I don’t like Halloween. There, I said it. I was ambivalent toward it as a kid and I straight-up don’t like it now.

There is a very slight chance I will be in a costume this weekend, but this will depend entirely on the state of the World Series (go Sox!), how social I am feeling, and my willingness to trade my pajamas for a costume. But I’m a childless, baseball-loving introvert who doesn’t drink and loves pajamas, so you do the math.One Halloween-ish thing that I do love? Candy corn. For proof, see here and here. Contoversial opinion, I know, but give me allllllll the overly-sweet, chewy, “made with real honey” candy corn there is! Also, mallow pumpkins. Please.I know not everyone feels the way I do, but I think we can all get behind easy, festive, made-from-scratch treats. Exhibit A: Candy Corn Shortbread! How cute are these cookies, y’all?!This recipe is made from very straightforward six-ingredient dough—literally just a vanilla shortbread with a little honey to reflect its “made with real honey” candy corn inspiration. After mixing (which takes all of five minutes) it’s divided into three sections, like so.The smallest is set aside, while the medium piece is dyed yellow and the largest is dyed orange. I like to use gel food coloring here, but did have success testing with liquid.After the dough colors are to your liking, it’s time to assemble it all so that it can be sliced later. This process is really very simple: just shape the yellow portion into a rectangle…stack the orange on there…and top it with the white dough. Use your hands to press it into a triangle shape before chilling for a few hours.Then it’s just slicing and baking.Oh, and fawning over how adorable these cookies are. That’s a big part of this process. Don’t forget to text pictures of them to everyone you know 🙂I love how these cookies are imperfect, but are absolutely still recognizable. I’m sure you have better motor skills than I do–maybe you could mold yours to look taller and narrower like the real deal. I like to think mine look authentic because they look a little busted, just like the candy corn I bought last week. Let’s not discuss how long it took to dig through the bag and find all these whole pieces. Anyway…Candy Corn Shortbread are as delicious as they are festive! When they are fresh, they have crisp edges and slightly chewy centers. They’ll soften a bit over time, but they’ll remain sweet, buttery, and totally delectable.I think these could turn even the most Halloween-averse among us. Who knows–maybe I’ll wear a costume after all.

Candy Corn Shortbread
makes about 5 dozen

1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons mild honey
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
3 3/4 cups + 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon Kosher or sea salt
red, yellow, and/or orange food coloring (preferably gel)*

In a medium mixing bowl, use an electric mixer to beat butter and sugar until fluffy. Mix in honey and vanilla, followed by flour and salt.

Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface and pat into a circle. Slice in half. Set one half aside. Slice remaining half into one 2/3 portion and one 1/3 portion (see post for a photo).

Set the smallest piece aside; this is for the white tip of the candy corn. Knead yellow food coloring into the medium-sized piece of dough (I used about 1/8 teaspoon yellow gel). Knead orange gel into the largest piece (I used about 1/4 teaspoon orange gel).

Assemble the dough. Line a small baking sheet or cutting board with parchment. Shape yellow dough into a 10x3x1/2-inch rectangle. Place onto the parchment.

Top it with the orange dough I find this easiest to do by dividing the orange dough in half and arranging the two pieces in a straight line over the top of the yellow layer. Use your hands to start shaping the dough so it’s wider at the bottom and narrower at the top, with a flat top instead of a peak.

Top with the white dough. I find this easiest to do by slicing the white dough into four long, thin pieces. Arrange them end-to-end in a straight line on top of the orange layer and then use your hands to mold them together into one long piece. Use your hands to shape the dough so that it’s wide at the bottom and narrow at the peak. The log of dough may lengthen as much as two inches during this process. Cover very loosely with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 4 hours or up to three days.

Preheat oven to 300F. Line two rimmed baking sheets with parchment. Set aside.

Remove chilled dough from the refrigerator. Slice into 1/4-inch slices, placing them at least 2-inches apart on prepared pans. If dough gets too warm, freeze full pans for 5 minutes before baking. Chill dough between batches.

Bake cookies for 8 minutes. Rotate pans top-to-bottom and front-to-back. Bake an additional 7-8 minutes, until no longer wet looking. Shortbread should not turn golden. Let cool on the pans for 7 minutes before removing to a rack to cool completely. Repeat slicing and baking processes with remaining dough. Let pans return to room temperature between batches.

Candy Corn Shortbread will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for at least a week. They will soften slightly over time.

Note:

I used Americolor Soft Gel Paste Food Color in Egg Yellow and Orange.