Sugar-free sugar cookies shaped like your favorite Halloween treat! These low carb candy corn cookies appeal to the kid in all of us.
I honestly think that candy corn is one of the more repulsive confections ever invented. I know many people love it but I shudder at the very thought. It is so unbelievably sweet and tastes of nothing more than sugar and corn syrup boiled together. Maybe it’s because I am Canadian and I didn’t grow up with them, but I just don’t see the attraction of the little candies shaped like corn kernels. Or pumpkins, because those are the same candy simply in a new disguise. I believe I had a small handful in my first year in grad school and thought “Yep, I’m good. I don’t ever need to eat that again!”.
But my kids, oh my kids: they think candy corn is awesome. I am not even sure when they first had it, because it certainly wouldn’t have been in my house. But somehow candies shaped like other foods really appeal to childish tastebuds. And they think I am such a party pooper, such a grinch, because every time the subject comes up, I say how disgusting candy corn is. It’s an uphill battle but it’s one I intend to keep fighting. Such is motherhood!
I’d seen cookies made to look like candy corn a few years ago and thought they were pretty cute; I certainly found them far more appealing than the candy corn itself. Swerve Sweetener had asked me to come up with a Halloween recipe, something that was a sugar-free take on Halloween candy, I was a bit stumped. And then I remembered the candy corn sugar cookies and realized just how fun and easy this would be to make low carb. I simply created a slice-and-bake sugar-free cookie dough, coloured one third of it orange and one third of it yellow, and layered it together.
It is testament to the fact that I do not know my candy corn very well that I got the colours mixed up. I put the orange at the bottom when it should have been the yellow. Oops! But my kids loved them and were simply thrilled with me for coming up with a healthy version of something they love. Score one for me!
This recipes makes about 60 or 70 small cookies. For those of you who are leery of food colouring, you have some good all-natural choices. I love this ColorKitchen vegetable based powder because it has really vibrant colours.
Please see my low carb Candy Corn Cookie Recipe on Swerve Sweetener.
Serves 20. Each serving has 3.34 g of cars and 1.73 g of fiber. Total NET CARBS = 1.61 g
Food energy: 118kcal
Polyunsaturated fatty acids: 0.17g
Total fat: 10.73g
Calories from fat: 96
Cholesterol: 12mg
Carbohydrate: 3.34g
Total dietary fiber: 1.73g
Protein: 3.08g
Sara says
I love to see reviews where people have come back after making the recipe. I am here to report that these little cookies are delicious! Perfect sweetness and has the texture of a real cookie. I had a little trouble getting them to look like candy corn, and they were a little thick. I should have read the directions more clearly to see where you said to flatten them after cutting. Next time I might add a little almond extract only because the sugar cookies my mom used to make had some and these remind me of those cookies. This dough would also be excellent as a jam thumbprint cookie for the holidays.
Carolyn says
I always appreciate the feedback too!
kita says
Im not a fan of candy corn either – but these cookies – I could totally get into these!
Kristen says
Aren’t these the cutest cookies and not bad for you either! Love it!
Dee says
Hi Carolyn, I love your site! I just have a question regarding the food coloring: did you use the India Tree that you linked? I read some reviews that the colors are not all that great. Thank you for your time!
Carolyn says
Yes, but I also edited my photos. Still, the colours were pretty good and vibrant. I don’t know what they’d be like if I was working with a darker substance or trying to get a darker colour.
Jessica says
I love this idea, and I’m so excited to try it! Hopefully this will sate my 7 year old’s sweet tooth since I’ve banned sugary treats from the house! I just have a question: How would it affect the dough if I used all coconut flour? I have that on hand, but no almond flour. Thanks!
Carolyn says
No, you really can’t sub coconut flour for this recipe. I find it doesn’t make the best cookies, it wouldn’t have the right texture at all.