These candy corn cookies are amazing. Seriously.
And not just because they’re shaped and colored like candy corn, though that is pretty awesome. But I also developed a new recipe that includes honey.
That’s right: honey.
And why not? Candy corn is made with honey. So even though I’d made cookies that looked like these in the past with sugar cookie dough, I wanted to try something a little different this year.
And the honey really pushed them over the edge. They were soft and sweet and smelled as delicious as they tasted.
So, first things first. You gotta make the dough.
Once you have the dough, split it into three balls and add yellow food coloring to one and orange to another while leaving one plain.
Then you stack the dough in layers in a bread pan and refrigerate it for a couple of hours. You can stack them in which ever order you choose, too. I went with white-yellow-orange, but most candy corn is actually colored white-orange-yellow. Not that it really matters, though. Everyone who saw these instantly recognized them for what they were.
When the dough is chilled, you’ll turn it out of the bread pan and cut it into thick slices, just like a loaf of bread. Then each slice will be cut into six or seven triangles by alternating the direction of your knife.
And don’t worry about it looking perfect. I gave my 3yo and 5yo butter knives and let them have at it, too.
When my 3yo pretty much shredded the dough, I just gently squeezed a few of those pieces together to form something that resembled a triangle.
(Incidentally, if you’re wondering why she’s wearing band-aids in the photo, well, those are for decoration. That’s just how we roll.)
Put the cookies on cookie sheets with a little space between them. They don’t spread much.
And you should use parchment paper lined sheets, unless you have something like these pans in the photos, which keep things from sticking.
And there you have it: beautiful, smooth, sweet cookies that are perfect for Fall!
Candy Corn Shaped Honey Cookies
Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 large egg
1/2 cup honey
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Whisk together the flour, baking powder, and baking soda. In a large bowl, beat butter, sugar, and egg with a mixer until creamy. Add the honey and vanilla and mix until well blended. Gradually add the flour mixture.
Move dough onto counter and cut into three pieces. Leave one piece plain and, using food coloring, dye the second piece yellow and the third piece orange. Knead the color into the dough, using extra flour to coat your hands so the dough doesn’t stick.
Line a 9 x 5 inch bread pan with plastic wrap. Press the dough into the pan one color at a time, spreading each layer across the entire pan. Refrigerate for at least two hours.
Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Remove the dough from the bread pan and cut it into ¼-inch to ½-inch thick slices. Cut each slice into six triangles. Place cookies on cookie sheets lined with parchment paper and bake for 8 to 10 minutes. Let sit on baking sheet for two minutes, then remove to wire racks to cool completely.
Store covered. Makes about 6 dozen, depending on the thickness of the cookies.
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Click here for the free printable PDF version of the recipe:
Happy Baking!
Roaming Rosie 