Candy Corn Cookies

When my children were young Halloween was second only to Christmas in the excitement and anticipation it created.  Weeks were spent deciding on just the right costume and, back then, our local grade school  hosted a party where parents and children came in costume and bobbed for apples, walked the cake walk, and pretended to be scared to death in the haunted classroom down the hall.

You will know I'm no spring chicken when I tell you that we looked forward to the homemade treats that made their way into the bags of the trick-or-treaters on Halloween night: candied apples, popcorn balls, homemade candy and cookies.  Although the days of homebaked treats are long gone I still love to bake the beloved decorated sugar cookies for my family and friends. 

I have to be in the right frame of mind and have a block of several uninterruped hours to break out the powdered sugar, gel colors and pastry tubes, time that I didn't have last week, so I did a little web browsing with the hope of finding a good, festive cookie that didn't require such a time commitment.    I hit pay dirt when I found this recipe for Candy Corn Cookies at Bakedbree.  I hadn't visited this blog before and am so happy to have found it.  Nothing shouts out "Halloween" like candy corn and I thought the dough recipe looked like a good one so I gave it a try.  I couldn't be happier.


Candy Corn Cookies

1 cup butter at room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 egg
2 tablespoons orange juice
2 teaspoons orange zest
1/8 teaspoon salt
3 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
orange gel food coloring
yellow get food coloring
Sanding Sugar

Cream butter and sugar.  Add egg and orange juice and zest.  Mix well.  Combine flour, salt and baking soda, mix well, and add to butter mixture.  Mix until well combined.

Divide dough into 3 equal parts.  Add orange food coloring to the first part and blend well.  Add yellow food coloring to the second part and thoroughly blend.  Use enough coloring to make vibrant colors because they fade during baking.  Leave the third part plain.

Line a loaf pan with parchment paper.  Press the yellow dough evenly onto the bottom of the pan.  Press the orange dough evenly over the yellow dough, and press the uncolored dough on top.  Wrap the parchment paper over the dough and refrigerate several hours or overnight.

A loaf pan size wasn't indicated in the recipe so I used a 9"x5" pan.  The cookies are perfect to fill little gift bags and boxes, maybe two small bites, and next time I'll use a smaller pan to produce a larger cookie. There won't be as many cuts in a row, but they will be taller because of the smaller pan.  Just a thought.

When ready to bake cookies remove parchment paper and slice the dough into 1/4 in slices.  Cut the pieces into triangles (as shown in the photo), dip one side in sanding sugar, and bake on a parchment lined sheet at 375 degrees for 7 - 9 minutes.  The sanding sugar adds sparkle and crunch to the cookie and really dresses it up.  I found mine at a bakers supply store and have seen it at Whole Foods.

About a dozen cookies fit into these cute Halloween bags.  Tied with a festive ribbon, they are a delicious  treat for friends and coworkers.  I bought little truffle boxes at the local baking supply shop and fit 6 or 7 cookies into it nicely.  Who wouldn't love to receive this new version of candy corn on one of our favorite holidays of the year?  And they are a delicious little snack with afternoon tea.  I love this recipe!!!!