Window Pane Cookies Food

CHURCH WINDOW COOKIES

Steps:

• In a large saucepan, melt chocolate chips and butter over low heat; stir until smooth. Cool slightly. Stir in marshmallows and walnuts., Divide mixture into three portions; place each portion on a piece of waxed paper. Using waxed paper, shape each into a 10-in.-long roll; roll in coconut. Wrap tightly in waxed paper; refrigerate 2 hours or until firm. Cut crosswise into 1/2-in. slices.

WINDOWPANE COOKIES

Steps:

• Making the Cookie Dough: Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt into a bowl.
• In another bowl cream butter and sugar with an electric mixer on medium speed for 2 to 3 minutes, or until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla. Mix in flour mixture until dough is smooth and firm.
• Divide dough in half and shape into two 1/2-inch-thick disks. Cover them in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours. (At this point the dough can be covered in plastic wrap, sealed in a zip-top plastic bag, and frozen for up to 2 weeks.)
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line several baking sheets with silicone baking mats or parchment paper.
• Assembling the Cookies: On a lightly floured work surface, roll dough to a thickness of 1/4 inch. Cut out shapes using the larger cookie cutter and then use the smaller cutters to remove "windows" from those shapes. Arrange cookies about 1 inch apart on prepared baking sheets.
• Place candies in plastic zip-top bags (one color per bag), seal bags, and crush them with a rolling pin or meat mallet. Fill cookie windows with crushed candy pieces.
• Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, or until edges start to turn golden, rotating sheets halfway through baking time. Place sheets on wire racks to cool for a few minutes before gently removing cookies with a metal spatula. Let cookies cool completely on wire racks. Store between layers of wax paper to prevent sticking in an airtight container for up to 1 week.

WINDOW PANE COOKIES

Steps:

• 1. To Make the dough: Using an electric mixer at medium-high speed, cream the butter, gradually adding the sugar. Beat in the egg until evenly mixed, then blend in the vanilla extract and salt.
• 2. With a wooden spoon, stir the flour into the creamed ingredients, about one third at a time, until evenly blended. The dough may seem soft, but it will firm up when refrigerated.
• 3. Divide the dough in half. Flatten each portion into a disk and seal in plastic wrap. Refrigerate overnight.
• 4. To create the cookies: Heat the oven to 375 degrees. Cover a sturdy baking sheet with aluminum foil and lightly coat the foil with cooking spray. Between 2 sheets of waxed paper lightly dusted with flour, roll the dough to a 1/4-inch thickness. Remove the top sheet.
• 5. Cut out the cookies with a large cookie cutter. Use a spatula to transfer the shapes to the baking sheet, leaving about an inch between cookies. Remove the centers of the cookies with a smaller cookie cutter. (Save the centers to bake later.)
• 6. Place a hard candy (I used Jolly Ranchers) in the center of each heart and bake until the cookies start to brown lightly around the edges and the candy is melted, about 8 to 10 minutes. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer them to wire racks to cool completely. To prevent sticking, line your serving plate or tin with waxed paper and place additional waxed paper between layers. Makes 30.

WINDOW PANE COOKIES

Steps:

• 1. Melt butter and chocolate chips together, Let cool slightly. Add marshmallows and nuts.
• 2. Divide into thirds: Put on foil and roll unto three logs. Chill about 30 minutes and slice.

MAGIC WINDOW COOKIES

Steps:

• In large bowl, beat sugar, butter, vanilla and eggs with electric mixer on medium speed, or mix with spoon. Stir in flour, baking powder and salt. Cover; refrigerate about 1 hour or until firm.
• Heat oven to 375°F. Cover cookie sheet with parchment paper or foil. On lightly floured cloth-covered surface, roll one-third of dough at a time 1/8 inch thick. Cut into desired shapes with cookie cutters. Cut shapes from centers of cookies as desired. Place cookies on parchment paper.
• Place whole or partially crushed pieces of candy in cutouts, depending on size and shape of design, mixing colors as desired. Leave pieces as large as possible because candy melts easily; do not use fine candy "dust." (To crush candy, place in heavy plastic bag and tap lightly with rolling pin.) Place cutouts from centers of cookies on top of candies, if desired.
• Bake 7 to 9 minutes or until cookies are very light brown and candy is melted. If candy has not completely spread within cutout design, immediately spread with knife. Cool completely on parchment paper, about 30 minutes. Gently remove cookies to cooling rack.

CHURCH WINDOW COOKIES

Steps:

• Melt margarine and chocolate chips over water (or in microwave) and cool.
• Pour and mix with marshmallows, nuts and coconut.
• Pour on wax paper and form into rolls.
• Refrigerate, remove wax paper, and cut into slices, and serve.

