Stained Glass Cookies

Let the games begin!

We’ve completely hunkered down in the trenches of Christmas cookie production. Starting Saturday afternoon as a snowstorm blew through the Northeast, my daughter and I made the following doughs:

- Sugar Cookies, to roll out and cut into shapes;
- French Chocolate rimmed in white non-pariels, a slice and bake variety;
- Pfefferneuse, to roll into balls and bake;
- Fig, raisin, bourbon and chocolate filling rolled into a spiral, to slice and bake (an invention this year of random ingredients);
- Gingerbread, to roll out and cut into shapes.

I added a sixth on Sunday night after putting my daughter to bed, when I made my grandmother’s tender pastry dough. These will be filled with apricot, prune and date fillings this year.

Do you think six varieties are enough? Is this a sufficient head start? There is a method to my madness.

Any doughs that can be refrigerated to make cut and slice, rolled and cut, or balled cookies are done first and set aside in the fridge for future use. This can be extremely convenient if done early enough, since you can bake a batch of each or any on short notice, or break off just what you’re yearning for when you simply want hot, fresh cookies at midnight with a glass of warm brandy. ‘Tis the season, you know.

In the coming days, I’ll tackle (with glee!) three-layer Italian cookies, a two-day process, almond macaroons (recipe here), dark chocolate-dipped icebox cookies dusted with pulverized peppermint sticks, and my own mixed-fruit biscotti.

By Sunday night, my first batch had already come out of the oven. Well, two actually, if you count the army of little gingerbread men I baked for good measure, and because my husband devours them.

I used my standard sugar cookie dough (recipe here) to create stained glass cookies – easy, glistening and impressive – for my daughter’s kindergarten class. The only extras you need are hard candies and nested cookie cutters.

I prefer individually wrapped Life Savers for this cookie. They come in a variety of colors, one candy perfectly fills the opening, and each comes in its own pouch. Crack and break them up with a hammer or mallet, being careful not to break the cellophane wrap. When you’re ready, just open the pouch and pour the candy into the cookie holes.

Roll the dough to at least a ¼ inch thickness. Cut your desired large shapes, place on a cookie sheet, then cut out your inner shape. Bake as directed. The crushed candies melt into “glass,” filling the inner shapes of the cookies. Ice or decorate as desired, or leave plain. Save the inner shapes to eat plain or decorate as one-bite treats. Accumulate and bake them on a separate pan, since they take a shorter time in the oven than the larger cookies.

I purchased one bag of mixed Life Savers and one bag of Butter Rum flavor. The mixed colors worked on the trees (green), snowflakes (white), some stars and angel “ornament” balls (red); the butter rums made for great gold stars and angels.

The little gift bags tied in a frizz of curling ribbon were a hit with the kids, since I also added the iced and sugared center shapes, some candy, and a gingerbread man to each.

Try these cookies this season, perfect your process, then make them on Valentine’s Day using heart cutters and red candies.

Let's just get past Christmas for now.