Easter Sugar Cookies
Easter sugar cookies should be simple, soft, and actually fun to decorate. These check all three. Instead of traditional royal icing, they’re topped with a smooth buttercream frosting that skips the flooding, cuts the dry time, and makes decorating way more approachable.
This is the method I come back to every spring when I want Easter cookies that look cute but don’t take all day. Think soft pastel colors, easy piping, and cookies that taste just as good as they look.
Perfect for Easter dessert tables, baking with kids, or anyone who wants easy Easter cookie decorating ideas without the extra steps, these are the kind of cookies you’ll actually make more than once.
Why I Love Decorating Easter Cookies with Buttercream
I love royal icing for certain things. But for Easter cookies, buttercream just feels right.
It’s softer and easier to work with.
Buttercream decorated sugar cookies:
You don’t need perfect lines. You don’t need perfect spacing. And you definitely don’t need to stress about making them look flawless.
start with a sugar cookie recipe
For these cookies, I used my usual soft sugar cookie recipe.
What matters most is:
Best Sugar Cookies Ever - Jenny Cookies Sugar Cookie Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 3 CUPS ALL-PURPOSE FLOUR PLUS MORE FOR ROLLING
- 2 TSP ALUMINUM-FREE BAKING POWDER
- 1 CUP 2 STICKS SALTED BUTTER, AT ROOM TEMPERATURE
- 1 CUP SUGAR
- 1 LARGE EGG
- 2 TSP PURE VANILLA EXTRACT
Instructions
- Into a medium bowl, whisk together flour and baking powder. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, using an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on medium speed, beat butter and sugar for about 1½ minutes, or until smooth. Beat in the egg and vanilla until well combined. Scrape the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula.
- Turn the mixer speed to low and carefully add the flour mixture a little at a time, occasionally stopping to scrape the sides of the bowl. Once all the flour has been incorporated, the dough should form a ball around the mixing attachment and feel soft but not sticky.
- Wrap the dough ball in a piece of plastic wrap and press down to form a 1-inch-thick disk. Refrigerate for at least 10 minutes before rolling or store for up to 7 days tightly wrapped.
- Preheat the oven to 375°F.
- Roll out the dough on a lightly floured flat work surface to about ¼-inch thickness, using additional flour as necessary to prevent sticking. Use cookie cutters to create desired shapes, and carefully transfer with a cookie spatula to a nonstick baking sheet, placing the cookies about ¾ inch apart.
- Bake one sheet at a time in the middle of the oven until puffy, about 7-8 minutes. Allow the cookies to rest for 2 minutes on the baking sheet before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Repeat with the gathered scraps and remaining disk until all the dough has been used.
Buttercream Frosting
Pin Recipe Print RecipeIngredients
- 1 cup Imperial Margerine or butter 2 sticks
- 1 cup crisco vegetable shortening
- 2 lbs powdered sugar about 7 1/2 cups
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 3 tablespoons whole milk
Instructions
- Combine the margerine and Crisco in the bowl of an electric mixer; using a paddle attachment, beat on medium speed until smooth, about 2 minutes.
- Add half of the powdered sugar and continue beating on low speed for an additional two minutes, or until the mixture is creamy, scraping the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. Add the remaining powdered sugar, vanilla and milk, and beat until the frosting is creamy and fluffy, about two minutes more.
- Use immediately or store in an airtight container refrigerated for up to 30 days.
Notes
shapes i used
Bunny Sugar Cookies
The bunny cookies are always the first ones people notice.
I love to decorate my Easter bunnies with soft pastel frosting and dip them in jimmies or sanding sugar for some added texture. I also love piping the tail with a small star piping tip to keep it looking fluffy.
For Easter cookies, I like keeping bunnies:
Keeping colors slightly toned down makes everything feel softer and more cohesive.
Carrot Sugar Cookies
Carrot cookies might be the easiest to decorate and one of my favorites visually.
Most of mine were just:
Some had smaller lines piped with a #4 tip. Some with thicker lines using a #12 tip. Both looked good!
For the leafy green tops, I used this green food coloring and a #4 tip!
Carrot cookies are great if you:
They always turn out cute!
Fluffy Sheep Cookies
The sheep were one of the easiest (and cutest) shapes to decorate. I piped them with white buttercream using a small round #8 piping tip so they looked soft and fluffy. You can leave the frosting piped on in a swirl motion, or while the frosting was still fresh, gently dip them into sanding sugar for texture.
Here is the cookie cutter I used!
Pink Egg Cookies with Daisies
For the eggs, I kept the base soft and simple with pink buttercream piped with a #4 piping tip. Once set slightly, I piped small white daisies across the tops and added tiny yellow centers. They felt light and springy without being overly detailed, and they added a really pretty contrast to the rest of the cookies.
Yellow Chick Cookies
The chicks were actually really simple and fun to make. I piped them with pale yellow buttercream using the same round 12 tip as the carrots so they stayed thick and round. I didn’t overwork the details. Just small faces, legs and a daisy headband. These will always be one of my favorite Easter sugar cookie shapes!
Simple Decorating Tips That Actually Help
Use thicker buttercream than you think
Too soft and details disappear.
Decorate in small batches
It’s less overwhelming.
Stick to 4–5 colors max
Too many shades makes things look busy.
Let them dry overnight
Buttercream firms up beautifully.
Imperfect is better
The slightly messy ones usually look the most charming.
My favorite sugar cookie supplies:
Decorating with Kids
Easter sugar cookies are perfect for baking with kids because buttercream is forgiving.
Give them:
That’s enough.
They don’t need much instruction either. They will make a mess, and that’s part of the fun!
How to Style Easter Sugar Cookies
If you’re serving these for a party or gathering:
It doesn’t need to be styled perfectly.
HOW TO STORE Easter SUGAR COOKIES
Store decorated cookies in an airtight container:
Room temperature: up to 5 days
Freezer: up to 2 months
If stacking decorated cookies, layer with parchment paper after already frozen to avoid crushing the buttercream or use the container linked above!
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easter treats
This kind of baking doesn’t need a plan. Just a few colors, a piping bag and a free afternoon.
Some cookies will look better than others. Some will be a little messy. A few might not look like what you meant at all. But it still works!
That’s the nice part about Easter cookies.
They’re supposed to feel soft and a little imperfect, but once they’re all on the tray together, they just look happy.
If you’ve been thinking about making some Easter sugar cookies this year, I’d love to see them!