Stained Glass Sweets Food

STAINED GLASS WINDOW SUGAR COOKIES

Steps:

• Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a medium bowl. Set aside.
• In a large bowl using a hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar together on high speed until completely smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes. Add the egg and vanilla and beat on high speed until combined, about 1 minute. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl and beat again as needed to combine.
• Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix on low until combined. Dough will be relatively soft. If the dough seems too soft and sticky for rolling, add 1 more Tablespoon of flour.
• Divide the dough into 2 equal parts. Place each portion onto a piece of lightly floured parchment paper or a lightly floured silicone baking mat. With a lightly floured rolling pin, roll the dough out to about 1/4-inch thickness or slightly thinner (anywhere between 1/8 - 1/4 inch is fine). Use more flour if the dough seems too sticky. The rolled-out dough can be any shape, as long as it is evenly thick.
• Lightly dust one of the rolled-out doughs with flour. Place a piece of parchment on top. (This prevents sticking.) Place the 2nd rolled-out dough on top. Cover with plastic wrap or aluminum foil, then refrigerate for at least 1-2 hours and up to 2 days.
• As the cookie dough chills, begin crushing the candies. The best way to crush the hard candies is to separate them by color, place each color in plastic bags, and crush them with a rolling pin or meat mallet. Don't crush the candies into a fine powder- crush them into fine pebble-sized bits. The crushed candies will pierce the bag no matter how careful you are. Some candy dust will escape, so just know that this step is messy. If you don't want to use plastic, use a paper bag or paper plate. (A bag is preferred so candy doesn't go flying everywhere.) Set crushed candy aside.
• Once cookie dough has chilled, preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Line 2-3 large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Carefully remove the top dough piece from the refrigerator. If it's sticking to the bottom, run your hand under it to help remove it- see me do this in the video above. Using your large cookie cutter, cut the dough into shapes. Using your small cookie cutter, cut out the center shape. (You don't need the center piece- re-roll it!) Re-roll all the remaining dough and continue cutting until all is used. Repeat with 2nd piece of dough. Note: It doesn't seem like a lot of dough, but you get a lot of cookies from the dough scraps you re-roll.
• Carefully arrange cookies on baking sheets 3 inches apart. If your cookies are intricately shaped, use two hands to transfer them to the lined baking sheet.
• If using an egg white, beat it lightly with a fork or small whisk for 10 seconds. It's easier to brush onto tops of cookies if it's beaten first. Brush tops of shaped cookies with egg white or water. Sprinkle coarse sugar/sprinkles on top.
• Fill the cut-out centers about 3/4 full with crushed candies. The candy pieces melt and expand, so you don't need to over-fill. I use and recommend 1 color per cookie, but feel free to mix for a spotty multicolor look. The candies are sticky, so wipe off your fingers as needed.
• Bake for 12-13 minutes or until candies have melted and the cookies are lightly browned around the edges. If your oven has hot spots, rotate the baking sheet halfway through bake time. Allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet until the melted candy center sets, about 15 minutes. Once melted candy center has set, transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
• Cover and store cookies at room temperature for up to 1 week. For longer storage, cover and refrigerate for up to 10 days.

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.

STAINED GLASS WINDOW BISCUITS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4 and line a baking tray with parchment paper.
• Using an electric hand whisk, whisk together the butter and sugar in a large bowl. Once lightened and creamy add the egg and mix thoroughly.
• Sift in the flour, baking powder, salt, and mixed spice and then add the vanilla extract and mix with a wooden spoon until you reach a biscuit dough consistency.
• Turn the dough onto a floured work surface and roll out to about 1cm/½in thick. Cut out biscuit shapes (such as stars or Christmas trees) and place onto the lined baking tray (you may need more than one tray, or to cook in batches).
• Using a smaller cutter or a small knife cut out the centre of each biscuit. Place a boiled sweet into the hole (cut in half if your hole is smaller than 2.5cm/1in) and place in the preheated oven to cook for 15 minutes, or until golden-brown and crisp with the sweet melted.
• As soon as the biscuits are baked and while they are still warm, use a straw to poke a hole out of the top of each biscuit. Be careful not to make this hole too near the edge of the biscuit. Once the melted sweets have hardened, transfer to a wire rack to cool. Thread a length of string, ribbon or florist's wire through the hole and hang the biscuits on the Christmas tree so the lights can shine through the centres.

