Description
Candy Corn Cookies are soft, chewy, and delightfully festive treats layered to resemble candy corn with vibrant yellow, orange, and white colors. Made with a rich mixture of butter and cream cheese, these cookies offer a tender texture and subtle sweetness, perfect for Halloween or any fun occasion.
Ingredients
Scale
Cookie Dough
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature (113g)
- 1/4 cup (2 oz) full fat cream cheese, room temperature (56g)
- 1 cup granulated sugar (200g)
- 1 large egg yolk (20g)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste (5g)
- 1 tsp almond extract, optional (5g)
- 2 cups all-purpose flour (260g)
- 2 tsp cornstarch (5g)
- 1/2 tsp fine salt
- 1/4 tsp baking powder
Coloring
- Yellow gel food coloring
- Orange gel food coloring
Instructions
- Prepare the dough base: In a large mixing bowl, cream together the unsalted butter and cream cheese until smooth and fluffy. Gradually add the granulated sugar, beating well until light and creamy.
- Add egg yolk and extracts: Mix in the egg yolk, vanilla extract (or vanilla bean paste), and almond extract if using, blending until fully incorporated.
- Combine dry ingredients: In a separate bowl, sift together the all-purpose flour, cornstarch, fine salt, and baking powder. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture, mixing just until a soft dough forms.
- Divide and color the dough: Separate the dough evenly into three portions. Leave one portion uncolored (white), color one portion with yellow gel food coloring, and the last portion with orange gel food coloring. Knead each portion gently to distribute the color evenly throughout the dough.
- Shape the candy corn layers: Roll out each colored dough portion into long rectangles of equal size. Layer the doughs together, pressing lightly so they stick, with orange at the bottom, yellow in the middle, and white on top, mimicking the look of candy corn.
- Cut and form cookies: Using a cookie cutter or knife, cut the layered dough into triangular shapes resembling pieces of candy corn.
- Optional sugar coating: You can gently dunk or roll each cookie into granulated sugar to add a hint of extra sweetness and a slight crunch on the surface.
- Chill before baking: Refrigerate the cut cookies for at least 20 minutes to firm up.
- Bake the cookies: Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Place the cookies on a parchment-lined baking sheet, spacing them evenly. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until edges are just beginning to turn golden and the centers remain soft.
- Cool and serve: Remove cookies from the oven and let them cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Enjoy your soft and festive candy corn cookies!
Notes
- These candy corn cookies are layered to look just like little pieces of candy corn, creating a festive appearance perfect for Halloween.
- They bake up soft and chewy, ideal for nibbling or dunking in milk or coffee.
- Using gel food coloring helps achieve vibrant colors without altering dough consistency.
- Dunking the cookies in sugar before baking adds a subtle extra sweetness and textural contrast.
- Be careful not to overbake to maintain a chewy texture.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie (approx. 10g)
- Calories: 13 kcal
- Sugar: 1 g
- Sodium: 7 mg
- Fat: 1 g
- Saturated Fat: 0.6 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 0.4 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 2 g
- Fiber: 0 g
- Protein: 0.2 g
- Cholesterol: 3 mg
