The 4th of July is a big holiday in my family. A big family reunion at the beach, lots of memories made and lots of good eats. This year I have a very special treat for everyone, and I could squeal with delight how well they turned out.
Stained Glass Red, White & Blue Star Cookies!

Back in April I saw pictures of Stained Glass Easter Egg Cookies, and I fell in love. I instantly decided I need to make them, but for the 4th of July!
I didn’t really have a recipe, just a picture in my mind that I saw months ago. So there was a bit of trial and error going on in my kitchen this weekend. Ultimately, the results are exactly what I pictured in my head. Oh and they are delicious too!

- 2¾ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 cup butter, softened
- 1½ cups sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- crushed Jolly Ranchers (Cherry & Blue Raspberry)
- Wilton nesting star cookie cutters
- non-stick silicone mat*
*TRUST me, you need a non-stick surface for Jolly Ranchers. I recommend a Silpat mat, I use them for all of my baking these days.
Silpat Non-Stick Silicone Baking Mat — Various Sizes
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°F.
In a small bowl, mix flour, baking soda and baking powder. Set aside.
In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in egg and vanilla.
Gradually add the dry ingredients.
Cover dough and refrigerated for at least 20 minutes.
*** The trick to these cookies is to roll the dough very thin. Very thin. Because of the thinness, it is difficult to move the shape. So I found that the easiest thing to do was to cut the stars out on the non-stick foil, on the cookie sheet. This way, nothing has to move. (Please note, I took my prep pictures during my first batch, and I did not use non-stick foil. Half of the candied centers made it, half did not. Trust me on the foil.)
From the Wilton nesting star cookie cutters set I used the second biggest for the cookie and the smallest to cut out the center of each cookie.

Fill each star with 1 – 1/2 teaspoon of candy.
Bake 5 minutes in the oven, or until golden.
Let stand on cookie sheet about 2 minutes before removing so candies have a chance to harden.
Happy 4th of July!!!


4th Of July "Stained Glass" Red, White & Blue Star Cookies
Ingredients
- 2¾ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 cup butter softened
- 1½ cups sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- crushed Jolly Ranchers Cherry & Blue Raspberry
- Wilton nesting star cookie cutters
- non-stick foil trust me!
Instructions
-
Preheat oven to 350°F.
-
In a small bowl, mix flour, baking soda and baking powder. Set aside.
-
In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in egg and vanilla.
-
Gradually add the dry ingredients.
-
Cover dough and refrigerated for at least 20 minutes.
-
*** The trick to these cookies is to roll the dough very thin. Very thin. Because of the thinness, it is difficult to move the shape. So I found that the easiest thing to do was to cut the stars out on the non-stick foil, on the cookie sheet. This way, nothing has to move. (Please note, I took my prep pictures during my first batch, and I did not use non-stick foil. Half of the candied centers made it, half did not. Trust me on the foil.)
-
From the Wilton nesting star cookie cutters set I used the second biggest for the cookie and the smallest to cut out the center of each cookie.
-
Place your Jolly Ranchers (or other clear, hard candy) in a thick plastic baggie and smash. (I used Cherry and Blue Raspberry Jolly Ranchers (original flavors) for the cookies. I also had Watermelon, but they are very light in color. Still yummy, but Cherry looks best.)
-
Fill each star with 1 - 1/2 teaspoon of candy.
-
Bake 5 minutes in the oven, or until golden.
-
Let stand on cookie sheet about 2 minutes before removing so candies have a chance to harden.
This is so unique! I’ve never seen anything like it. It’s not only pretty, it sounds delicious too! Thanks for sharing.
Love how well these turned out. I made pink, red, and purple hearts for preschool Valentines.
Wow, these are fabulous. I had no clue you could actually make a cookie look like that from a popular candy. Brilliant!
Love these! They are so beautiful and what kid wouldn’t love to gobble these up? 🙂 Pinned and on my list for next year!
Thanks so much! They were a huge hit at our 4th of July party yesterday with kids young and old 😉
These are beautiful! I’ve tried to make stained glass cookies before, but without success, I think I’ll give your recipe a try 🙂
Thanks so much for linking up on Cook it! Craft it! Share! last week – hope to see you again this week, too 🙂
Ang
PS – pinned this to the party board 🙂