My Favorite Easter Sugar Cookies
I make these Easter egg sugar cookies every spring. The dough is simple and sweet. My grandkids love to help cut out the shapes.
We make a big, floury mess on the table. I still laugh at that. These are truly easy sugar cookies. What is your favorite shape to cut? Tell me in the comments.
A Little Cookie Story
My grandson once used every cookie cutter at once. We had eggs, bunnies, and even a Christmas tree! We decorated them all for Easter.
They looked silly but tasted wonderful. This matters because cooking is about joy, not perfection. Fun fact: The first decorated Easter cookies were made in Germany hundreds of years ago.
The Secret is in the Icing
The best part is the sugar cookie icing. I use my simple 3-ingredient icing. Just powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla. Doesn’t that smell amazing?
It dries smooth and tastes just right. This makes them perfect decorated Easter cookies. Let the kids pick the colors. What color would you choose first: pink, blue, or yellow?
Why We Gather to Decorate
Easter cookie decorating is about more than sweets. It is about sharing time together. Little hands get busy with sprinkles and smiles.
This matters. It creates happy memories in your kitchen. These are the best kid-friendly Easter cookies. They are a sweet part of your Easter dessert recipes.
Your Turn to Bake
I hope you try these spring sugar cookies. They are a cheerful treat. The whole house will smell like vanilla and happiness.
Share a picture if you make them. Did you add sprinkles? I would love to see your colorful creations.
Ingredients:
| Ingredient | Amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Unsalted butter | 3/4 cup | softened at room temperature |
| Granulated sugar | 3/4 cup | |
| Large egg | 1 | room temperature |
| Vanilla extract | 2 tsp | |
| All-purpose flour | 2 1/4 cups | |
| Baking powder | 1 tsp | use aluminum free |
| Salt | 1/4 tsp | |
| Powdered sugar | 3 cups | or added to desired consistency |
| Milk | 3-4 Tbsp | or added to desired consistency |
| Vanilla extract | 1/2 tsp | |
| Gel food coloring | as desired | optional to color the icing |
| Sprinkles | as desired | optional to decorate cookies |
Instructions
Step 1: First, let’s make our easy sugar cookies. Cream the soft butter and sugar together until fluffy. It should look like pale clouds. I love that part. Add the egg and vanilla and mix it all in.
Step 2: Now, gently mix in your flour, baking powder, and salt. The dough might feel a bit sticky. (A hard-learned tip: chilling the dough for 30 minutes makes rolling so much easier!) Roll it out on a floured surface.
Step 3: Use your egg cutter to make your Easter egg sugar cookies. Press down firmly. Gather the scraps and re-roll. What’s your favorite cookie shape? Share below! Bake them until the edges are just golden.
Step 4: Let’s make the simple sugar cookie icing. Stir powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla. That’s your 3-ingredient icing! It should drizzle slowly off your spoon. This is the fun part for decorated Easter cookies.
Step 5: Divide the icing into bowls for colors. Use a tiny dot of gel color. Doesn’t that look pretty? Pipe outlines on your cooled spring sugar cookies. Fill them in and add sprinkles right away!
Creative Twists
Pastel Swirl Icing: Drop two icing colors side-by-side in your bag. They swirl as you pipe! Cookie Puzzle Eggs: Cut two cookies as matching puzzle pieces. Decorate them to fit together. Hidden Message Cookies: Pipe a little word or name in icing first. Then flood the cookie with another color over it. Which one would you try first? Comment below!
Serving & Pairing Ideas
These kid-friendly Easter cookies are perfect on a pastel plate. Serve them with cold milk or a berry smoothie. For a lovely Easter dessert, arrange them in a nest of shredded wheat. It looks so festive. Which would you choose tonight?
Keeping Your Easter Egg Sugar Cookies Fresh
Let’s talk about keeping your Easter sugar cookies tasty. Cool them completely first. Then store them in a single layer in a tight container. Use parchment paper between layers if you stack them.
They stay fresh at room temperature for a week. You can also freeze the baked cookies for up to three months. I wrap them well in plastic wrap first.
I remember my first big batch of decorated Easter cookies. I put them away too warm. The next day, the icing was soft and smudged. I was so disappointed!
Batch cooking the dough saves so much time. You can make the dough ahead and freeze it. This lets you bake fresh cookies whenever you want.
This matters because it makes holiday baking less stressful. You can enjoy the fun of Easter cookie decorating without the last-minute rush. Have you ever tried storing it this way? Share below!
Simple Fixes for Common Cookie Troubles
Even grandmas have cookie problems sometimes. Here are three easy fixes. First, if your dough is too sticky, just chill it. Cold dough is much easier to roll and cut.
Second, cookies spreading too much? Your butter might be too soft. I once used melted butter by mistake. My Easter egg shapes turned into blobs! Chilling the dough fixes this too.
Third, is your sugar cookie icing too runny? Just add a little more powdered sugar. If it’s too thick, add milk one drop at a time. Getting the right consistency matters for pretty designs.
