angeldelight
17-12-2007, 09:15 AM
Stained Glass Window Biscuits
These novelty Christmas cookies shaped like Christmas Trees, Stars, Bells and Reindeer etc.. are fun to make together with children. They particularly enjoy crushing the sweets and using cookie cutters to cut our shapes from the dough. The melted sweets harden to make a window in the centre of the biscuits and they look wonderful hanging on a Christmas Tree.
Ingredients
350g/12 oz plain flour
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1/2 tsp salt (half)
2 tsp ground ginger
100g (4 oz) butter
175g (6 oz) soft brown sugar
1 egg
4 tbsp golden syrup
different coloured fruit flavoured boiled sweets
narrow ribbon
Method:
Pre-heat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4. Mix the flour, bicarbonate of soda and ginger into a bowl. Rub in the butter until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs, then stir in the sugar. Beat together the egg and golden syrup and mix into the flour mixture to make a smooth dough, kneading lightly with your hands.
Crush the sweets in their wrappers using a rolling pin. Sprinkle flour on a clean work surface and roll out the dough until about 1/2cm (1/4in) thick, then cut into shapes using a selection of Christmas Cookie cutters. Transfer to lined baking sheets.
Cut out shapes in the centre of each biscuit, making sure you leave a good edge all around the biscuit. Completely fill the hole in each biscuit with crushed boiled sweets.
Make a hole at the top of each biscuit using a drinking straw so that you will be able to thread a ribbon through it later. Bake for 10-12 minutes until golden.
While the biscuits are still warm, check the holes are still there, otherwise push a straw through again. Do not remove the biscuits from the baking tray until they have cooled as the boiled sweets need to harden. Once the sweets have hardened, gently lift the biscuits onto a wire rack with a palette knife to finish cooling.
You can decorate the biscuits with piped white icing (see Gingerbread Recipe) .
Thread ribbons through the holes to make loops for hanging.
Information
MAKES ABOUT 25 BISCUITS
These novelty Christmas cookies shaped like Christmas Trees, Stars, Bells and Reindeer etc.. are fun to make together with children. They particularly enjoy crushing the sweets and using cookie cutters to cut our shapes from the dough. The melted sweets harden to make a window in the centre of the biscuits and they look wonderful hanging on a Christmas Tree.
Ingredients
350g/12 oz plain flour
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1/2 tsp salt (half)
2 tsp ground ginger
100g (4 oz) butter
175g (6 oz) soft brown sugar
1 egg
4 tbsp golden syrup
different coloured fruit flavoured boiled sweets
narrow ribbon
Method:
Pre-heat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4. Mix the flour, bicarbonate of soda and ginger into a bowl. Rub in the butter until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs, then stir in the sugar. Beat together the egg and golden syrup and mix into the flour mixture to make a smooth dough, kneading lightly with your hands.
Crush the sweets in their wrappers using a rolling pin. Sprinkle flour on a clean work surface and roll out the dough until about 1/2cm (1/4in) thick, then cut into shapes using a selection of Christmas Cookie cutters. Transfer to lined baking sheets.
Cut out shapes in the centre of each biscuit, making sure you leave a good edge all around the biscuit. Completely fill the hole in each biscuit with crushed boiled sweets.
Make a hole at the top of each biscuit using a drinking straw so that you will be able to thread a ribbon through it later. Bake for 10-12 minutes until golden.
While the biscuits are still warm, check the holes are still there, otherwise push a straw through again. Do not remove the biscuits from the baking tray until they have cooled as the boiled sweets need to harden. Once the sweets have hardened, gently lift the biscuits onto a wire rack with a palette knife to finish cooling.
You can decorate the biscuits with piped white icing (see Gingerbread Recipe) .
Thread ribbons through the holes to make loops for hanging.
Information
MAKES ABOUT 25 BISCUITS