Candy corn makes cookies seem positively bewitching

Brach’s recipe for witchy fingers cookies. Brach’s

Candy corn is one of those treats that divide people into camps. Some people love it; others shun it.

I fondly recall candy corn as a Halloween treat when baby boomers were kids, so it surprised me to learn that it dates back to the 1880s. When the Goelitz Confectionery Company began mass production at the turn of the 20th century, the candy was called “Chicken Feed.” How cute is that?

Today, 25 million pounds of candy corn are sold annually, according to the National Confectioners Association. Brach’s makes 80 percent of all candy corn and has new flavors this fall that include Peanut Butter Cup, S’mores, Caramel Macchiato and Pumpkin Spice.

Here’s a whimsical Halloween cookie recipe from Brach’s that makes creative use of candy corn.

Witchy Fingers cookies

Makes about 16 cookies

• 1 (16-ounce) roll of refrigerated sugar cookie dough, softened
• Brach’s Indian Corn (1 per cookie)
• Small tube of red icing
• Plastic Spider Rings (optional) to decorate cookies

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Divide roll of cookie dough into 16 slices, and roll each slice into long strips approximately ½ inch wide by 3 inches long. (The dough will expand during baking)

Place six of the strips on an ungreased cookie sheet and bake for 6 minutes. (Bake in batches, only 6 at a time. They will cool quickly.)

Remove cookies from oven and immediately dab each “finger tip” with red icing.

Place one Brach’s Indian Corn on top of red icing and press lightly. Wrap a spider ring around the other end, if desired.

While the freshly baked cookies are still soft, use a straight-edge or butter knife to gently press three horizontal lines in the center of each cookie, to make “knuckles.”

Let cool completely before serving.

Credit to:

Chris Ross