Candy Corn Cookies

Move over, traditional candy corn - there's a new fall favorite in town! These adorable gluten-free candy corn cookies capture all the nostalgic charm of the classic Halloween candy, but with a buttery, melt-in-your-mouth shortbread twist that will have everyone reaching for seconds.

We've never been the biggest fan of actual candy corn, but something about those iconic orange, yellow, and white stripes just screams "fall is here!" That's exactly what inspired us to create these charming little cookies. They're festive enough for any Halloween party or autumn gathering, but delicious enough that you'll want to make them all season long.

The best part? While these cookies look impressively intricate, they're actually quite simple to make. With just a handful of ingredients and some basic food coloring, you can create these eye-catching treats that are guaranteed to be the star of any festivity. And since they're made with gluten-free flour, everyone at your gathering can enjoy them!

So grab your mixing bowl and let's get baking - we'll walk you through every step of creating these irresistible candy corn cookies that taste even better than they look...

A full demonstration of the Candy Corn Cookies recipe is on Celiac Kitchen’s YouTube channel.

Candy Corn Shortbread Cookies Recipe

Ingredients for a small batch; recipe can be doubled:

• ½ cup (113 g) unsalted butter, room temperature

• 1¼ cup (150 g) Gluten Free 1:1 flour (we used King Arthur Measure for Measure Flour)

• ½ cup (60g) powdered sugar

• ⅛ tsp salt

• ½ tsp vanilla

• ¼ tsp almond extract (or use your favorite extract)

• 1 teaspoon yellow gel food coloring

• ¾ teaspoon orange gel food coloring

Directions:

1. Mix dough:

   · In a stand mixer, butter, flour, powdered sugar and salt. Mix on medium-low speed until dough comes together (3 – 5 minutes).

   · Add vanilla and almond extracts. Mix until incorporated

2. Divide dough into thirds

   · Form into loose balls

   · Create a well in the dough

   · Add yellow food coloring to one third of the dough

   · Mix until color is consistently blended, then form dough into a loose ball

   · Repeat process with orange food coloring

   · Wrap the three dough balls and refrigerate for 20-30 minutes so they’ll be easier to roll out

3. Shape and chill:

   · Roll each dough ball into approximately 3” x 4” rectangle, about ½”  thick

   · Stack rectangles to form layers; white, orange, yellow

   · Slice into strips slightly more that ¼” thick, lay strip on its side and cut into triangles

   · Smooth out cracks

   · Refrigerate at least 2 hours until firm, or up to several days

4. Bake:

   · Bake at 350°F 10-11 minutes until bottoms just start to brown

   · Let cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Pictured Above: Step 1

Pictured Below: Step 2

Pictured Below: Step 4