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church window cookies, how to make stained glass cookies recipe
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5 from 1 vote

Stained Glass Cookies Recipe

These Stained Glass Cookies have a soft almond cookie with melted hard candy centers. They’re a beautiful cookie to add to your Christmas cookie plate that can be decorated or left as is.
Prep Time20 minutes
Cook Time10 minutes
Chilling Time2 hours
Total Time2 hours 30 minutes
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Servings: 24 medium-sized cookies
Calories: 167kcal
Author: The Carefree Kitchen

Ingredients

  • 3 cups All-Purpose Flour
  • 1 tsp Cream of Tartar
  • 1 teaspoon Salt
  • 1 cup Butter room temperature
  • 1 cup Sugar
  • 2 large Eggs
  • 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
  • ½ tsp Almond Extract
  • 20-30 pieces Crushed Hard Candy Life Savers, Jolly Ranchers, or other hard candy

Instructions

Making the Cookie Dough

  • In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the flour, cream of tartar, and salt and set aside.
  • Place room temperature butter and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer and cream with the paddle attachment until light and fluffy, or about 3 minutes. Slowly add the eggs, almond extract, and vanilla extract and mix again until combined.
  • Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix until combined. Scrape the bowl to make sure that all of the butter mixture has mixed in completely. Cover with plastic and chill in the fridge for about 2 hours (or overnight).

Baking the Stained Glass Cookies

  • Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
  • Sprinkle the counter and rolling pin lightly with flour. Roll the dough on your floured surface until it is about ¼" thick.
  • Cut cookies out into desired shapes, then use a smaller cookie cutter to cut out small shapes inside each cookie to make a stained glass window. Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a Silpat at least 1" apart. Add the crushed candy and fill with as much candy as possible without overfilling the hole.
  • Bake in a preheated 325 degree F oven for 8-10 minutes, or until the edges are set and there is just a hint of golden brown color.
  • Let the cookies cool for about 2 minutes on the baking sheet before transferring them to a countertop to cool completely.
  • Serve as is, or decorate as desired. Store in an airtight container for up to 1 week or in a covered container in the fridge for up to 12 days. Enjoy!

Nutrition

Calories: 167kcal | Carbohydrates: 21g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 0.3g | Cholesterol: 36mg | Sodium: 164mg | Potassium: 46mg | Fiber: 0.4g | Sugar: 9g | Vitamin A: 259IU | Calcium: 7mg | Iron: 1mg