candy bits, pack them in the holes tightly. If not, some will absorb in the cookie or you end up with thinly filled holes. Cook 10 mins, not 6. Cool 20. Candy will only stay in the cookie if you let it cool completely. Overall taste is interesting and sweet.
I didn't bother crushing the candy, and they still turned out great! I ended up with a HUGE batch of cookies. I made them at school and I used as much I could and still ended up throwing tons away. But still, great recipe!
Recipe calls for white sugar. I used granulated, but wonder if it meant powdered, as the recipe was to wet. Also, I had to cook the recipe for a total of 12 minutes, not 6. I would suggest cooking it for 6 minutes, then add candy to center and cook for an additional 6 minutes. Candy stuck to baking sheets and wax paper. I didn't have non-stick spray and used Crisco. Didn't work. Will try non-stick next time. Another site suggested parchment paper sprayed lightly with non-stick spray. They said that candy sticks to wax paper and foil. The center hearts came out beautiful after 12 minutes.
These turned out great with the suggested modifications..more sugar and less milk..LOTS of flour on the table. The first batch I put too much jolly rancher in each; a thin layer is sufficient. Overall though they were very cute, great for holidays! :)
I followed other bakers' suggested modifications: Upped flour to 3.25 cups Cut milk back to 3 tbsp Doubled the vanilla Upped sugar to 1.25 cups I'm GF so I cannot taste them. However, Boy-spawn says the cookies are excellent. We baked them for 10 minutes on parchment lined sheets, let them cool for 7 and then carefully peeled parchment from back.If you try before the candies have set, the cookie removal is fraught with sadness....
These turned out to be less flavorful than I thought and more puffy rather than butter-cookie-like. They also got crunchy and hard instead of tender and flaky. They looked beautiful, though.
I read all the reviews and reduced the milk, increased the sugar, and still had a lot of trouble rolling out the soft dough. I would just use a regular sugar cookie next time.
These cookies taste good, but the dough needs to be refrigerated and the cookies removed from the sheet more promptly. My first batch stuck & crumpled so badly, only the first cookie made it off in one piece.
These are truly visually beautiful cookies, I made a batch this past Christmas using a Christmas tree cookie cutter and multicolored Jolly Rancher candies, and gave half to my Dad and half to my boyfriend's best friend. They got scarfed down right away!
I do not think I will be making this again. I mean, I didn't eat the whole cookie before I threw it out! I did not have enough crumbs for some cookies and there was way more batter then expected. I used a big cookie cutter and came out with 20 cookies. 6 cookies did not have the hard candy crumbs in them, and I accidentally burnt them, but they were a bigger hit then the stained glass cookies! I tried a cookie, and the sugar cookie part was good, but the stained glass part wasn't. Even the sugar cookie part was a little too moist. I think that's crazy especially since I added an extra 1/3 cup of flour, and baked a minute longer then expected! Also the batter wasn't ready immediately. I had to freeze it for 10 mins, let it sit for 5 mins, then refrigerate it for 10 mins! And, after that, the dough was bland! If you are reading this review, I wouldn't recommend this recipe unless you want to make bland stained glass window sugar cookies.
These are fun to make but aren't very tasty because of the amount of flour required to keep the dou The dough is gh from being so stickyvery sticky. Next time, I'll make sure the dough is refrigerated for 30 minutes before working with it.
Another great option for the candy is to use the old fashioned Christmas candies, they all have a different taste. They are not all clear but all the different colors and tastes make a plain bland white cookie Christmas magic. These are one of my favourite Christmas cookies. I have NEVER had these made with Christmas candies except at my house. Less milk a little more flour worked great! I have spelled favourite the Canadian way.;-)
This is a great recipe for kids around the holidays
