Easter Butter Cookies
These Easter butter cookies are loaded with a rich, buttery flavor and covered in a simple, sweet icing in pastel yellow, green, and blue. They’re the perfect sweet treat for your Easter gathering and through the year. A great, simple butter cookie to keep on hand.
You all know I have a major sweet tooth, so it should come as no surprise that I love churning out sweet, delicious treats for any holiday. I’m an especially big fan of Easter treats because the season calls for so much color!
I love serving colorful dishes like Easter bunny bark and Easter egg hunt cake whenever I host or attend an Easter party of any kind. These kinds of recipes are equal parts flavor and fun, and everyone always loves them.
That’s exactly what you’re going to get with these Easter butter cookies, too. With so much flavor and color, they’ll be an instant hit.
Why You’ll Love These Easter Butter Cookies
- Basic Ingredients: These cookies and their icing are made with simple, basic baking ingredients found in any kitchen or grocery store.
- Easy: The butter cookies and frosting are quick and easy to make, and the cookies only take about 12 minutes to bake!
- Flavorful: The cookies have a rich, buttery flavor, and their pastel icing adds even more sweetness.
- Festive: The colorful pastel icing makes them the perfect addition to any Easter event.
Ingredients
Butter Cookies
- 2 cups all-purpose flour – whisked
- 2 teaspoons baking powder – leveled
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter – softened
- 1/2 cup raw pure cane sugar
- 2 large eggs – room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3/4 teaspoon almond extract
- 2 to 4 tablespoons milk – 2% or whole
Icing
- 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar – sifted
- 2 to 3 tablespoons milk – 2% or whole
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon almond extract – optional
- Small pinch of salt
- Gel food coloring of choice – I used yellow, green, and blue
Substitutions and Variations
- Cane Sugar: I love cane sugar for its golden color, but you can use granulated sugar.
- Almond Extract: Almond exact is optional for the cookies. Leave it out for a pure butter cookie flavor.
- Super Soft Cookies: For super soft cookies, try using cake flour. It has less protein and produces softer baked goods.
- More Festive Color: Try sprinkling Easter or spring sprinkles on the iced cookies before they set.
Equipment
- Measuring cups and spoons
- Mixing bowls
- Hand mixer
- Cookie sheet
- Parchment paper
- Wire cooling rack
How to Make Easter Butter Cookies
Butter Cookies
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line a cookie sheet or sheets with parchment paper.
- Whisk the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl.
- Beat the butter and sugar until creamy in another bowl. Then, add the eggs, beating between each addition.
- Add the extracts and mix until combined. The mixture might look curdled or separated. THIS IS NORMAL. Add 2 tablespoons of milk and mix again.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, mixing in a large spoonful at a time. Before adding the last spoonful or two of dry ingredients, add 1 more tablespoon of milk.
- Scrape the bowl down with a spatula to ensure all the ingredients are mixed well. Then, place the dough in the refrigerator for about 5 minutes.
- Use a medium cookie scoop to scoop out the dough and roll each scoop into a ball. Place the balls on the baking sheet.
- Bake for 9 to 12 minutes on the middle rack until the bottoms are light brown, and the tops have just a hint of color.
- Cool the cookies on the baking sheet for 10 minutes. Then, transfer them to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
Icing
- Whisk the sugar, 2 tablespoons of milk, the extracts, and salt in a medium bowl until a smooth icing is created. Add a bit more milk if necessary to smooth out the icing into a smooth, slightly thick, and drippy icing.
- Divide the icing into 3 bowls, adding yellow, green, and blue food coloring gel to each, respectively. Mix until the icing bowls are your desired color.
Top the Cookies
- Dip the top of each cooled cookie into the icing of your choice. Place them back on a wire cooling rack with parchment paper underneath and let them sit until the icing hardens. Enjoy!
Storage
Store these cookies at room temperature for up to 3 days in an airtight container. For longer storage, refrigerate them for up to a week. You can also wrap them in plastic wrap and freeze them for up to 3 months in an airtight, freezer-safe container.
Bring the cookies to room temperature before serving if they’ve been refrigerated or frozen.
What to Serve with Easter Butter Cookies
These cookies are perfect with a glass of milk or a cup of coffee or tea. They also make a great addition to a larger Easter spread with all your favorite desserts like brownies, sweet dips, quick breads, cakes, and cupcakes.
Tips
- Your wet dough ingredients may look curdled. That’s totally normal and a reaction from the extracts added.
- It’s important to whisk your flour to break it up and make it easier to mix into the cookies.
- If you forgot to soften your butter, place the wrapped butter in a glass of very warm water – NOT hot – for a few minutes.
