Easter egg sugar cookies (Printable)
Buttery sugar cookies shaped as Easter eggs, decorated with colorful icing for festive occasions.
# Ingredient List:
→ For the Cookies
01 - 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
02 - 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
03 - 1/2 teaspoon salt
04 - 3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
05 - 1 cup granulated sugar
06 - 1 large egg
07 - 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
08 - 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
→ For the Royal Icing
09 - 2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
10 - 1 1/2 tablespoons meringue powder
11 - 3–4 tablespoons water, plus more as needed
12 - Food coloring, assorted pastel shades
# How to Make:
01 - Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Set aside for later use.
02 - Beat the butter and sugar together in a large bowl until light and fluffy, about 2–3 minutes.
03 - Add the egg, vanilla extract, and almond extract; beat until fully incorporated into the mixture.
04 - Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, mixing until just combined. Avoid overmixing.
05 - Divide the dough in half, flatten each into a disc, wrap in plastic wrap, and chill for at least 30 minutes.
06 - Preheat the oven to 350°F and line baking sheets with parchment paper.
07 - On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to 1/4-inch thickness. Cut out egg shapes with a cookie cutter; place them 1 inch apart on prepared sheets.
08 - Bake for 9–11 minutes, until the edges are just barely golden. Let cool on sheets for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
09 - Whisk powdered sugar and meringue powder in a medium bowl. Add water gradually until icing is smooth and pipeable. Divide and tint with food coloring as desired.
10 - Decorate cooled cookies with royal icing in festive patterns. Allow icing to set completely before serving or storing.
# Helpful Tips:
01 -
- The dough bakes into cookies that are crisp at the edges but stay tender in the middle, exactly how a good sugar cookie should be
- Royal icing dries hard enough to stack them for gifting but soft enough to bite into without shattering everywhere
- You can make the dough ahead and keep it wrapped in the fridge for up to three days, which means zero day-of stress
02 -
- The dough must be thoroughly chilled before rolling or the cookies will lose their egg shape in the oven and spread into blobs
- Royal icing consistency matters, so aim for something that flows back into itself within ten seconds when you drop a ribbon of it into the bowl
- Cookies must be completely cool before decorating or the icing will melt right off and you will have very colorful fingers instead of pretty cookies
03 -
- If your dough gets too warm while rolling and cutting, just pop the whole baking sheet in the fridge for ten minutes before baking to help them hold their shape
- Adding a tiny pinch of cream of tartar to the royal icing helps it set even harder, which is useful if you plan to stack or transport them