Candy Corn Cupcakes

Occasion
Halloween is quickly approaching and I wanted to try some October-themed desserts.  My sister Maria sent me a link to a bunch of Halloween ideas, and several jumped out at me.  The candy corn cookies were actually made without thinking of cupcakes, but then once they were finished we 1) had a ton of them and 2) they were the perfect size for cupcake toppers!

 Candy Corn Cookies

2 sticks of butter, softened
1 cup confectioners sugar
1 egg
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 teaspoons almond extract
2 teaspoons orange juice
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1. Cream together sugar and butter. Add egg, vanilla, almond extract, and orange juice. Whip until light and fluffy. Sift together flour, baking soda, and salt and add slowly to the wet ingredients until well incorporated. When the dough is formed, remove it from the bowl, and divide it into thirds. Tint one third of the dough orange and leave the other two-thirds uncolored.
2. Afterward, line a 9×5 loaf pan with plastic wrap. Press one third of the white dough into a flat layer on the bottom. Next, add the orange dough on top creating the second layer. Finally, use the last of the uncolored dough to make layer three. Cover the top with the overhanging plastic wrap, and chill, preferably overnight. Slice into “candy corns” and bake at 375 for 7-10 minutes.
3. After completely cooled, dip the large ends of the cookies into yellow-tinted almond bark.

Recipe from The Sweet Adventures of Surgarbelle.

Candy Corn Cupcakes

Dark Chocolate Cupcakes

Vanilla Bean Pastry Filling

Vanilla Bean Buttercream Frosting

Recipe design for a candy corn layered filling from Sugar Turntable.

Changes for Next Time

• I tried substituting whipped cream for the white filling of the cupcakes and it is too thin; the pudding filling absorbed it to where you could only see orange and yellow on the inside.
• Buy vanilla beans from Costco- they sell them in bulk and they are less than half the price of anywhere else!