Easter Sugar Cookies
These Easter Sugar Cookies are the ultimate springtime treat, perfect for sharing with loved ones during the holiday. With a soft, tender texture and vibrant, colorful icing, they bring festive cheer to your dessert table.
Easter is a wonderful time of the year, and these Easter Sugar Cookies are the perfect sweet treat for the whole family to enjoy. Sweet and delicious, you can enjoy making them and have great fun decorating them.
Delicately flavored with vanilla and using simple ingredients you likely already have in your home, you can make these tasty Easter treats within the hour. Decorating them couldn’t be any easier. Using different colored icing, you can make these colorful snacks for the whole family. These cookies are the perfect option if you want an easy Easter bake.
Why You Should Make This Recipe
- Soft, melt-in-your-mouth texture with a hint of vanilla.
- Perfect for decorating with family or friends.
- Makes a large batch that’s ideal for sharing or gifting.
Ingredients You Will Need
NOTE: Full ingredient amounts and instructions are in the printable recipe card at the end of the post.
For The Cookies
- Shortening – or for a richer flavor, use unsalted butter
- Sugar
- Egg
- Vanilla
- Sour cream
- Flour
- Baking soda
- Baking powder
- Salt
For The Icing
- Powdered sugar – also known as confectioner’s sugar or icing sugar
- Milk
- Vanilla
- Green, pink, purple, yellow, and blue gel food colouring
- Spring themed sprinkles
Substitutions & Variations
- Add some white or milk chocolate chips to the cookie dough to add an extra level of sweetness.
- If you want an extra pop of color, add Smarties or M&Ms to the cookie dough.
- Instead of dipping the cookies in the icing, you could add the different colors to piping bags and then drizzle the icing over the top to make fancy patterns.
- This cookie recipe is perfect to make for different times of the year. Red icing and heart sprinkles will make perfect Valentine’s Day biscuits and festive colors at Christmas time.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Make the Cookies
- Preheat the oven to 375f.
- In a large mixing bowl, beat the shortening and sugar together. Then, add the egg and vanilla. Beat again until everything has combined.
- Next, mix in sour cream. Then, add flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Combine everything until the dough is smooth.
- On a floured surface, roll the dough to 1⁄4-inch thick.
- Cut out egg-shaped cookies and place them 2 inches apart on a greased baking sheet.
- Reroll dough as needed.
- Bake for 8-10 minutes or until the edges start to turn golden brown.
Make the Icing
- Whisk powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla together. If the icing is too thick, add more milk. If the icing is too thin, add more powdered sugar.
- Split icing between 5 small bowls.
- Add gel food coloring to each bowl, creating five different icing colors. The amount used will depend on the type of food coloring gel you have.
Ice the Cookies
- Dip the cooled cookies into colored icing, allowing excess icing to drip off.
- Immediately add sprinkles.
- Allow icing to harden and serve.
Tips for Success
- A greased baking tray will ensure the cookies don’t stick once baked.
- You could use a hand or stand mixer to combine all the ingredients to make things easier.
- You could try cutting the shapes freehand or using another shaped cutter if you don’t have an egg-shaped cookie cutter.
- Allow cookies to cool completely before decorating to prevent the icing from melting.
What to Serve With Easter Cookies
These Easter Cookies are perfect as a snack to enjoy with a nice hot drink. Pairing with other Easter treats like carrot cake or chocolate bunny pops is also fun. You could also package them up and create mini foodie gifts for friends and family.
Storing and Freezing
These Easter cookies are best kept at room temperature in an airtight container. They will be at their best for a week, but you may notice that the texture changes a little after that.
Frequent Questions
Can these cookies be made gluten-free? Yes, they can! Most of the ingredients are gluten-free, but the flour must be substituted for your preferred gluten-free brand.
I hope you love this delicious and easy recipe – be sure to give it a review below! Also, don’t forget to follow Lovely Munchies on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest!
Easter Sugar Cookies
Ingredients
Cookie Ingredients
- 1/2 cup shortening
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
Icing Ingredients
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 3–4 tbsp milk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- Gel food coloring green pink, purple, yellow, and blue
- Spring-themed sprinkles
Instructions
Cookie Directions
- Preheat oven to 375ºF.
- In a large mixing bowl, beat shortening and sugar together.
- Add egg and vanilla. Beat again.
- Next, beat in sour cream.
- Add flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Beat until dough is smooth.
- On a floured surfaced, roll dough to ¼-inch thick.
- Cut out egg shaped cookies and place them 2 inches apart on a greased baking sheet.
- Reroll dough as needed.
- Bake for 8-10 minutes or until edges start to turn golden brown.
Icing Directions
- Whisk powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla together.
- If icing is too thick, add more milk. If icing is too thin, add more powdered sugar.
- Split icing between 5 small bowls.
- Add gel food coloring to each bowl, creating 5 different colors of icing. The amount used will depend on the type of food coloring gel you have.
- Dipped cooled cookies into colored icing, allowing excess icing to drip off.
- Immediately add sprinkles.
- Allow icing to harden and serve.
