White Chocolate Candy Corn Cookies — These Halloween cookies are PACKED with candy corn and white chocolate chips. They’re easy to make and are always a hit with the kids!
Creating These Candy Corn Cookies
Candy corn. Oh, the memories of a few pieces clanking against the bottom of my trick-or-treating bucket. On Halloween, houses that ran out of fun-sized Snickers, or so-called ‘good’ candy, used to toss out candy corn.
After seeing it recently appear in stores for the season I promptly tossed it into my cart not knowing for sure what I was going to make with it. I baked it into the most soft, tender, buttery cookie dough base in my cookie arsenal. And then I added white chocolate chips.
I used a dough base I haven’t used in about a year. It’s one I used for both my Maraschino Cherry White Chocolate Cookies and my Cranberry and White Chocolate Cookies, which are cookies inspired by my Cranberry Bliss Bars. I like this dough base for recipes where I want a softer, lighter, more delicate and tender dough, and when white chocolate is involved.
This dough is slightly sweeter and creamier than my trusty chocolate chip cookie dough base. Candy corn would have been fine in that base too, but it really shines in this dough. The dough is reminiscent of Lofthouse cookie dough, minus the cake flour. It calls for 2 tablespoons of cream or half-and-half which isn’t much, but the milk really tenderizes the dough and it just melt in your mouth.
When I had previously used this base, I hadn’t yet hopped on the cornstarch bandwagon. So this time around I added two teaspoons, like I do with most of my cornstarch cookies. It helps create a softbatch-style cookie that’s so soft and supple, without turning cakey.
I had no idea my 6-year-old loved candy corn as much as she did until she went nuts over it these cookies. Growing up with more sugar in our house than in many bakeries, she’s usually pretty immune to what I make. Like me, it takes quite a bit to get her excited anymore.
After one of these she said, “Mom, I’m going to be thinking about these cookies all day tomorrow at school.”
I said, “Well sweetie if you want another one now, go for it.”
If I had a 6-year-old metabolism, I’d have seconds when fresh cookies were involved.
But she said, “No, I’d rather not so I can dream about them all day tomorrow.”
What’s in These Candy Corn Cookies?
To make this candy corn recipe, you’ll need:
- Unsalted butter
- Light brown sugar
- Granulated sugar
- Egg
- Vanilla extract
- Cream or half-and-half
- All-purpose flour
- Cornstarch
- Baking soda
- Salt
- Candy corn
- White chocolate chips
How to Make Candy Corn Cookies
To make these Halloween cookies, you’ll first need to cream together the butter, sugars, egg, and vanilla. Add the dry ingredients to the mixture and stir until just combined, then gently fold in the candy corn and white chocolate chips.
Then, scoop out the dough. I made 20 mounds of dough, each about 2 heaping tablespoons of dough. Because the candy corn and white chocolate chips are bulky, the raw dough mounds look quite large before being baked, but in the oven and as the dough cooks down around the candy corn and chips, the cookies flatten and turn out to be of average size.
Once you’ve formed the cookie dough balls, they need to chill in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours. Once the dough has been chilled, you’re ready to bake the cookies.
I bake these candy corn cookies for just over 9 minutes. They’ll look very pale, glossy, and underdone, but they set up dramatically as they cool. Because this dough base is so buttery, baking longer than about 10 minutes could result in the undersides become overly browned.
Can I Freeze Candy Corn Cookie Dough?
Yes, absolutely! I would freeze the dough itself once rolled into mounds, and from there it will keep for probably 3 to 4 months in the freezer. You can bake the cookie dough balls from frozen (no need to thaw).
Can I Add Other Mix-Ins?
Yes, but I wouldn’t add more than 2ish cups of mix-ins total. Otherwise your cookie dough will be impossible to shape into balls.
Can I Make These Cookies Gluten-Free?
I haven’t tried that myself, so I can’t say for sure. Try making these with a gluten-free flour blend intended for baking and see how they turn out!
Can I Make These as Cookie Bars?
I haven’t tried this exact recipe as candy corn cookie bars, but I do have a recipe for Candy Corn White Chocolate M&M’s Blondies you might like.
Can I Omit the Cornstarch?
Technically, yes. However, I can’t guarantee that your Halloween cookies will turn out exactly like mine did if you omit the cornstarch. If you make these candy corn cookies without the cornstarch, please leave me a comment down below letting me know how they turn out!
Can I Scale Back the Amount of Mix-Ins?
Yes, feel free to add less chocolate chips and candy corn, if desired. I like these cookies as is, but I know everyone has different tastes, so tweak this recipe as desired.
