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These candy corn shortbread cookies are one of my most requested recipes because they’re ridiculously festive, delicious, and much easier to make than you might think.
Slice and bake cookies are my favorite, especially using this shortbread recipe. The dough has the texture of Play-Doh making it easy to work with, color, and shape. It also mixes up in one bowl and has minimal ingredients for a cookie, making clean up easy as well.
I’ve been making these cookies for 20+ years and the question I always get is “do they taste like candy corn?” Nope! They taste like delicious, buttery shortbread cookies. They only LOOK like the classic love-it-or-hate-it fall candy.
These candy corn shortbread cookies pair perfectly with a cup of cider. They also freeze easily - and for up to 3 months - so you can make them whenever you have time. Just thaw at room temperature and serve when you’re ready to entertain or need a quick treat.
What You Need:
- Butter
- Sugar
- Flour
- Egg
- Vanilla
- Baking powder
- Orange food coloring
- Yellow food coloring
How to Make Candy Corn Shortbread Cookies
Make the Dough
Using a mixer, beat butter and sugar at medium speed until fluffy, about 3 minutes.
Add in the egg and vanilla and beat until blended.
Add flour and baking powder to the butter mixture. Stir until incorporated.
Assemble the Cookies
Place ½ cup of dough in a small bowl and set aside.
Place ⅓ of the remaining dough into a bowl, add 2-3 drops of orange food coloring. Mix the food coloring into the cookie dough until all of the dough is orange. Set aside.
Place the remaining ⅔ of the dough into a bowl, and add 2-3 drops of yellow food coloring. Mix the food coloring into the cookie dough until all of the dough is yellow. Set aside.
Place a large sheet of parchment paper on your counter.
Take half of the yellow dough and press it out into a long, skinny rectangle on the parchment paper. Try to keep this layer even as best you can.
Take half of the orange dough and gently press it out onto the long orange rectangle you just made, keeping it as evenly distributed across the bottom layer as you can.
Take half of the plain, white dough and roll it out into a roll that’s the same length as your orange and yellow stack. Place the white dough on top of the stack of dough.
Using your hands, press the long sides of the dough together and form it into a long triangle shape. When you look at the ends of the stack of dough, you should see the candy corn shape you’re looking for.
Repeat the assembly process with the second half of each color of dough so you have 2 triangular shaped logs of dough.
Wrap each piece of dough in parchment paper and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. (I often leave mine overnight.)
Bake the Cookies
When you’re ready to bake, heat the oven to 350 degrees.
Place the dough on a cutting board and using a sharp knife, cut into slices aprox ¼ inch thick.
Place dough about 1 inch apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. These cookies will puff and spread a little bit, but not significantly.
Bake for 8-10 minutes or until cookies are set, but not brown.
Remove from cookie sheet. Cool on wire rack.
Enjoy!
Tips on Candy Corn Shortbread Cookies
No. Use only real, dairy butter. If dairy butter isn’t your thing, find a different recipe to make.
Yes. Chilling the dough is critical to being able to easily slice the cookies. It will also keep them from spreading into a mess when you bake them. Do NOT skip or shorten the chill time.
Yes! This makes a large batch of cookies, so I love making these ahead of time and freezing them until I’m ready to share with family and friends. Follow the recipe as written, cool the baked cookies completely, then freeze in a sturdy container (skip the Ziploc bag) with a sheet of parchment between each layer of cookies. Take them out to thaw at room temperature at least 2 hours before serving.
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Print the Recipe
PrintSlice and Bake Candy Corn Shortbread Cookies
These candy corn shortbread cookies are one of my most requested recipes because they’re ridiculously festive, delicious, and much easier to make than you might think.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Chill Time: 2 hours
- Cook Time: 8 minutes
- Total Time: 2 hours, 28 minutes
- Yield: 48 cookies 1x
- Category: Baking
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter, softened
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 ½ cups flour
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- Orange food coloring
- Yellow food coloring
Instructions
Make the Dough
Using a mixer, beat butter and sugar at medium speed until fluffy, about 3 minutes.
Add in the egg and vanilla and beat until blended.
Add flour and baking powder to the butter mixture. Stir until incorporated.
Assemble the Cookies
Place ½ cup of dough in a small bowl and set aside.
Place ⅓ of the remaining dough into a bowl, add 2-3 drops of orange food coloring. Mix the food coloring into the cookie dough until all of the dough is orange. Set aside.
Place the remaining ⅔ of the dough into a bowl, and add 2-3 drops of yellow food coloring. Mix the food coloring into the cookie dough until all of the dough is yellow. Set aside.
Place a large sheet of parchment paper on your counter.
Take half of the yellow dough and press it out into a long, skinny rectangle on the parchment paper. Try to keep this layer even as best you can.
Take half of the orange dough and gently press it out onto the long orange rectangle you just made, keeping it as evenly distributed across the bottom layer as you can.
Take half of the plain, white dough and roll it out into a roll that’s the same length as your orange and yellow stack. Place the white dough on top of the stack of dough.
Using your hands, press the long sides of the dough together and form it into a long triangle shape. When you look at the ends of the stack of dough, you should see the candy corn shape you’re looking for.
Repeat the assembly process with the second half of each color of dough so you have 2 triangular shaped logs of dough.
Wrap each piece of dough in parchment paper and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. (I often leave mine overnight.)
Bake the Cookies
When you’re ready to bake, heat the oven to 350 degrees.
Place the dough on a cutting board and using a sharp knife, cut into slices aprox ¼ inch thick.
Place dough about 1 inch apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. These cookies will puff and spread a little bit, but not significantly.
Bake for 8-10 minutes or until cookies are set, but not brown.
Remove from cookie sheet. Cool on wire rack.
Enjoy!
Keywords: candy corn cookies, shortbread cookies, Halloween treats, halloween cookies, butter cookies, fall desserts
Autism Mama
So cute! And so easy and delicious. The pictures in the write-up were super helpful to follow along at assembly. This dough was incredibly easy to work with...it will be my go-to cookie cutter dough from now on! No more sticky mess rolled cookies for me.
Extra bonus! This recipe is a breeze to make gluten free and use natural food dyes with. I swapped out reg flour with Bob's 1:1 GF, but any 1:1 should work. I used Watkins natural food dyes, and although not as bright as the original, still just as festive.
A new Halloween tradition has just started!
★★★★★
Katy McAvoy
This dough is super easy to work with and I'm thrilled to hear it worked so well with GF flour and natural food dyes! Thank you for including that information in your review. I'm glad you enjoyed the cookies! 🙂