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| Copyright Thomas Saaristo All Rights Reserved |
| Stained Glass Cookies |
These are a bit more complicated to make than most cookies, but the effort will be
well worth your time when you see how beautiful they are, and how impressed
young and old alike will be when they set their eyes on them.
Ingredients
Cookies:
1/2 cup vegetable shortening
1/2 cup [1 stick] butter
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
4 ounces [half an 8-ounce package] cream cheese, softened
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 egg
4 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
Candy Centers:
2/3 cup hard candy, finely crushed [your favorite flavor LifeSaver candy or similar
candy]
Method
For Cookies: In a large bowl, cream the shortening, butter and sugar until light and
fluffy. Mix in the softened cream cheese, vanilla and egg, and beat well.
In a medium-sized bowl, sift together the flour, ginger, nutmeg, baking soda and
salt. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture, beating until well-
combined. Cover the dough and refrigerate overnight, to firm it up.
Next day, remove the dough from the refrigerator and divide it into quarters.
Keeping the remaining pieces refrigerated until they're needed, roll out each piece of
dough on a lightly floured work surface to a thickness of 1/8-inch. Use a 3 1/2- to
4-inch round cookie cutter to cut the dough, and immediately transfer the cookies to
greased parchment- or greased foil-lined baking sheets, leaving about 1 inch
between them. Use a smaller [1-inch or so] cutter, in the shape of a heart, star,
diamond or what-have-you, to cut out the centers of the cookies. If the dough isn't
cold enough, refrigerate the sheets and cut out the centers when the dough is a bit
easier to work with. Refrigerate the scraps and re-roll them with the remaining
portions of dough, cutting out cookies till all the dough is gone.
Fill each cookie center with crushed candy; you'll need about 1/2 teaspoon per
cookie [more or less,depending on the size of the hole you’ve cut]. Spread the
candy in a thin, even layer. Don’t mix too many candy colors, or the centers
may turn a muddy brown; however, you may mix complementary colors — red
and yellow, for example, to obtain orange. If you intend to hang the cookies on your
tree, use a drinking straw to poke a hole in the top of each cookie, for the ribbon or
hanger.
Preheat your oven to 375° and bake the cookies for 6 to 7 minutes, or until
they're just firm, but still somewhat pale and just lightly browned around the outer
edges. Let them cool on the baking sheets. Loosen the cookies carefully, and peel
them off the parchment or foil. If they’re for consumption [rather than
decoration], store them airtight, in a cool, dry place, packed in a single layer.
When using them as decorations, they can be kept uncovered at least 1 month
without incident. Just don’t store them near a heat source!
well worth your time when you see how beautiful they are, and how impressed
young and old alike will be when they set their eyes on them.
Ingredients
Cookies:
1/2 cup vegetable shortening
1/2 cup [1 stick] butter
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
4 ounces [half an 8-ounce package] cream cheese, softened
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 egg
4 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
Candy Centers:
2/3 cup hard candy, finely crushed [your favorite flavor LifeSaver candy or similar
candy]
Method
For Cookies: In a large bowl, cream the shortening, butter and sugar until light and
fluffy. Mix in the softened cream cheese, vanilla and egg, and beat well.
In a medium-sized bowl, sift together the flour, ginger, nutmeg, baking soda and
salt. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture, beating until well-
combined. Cover the dough and refrigerate overnight, to firm it up.
Next day, remove the dough from the refrigerator and divide it into quarters.
Keeping the remaining pieces refrigerated until they're needed, roll out each piece of
dough on a lightly floured work surface to a thickness of 1/8-inch. Use a 3 1/2- to
4-inch round cookie cutter to cut the dough, and immediately transfer the cookies to
greased parchment- or greased foil-lined baking sheets, leaving about 1 inch
between them. Use a smaller [1-inch or so] cutter, in the shape of a heart, star,
diamond or what-have-you, to cut out the centers of the cookies. If the dough isn't
cold enough, refrigerate the sheets and cut out the centers when the dough is a bit
easier to work with. Refrigerate the scraps and re-roll them with the remaining
portions of dough, cutting out cookies till all the dough is gone.
Fill each cookie center with crushed candy; you'll need about 1/2 teaspoon per
cookie [more or less,depending on the size of the hole you’ve cut]. Spread the
candy in a thin, even layer. Don’t mix too many candy colors, or the centers
may turn a muddy brown; however, you may mix complementary colors — red
and yellow, for example, to obtain orange. If you intend to hang the cookies on your
tree, use a drinking straw to poke a hole in the top of each cookie, for the ribbon or
hanger.
Preheat your oven to 375° and bake the cookies for 6 to 7 minutes, or until
they're just firm, but still somewhat pale and just lightly browned around the outer
edges. Let them cool on the baking sheets. Loosen the cookies carefully, and peel
them off the parchment or foil. If they’re for consumption [rather than
decoration], store them airtight, in a cool, dry place, packed in a single layer.
When using them as decorations, they can be kept uncovered at least 1 month
without incident. Just don’t store them near a heat source!