Candy Corn Cookies

Nothing says Fall like candy corn.  I admit that I am not a huge fan of the overly sweet sugary snack but I still cant resist buying a bag every Fall.  Maybe it's the beautiful bright colors that attract me to this Halloween treat or maybe it's because it reminds me of my childhood - either way, I can't seem to get through the season without it.

What could be better than this bright pop of Fall color to spruce up an ordinary snack? 







This year I added a handful of candy corn to my homemade trail mix.















Last year, I put it in my Muddy Buddy Snack Mix.






 
I also like to use it to decorate the house.  I sprinkle it around candles that are nestled in the glass jars that sit on my mantle to create a festive Fall look.

Candy corn - it looks so beautiful and festive but I don't love the taste.  What a dilemma.   It has to be good for something other than adding color to snack mixes and candle jars.  Fortunately, I found a way to solve this less than momentous quandary - tiny candy corn cookies!   I wish that I could take credit for this super creative Fall cookie idea but the truth is that the inspiration (and the recipe) came from PBS.org.  (I didn't even know that they had recipes on their website until recently.)  I'm not really sure what these cookies have to do with PBS but they are super cute and really yummy and completely addicting. 

Candy Corn Cookies

Ingredients

• 2 sticks butter, softened
• 1.5 cups powdered sugar
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract
• 1 egg
• ½ tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp salt
• 3 cups flour
• red food coloring
• orange food coloring

Cream together the sugar and butter until light and fluffy. 

 Add the egg and vanilla and continue to beat until incorporated.

In another bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt. Add dry ingredients to the butter sugar mixture and mix until a soft dough just forms. 

Remove dough from mixer bowl and separate into three equal pieces (use a food scale to weigh each piece if you want to be exact!). 

Add the orange coloring to one of the dough pieces. 

Make another dough piece yellow and leave the third plain.  

 

 

 

 

 

Place a piece of plastic wrap or tin foil inside a loaf pan and pat down the white dough inside. 

 

 

 

 

 Place the orange dough on top (pat down firmly) followed by the yellow dough. 

 

Remove dough from pan, wrap up in either tin foil or plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight or for at least four hours.

When you are ready to bake your cookies, preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Cut 1/4th inch slices down the width of the dough. Continue cutting each slice into small triangles. 

Place triangles on a lined baking sheet.

Bake for 6-8 minutes until tops are puffy and bottoms are golden.

Yield: 5 dozen tiny cookies

 

There are so many fun and creative ways to serve these tiny treats.  I took pictures of a few of my ideas but I had some other ideas that never got implemented.  A mason jar filled with these tiny treats would make a great Fall gift when presenting to a well deserving teacher or a neighbor. 

Ciao!

Candy Corn Cookies

Ingredients

• 2 sticks butter, softened
• 1.5 cups powdered sugar
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract
• 1 egg
• ½ tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp salt
• 3 cups flour
• red food coloring
• orange food coloring

Directions

1. Cream together the sugar and butter until light and fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla and continue to beat until incorporated.
2. In another bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt. Add dry ingredients to the butter sugar mixture and mix until a soft dough just forms.
3. Remove dough from mixer bowl and separate into three equal pieces (use a food scale to weigh each piece if you want to be exact!). Add the orange coloring to one of the dough pieces. Make another dough piece yellow and leave the third plain.
4. Place a piece of plastic wrap or tin foil inside a loaf pan and pat down the white dough inside. Place the orange dough on top (pat down firmly) followed by the yellow dough. Remove dough from pan, wrap up in either tin foil or plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight or for at least four hours.
5. When you are ready to bake your cookies, preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Cut 1/4th inch slices down the width of the dough. Continue cutting each slice into small triangles.
6. Place triangles on a lined baking sheet and bake for 6-8 minutes until tops are puffy and bottoms are golden.

Yield: 5 dozen tiny cookies