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Stained-Glass Hard Candy Cookies

Stained-Glass Hard Candy Cookies

Published October 13, 2026

Cutout sugar cookies with crushed hard candy melted inside their centers to create colorful translucent windows.

Crush each color separately so the windows stay vivid. Fill the windows level with the dough; overfilled candy runs over the sides.

Keeps 3 days airtight but humidity makes the candy sticky. Let the cookies cool completely on the sheet; the candy hardens to glass as it cools.

Cook time
1 hr 50 min
Rating
…

Ingredients

Scale
Measurement units
  • 1 cup unsalted butter
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2 ¾ cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • ½ tsp salt
  • ¾ cup hard candies

Instructions

Make the dough
Beat unsalted butter (1 cup) with granulated sugar (1 cup) until light and fluffy.
Beat in egg and vanilla extract (2 tsp).
Stir in all-purpose flour (2 ¾ cup), baking powder (1 tsp) and salt (½ tsp) until a soft dough forms.
Divide into two discs and wrap in plastic.
Equipment: rimmed baking sheet
Chill the dough
Refrigerate at least 1 hour, until firm enough to roll.
Cut and fill
Heat the oven to 350°F and line two baking sheets with parchment.
Roll each disc 0.25 inch thick, cut out shapes, and cut a small window from the center of each.
Place the cookies on the parchment and fill each window level with crushed hard candies (¾ cup), using 0.75 cup total.
Equipment: cookie cutters, rimmed baking sheet, parchment paper
Bake
Bake one sheet at a time, about 10 minutes each, until the edges are lightly golden and the candy has melted into clear glass.
Equipment: rimmed baking sheet
Cool
Cool completely on the baking sheet, about 20 minutes, so the candy sets before moving the cookies.
Equipment: cookie cutters, rimmed baking sheet

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