CATHEDRAL WINDOW COOKIES

Steps:

• Place marshmallows and nuts if desired in a large bowl; set aside. In a heavy saucepan, melt chocolate chips and butter over medium-low heat. Pour over marshmallow mixture and mix well. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour, stirring occasionally., Shape marshmallow mixture into a 12-in. roll; wrap in waxed paper. Refrigerate for 4 hours or until firm. Unwrap and cut into 3/8-in. slices; cut slices in half.

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 WINDOW COOKIES

Steps:

• PREHEAT oven to 325°F. Line baking sheets with foil.
• CUT dough in half; refrigerate one half. Sprinkle about 1 tablespoon flour onto working surface. Sprinkle additional flour over remaining half. Roll out dough to 1/4-inch thickness, using additional flour as needed to prevent sticking.
• CUT into desired shapes with 2½-inch cookie cutters. Transfer cookies to prepared baking sheets with spatula, placing about 2 inches apart. Cut out small shapes in cookie centers. Spoon candy into each center to fill holes. Pierce hole at top of shape if cookie is going to be hung. Repeat with remaining dough.
• BAKE for 8 to 11 minutes or until edges are light golden brown. Cool on baking sheets for 1 minute; slide foil with cookies to wire racks to cool completely. Store in airtight container.

HOLIDAY WINDOWPANES

Steps:

• Make Classic Sugar Cookies without baking powder; chill 2 hours. Roll out to 1/4 inch thick and cut into large Christmas-tree shapes. Cut out smaller trees from centers. Place on silicone mats and bake 6 to 8 minutes at 350 degrees, then sprinkle the centers with crushed hard candies and bake until melted, 2 to 5 more minutes.

BLOOD ORANGE POPPY SEED WINDOW COOKIES

Steps:

• Combine flour, poppy seeds, salt and baking soda in a medium bowl. Whisk to combine, and set aside.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together butter and granulated sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Add egg yolks and vanilla, then beat on medium speed until well combined, scraping the bowl as needed.
• Add half the flour mixture and beat on low speed, drizzling in the buttermilk. Add remaining flour mixture and beat on low speed just until combined, then increase speed and beat until dough starts to clump together. Scrape the bowl and fold dough a few times to make sure everything is well combined. Divide into two equal balls, flatten into disks, wrap in plastic wrap and chill until firm, at least 1 hour and up to 3 days.
• Generously flour a silicone baking mat or sheet of parchment paper. Place one disk of dough in center and dust both sides of the dough and rolling pin with flour. Working quickly, roll dough until slightly thicker than 1/8 inch. Slide onto baking sheet (do this any time the dough feels too soft or sticky). Chill in freezer until firm, about 10 minutes. Repeat process with second disk of dough.
• Flour two cookie cutters in the shape of your choice, one larger, measuring about 2 to 2 1/2 inches, and one smaller, measuring about 1 to 1 1/2 inches.
• Using the larger cutter, cut one of the dough sheets in this shape, flouring the cutter frequently. These will be the bottoms of the cookies. Lift off excess dough, knead and chill to re-roll for more cookies, if desired. Spread them out so there is a little space in between. (If the dough is soft and too delicate, chill it in the freezer to be able to move it more easily without distorting its shape.) Chill tray of cut cookie bottoms in freezer until firm, about 10 minutes.
• For cookie tops, repeat Step 6 with remaining dough, again using the larger cutter. Then, using the smaller cutter, cut a "window" or a center hole in the tops of each cookie. (If the dough cracks, just a wait a moment or two to let it warm up.) Chill tray of cookie tops. Count as you go to make sure you have an equal number of solid bottoms and "window" tops. (You should have about 2 dozen of each.)
• Heat oven to 350 degrees. Bake cookies until golden brown, 10 to 12 minutes. (The more delicate "window" cookies will bake faster, so you will want to remove them from the oven first.) Let cool a few minutes on the baking sheets and transfer to wire racks to cool completely.
• Place marmalade in a small microwaveable bowl, and microwave 30 seconds to loosen, or transfer to a small saucepan and heat over medium-low until warmed, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir a few times, then strain out the solids, if desired. Let marmalade cool until thicker. (You can speed this up by popping it in the freezer for 15 minutes.)
• Place the cookie bottoms on a parchment- or wax-lined baking sheet, flat-side down. Using an offset spatula or small spoon, spread 1 scant teaspoon marmalade on each bottom cookie, and top with a windowed cookie. Lightly dust with confectioners' sugar, if desired. (It will stick to the cookie and melt on the marmalade.) Sprinkle marmalade with a few more poppy seeds. Store in an airtight container or tin between layers of parchment or wax paper until serving. Cookies will keep at room temperature for 1 week.