Tips for Making Candy Corn Cookies
This is very, very important. Do NOT allow the candy corn pieces to lay directly on your baking tray and shield the candy with a pinch of dough. Candy corn is prone to burning, melting, and turning into a hot, crispy, lacey mess if baked directly on a hot tray. The candy corn that’s in the interior of the cookies should not melt or run, provided your dough was chilled before baking. After baking, it takes on a slightly chewier texture that’s scrumptious.
To make sure none of the candy corn is touching the baking tray, I simply check the bottom of the chilled cookie dough balls and push any stray candy corn pieces into the center of the dough as needed. Exposed candy corn on top of the cookie dough balls should be fine, but you don’t want any coming in contact with the hot baking tray.
Also note that you can use salted peanuts in place of the white chocolate chips. Peanuts balance out the sweet candy corn perfectly and make these Halloween cookies salty-sweet.
Pin This Recipe
Enjoy AverieCooks.com Without Ads! 🆕
Go Ad Free
White Chocolate Candy Corn Cookies
Ingredients
- ½ cup unsalted butter, soften
- ¾ cup light brown sugar, packed
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons cream or half-and-half
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons corn starch
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- pinch salt, optional and to taste
- 1 ½ cups candy corn, 10 to 11 ounces
- 1 cup white chocolate chips, or salted peanuts
Instructions
- To the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or large bowl and electric hand mixer), cream together the first 5 ingredients (through vanilla) on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.
- Stop, scrape down the sides of the bowl, and add the next 5 ingredients (through optional salt), and mix on low speed until just incorporated, about 1 minute; don’t overmix.
- Add the candy corn, white chocolate chips (or peanuts), and mix until just incorporated.
- Using a medium 2-inch cookie scoop, form heaping two-tablespoon mounds (I made 20). Place mounds on a large plate, flatten mounds slightly, cover with plasticwrap, and refrigerate for at least 3 hours, or up to 5 days, before baking. Do not bake with warm dough because cookies will spread and bake thinner and flatter.
- Important note – Strategically place candy corn so that it’s not baking directly on cookie sheet because it will melt, burn, or turn runny if it is. The candy corn pieces need to be in the interior of the cookies, shielded and buffered by dough.
- Preheat oven to 350F, line a baking sheet with a Silpat or spray with cooking spray. Place mounds on baking sheet, spaced at least 2 inches apart (I bake 8 cookies per sheet) and bake for about 9 minutes, or until edges have set and tops are just beginning to set, even if slightly undercooked, pale and glossy in the center. Do not overbake because cookies will firm up as they cool. Baking longer than 10 minutes could result in cookies with overly browned undersides.
- Allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for about 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to finish cooking.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
©averiecooks.com. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited.
More Halloween Desserts:
Lofthouse Soft Sugar Sprinkle Cookies — The texture of these cookies is similar to Lofthouse-Style sugar cookies. They’re buttery soft and light, without being airy or cakey.
Candy Corn and White Chocolate Blondies — The blondies are super soft, slightly chewy, and buttery. The candy corn stays chewy after it’s baked and the contrast of the dense, moist, tender bars against the chewy candy corn is great.
Soft and Chewy Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies — Between the molasses, pumpkin pie spice, and pumpkin pie spice extract, the cookies beautifully showcase the flavors of fall.
Chocolate Peanut Butter Candy Bars — The bars are no-bake, easy, loaded with bold peanut butter flavor, and plenty of chocolate. There’s both a layer of melted chocolate and assorted candy bar pieces adorn the top.
Chocolate Chip M&M’s Halloween Cookies — Super soft, perfectly chewy, BROWNED BUTTER cookies that are LOADED with M&M’s and chocolate chips!
Loaded Halloween Cream Cheese Brownies – Ultra fudgy, rich brownies topped with a layer of orange cream cheese, sandwich cookies, and chocolate chips!
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Brownies – Rich, fudgy brownies topped with pumpkin and chocolate chips!
Originally posted October 6, 2013 and reposted October 30, 2020 with updated text.
I’m rating a 4 because I’m not sure where I went wrong but a lot of the candy corn melted, I think maybe I’ll use less candy corn next time because it was difficult to keep them tucked away. But the taste is AMAZING!!!!
Yes candy corn does melt easily because it’s pure sugar but sounds like you were able to make things work well overall. Glad the taste is amazing!
If I made these again would definitely make them smaller than what the recipe stated. At this 9 mins. was not enough. Kept them in for 12=still on the raw side.
looks yummy! would love to ty- any alterations at a high altitude?
Since I don’t bake at high altitude I really can’t offer any specific advice. I’d say start by trying what you normally when baking cookies if there are tricks that you know work well.
The POWER of this cookie dough is truly amazing. A few years back, I tried this recipe and failed miserably. This time around, and the few before this one, I’ve utterly fallen in love with this dough. It is everything I want in a cookie – somewhat flat, soft and chewy, moist when out of the oven and simply impeccable! The half and half milk changes EVERYTHING and I don’t think I’ll ever be over it!
