Don’t you love when an idea pops into your head and you know it will be great? I was looking through my Winter Activities and immediately knew that my Stained Glass Cookies would love amazing as Jack-O-Lanterns. The cookie is a simple sugar cookie with crushed lollipop pieces as the stained glass. Stained Glass Jack-O-Lantern Cookies look really cute as a decoration on a windowsill, but probably won’t last long there as your little ones will want to gobble them up! These are perfect for a Halloween Party!
WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE STAINED GLASS JACK-O-LANTERN COOKIES
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Sugar cookie recipe (I like this one from Better Homes and Gardens. I used half the dough and froze the other half for another day)
12 lollipop pops or hard candies, crushed (look for ones without artificial food dye. We love Yummy Earth Organic Lollipops !
HOW TO MAKE STAINED GLASS JACK-O-LANTERN COOKIES
Begin by making your favorite sugar cookies. Look for a recipe that is for cut-out cookies. Roll out about half the dough on a floured surface making dough about 1/8 inch thick. Using a a pumpkin shaped cookie cutter (or a circle- you can even use a glass!) cut out as many shapes as possible. Using a sharp knife cut out triangle eyes, nose and a simple mouth. Make all the dough into a ball and roll out again. Repeat the process.
Cover your cookie sheets with parchment paper and using a spatula carefully place 9 cookies on each sheet. Trust me, it is really important to use parchment paper. The melted lollipops will be impossible to get out the cookie sheet if you simply grease them with butter or oil. Please see exhibit A for my frustrating mistake!
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Time to crush up the lollipops! My kids loved this part. I placed three lollipops in each bag so they could each have a turn. We used our meat pounder (you could use a hammer or large metal spoon) to lightly hit the lollipops. Keep smashing until they are broken into very small pieces.
Show your children how they can take small amount of the crushed candies and fill the eyes, nose and mouth of the jack-o-lanterns. What an amazing (and delicious!) fine motor experience! Try to keep the candy pieces off actual sugar cookies.
Bake in a 425 degree F oven for 8 minutes. Let cool until candies are hard. You can decorate your windowsill with these cute treats or gobble them up right away! I love the way the light shines through the “stained glass”. Best eaten within a couple of days. Happy Halloween!