Saying goodbye is hard to do. But every year around this time it is unavoidable. Goodbye, pleasantly cool temperatures. Goodbye, beautifully vibrant leaves. Goodbye, pumpkin patches and hay rides. Hello, winter.
But, before you break out your long underwear and snow shovel, take one more moment to bask in the beauty of Fall by making these stunning leaf stained glass cookies.
What You Will Need To Make Fall Leaf Stained Glass Cookies
- Your favorite sugar cookie recipe
- Circle cookie cutter
- Mini leaf cookie cutter(s) (smaller than your circle cookie cutter)
- Orange, yellow, red and ivory gel food coloring
- Green hard candy (such as Jolly Ranchers)
- Mini 2-in-1 cookie scraper (a.k.a. boo boo stick) or toothpicks
How To Make Fall Leaf Stained Glass Cookies
Typically icing is used to bring interest to a cookie design. Instead, for these stained glass cookies colorful dough captures the vibrance of Fall’s changing leaves.
Once you have prepared your sugar cookie dough, separate it into three equal sections. Add a few drops of red and ivory coloring to the first section, orange and ivory to the second, and yellow and ivory to the third. Knead each section of dough until the coloring is spread evenly throughout. Note: you will want to wear gloves when kneading the dough, unless you want to walk around looking like a henna tattoo on your hands went horribly wrong.
Next, roll out each section of dough to your desired cookie thickness. Use your cookie cutters to cut the dough into circles, each one with a leaf cut out of the center. Place the cut dough on a parchment lined cookie sheet and set it in the freezer for about 15 minutes before baking. You can bake the cutout leaf centers separately to make matching mini colored leaves.
How To Make Stained Glass Centers for Cookies
While your cut dough is enjoying some chill time in the freezer, prepare your candy for the stained glass centers. Unwrap all of your green hard candy (I used Jolly Ranchers. Life Savers are another popular choice.) and place it in a sealed Ziploc bag. Next, take out all of your day’s frustrations by smashing the candy with a kitchen mallet or rolling-pin until you have a bag full of tiny candy pieces. Note: You may want to use a towel to muffle the sound if Hubby is in the next room taking a well deserved nap.
Remove your chilled dough from the freezer and bake until the dough is just set. This will probably be half the total baking time that your recipe calls for. (I baked mine for four minutes.)
Remove the cookies from the oven and carefully scoop a small amount of candy into the leaf center of each one. The candy will melt and spread so you do not need to completely fill the area. Keep in mind that anywhere you drop candy, it will melt and spread. I kept a pair of tweezers (clean, “for food only” tweezers) handy so I could remove pieces of candy that I dropped on top of the cookies.
Set the cookies back in the oven to bake for the remaining amount of time. (I baked mine for an additional four minutes.)
Remove the cookies from the oven and use the pointy end of your boo boo stick, a toothpick, or sharp knife to pop any large unwanted bubbles in the candy. You will need to move quickly as the candy will start to harden and stick to anything it touches.
Let your leaf stained glass cookies completely dry before storing or stacking them. Keep in mind that the candy will be sticky. Take it from me, you do not want to set them on a paper towel at any point. I had no problem stacking them on sheets of parchment paper once they had completely cooled.
How To Display Stained Glass Cookies
Stained glass cookies make a stunning display, so I can’t blame you if you want to turn them into home decor instead of a tasty treat. To do this, simply use a straw to cut a small hole in each cookie before you chill and bake the dough. You can hang each cookie individually like an ornament or string them together to make stained glass cookie garland.
For inspiration on ways to display your leaf stained glass cookies check out these beautiful and creative displays: 1) ai love baking, 2) Glorious Treats, 3) Artfully Delicious
You can find supplies for making leaf stained glass cookies at amazon.com:
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These look great!
Thanks, Cheryl!
These are beautiful, Janine. I love that you’ve kept them simple by colouring the dough and love how vibrant they are with the coloured sweets too.
I was thinking of doing this but with Christmas cookies to hang on the Christmas tree as we keep our tree in front of the window so those pretty sweet colours will shine through.
Lisa {Sweet 2 Eat Baking} recently posted..Sugar & Slice Link Party #2
Great thinking, Lisa! I also made some Christmas ones and they came out so pretty. I just cut a little hole in the dough before baking them and “Presto!” I had cookie ornaments!
These look amazing! I hope you’ll link them up to our Holiday Cookie Recipe Swap, which is going on for four weeks: http://thedomesticatedprincess.blogspot.com/2012/11/holiday-cookie-recipe-swap-week-1.html
Bonny @ thedomesticatedprincess.com recently posted..Tips for Your Family’s Holiday Cards
Thanks for the invite, Bonny! I’m on my way to check it out.
They look amazing! What a great job!
I would love to have you share this and/or any other recipe of yours at Wednesday Extravaganza – my Link Party with a special something and a Giveaway this week. Here is the link:
http://www.hungrylittlegirl.com/1/post/2012/11/wednesday-extravaganza-5-giveaway.html
Can’t wait to see you there
Thanks for stopping by and thanks for the invite!
Beautiful cookies Janine! You are so talented! Thanks for making such a lovely project! Pinned it! Visiting from Someday Crafts. Happy Thanksgiving!
Aawww… thanks, Angie! What a sweet compliment!
So beautiful! I appreciate the tip about freezing the cookies, I assume that’s why they kept their shape so well? I love the colors you used, so bright and pretty!
Printabelle recently posted..Wonderful Wednesdays Link Party #29
Yes, freezing the cookies is a must in my book! Definitely helps prevent spreading.
wow! this looks like a great cookie project. looks so easy!
Dina recently posted..National Cake Day
I was surprised at just how easy it was, Dina!
When my kids were little (they are now 43 and 48), we made these for our Christmas tree, using Life Savers, every Christmas. I made them for the grands a few times. I think I’ll make some this week….Thanks for the inspiration.
Over from Mz Helens.
These would make such beautiful ornaments. Have fun making yours, BJ!
Very pretty!
Diana Rambles recently posted..American Girl Giveaway Event
Thanks, Diana!
OMG these are too cute! I’ve always wanted to try the stained glass cookies. These Fall ones are perfect!
Jessica Smith recently posted..Weekend Wonders #59 + Features
Thanks, Jessica!
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