Candy Corn Cookies

These adorable cookies are pictured everywhere this time of year and I've always thought they were such a cute idea. Saw them on Pinterest again recently and the click took me to the Land O'Lakes page. I finally got around to making them last week and I must admit, holiday projects like this are great fun. I can see kids helping to make these and having a blast decorating.

You start with a basic cookie recipe...I used the one in the old Make It Now Bake It Later cookbook series from the 60's. Surprisingly, the Land O'Lakes recipe is exactly the same but for the added orange zest and juice, which, BTW, is a super idea and I used it. But one wonders which recipe came first? I vote for the Bake It Now recipe mainly because of its age and it has been my go-to Christmas cookie base since the kids were little. It makes a lovely cookie and the added orange via Land O'Lakes is a big plus. Worked out perfectly for these candy corn cookies......not only do they look cute, they taste delicious. 

Candy Corn Cookies

Ingredients:
1 cup butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 egg
2 tablespoons orange juice
2 teaspoons freshly grated orange zest
1/8 teaspoon salt
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
Orange and yellow gel food color
Various Halloween sprinkles

Method:
Line bottom and sides of 9x5-inch loaf pan with waxed paper.

Beat the butter and sugar until creamed. Add egg, juice, zest and salt. Beat well. Add flour and baking soda and beat until combined.
The dough is quite soft at this point. Divide into thirds. Put two of them in small bowls and add the orange gel paste to one and the yellow gel paste to the other. To save your hands, mix until well blended and add color until it's what you want.

Take the remaining white dough and, in your hands, press it to the approximate shape of the pan, then press it evenly onto bottom of prepared pan. Following the same directions, place the orange dough on top, followed by the yellow. You'll find it easier if you try to shape the dough in your hands as best you can before pressing it over the other colors. Cover with plastic food wrap; refrigerate at least 2 hours until firm.

Heat oven to 375°F. 
Invert pan to remove dough and place on cutting board. Slice loaf crosswise into 1/4-inch slices using sharp knife. Trim edges if you need to. Then cut each slice into 6 wedges. Place 1-inch apart on parchment paper lined cookie sheets. Bake 7-10 minutes or until edges are firm and bottoms are very lightly browned. Cool 1 minute; remove from cookie sheets. Cool completely. To add the sprinkles, I brushed the end of the cookies with a slightly beaten organic egg white and then dipped them into sprinkles. (I noticed the Land O'Lakes recipe dipped warm cookies into colored sugars.)