I’m not much of a candy girl. I’m not one to grab a candy bar in the checkout lane. I don’t get excited by a candy dish at the bank. I’d much rather gorge myself on cookies or brownies or mac and cheese.
But there are a few pieces of seasonal sugar-coated deliciousness that I just can’t resist. I always nab myself a Cadbury Cream Egg around Easter. I’ve been known to eat one or two candy canes at Christmas. And around Halloween, I always buy our house one single, small bag of candy corn. My husband and I plow through the stuff in less than a day, and happily check off our candy corn craving for another year.
I’ve heard rumors that there are people out there that don’t like candy corn. I refuse to believe such ridiculousness. What’s not to like? It’s soft pieces of sugar, coated with more sugar, and then dipped in sugar. Sure, they don’t really taste like much, and certainly, don’t have any real nutritional value, BUT CANDY CORN IS DELICIOUS. And I refuse to believe there are people out there who disagree with me.
This year, I managed to snag a handful of candy corn (candy corns?) for baking out of our annual bag before the thing was empty. This candy corn was destined for something more. I had the idea to take the sugar-filled perfection that is candy corn and do something completely unnecessary to it—stick it in a bar made of even more sugar. Meet Candy Corn Blondies.
These blondies are definitely not for people who say things like, “Oooh, but I don’t like rich foods!” or “I don’t have much of a sweet tooth.” Nope. These guys are for full-on sugaraholics like me. You need to have built up a tolerance for the sweet stuff before you dig into one of these ooey, gooey blondies.
If you do happen to have my affinity for sweet things and candy corn, you’ll pink fluffy heart love these blondies. They are gooey, chewy, sweet, and super festive for Halloween.
These blondies have a double dose of candy corn goodness in them. In the batter, I mixed in a handful of candy corn. In the oven, they melt and spread to give the blondies a sticky, chewy swirl of orange, candy corn deliciousness throughout.
Then, after cooling for a few minutes, I pushed some more whole candy corn pieces into the top of the blondies for decoration, and some fun candy corn crunch (is it a crunch? or a chew? the texture of a candy corn is not the easiest thing in the world to describe). Candy corn haters shouldn’t even try a bite of these—they are super candy corn-tastic.
I tend to undercook my blondies (and brownies and cookies and cakes) because, seriously, who doesn’t like chewy, gooey desserts? I like them just on this side of raw—about 17 minutes in the oven. But if you’re not that crazy about gooeyness, you can cook these for the full 25 minutes and get more of a soft batch cookie texture—still delicious! Enjoy.
Candy Corn Blondies
Candy corn haters need not apply! These oooey, gooey, and rich Candy Corn Blondies are a fun and festive treat for your Halloween party. Adapted from my Bourbon Chocolate Chip Blondies.
Ingredients
- ½ cup (1 stick) butter, melted
- ¾ cup packed light brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- Pinch of salt
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup candy corn, divided
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°. Line a square (8" x 8") baking dish with parchment paper, set aside.
- Stir together the melted butter and brown sugar until well-combined (you can also do this in a stand mixer). Add in the egg, vanilla, and salt and stir until smooth.
- Add in the flour, and stir until just combined. Then fold in 1/3 cup of the candy corn.
- Spread the mixture into the prepared baking dish, making sure to spread it out evenly. Bake in preheated oven for 20-25 minutes, or until the edges look solid, but the center still looks a bit jiggly.
- Let cool for five minutes, then press the remaining candy corn in the top of the blondies.
- Cool completely, then lift the blondies out using the edges of the parchment paper as handles and slice into 16 squares.
Notes
My vote is always to err on the side of underbaking blondies (and brownies and cookies)—so keep a close eye on them as the cooking time nears. The blondies will solidify a lot as they cool, so just as long as they seem a little solid, you'll be good.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 16 Serving Size: 1 blondieAmount Per Serving: Calories: 89Total Fat: 0gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 12mgSodium: 16mgCarbohydrates: 20gFiber: 0gSugar: 14gProtein: 1g
At Wholefully, we believe that good nutrition is about much more than just the numbers on the nutrition facts panel. Please use the above information as only a small part of what helps you decide what foods are nourishing for you.
