Easy Stained Glass Holiday Cookies

Prep 35 min
Total 1 hr 45 min
Ingredients 3
Servings 34

Kids will have so much fun making these Easy Stained Glass Holiday Cookies come to life! Whether you bake them for a holiday party or cookie exchange, or just hang them on your tree as pretty ornaments, these simple cookies are sure to impress. MORE+ LESS-

By Pillsbury Kitchens

Updated July 17, 2019

Make with

Pillsbury Cookies

Ingredients

pieces clear hard fruit candies, unwrapped

roll (16.5 oz) Pillsbury™ refrigerated sugar cookies

1/4

cup all-purpose flour

Steps

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1

Heat oven to 350°F. Line cookie sheets with cooking parchment paper. Place 2 to 3 candies of the same color in small plastic bag; seal bag. With hammer or flat side of meat mallet, gently pound to crush candy. Repeat with remaining candies, using several different colors.
2

In large bowl, break up cookie dough. Mix in flour with spoon or hands, until well blended. On lightly floured work surface, roll dough 1/8 inch thick, using additional flour as needed to prevent sticking. Cut out dough with floured 3-inch cookie cutter. With smaller cookie cutter (1 1/4 to 1 1/2 inches), cut out center of cookie.
3

Place large cutouts 2 inches apart on cookie sheet. Place 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon crushed candy in center of each cutout cookie, making sure candy touches edges of cookie. (Do not mound candy in centers of cookies.)
4

Bake 6 to 9 minutes or until edges of cookies are light golden brown and candy is melted and fills center of cookie. Cool about 10 minutes on cookie sheets or until candy is hardened. Remove cookies from cookie sheets to cooling racks. Cool completely, about 15 minutes.
5

On separate ungreased cookie sheet, place small center cutouts. Bake 4 to 6 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool 2 minutes; remove to cooling rack to cool completely.

Expert Tips

To make cookie ornaments: With small drinking straw, make a hole in top of each unbaked cookie. After baking, reshape holes for ribbon, if necessary. After decorating, cut ribbon into 9- or 12-inch lengths; insert piece of ribbon through hole of each cookie and tie in knot or bow.
For a fun swirly stained-glass look, mix two colors of crushed candies.
For best results, bake one cookie sheet at a time in the center of the oven.
Choose cookie cutters with smaller cutters that work well for cutting the inside out of each cookie for the crushed fruit candies. You can often find the same cookie cutter in different sizes.
Make your stained glass cookies and smaller cutout cookies extra special by decorating them with cookie icing, colored sugars or sprinkles. Pipe icing onto the cookies and immediately top with sugar or sprinkles as desired. For best results, leave the stained glass centers free of icing and sprinkles. Allow icing to set at room temperature for at least 30 minutes.