Ghosts.
Goblins.
And… candy corn?
Think of candy corn as comic relief from Halloween.
It’s cute, it’s yummy, and it’s not the slightest bit scary.
That is, until you look at the ingredients. Gelatin, corn syrup, FDC Yellow 6 Lake, Red 40, Blue 1 Lake…
Are you scared yet?
I’ve always loved candy corn, more for its festiveness and adorableness than for the actual taste.
So when I made these candies I wasn’t going for an exact copycat, but more of a fun and healthier and vegan candy corn substitute.
You might like them even better than real candy corn!
Vegan Candy Corn
- 1/4 cup raw cashew butter (or peanut butter if you want pb-flavored candy corn. Who knows… it might be fun!) (58g)
- tiny dash salt
- 1/4 cup powdered sugar or Sugar-Free Powdered Sugar (28g)
- Either red and yellow food coloring (you can purchase natural food coloring at Whole Foods), or a tiny pinch turmeric and a few drops beet juice
Mix the first three ingredients together in a bowl until it becomes a crumbly dough. (Note: if your nut butter is from the fridge, let it sit awhile or heat it up so it’s easier to mix.) If dough is too gooey (mine wasn’t), you can add a little extra sugar/sf sugar. Taste the dough and add a little more salt if desired. Now transfer the crumbles to a plastic bag and smush very hard into a ball. Remove from the bag and form three little balls, then add a few drops yellow food coloring or the turmeric to one ball and knead until it’s all one color. Do the same with the red. (For my un-edited “in process” photos, see the nutrition link below.) Roll balls into skinny strips—the skinnier the strips, the smaller the resulting candy corns, and press strips together. Cut into triangles or other shapes. As stated above in the post, these aren’t supposed to taste exactly like store-bought candy corn; they’re yummy in their own right. You can store in the fridge, but my roommate—the candy nut—says they taste best straight from the freezer. Or you can even bake them: 350 F for 3-5 minutes, then allow to cool for at least 10 minutes before removing from tray.
View Nutrition Facts + Step-By-Step Photos
What are you doing for Halloween this year?
Are you dressing up? Or staying home and handing out candy? Or trying to console a dog who goes berserk every time the doorbell rings? Guess I just gave away my Halloween plans…
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These are fabulous! I made them this afternoon with my 4 year old, including making our own homemade cashew butter. She kept saying “candies, candies!” It was so cute, and she loved them!
Oh cool! Every year I go on the hunt for candy corn without gelatin. And those little pumpkin shaped candies that come in the ‘autumn mix’. I was slightly devastated to find out that brach’s makes them with gelatin. A few grocery store brands don’t have gelatin but for true vegans they wouldn’t work because they have honey.
Your recipe looks like fun, i might just give it a go next time I have a craving:)
jelly belly candy corn has no gelatin
My mom has always hated Halloween, becaus of religious views, so unless my friends plan something, I usually sit at home with all the lights off and the blinds closed to discourage trick or treaters. Or we go out to eat.
This year, however, since it falls on a Wednesday, we have youth group. I’m not sure if I will go to that and make my mom sit at home in the dark, or go to dinner with her.
Oh, and I really want to make this… If I knew where I could get cashew butter. Stupid small towns…
This is the kind of thing you can easily order online, probably even from amazon (that’s where I buy a lot of ingredients!).
Or, if you have a super-high-powered blender or food processor, you can make your own by just grinding cashews to oblivion until it makes a creamy butter.
Whoops didn’t see your reply Katie! My page must not have been refreshed…
You can make your own cashew butter by blending/food processing cashews with a little oil if needed! Super easy 🙂 Just blend until it turns creamy…takes awhile but so worth it!
I need raw cashews though, right? I’m pretty sure we only have roasted around here, but I’ll check.
I used roasted actually and it worked just fine. I’m not sure what Katies uses…maybe it changes the flavor, but I thought it was great!
I’m probably one of the few people that didn’t grow up eating candy corn that much – I think it was more of a North American thing – but when I did try it I’m not nuts about it! However I majorly admire your ability to literally recreate anything, so I had to comment anyway!!
Ever since I hit the age where I stopped trick or treating, my Halloween plans have always been the exact same every year. I dress up in my awesome witch dress (since I can only wear it once a year!), have a horror movie marathon at home, and hand out candy when trick or treaters come. I live about 45 minutes outside of town so we usually only get the kids that live in the community here.
beeswax is a traditionnal ingredient to coat the gummy candies. it’s also used in france for cannelles. check it out, it’s delicious.
Must try this! My kinders would love these treats!
sounds super delish! and cute too!
These are cute! I really need to get my hands on some cashew butter. You use it for so many of your recipes! I also wish we had Halloween plans, but we don’t 🙁 Tomorrow is our 1 yr wedding anniversary and we are both working and then studying for our real estate exam which we will be taking on Wed. Wish us luck!
I made my own tonight! Super easy! Just blend up cashews like you would to make peanut butter. So good! I added a little honey to mine for more of a candy corn taste (I’m not vegan obviously..). Good luck on your exam! I know how it feels to have studying get in the way… good thing there are many more halloweens to come!
Awesome! Thanks so much! I’ll totally try it out (with the honey 😉 )
I’m not certain there’s any way I could possibly explain the face I’m making right now but I assure you it’s a really really excited one. I was the one who requested this and /lfdkjg.klfjg oh my goodness! I know what I’m going to be making tomorrow! Mmmm! Thank you so much Katie 🙂 You’ve just made my whole week!
Watch out if you make them, they are addictive! 😉