Stained Glass Windows Food

STAINED GLASS WINDOWS

Steps:

• Melt 1 stick oleo and 1 package of chocolate chips.
• Let it cool for a few minutes.
• Add 1 bag of mini colored marshmallows.
• Put on waxed paper.
• Roll into log and refrigerate.
• Cut into 1/2 inch slices.

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.

SUGAR STAINED GLASS

Steps:

• Place the sugar for the frame in a pan, insert a candy thermometer and begin to cook the sugar. It is ready when it reaches 320 degrees F. Have the line drawing ready and enlarged to the size you need. Have 4 heatproof spouted measuring cups in a warm oven, ready for your stained glass sugar.
• Arrange 4 metal rulers on a silicone baking mat in the shape of a frame the same size as your drawing. Pour the cooked frame sugar inside the frame outline so that it is about 1/4-inch thick. When the sugar has cooled, place the line drawing on the work surface and remove the sugar sheet from the ruler frame and place it over the drawing. Place some Royal Icing into a cornet and use it to trace the outlines on top of the sugar frame.
• When all of the outlines are drawn, place the ingredients for the stained glass in a pan, (this is your second batch of sugar) insert a candy thermometer and cook to 320 degrees F, divide the sugar evenly between the heatproof, warm measuring cups. Add a few drops of food color (pick colors that will work with your drawing) to each cup of sugar and stir with wooden skewers. It is best at this point to use some heavy cotton gloves to protect your hands. Pour 1 of the colors into a cornet and use it to fill in the spaces that you want to be that particular color. Use 1 color at a time. You can reheat the sugar in the microwave as long as it is in the measuring cups but you cannot reheat the sugar when it is in the paper cornet. When all of the spaces on your drawing have been filled to your satisfaction, you are ready to display your stained glass masterpiece!
• To make royal icing: Combine the egg white and powdered sugar in a medium-size mixing bowl and whip with an electric mixer on medium speed until opaque and shiny, about 5 minutes. Add the lemon juice and continue whipping until completely incorporated, about 3 minutes. The lemon juice whitens the royal icing. The royal icing should be light, fluffy, and slightly stiff. You may need to adjust the consistency by adding more egg whites if the icing is too dry or more powdered sugar if it is too wet.
• Place the royal icing in a small piping bag or paper cornet.
• Yield: 2 cups
• How to Make a Cornet: From Dessert Circus, Extraordinary Desserts You Can Make At Home by Jacques Torres The Cornet: A cornet is a small piping bag made from parchment paper. It is usually used to make fine decorations.
• Cut an 8 by 12 by 14 1/2-inch triangle from a sheet of parchment paper. Hold the middle of the long side of the triangle between 2 fingers of 1 hand. Take the tip of the triangle on the short, wide end and roll it toward the other tip of that same end while simultaneously pulling it in an upward motion. The tip of a cone will form where your thumb and finger hold it on the long side.
• Release your grip from the long side, so that you are now holding the 2 corners where they meet. The paper will already resemble a partially formed cone. Roll the remaining tail until it is completely rolled into a cone. There will be 1 point sticking up from the open end. Fold it inside toward the center, and crease the fold. Now you should have a cornet. To close the cornet once it has been filled, fold it away from the seam; this will keep the seam from opening. Use a pair of scissors or a sharp paring knife to cut an opening at the tip of the cornet to the desired size.

STAINED-GLASS CAKE (FRUITCAKE)

Steps:

• Butter a large cake tin. Line with waxed paper. Butter the paper.
• Chop the glace fruits roughly.
• Sift together the flour and baking powder.
• Mix in all the fruits, together with the nuts.
• Put the mixture into the cake tin, wet hands and press mixture down firmly.
• Bake in a preheated 300F degree oven for 1 1/2 hours.
• Take cake out of the oven and drizzle the Grand Marnier or Cointreau over the top.
• Leave the cake in the oven to cool until warm, then wrap it, tin and all, in aluminum foil and refrigerate overnight. Remove from tin, peel away paper and store in airtight tin.

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.