With Christmas just around the corner, I decided it was time to get into the Christmas spirit by experimenting with some holiday baking. This year, I wanted to try something a little different with my Christmas cookies: creating a stained-glass effect using melted sweets. The idea of colourful, translucent cookies catching the light sounded magical, but let’s just say the execution didn’t go quite as planned.

I started with a new ginger cookie recipe, which added a warm, spiced twist to my festive baking. After cutting out the shapes, I carefully removed sections from the centres to make room for the melted sweets. Crushing the sweets into tiny pieces was surprisingly therapeutic, and I had high hopes as I sprinkled them into the cookie cut-outs.

As they baked, the kitchen filled with the comforting aroma of ginger and spices, and I eagerly watched through the oven door. The sweets melted beautifully, spreading to fill the spaces and creating vibrant pops of colour. However, when I took them out of the oven, I realised the effect wasn’t quite what I had imagined. The melted sweets didn’t settle as smoothly as I’d hoped, and there were a few unexpected bubbles and uneven patches.

While the cookies still tasted delicious, the aesthetic left room for improvement. I think I need to experiment more with the type of sweets and perhaps adjust the baking time to get a smoother, glass-like finish. It’s a learning process, and even though the results weren’t perfect, I’m glad I gave it a go. After all, the joy of baking is as much about the journey as it is about the end result.

If you’ve ever tried making stained-glass cookies and have any tips, I’d love to hear them! For now, I’ll keep tweaking and testing until I get it just right. Here’s to embracing the festive spirit, one cookie experiment at a time.