These soft-baked candy corn sugar cookies are irresistibly chewy, and colored to look like the classic Halloween candy! They’re an easy fall treat made with my favorite quick sugar cookie dough (no chilling required!).

I always have so much fun making these sweet candy corn cookies in the spooky season. If you’re looking for more fall dessert inspiration, try these frosted Halloween sugar cookies and pumpkin cupcakes, too!

Overhead view of stacked candy corn sugar cookies.

Quick Candy Corn Sugar Cookies

I love finding new ways to use my favorite sugar cookie dough, whether that’s monster cookies with M&Ms and candy eyeballs or soft-baked pumpkin sugar cookies. This time, I made these delicious candy corn sugar cookies! I colored the cookie dough white, orange, and yellow, like candy corn. Then, I used a simple technique to make the tye dye effect that you see on the cookies. It’s loads of fun and it makes each candy corn cookie totally unique!

Why I Love These Candy Corn Cookies

Soft and chewy. These candy corn sugar cookies are tender in the middle with just a slight crunch on the buttery edges. My sugar cookie dough is sweet, but not too sweet, and the cookies stay soft for days.
Quick cookie dough. My sugar cookie dough doesn’t require chilling, so you can shape these cookies and bake them right away.
Fun and easy to make. Once the dough is prepared, all you need to do is divide it into thirds, color the dough, and then portion it out and roll it together. It’s such a fun activity to do with kids! I’ll show you exactly how to do it in the step-by-step instructions below.
Perfect for fall. Candy corn sugar cookies are the perfect dessert to make all season, not just for Halloween. They’re crowd-pleasing and they look great on a cookie platter. I love making them for parties, and I’ll even make them as a Thanksgiving dessert!

A stack of 4 candy corn sugar cookies, with the top cookie broken in half.

Ingredient Notes

My homemade sugar cookie dough uses just a few easy pantry ingredients, then it’s just a matter of food coloring. Check out my quick notes on the important ingredients here and you’ll find a printable list with the full recipe details in the recipe card after the post.

Butter – You’ll notice I start with cold butter and soften in the microwave for a few seconds.
Granulated Sugar – You could also make the dough with light brown sugar, like these brown sugar cookies.
Vanilla – Make sure to use pure vanilla extract and not imitation. These sugar cookies also taste great with almond extract.
Cream of Tartar – Cream of tartar gives cookies like snickerdoodles their signature chewiness and tang. It also does the same for these sugar cookies!
Gel Food Colors – My favorites are Americolor or Wilton gel colors for bright, vibrant colors. Gel coloring is best for these cookies as they’re highly concentrated, and won’t water down the dough like liquid-based food coloring (like the kind you find in grocery stores).

A white plate of candy corn sugar cookies resting on a yellow napkin.

How to Make Candy Corn Sugar Cookies

These candy corn sugar cookies come together without any chilling time. Of course, if you’re making the dough ahead of time, you can always wrap it tightly and keep it in the fridge or freezer until you’re ready to use it (see the storage section later in the post).

Otherwise, here’s how to have these sugar cookies ready for the oven in just a few easy steps. Scroll to the recipe card for printable instructions.

Prepare the cookie dough. First, you’ll prepare a batch of my classic sugar cookie dough (directions included in the recipe card). It’s as easy as combining the wet and dry ingredients separately, and then mixing them to form the dough.
Color the dough. Now, divide the cookie dough into 3 equal-sized balls. Color one dough ball yellow and the other orange, and leave the third ball uncolored. Gently knead the dough in your hands until the color starts to incorporate.
Portion the dough. Use a small cookie scoop to portion balls of dough, one color at a time, and place them onto a sheet of parchment paper.

Three large portions of sugar cookie dough colored white, yellow, and orange. — Divide and color the cookie dough.

Scoops of white, orange, and yellow sugar cookie dough arranged in groups of three on a white surface. — Divide and color the cookie dough.

Shape the cookies. Combine one scoop each of yellow, orange, and white. Now, use your hands to tear the dough and press it back together, creating a tye-dye effect. Roll the dough into a smooth ball. I like to roll each cookie in granulated sugar before baking for a crunchy finish.
Bake. Arrange the cookies on a lined cookie sheet and bake at 350°F for 12-15 minutes. Take the cookies out when they’re just set in the center and let them rest on the baking sheet for 5 minutes. Afterward, move them to a wire rack to cool.

Rows of candy corn sugar cookie dough balls lined up on parchment paper. — Press the colors together and roll the dough into balls.

A ball of colored cookie dough in a bowl of sugar, partially coated, with more sugar cookie dough balls in the background. — Press the colors together and roll the dough into balls.

Tips for Dying Cookie Dough

Use gel colors. Gel colors like Americolor or Wilton are highly concentrated, so you only need a few drops of each color to achieve a bright and vibrant color. You can buy these online or in a craft or cake store.
Wear food-safe gloves. It never fails, I always end up with color on my hands unless I wear gloves. It’s also less messy when you are rolling the colored dough together.
Dye the lightest color first. By dying the yellow first, you don’t have to worry about wiping down the mixing bowl before coloring the yellow
Start with just a couple of drops. It’s easy to make the colors darken but if you go too dark, there’s no way to reverse the effect.

A close up of a candy corn sugar cookie propped upright on a countertop.

How to Store and Freeze Sugar Cookies

To store. Candy corn sugar cookies can be stored airtight at room temperature for 3 to 5 days. Let the cookies cool completely before you store them.
Freeze the cookies. To freeze the baked sugar cookies, transfer them to an airtight container and freeze them for up to 3 months. Let the cookies thaw at room temperature before eating.
Freeze the cookie dough. To freeze the sugar cookie dough for later, roll the cookie dough into balls as directed, right up until you would roll them in sugar. Instead, transfer the dough balls to an airtight container to freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw the dough to room temperature, roll in granulated sugar, and bake!

More Halloween Desserts