STAINED GLASS COOKIE WANDS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 302 degrees F/150 degrees C. Line 3 baking sheets with parchment.
• Place the flour in a bowl or on top of a clean work surface. Add the butter and rub it through the flour until it resembles fine breadcrumbs. Make a well in the center and add the sugar, eggs and vanilla if using. Gently mix to form a dough. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
• Dust a work surface with flour and roll the dough to about 1 centimeter (1/2 inch) thickness. Use a large star cutter to cut out stars. Place them on the prepared baking sheets. Use a smaller star cutter to cut the middle out of the large stars. Push an oven-safe lollipop stick through the bottom of a star. Repeat with the remaining stars. Fill the middles of the stars with crushed rock candy. Bake until the edges are golden brown, about 25 minutes. Allow to cool on the baking sheet until the candy has set hard.
• Brush the cookies with edible silver luster dust for sparkle and shimmer.

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 BARS

Steps:

• Add 1 cup boiling water to each flavor fruit gelatin mix in separate bowls; stir 2 min. until completely dissolved. Pour each flavor of gelatin into separate small shallow food storage container sprayed with cooking spray. Refrigerate 2 hours or until firm.
• Sprinkle unflavored gelatine over cold water; let stand 1 min. Stir in remaining boiling water. Add condensed milk; mix well. Cool slightly.
• Cut flavored gelatin into cubes. Randomly place cubes in 13x9-inch pan sprayed with cooking spray. Pour milk mixture over cubes; stir to evenly distribute gelatin cubes. Refrigerate 2 hours or until firm before cutting into bars.

STAINED GLASS SWEETS

Steps:

• For a mold, tightly wrap the bottom and outsides of a cookie cutter with foil. Set it on a baking sheet and generously coat the mold's bottom and insides with cooking spray. Fill each cookie cutter with a single layer of candies. Bake in a 350 degrees oven for 10 n minutes, or until melted. Add sprinkles, cool for 2 minutes, then use a chopstick to poke a hole near the top for hanging. When almost cool, carefully remove the foil and gently pry the candy from the mold with a sharp knife (parents only). Hang with the ribbon. Make as many as you like.

GINGERBREAD STAINED GLASS BISCUITS

Steps:

• Heat the sugar, golden syrup and butter in a pan until melted. Mix the ginger and flour in a large bowl and make a well in the centre. Add the bicarbonate of soda to the melted mixture and stir - it will fizz a little - then pour into the flour mixture with the egg. Stir to combine. The mix will be soft but will firm up as it cools.
• Scoop the mixture into a box or fridge bag and chill for at least 1 hr until firm enough to roll out. The dough can be kept in the fridge for up to a week or frozen for three months.
• Heat oven to 190C/170C fan/gas 5. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and cut in half. Briefly knead the first piece, then roll it on a lightly floured surface to 2mm thick. Cut into shapes with snowflake or star cutters about 12cm across, then transfer to lined baking sheets, leaving a little room for them to spread. Cut a window out of each biscuit using another cutter about about 6cm across, then add a sweet to the centre.
• If the sweets are large, chop them up first - you'll have to judge by the size of the hole. (Don't be tempted to add too much or it will spill over the edge.) If you plan to hang the biscuits, make a small hole in the top of each one using the end of a piping nozzle (the hole will close up a little so make sure it's big enough). Repeat with remaining dough.
• Bake in batches for 5-6 mins or until they darken slightly and the sweets have melted. If the holes have closed up, remake them while the biscuits are warm. Leave to cool and harden up completely before moving them. Don't forget to bake the parts you've cut out, too! You can decorate the biscuits further by using white piped icing, if you like.