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I’ve said it before but most of my recipe inspiration comes when I am alone at the grocery store. You know those people that say, or maybe it’s one of those cliché jokes, I like long, romantic walks on the beach. Well, I love long romantic walks alone in the grocery store 🙂 haha But for real, I do.Â
I was at the grocery store the other night, well Target so not really the grocery store, and I saw some mini candy corns and they were just the cutest things ever and I knew I had to have them in my cart. Then I got to thinking about sugar cookie bars and that’s how these super cute & festive candy corn sugar cookie bars were born and the rest is history.
And oh boy, are they good!Â
I’ve never really been a fan of Halloween but I have learned to love it since having kids. I am a fan of the fun Halloween food! I love coming up with twists to our classic favorites, like these sheet pan sugar cookie bars, and adapting them to different Holidays.
And who could resist these cute sugar cookie bars that look like candy corn!Â
Mix up a simple sugar cookie dough and then divide it in half. Use food coloring to color each half. Yellow for one and orange for the other. I always just eyeball the dough. Try and get as close to half as possible so that the layers are somewhat even.
My yellow layer ended up being thicker but no one really cares. So even if you don’t get it quite halved they will still be delish.Â
For the orange dough you will need yellow + red food coloring. I ended up doing about 4 drops of red food coloring and close to 8-10 drops of yellow food coloring to get orange.Â
Here’s a tip for spreading the two different doughs. Instead of just dropping the entire ball of dough onto the cookie sheet and then trying to spread it, just drop flattened chunks of dough all over the cookie sheet and then piece them together.
Doing it this way is a lot easier and will yield more even layers.Â
Don’t worry too much about how smooth the top layer is. Remember, you will slather on the yummy cream cheese buttercream frosting on top of it so it won’t matter.Â
Tips for making candy corn sugar cookie bars
Make sure you follow the recipe directions and cream the butter and sugar for at least 2 minutes. You want it nice and fluffy, which will yield a softer and fluffier sugar cookie bar.
Instead of just dumping the sugar cookie dough onto the cookie sheet, drop large spoonful’s of it (I use a small cookie scoop) all over the cookie sheet. Then use your hands and fingers to piece them together to form the layer. This is especially necessary and important for the orange layer which will go on top of the yellow layer.Â
To get the orange color you will use yellow food coloring + red food coloring. I ended up using about 3-4 drop of red and 8-10 drops of the yellow to get the orange color. You want the colors pretty bright because they will fade slightly while baking.Â
Decorate these with whatever you want! I love using candy corn and Halloween sprinkles.Â
I really do hope you make these! They are so thick and sweet and the perfect way to celebrate Halloween!
Try these other Halloween recipes
Candy Corn Sugar Cookie Bars
Ingredients
Sugar Cookie Bars
- 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 4 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 5 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- red & yellow food coloring
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
- 4 oz cream cheese, softened
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- 2-4 tablespoons heavy cream OR half & half
- candy corn & Halloween sprinkles
Instructions
- Heat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a cookie sheet (12"x17" or 13"x18") by spraying with cooking spray.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, or using a hand held mixer, cream butter and sugar until light & fluffy. This will take 2-3 minutes.
- Add eggs, one at a time, mixing after each egg. Add vanilla and mix well.
- In a separate bowl combine flour, salt, baking soda and stir with a whisk to combine. Add to the wet mixture and mix just until combined.
- Divide the dough in half and place each half in a bowl. In one bowl, use the yellow food coloring to color the dough yellow. The easiest way is to use a hand held mixer to combine it. Color the other half of the dough orange; 3-4 drops red dye + about 8 drops yellow dye to make orange.
- Drop spoonfuls of the yellow dough all over the cookie sheet and then piece them together. Drop spoonfuls of the orange dough all over the yellow dough and piece together to form the 2nd layer.
- Bake for 13-16 min, until edges are light golden brown and the center looks puffy and slightly undercooked.
- Cool completely before frosting.
Make the Cream Cheese Frosting
- In a stand mixer, or a bowl with a handheld blender, beat the butter and cream cheese until smooth and creamy. Add vanilla and almond extracts. Blend.
- Add powdered sugar in 1-2 cup increments until combined, then add milk a little at a time and mix until smooth and spreading consistency. Spread over cooled cookie bars. Decorate with candy corn and Halloween sprinkles.
- These can be served at room temperature or eaten cold from the fridge. As they sit at room temperature they will soften up slightly.
Notes
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