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    Home » Recent Posts » Baking

    Slice and Bake Candy Corn Shortbread Cookies

    Published: Sep 28, 2021 · Updated: Sep 28, 2021 by Katy McAvoy

    I love when you share my recipes!

    • 52
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    Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase using one of these links, I make a small commission.


    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. 

    Candy Corn Shortbread Cookies

    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. 

    Mixed up cookie dough in a bowl.

    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. 

    Bowls with orange, yellow and white cookie dough

    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. 

    Yellow dough flattened out into a long, skinny rectangle

    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. 

    Orange cookie dough stacked on top of yellow cookie dough

    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. 

    All three stacks of cookie 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. 

    A look at the end of the triangular log of cookie dough

    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. 

    Cookies sliced and trayed

    Bake for 8-10 minutes or until cookies are set, but not brown. 

    Remove from cookie sheet. Cool on wire rack. 

    Candy corn shortbread cookies cooling on a wire rack

    Enjoy!

    Tips on Candy Corn Shortbread Cookies 

    Can I use a butter substitute in this recipe? 

    No. Use only real, dairy butter. If dairy butter isn’t your thing, find a different recipe to make. 

    Do I have to chill these cookies? 

    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. 

    Can I freeze candy corn shortbread cookies? 

    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. 

    Cookie Cocktail Pairings

    Apple Orchard Cocktail
    Apple Orchard Cocktail
    Apple Cider Sangria
    Apple Cider Sangria

    Don't Miss These Baking Recipes 

    Pumpkin Baked Oatmeal
    Pumpkin Baked Oatmeal
    Cranberry Shortbread
    Cranberry Shortbread

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    Print the Recipe

    Print

    Slice and Bake Candy Corn Shortbread Cookies

    Candy Corn Shortbread Cookies
    Print Recipe
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    ★★★★★

    5 from 1 reviews

    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. 

    • Author: Katy McAvoy
    • 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

    Units Scale
    • 1 cup butter, softened
    • 1 cup sugar
    • 2 ½ cups flour
    • 1 egg
    • 1 tsp vanilla
    • ½ tsp 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!

    Equipment

    Image of Sheet Pan

    Sheet Pan

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    Image of Parchment Paper

    Parchment Paper

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    Image of Wire Rack

    Wire Rack

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    Keywords: candy corn cookies, shortbread cookies, Halloween treats, halloween cookies, butter cookies, fall desserts

    Did you make this recipe?

    Share a photo and tag me @katymcavoy on Instagram! I can’t wait to see what you made!

    « Apple, Bacon, and Goat Cheese Crostini is the Perfect Fall Appetizer
    Apple Cider Syrup for the BEST Fall Cocktails and Mocktails »

    I love when you share my recipes!

    • 52

    About Katy McAvoy

    Katy is the author, photographer, home cook, mixologist, and Michigander behind MittenGirl.com. Since 2017, she's been crafting easy-to-make cocktails and delicious meals, along with sharing her love of all things Michigan (a.k.a. The Mitten)!

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Autism Mama

      October 16, 2021 at 7:55 pm

      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!

      ★★★★★

      Reply
      • Katy McAvoy

        October 17, 2021 at 8:20 am

        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! 🙂

        Reply

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    Katy McAvoy

    Hi! I’m Katy. I’m an author, photographer, home cook, mixologist, Michigander, and lover of all things food and drink. I never turn down a good happy hour and believe that a couple hours of meal prep pays off for daaaaays. Follow me on Instagram to check out what I’m working on next!

    More about me →

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