Stained Glass Ornament Cookies with Orange & Cinnamon

It’s December so that means it’s time for Christmas cookies!

Today’s cookies are as pretty as they are delicious - even pretty enough to be ornaments on the tree!

I decided on these cookies because the Sunday Funday participants are making Christmas cookies around the world today. 

I saw a mention or two that these cookies could be British.  The reference was a little sketchy, but I really wanted to make these ones so I decided to go for it.

These could be really made with any non-spreading sugar cookie, but I took inspiration from this recipe from Jamie Oliver adding orange zest and cinnamon for something a little different!

For the stained glass center, crushed hard candies are used.  Many people love to use Jolly Ranchers because the colors are so vibrant.  I ended up using DumDum suckers leftover from Halloween that no one was eating and they worked out perfectly!

Most of these beauties were eaten, but a few of the prettiest are hanging on the tree!

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• A Day in the Life on the Farm discovers South African Double Crunchers 
• Amy’s Cooking Adventures has Stained Glass Ornament Cookies with Orange & Cinnamon 
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• Karen’s Kitchen Stories gives us Zimsterne - German Christmas Cookies

Recipe Note:

*Use crushed hard candies for the stained glass.  Jolly ranchers work well.  In this recipe, I used DumDum suckers leftover from Halloween.

*Crush the candies until they resemble coarse sand

Stained Glass Ornament Cookies with Orange & Cinnamon 

½ cup butter, softened

½ cup brown sugar

¼ cup white sugar

Zest from ½ orange

1 egg

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

½ teaspoon cinnamon

¼ teaspoon salt

⅛ teaspoon baking powder

2 cups flour

Crushed hard candies (see note)

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F

Place the butter and sugars in the bowl of a stand mixer and beat until light and fluffy.

Add the egg, orange zest, and vanilla extract and stir until combined.

Finally, add the cinnamon, salt, baking powder, and flour.  Mix until a smooth dough is formed.

Roll the dough out on a well floured surface.  Cut into desired shapes and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment or silicone mats.  Use a mini cookie cutter to cut the centers out of the cookies and a toothpick or skewer to make a hole for sting at the top.

Pour the crushed candies into the center of each cookie, filling until the sugar is even with the top of the cookie.

Bake in the preheated oven for 6-8 minutes or until the cookie is set (may be just beginning to brown) and the candy is melted.  Move the trays to wire racks.  Allow the cookies to cool completely before moving them off of the pans.

Store cookies in an airtight container until ready to serve.