Christmas goodies Archives

Have you ever tried Eggless Wheat Flour Stained Glass Cookies ?

Though I never did, these pretty looking cookies always attracted me to try them. These Eggless Wheat Flour Stained Glass Cookies with edible transparent look of glass structure in the middle are kind of show stopper in the crowd of different cookies.

But I didn’t want to try them with white flour as we have considerably reduced our consumption of white flour in the cookies. Unlike other regular cookies, these cookies are not supposed to spread. So, I was very skeptical about using wheat flour for stained glass cookies. After a bit of internal debate, I finally decided to go ahead with a small batch for trial with just one cup of wheat flour.

Now I didn’t have same shape of small and big size cookie cutters. But as I had decided to bake these cookies, so didn’t want to waste time to shop for small cookie cutters. When I make up my mind to do something on a particular day, I just don’t want to postpone it for any reason. Otherwise it will be delayed for a few more days. It happens with all of us, isn’t it! I thought that I will use icing nozzles or a small bottle cap for small cutters.

While dough was resting in the fridge, I thought that first I will try baking two cookies only. I hurried a little bit and the shape of one star cookie became a bit elongated. But right now that was not my concern. First, I was eager to see that cookies didn’t spread. Second, how was the tinted glass effect in the middle of the cookie. Third, I was using parchment paper to keep the cookies on baking tray instead of baking sheet. I was scared if hot melted candy will be stuck with the parchment paper.

Baking got over and I was waiting eagerly for cookies to cool down completely.

Slowly, I picked up cookie from the parchment paper and it was neat, not at all sticky and perfect stained glass effect!!!!

How pretty it looks!!!

I loved them a lot and decided to go ahead with the rest of the dough (though I didn’t use dough completely and saved some for my next cookie post).

Do try these cookie as there is so much fun doing them in different shapes and using colorful candies!

You can even turn your Christmas tree as a Candy Christmas Tree by hanging these eggless wheat flour stained glass cookies there and it would be the most desirable one in the neighborhood!

How cool is that!

Ingredients:

Wheat flour 132 gm (1 cup)

Fine grinded powdered sugar 55 gm (1/ 4cup)

Corns starch 7 gm (1 tbsp)

Salt 1/8 tsp

Butter 100 gm (slightly less than 1/2 cup)

Vanilla essence 1/2 tsp

Crushed candies or lollipops

Milk 1 – 2 tsp, if required

Tips to remember

Measure your ingredients correctly.
Butter should be on room temperature, but firm, not soft.
If sugar is not powdered finely, tiny granules will melt during baking and cookies will expand.
Corn starch helps in holding the cookies in shape and prevents expanding.
Chilling the dough is very important. Cold dough prevents cookies from expanding.
You can keep the dough in the fridge overnight and prepare cookies the next day.
If you feel that dough has become soft after rolling the dough, chill it again. Firm, chilled rolled dough helps to get sharp, neatly cut cookies.
Use cling wrap or parchment paper to roll the dough. Without parchment paper or cling wrap, dough will stick on the rolling pin.
If you don’t have any cookie cutter, don’t be disheartened. Just use big and small size bottle caps.
These cookies look attractive hanging on your Christmas tree. After cutting cookies and filling them with crushed candies, make a small hole with the help of toothpick. Because these cookies don’t expand, so hole will remain intact after baking also.

But like me if you also forget to make holes, don’t worry, there is a solution for you. Sterilize your embroidery needle and along with the thread carefully do a hole on top of the cookie and your cookies are ready to decorate your Christmas tree.

11. Wheat flour takes more time to bake compared to white flour (maida). So bake these cookies on low temperature for a little bit longer time. High temperature will give cookies brown colour. There is nothing wrong with brown coloured cookies, but I guess festive cookies look better in lighter shade of brown. Choice is yours!

12. Break candy in equal pieces.

13. Don’t fill the empty space with too much candy. You wouldn’t get fancy looking transparent cookie as it will be very thick.

14. During baking while candy is melting, you might feel that the quantity is a bit less. Don’t add more in between the baking. Later added candy wouldn’t melt properly by the end of the baking and it will be a rough patch in the middle of the cookie instead of a beautiful tinted glass look.

15. Baking time might vary as different ovens have separate settings.

16. After baking, transfer cookies onto a cooling rack carefully along with the parchment paper. Hot cookies are soft, so they will break. And don’t forget that melted candy is still warm. It will be firm only after it cools down completely.

I have one more post in the blog related to the baking tips for cookies and a few more cookie posts. Bake a few more variety of cookies for gifting to your friends and relatives during this holiday season!!

Basics of baking – Cookies (Tips and tricks on how to bake cookies)

Nankhatai (Cookies with clarified butter)

Wheat flour cookies with Jaggery

Eggless Double Chocolate Chip Cookies

Process :

Take butter in a pan and cream it. You can do it with the help of strong spatula or whipping mixer.

Add powdered sugar and mix it properly.

Add rest of the ingredients except milk and prepare dough. If you feel that dough is little dry or difficult to bind, use 1 or 2 tsp milk. Shape the dough like a disc and cling wrap it with 2-3 layers and keep it in the fridge for at least 2-3 hours.

Disc shape will be helpful in rolling the dough.

After 2-3 hours take out the dough from the fridge and leave it on the kitchen counter for 10-15 minutes so that it becomes easy to roll.

Roll the dough either in between the sheets of parchment paper or use cling wrap.

If you feel that this rolled dough is not cold anymore, keep it in the fridge exactly the way it is looking in the picture (covered with cling wrap) for half an hour.

After half an hour take the dough out from the fridge.

Preheat oven at 155/160 degrees.

Cut the cookies using different shapes of cookie cutters. I didn’t have small size cookie cutters, so used icing nozzles.

If you want to decorate your Christmas tree with these cookies, make a small hole with the help of tooth-pick.

Break candies/lollipops in even pieces.

Arrange cookies on a baking tray with parchment paper. Fill in different coloured crushed candies evenly in the empty space of cookies.

Bake these cookies on the same temperature for 15 – 20 minutes or till the edges start becoming slightly brown.

Once cookies are done in the oven, take out the baking tray from the oven and carefully transfer cookies along with the parchment paper on a cooling rack.

Candies might look liquid but after cooling they will be firm.