Description
Delight in these charming Easter Egg Sugar Cookies, perfect for celebrating the holiday with family and friends. These soft, buttery cookies are lightly flavored with vanilla and almond extracts, and can be decorated with pastel sanding sugars or vibrant royal icing for a festive touch. Ideal for baking ahead and sharing, they bring sweetness and joy to any Easter gathering.
Ingredients
Scale
Cookie Dough
- 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon almond extract (optional)
- Pastel-colored sanding sugars or icing for decorating
Royal Icing (Optional)
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 1/2 tablespoons meringue powder
- 3–4 tablespoons warm water
- Food coloring (pastel shades)
- Piping bags or squeeze bottles for decorating
Instructions
- Prepare Dry Ingredients: In a medium bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt to ensure even distribution of leavening agents and salt.
- Cream Butter and Sugar: In a large mixing bowl, use an electric mixer to cream the softened unsalted butter with granulated sugar until the mixture is light and fluffy, approximately 2–3 minutes. This step is crucial for a tender cookie texture.
- Add Wet Ingredients: Beat in the large egg, followed by the vanilla extract and almond extract if using, until fully incorporated.
- Combine Dough: Gradually add the dry ingredient mixture to the wet ingredients, mixing until a soft dough forms without overmixing to keep the cookies tender.
- Chill Dough: Divide the dough into two halves, flatten each into discs, and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Chilling makes rolling easier and helps maintain cookie shape during baking.
- Roll and Cut Cookies: On a lightly floured surface, roll each chilled disc to 1/4-inch thickness. Use egg-shaped cookie cutters to cut out shapes and place them on parchment-lined baking sheets, spacing them to allow for slight spreading.
- Bake Cookies: Bake in a preheated oven at 350°F (175°C) for 8–10 minutes, or until the edges just begin to turn golden. Remove from oven and cool cookies on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Prepare Royal Icing (Optional): In a medium bowl, beat together powdered sugar, meringue powder, and warm water until stiff peaks form, about 5–7 minutes. Divide icing into bowls and tint with pastel food coloring as desired.
- Decorate Cookies: Using piping bags or squeeze bottles, decorate cooled cookies with royal icing. Allow the icing to dry completely before stacking or storing to avoid smudging.
Notes
- For a simpler option, decorate cookies with pastel sanding sugars before baking to add sparkle without using royal icing.
- Store baked cookies in an airtight container at room temperature; they stay fresh for up to one week.
- Royal icing-decorated cookies can be made ahead and frozen, wrapped tightly to preserve freshness.
- Almond extract is optional but adds a lovely subtle flavor complementary to vanilla.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 150
- Sugar: 10g
- Sodium: 90mg
- Fat: 7g
- Saturated Fat: 4g
- Unsaturated Fat: 3g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 20g
- Fiber: 0g
- Protein: 1g
- Cholesterol: 20mg
