Candy Corn Sugar Cookie Bars

Directions

1. Heat oven to 375°F. Grease a 9x13 baking pan (or a baking sheet of that size).
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, salt, and baking soda. Set aside.
3. Use an electric stand mixer to beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, then vanilla. Add dry ingredients and mix until almost combined. Remove half the dough to a separate bowl (the empty dry-ingredient bowl works).
4. To the dough left in the mixer bowl, add yellow food coloring (gel works best). Mix until evenly colored. Spread this yellow dough evenly in the bottom of the prepared pan. It helps to drop dollops and then spread them out. Scrape out as much yellow dough as possible.
5. Return the bowl to the mixer and add orange food coloring (or mix yellow and red to get orange) to the remaining dough. This layer is harder to spread, so drop spoonfuls evenly over the yellow layer and spread each glob until smooth. Bake for 13–16 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean and the surface springs back when pressed. Cool completely.
6. Beat softened butter and cream cheese until smooth. Mix in vanilla, then gradually add powdered sugar (to avoid a cloud). Add milk 1 tablespoon at a time until you reach the desired consistency, then beat until combined.
7. Spread the frosting evenly over the cooled cookie base. Decorate with sprinkles or candy corn if you like.
8. Cut the pan into 4 equal rows, then cut each row into 6 triangles. For precise triangles, I used a ruler and made each base 2.5 inches. Each row will leave two small half‑triangle scraps—perfect for tasting or sharing with kids while you finish cutting.