How To Make Candy Stained Glass Windows

I of our family's almanac Christmas traditions is making a gingerbread business firm – but not only any gingerbread house. We have fun dreaming up new designs every twelvemonth, and spend about a week each holiday season bringing it to life one evening at a time.

The second year nosotros made a gingerbread house from scratch, I idea it was time to learn how to brand stained drinking glass windows. In that location are many ways to make them, and over the years I've tried several. Many of the techniques tin exist quite complicated, just here are iii that require almost no skill.

A few notes about condom & other things before yous begin:

Melted carbohydrate is EXTREMELY hot and will stick to the pare, causing severe burns. While I dear cooking with my kids, I don't permit them in the kitchen when I'thousand making candied windows for both their safety and mine.
Watch everything carefully while cooking. Sugar goes from "ready" to "burned" very speedily. NEVER leave information technology unattended.
Cut windows out of your gingerbread Earlier you lot bake it. It's difficult to cutting well-baked, cooked gingerbread without breaking it.
Don't expect clear white drinking glass. That requires lots of skill and a candy thermometer. You lot can expect that your glass using these techniques will be amber-colored. Y'all can color information technology further by stirring in regular food coloring after your sugar is melted, only before you pour the glass.
If your cookware or utensils are coated in difficult sugar when y'all're done, don't worry! Fill them with hot water and soak them overnight. The sugar will deliquesce.
Choose an LED light for the inside of your gingerbread business firm. The sugar and icing tin can melt if you use a bulb that emits heat!

3 Ways to Make Sugar Drinking glass Gingerbread House Windows

MELTED Candy – This is THE EASIEST way to make gingerbread house windows.

Ingredients/Supplies:

Difficult Candy (Jolly Ranchers, Lifesavers, Butterscotch candies) – proceed in mind the opacity and stickiness will exist the aforementioned afterwards making the windows, so choose candies that have the color/transparency/texture you'd like on your finished production
Parchment Paper or Aluminum Foil
Ziploc Bag

Instructions:

Identify your (already baked) gingerbread face on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or aluminum foil.
Place difficult candies in a Ziploc bag and apply a rolling pin or meat mallet to shell them.
Sprinkle the pieces into the window opening. Employ more than you lot think y'all'll need considering they'll melt down during the baking process.
Place in a 350-degree oven for about 5 minutes. Lookout man it closely – you may need more than or less time.
The windows are done when the surface of the glass is smooth, with no lumps.
Remove from oven and allow to cool before removing it from the parchment-lined baking sail.

MELTED Sugar (STOVETOP) – This isn't my preferred method but there are no special tools and one ingredient – Saccharide! You've got everything you need to make this.

Ingredients/Supplies:

ane cup sugar
Saucepan
Wooden or metal spoon for stirring (avoid plastic)
Food coloring (if desired)
Parchment paper or aluminum foil

Instructions:

Place your (already baked) gingerbread Face UP on a parchment-lined blistering sheet.
Place 1 cup of sugar in bucket.
Stir over medium heat until melted. Sugar will be a moderately deep bister colour when it is all melted.
Remove from estrus, stir in food coloring (if desired).
Carefully and quickly pour into window openings. Equally it cools and hardens it volition not pour as evenly. Tip: You lot do not need to fill the opening to the top. If it is too thick, lite won't shine through.
Allow to cool before removing from the parchment-lined baking canvas.

MICROWAVE – Easy peasy! This is my get-to method.

Ingredients/Supplies:

1 cup carbohydrate
½ cup Karo (corn) syrup
Large Pyrex or other microwave-safe glass measuring loving cup WITH HANDLE
Wooden or metal spoon for stirring (avoid plastic)
Parchment paper or aluminum foil
Nutrient coloring (if desired)

Instructions:

Place your (already baked) gingerbread FACE UP on a parchment-lined blistering sail.
Mix together sugar and Karo syrup in large Pyrex measuring loving cup with handle.
Place in microwave for 5 minutes.*
Remove from microwave using the handle and stir. Continue microwaving in 30-second increments until information technology is a lite bister color.*
Stir in nutrient coloring (if desired).
Cascade into window openings.
Let to cool before removing from parchment.

*Microwave wattage and operation vary widely. Watch your sugar closely – one time I did this and ended upwardly with blackness sludge that was smoking wildly because I wasn't paying attention and over-did it. It'due south a miracle nothing broke and nobody was burned.