- Bake your cookies on the middle rack if possible. It offers the best air circulation and the most even temperature.
More Easter Recipes
FAQ
Whisking flour helps break up any clumps, making it easier for the flour to combine with the other ingredients evenly.
Bringing eggs to room temperature allows them to incorporate into the dough or batter more easily, limiting the amount of mixing required and reducing gluten formation.
If your cookies are warm, the icing will slide right off of them! The cookies need to be fully cooled so the icing can cling to them.
Easter Butter Cookies
These Easter butter cookies are loaded with a rich, buttery flavor and covered in a simple, sweet icing in pastel yellow, green, and blue. They're the perfect sweet treat for your Easter gathering and through the year. A great, simple butter cookie to keep on hand.
Ingredients
- 2 cups all purpose flour, mixed with a whisk to lighten up
- 2 tsp baking powder, leveled when measuring
- 3/4 tsp salt, I used fine sea salt
- 6 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
- 1/2 cup pure cane granulated sugar, regular granulated sugar can be used (pure cane sugar has a slight golden color and can be found in most supermarkets and grocery stores)
- 2 large leave out for about 30 minutes before cracking and using
- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 3/4 tsp pure almond extract
- 2-4 tbsp 2 % or whole dairy milk
Icing
- 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar, sifted or mixed with a wire whisk to break up any clumps
- 2-3 tbsp whole or 2 % milk
- 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp almond extract, this is optional
- small pinch salt
- food gel to color icing. I used yellow, green, and blue and mixed a few for light pastel colors, use any colors you like
Instructions
-
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Have cookie sheets lined with parchment paper ready and set aside.2. In a large mixing bowl, combine the dry ingredients, flour, baking powder, and salt. Whisk to combine and lighten up the mixture. Set aside for just a few minutes. 3. In another large mixing bowl, using a hand mixer or stand mixer, mix together the sugar and softened butter until combined. Add in the eggs one at a time and beat between each addition. Now, add in the vanilla and almond extract. Mix until all is combined. Don't worry if the mixture seems like it's separating or curdled. This is totally normal until the dry mixture is added. 4. Add in 2 tablespoons of the milk and mix again until combined. Then, start adding in the dry ingredients on large spoonful or 1/4 cup measuring cup at a time. Before finishing adding in the dry, add in 1 more tablespoon of milk. Mix and add the rest of the flour mixture. Mix well and if needed, add in the last 1 tablespoon of milk. The batter is going to be sticky but slightly thick. With a rubber spatula, dig down to the bottom of the mixing bowl and scrape up any dry ingredients to incorporate into the batter. Set the batter in the fridge up to 5 minutes. 5. Using a medium cookie scoop or teaspoon, scoop out into your hands and roll into balls. They don't have to be perfect since the dough may be a little sticky. Place balls onto the prepared parchment lined cookie sheet. Do one cookie sheet at a time. Bake for about 9 to 12 minutes on the middle rack of oven if possible. The bottoms of the cookies should be a light brown when finished. Tops will still be on the light side with a hint of color. Let cookie sheet sit on a cooling rack for about 10 minutes. Then, slide the cookies off onto the cooling rack to cool completely before icing. Repeat with the leftover dough onto to the prepared cookie sheet. 6. While the second batch of cookies are cooling, prepare the icing. In a medium bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, start with 2 tablespoons of milk, vanilla, almond extract, and pinch of salt. Keep whisking until you have a nice smooth icing. If needed add another tablespoon of milk until you have a smooth, slightly thick yet, drippy icing. Divide into 2 or 3 small bowls and add desired food gel. Start with one drop to keep the colors pastel. Whisk until the color is completely mixed in. 7. Take each cooled cookie and dip just the tops into the icing. Let excess drip off after you have the amount of coating on each cookie. Place back on the wire rack with a piece of wax or parchment paper underneath to catch the drips. Let cookies cool completely. If you want to add some sprinkles do this before the icing is set. I liked the way they looked without but, you do you. Have fun and enjoy these delicious cookies.
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I just made these, and WOW! These cookies are delightful! The flavor is excellent. I find so many sugar cookies kind of lacking in taste. Not these! They are bursting with great flavor. I used almond in the cookies and the icing, as directed, and it’s wonderful. The only change is I had jumbo eggs on hand. I used two jumbo eggs, and the cookies came out like little puffy pillows of deliciousness, almost cake-like. Loved it! I will definitely make these again! Thanks for a wonderful recipe.
Hi Kathleen!
I am so happy to hear you enjoyed the cookie recipe. Good to know about the jumbo eggs. Thank you for sharing. You are very sweet to let me know. Have a great weekend and thank you again! Sweet smiles, Pam <3