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Does anyone else have fond childhood memories of making gluten free stained glass window biscuits for the Christmas tree?
I distinctly remember my mum baking up spiced Christmas biscuits with crushed boiled sweets in the centre forming beautiful, coloured windows.
So I decided this Christmas to recreate these gluten free stained glass window biscuits myself!
So what’s so great about these gluten free stained glass window biscuits?
For starters, they’re such a good Christmas recipe to make with children over the holidays.
Kids will be gleeful to see their biscuits adorn the tree as the fairy lights glow through the little windows.
Plus they will love the excitement of baking them up and watching how the little windows are created!
How to make gluten free stained glass window biscuits
I bet you’re wondering what the secret is to my gluten free stained glass window biscuits?
Well, if you haven’t made them before, it’s really quite simple. To create the little windows, you simply need a pack of boiled sweets!
I used Fox’s Glacier Fruits but any boiled sweet will do, as long as it’s gluten free.
Once you’ve cut the holes from your biscuits, you simply pop a boiled sweet in the middle and wait for the magic to happen in the oven.
As the sweet melts, it’ll form a little puddle in the middle of the hole which sets into a beautiful stained glass window. An edible stained glass window to boot!
A child-friendly bake for the Christmas holidays
The best thing about making these gluten free stained glass window biscuits is that they’re so easy, you make them with the kids!
It’s a great way to keep them occupied during the holidays and they will absolutely love choosing the colours and shapes for each window!
When I made these gluten free Christmas biscuits I used a large star cutter and a large heart cutter, and then a smaller star cutter and fluted cutter to make the windows.
The cooking time is based on these being larger shapes (approx 10-15cm wide) so if you’re making smaller biscuits you may need to remove them from the oven sooner.
My Christmas biscuits recipe
If you want to have a go at making some gluten free edible tree decorations, then these stained glass window cookies are the one for you.
I used a gentle spice in my recipe to flavour the biscuits, but feel free to use different flavours such as lemon or orange zest instead of the spices.
Gluten free stained glass window biscuits
These gluten free stained glass window biscuits are the perfect edible tree decoration or Christmas biscuit cake.
Ingredients
- 125 g unsalted butter, (softened)
- 125 g caster sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 250 g plain gluten free flour
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp xanthan gum
- pinch salt
- 20 boiled sweets, (various colours)
Instructions
- Add the butter and sugar to a large mixing bowl and beat with an electric whisk until pale and smooth.
- Add the vanilla extract and egg and beat again until the mixture is fully combined.
- Next add the flour, xanthan gum and spices and beat together using a wooden spoon. As the mixture thickens, use your hands to bring it together into a smooth ball of dough. Wrap in clingfilm and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 160'C and line 2-3 large baking trays with baking paper. Dust the work surface with gluten free flour and once the dough is chilled, roll it out on the floured surface until approx 3-4mm thick.
- Cut your shapes from the dough using the large cutters, then place on the baking sheet. Use the smaller cutters to cut out a 'window' and then place a boiled sweet in the centre. Finally, use a chopstick to create a small hole in the corner of each shape (this is where you'll hang it from).
- Bake for 10-12 minutes until the windows have melted and the biscuits are starting to go golden around the edges. Remove from the baking sheet and cool for 5 minutes before removing onto a wire rack to cool completely.
- Once cooled, thread string through the small holes and tie together to hang from the tree.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
20Serving Size:
1 biscuitAmount Per Serving: Calories: 119Total Fat: 5gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 23mgSodium: 11mgCarbohydrates: 16gFiber: 0gSugar: 6gProtein: 2g
Need some more gluten free Christmas inspiration?
Want to have a go at some of the other gluten free baking recipes on the blog? Give some of these other gluten free recipes a try!
There are plenty to choose from – here are a couple to get you going:
- My sparkly gluten free prosecco cupcakes
- Gluten free chocolate yule log recipe
- Gluten free Christmas shortbread recipe
- Check out my Gluten Free Christmas ebook for tonnes more recipes and tips!
If you do make this recipe please let me know! I’d love to see your photos using #theglutenfreeblogger, share them in my Facebook group or tag me on Instagram.
And if you have any recipe suggestions, please let me know in the comments what you’d like to see next!
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Iāve never heard of these before. They look lovely!
Very pretty Sarah. My Mum used to make them too. Thanks for the memoryš