Cooking With Your Toddler (and a few more) - Stained Glass Window Cookies

I posted a recipe a couple of weeks ago for Spiced Christmas Cookies that I had found on Fabulicious Food. When I agreed to go into Jack's Pre-school to make Christmas Biscuits with the children I decided to use this recipe again as it's so easy to make and rolls out really well with the minimum amount of flour - which would mean less mess, or so I thought!


I decided to make the dough beforehand in my Kitchen Aid as I didn't fancy mixing all that dough with a table full of impatient 2,3 & 4 year olds around. The little ones took turns in rolling out the dough and cutting their chosen shapes, we then used smaller cutters to cut a shaped hole in the middle of the cookie where we spooned in crushed sweets which melted in the oven and created a colourful stained glass window effect in the middle of the biscuit that the fairy lights can shine through.

It was a very enjoyable but hectic morning where, at one point, I had 8 pairs of eyes watching me and 8 little mouths asking for a go and 8 pairs of hands playing with whatever was to hand. Two of the children (with my Jack as the ringleader) decided that their part of the table needed extra flour and they enjoyed playing in their mountain of 'snow' until it was their turn to roll some dough.


We ended up with some great looking cookies which I tied a piece of ribbon through and wrapped them in cellophane bags - all ready to sell at the Christmas Fair and hang on some Christmas Trees.

Stained Glass Cookies


110g unsalted butter 
110g soft, dark brown sugar
6 heaped tablespoons runny honey
1 egg
450g plain flour 
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 tablespoons ground ginger
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon 
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
100g icing sugar
boiled sweets, crushed - I used pear drops

• Melt the butter, sugar and honey in a small pan until the butter has just melted
• Sift all the dry ingredients into a large bowl, stir together
• Add the egg and mix well
• Add the melted butter/sugar to the dry ingredients and mix until a dough forms
• If the mixture is too dry add water 1 tablespoon at a time until it comes together 
• Roll out on a floured surface to the thickness of a pound coin
• Use cutters to cut out the shapes and place on greased baking trays (I use silicone baking sheets)
• Use a smaller cutter to cut a shaped hole in the centre of the cookie, fill with crushed sweets
• Bake in 200 degree (C) oven for 7-8 minutes
• Leave on the baking sheet for a few minutes until they harden up & then cool completely on a wire rack

Crushing the sweets

Not a tidy workspace!

Mess left by Jack!