Candy Corn Sugar Cookies

Happy Halloween, everyone!

Ok, so, last year for this haunted holiday, Katie and I decided to go scary, gross, and delicious with these oh-so-icky yet oh-so-yummy Oreo Cookie Eyeball Truffles. Fun, yes. Horrific? Definitely. I think our inclination to go bloody had something to do with the whole vampire-zombie-werewolf trend...

This year, we decided to bake up a treat from the other end of the Halloween spectrum. These little bitty cookies are the baking equivalent of a baby dressed up as a lady bug, or a doggie in a pumpkin suit, or anyone decked out as Winnie the Pooh. In short, they're super cute!

They're also just as addicting as the candy they're modeled after, so I'm warning you now: practice self-control. You will thank me later. Your waistline will, too. And your dentist.

They ARE rather tiny cookies, though. So, you know, don't torture yourself. You can have more than one. Five would be ok. Or six, or seven, or ten.

Actually, it's probably best to just make a double batch.

Vampires, this isn't for you! It's orange gel food coloring!

This recipe comes from the ladies at Our Best Bites. The step-by-step photos they've posted are excellent, so rather than re-creating them, Kate and I decided that you all could exercise your fingers and click your way on over!

So if you're feeling this Halloween like you'd rather hear some "Oohh, how cute!" than some "Oohhh, how gross!", bake up some adorableness candy-corn style.

Happy treating!

-Becky

Candy Corn Sugar Cookies
Adapted from Our Best Bites

Ingredients:
1 batch sugar cookie dough (like this one*)
Yellow and orange food coloring
*For these cookies though, I replace the lemon extract with almond extract

Optional:
Sanding sugar, coarse raw sugar, or sprinkles
Almond bark or white chocolate, melted

Instructions:

1. Divide prepared sugar cookie dough into three equal portions. Set aside one portion as the white part of the candy corn. Color one portion with yellow food coloring, the other with orange. Gel food coloring gives you the brightest color, but liquid food coloring will work as well. Be sure to add food coloring in small bits until you are satisfied with the color. Also, unless you want to wash your beaters, do the yellow first!
2. Line a standard loaf pan with plastic wrap. Gently press the uncolored dough into the bottom of pan and smooth flat, keeping it at least 1/2-3/4 inches high (you don’t have to use the whole pan if you have a small batch of dough). The taller the layer of dough, the larger your cookies will be. Layer orange dough on top of previous layer and gently smooth flat. Finally, layer yellow dough and gently smooth top. Wrap plastic over dough and chill until firm, 30-60 minutes in freezer or 1-2 hours in fridge. Or, store the dough in the fridge for 2-3 days before baking.
3. When ready to bake, remove plastic wrap, lift dough out of the loaf pan onto a cutting board, and slice loaf into 1/4-inch slices. So the dough remains chilled, it is best to work with just a few slices at a time, placing the remaining dough back into the loaf pan and the fridge.
4. Trim the top of each slice to make a straight line. Then, cut each slice into triangle shapes and dip top side in sugar if desired. Bake according to sugar cookie directions, noting that these small cookies may bake more quickly than the recipe indicates. Cool 1-2 minutes on pan, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. 
5. If desired, dip ends in almond bark or white chocolate and decorate with sprinkles. Store cookies in an airtight container up to 5 days.