Thanks for the 5 star review and I’m glad to hear you’ve fallen in love with this dough now!
Do you have to use corn starch?
You don’t absolutely have to but I recommend it for optimal results.
If you used the different colored candy corn and put a little orange food coloring in the mix – it would look like vomit. My warped friends would love that…
As always, Averie has given us another excellent recipe. I divided the batter and did 1/2 with white chips and 1/2 with semi-sweet. They are awesome, a definite keeper
Thanks for trying the recipe and I’m glad it came out great for you!
If I wanted to make these into pumpkin cookies (instead of just a regular flavor cookie), what would be the best way to go about it? Adding pumpkin spice and/or canned pumpkin puree?
I would use this recipe https://www.averiecooks.com/2015/09/soft-and-chewy-pumpkin-chocolate-chip-cookies.html and then add candy corn if you’d like.
Hi, Averie! I LOVE these cookies! Quick question: do you have any idea how the dough, or even the baked cookies themselves, freeze? Scared if I make them, I’ll eat all of them! ;) Thanks!
I would freeze the dough itself once rolled into mounds and from there it will keep for probably 3-4 mos in the freezer.
Found this recipe three years and make them every Fall. They are always a huge hit. I think it’s the delicious dough! I’m not even a candy corn fan!
Thanks for trying the recipe and glad it’s a falltime favorite!
I love making these cookies in October, they’re definitely a favorite among my friends, but I’ve learned the best way to handle them is with parchment paper (or a silpat, probably) because even when you’re cautious, candy corn can seep out and be a nightmare on your baking sheets.
I love that these are an annual tradition for you, and yes absolutely must use a Silpat or parchment because as you said, even when you’re careful, there’s nothing like molten sugar to wreak havoc on your baking sheets!
I know this recipe is old but some suggestions to improve at.
1. Entirely too many mix ins. Its almost impossible to fully encase all of that candy corn in dough. Cut those volumes in half and CHOP your candy corn.
2. Cream the butter and sugar then add the egg and and vanilla otherwise the butter will stay lumpy and separated.
3. 10 mins means these cookies are basically still dough and dont have much integrity. The only reason for the short back time is the candy corn will liquefy and make a total mess. But if you reduce the amount of candy corn and chop it so it can be mixed properly this is less of an issue and you can bump up the bake to time to 12-14 minutes.
Otherwise the dough recipe is delicious and absolutely amazing for soft chewy cookies. I do 100% recommend following that chilling protocol and to put the dough in oven as cold as possible or else these cookies will migrate into one giant candy corn monster
1. I think you can reduce the amount if desired but if your goal is to use up all that candy corn you may have laying around this time of year, you can still get it all in if you’re determined.
2. I do not have that problem and I wrote this recipe when I had a toddler and every shortcut I could take, I did. And I have tested it both ways and honestly, not an appreciable difference. However, do it with whatever method you prefer.
3. 10 minutes is perfect in my oven for the size of dough I am dealing with in normal cookie sizing – but honestly well protected, even at 12 mins the candy corn is still fine if you tuck it inside dough. But if you are trying to bake a very large cookie, then 10 mins will not be enough to cook them, and so this isn’t the recipe to try to make oversized cookies with.
I do also have a blondie recipe https://www.averiecooks.com/candy-corn-and-white-chocolate-blondies/ that bakes for 22 mins or so, so it’s possible to bake longer and the cc doesn’t liquify if done properly.
Thanks for all your comments and suggestions and I hope you loved the cookies!
I just made these today for National Candy Corn day!! They are so amazing, I’m so excited to share them with my friends! Thanks so much Averie, I absolutely love all of your recipes! :)
Thanks for trying the recipe and I’m glad it came out great for you!
I’m going to try these cookies tonight! I was wondering if I didn’t have an electronic mixer am I completely in trouble? Thanks!!!
It’s very hard to cream butter and sugar together by hand to get the same fluffy texture you do with a mixer. Go to Target or the local drugstore and just buy a cheapie to get you by!
Just made these tonight to take to a bake sale at work this week. OMG, they are so good (of COURSE I had to sneak one to test it out!). I bet they’ll be some of the first treats to sell! If you follow the instructions, they bake up perfectly! :)
Thanks for trying the recipe and I’m glad it came out great for you! I hope they sell super fast for you :) If I were there, I’d buy the whole lot!
Is there anyway to convert this recipe to gluten-free? I made them last year and loved them but have recently found out I am gluten-intolerant. :)
You could try with a GF flour blend that’s designed for baking and see how it works!
Next time I would add candy corn last and place on cookies by hand. It was hard keeping them from ending up on bottom.