Fixing these small issues builds your cooking confidence. It also means your Easter dessert recipes will look and taste perfect. Which of these problems have you run into before?
Your Quick Questions, Answered
What is the secret to soft sugar cookies?
The secret is not over-baking them. Take your easy sugar cookies out when the edges are just set. They should look pale, not golden brown. Let them cool on the baking sheet. This keeps them soft and chewy. Using room temperature ingredients also helps create a tender texture perfect for kid-friendly Easter cookies.
How do you keep sugar cookies from spreading?
Chill your dough before rolling it out. Very soft butter causes spreading. Make sure your baking powder is fresh. Always place cut-out Easter egg sugar cookies on a cool, parchment-lined sheet. Pop the sheet in the fridge for ten minutes before baking. This helps the cookies hold their cute egg shape for Easter cookie decorating.
What is the best sugar cookie recipe for decorating?
The best recipe holds its shape after baking. This Easter sugar cookies recipe is perfect. It uses more flour than some recipes. This creates a sturdy cookie. The surface stays smooth for your sugar cookie icing. It’s the ideal base for all your spring sugar cookies and creative designs.
Can you make Easter sugar cookie dough ahead of time?
Yes, you absolutely can. This is a great trick for easy Easter dessert recipes. Wrap the dough tightly in plastic wrap. You can refrigerate it for up to three days. You can also freeze it for three months. Thaw it overnight in the fridge before rolling. This makes holiday baking so much simpler.
What is the best icing for Easter sugar cookies?
For decorated Easter cookies, a simple glaze or royal icing works best. This recipe uses a simple 3-ingredient icing. It dries smooth and is sweet and delicious. It’s perfect for creating colorful designs on your Easter egg sugar cookies. It holds sprinkles well and sets so you can stack your cookies.
How do you color royal icing for cookies?
Always use gel food coloring, not liquid. Liquid colors make icing runny. Add color with a toothpick, using a tiny amount. Gel color is very strong. Mix it in thoroughly. For pastel spring sugar cookies, you need just a dab. *Fun fact: Gel coloring was invented for the movie industry to color icing without changing its texture!*
Which tip will you try first?
From My Kitchen to Yours
I hope you love making these Easter egg sugar cookies. Baking is about sharing joy and making memories. I still smile thinking of my grandkids decorating these.
I would love to hear about your baking adventure. Tell me how your cookies turned out. Did you create fun new designs? Have you tried this recipe? Please share your story in the comments below.
Happy cooking!
—Grace Ellington.
Ultimate Easter Sugar Cookie Recipe
Description
These classic Easter Egg Sugar Cookies are soft, buttery, and perfect for decorating with colorful icing and sprinkles.
Ingredients
Icing Ingredients
Instructions
- Preheat – set the oven to 350˚F with a rack in the upper and lower third of the oven if baking 2 sheets at a time, otherwise put a rack in the center. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Dry ingredients – In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt and set aside.
- Wet ingredients – Using a stand mixer with the paddle attachment or an electric mixer, beat together butter and sugar on medium-high speed until smooth and creamy, 3 minutes. To the mixture add the egg and vanilla and beat for another 1 minute to combine.
- Mix the batter – Reduce the mixer to low speed and add the flour mixture in 3 parts, mixing until fully incorporated. If the dough seems too sticky to roll, add 1 Tbsp flour at a time.
- Roll out the dough – Divide the dough into 2 equal parts. You can wrap and refrigerate the dough for 30-60 minutes or proceed with rolling the dough. On a generously floured surface, roll out the dough. Dust the dough with flour if the rolling pin is sticking. Roll the dough to 1/4” thick. Periodically scoot the dough around to check that the dough is not sticking to your work surface. If it is, dust with more flour and proceed.
- Cut and bake – Cut cookies out with an egg-shaped cookie cutter or your favorite Easter cookie cutter. Gather your scraps and re-roll to make more cookies. Carefully transfer the cookies to a parchment-lined baking sheet – I find it helps to use a food scraper to get under and lift the cookies from the surface without squishing them. Bake at 350˚F for 10-11 minutes or until the eggs are just beginning to turn golden. Let cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes then transfer to wire racks to cool completely before decorating with icing.
- Mix – In a medium mixing bowl, stir together the icing ingredients until smooth. To thicken the icing, add more powdered sugar and you can thin it out by adding more milk. Transfer to a piping bag or a zip-top bag and snip off the corner to create a hole for creating patterns on your sugar cookies. You can also use a squeeze bottle if you have one.
- Add color – To add color to your glaze, put some of the white icing into a small bowl and add a tiny dot of gel food coloring. To get the soft pastel colors, you can even just use some food coloring on the tip of a toothpick. A little goes a long way! If the colored icing gets too thin, you can add more powdered sugar.
- Decorate – Trace the cookies with icing then fill in as desired. If using sprinkles, add them right away while the icing is still wet so they cling to the icing.
Notes
- For best results, ensure butter and egg are at room temperature. Dough can be refrigerated overnight. Let icing set completely before storing cookies in an airtight container.