Make adorable Easter basket sugar cookies with buttercream frosting! Two styles, equally adorable!
You might also like our rainbow sugar cookies or our cinnamon bunny rolls---fun treats for spring!
Easter basket sugar cookies were so much fun to make—and easy too! No royal icing, pouring or special skills are required.
Why I Like This Recipe
- Tried and true recipe. You can use any sugar cookie recipe, but I used my popular bakery-style sugar cookie recipe for these Easter basket cookies. My go-to sugar cookie recipe for over a decade.
- No royal icing. I use buttercream for decorating sugar cookies. Always. You’ll need a #5 round frosting tip and a #18 star frosting tip to make these cute designs. They are basic tips and easy to use.
- Fun to customize. Grab colorful Easter M&Ms or jelly beans to add to your Easter basket cookies!
What Others Are Saying
Made a batch and added pre-made icing decorations like flowers and bunnies. They turned out cute.---Marie on Pinterest
I made these cookies and they are amazing! The cookie is very flavorful, the frosting recipe was great, and good thorough instructions. People were raving about these cookies.---Kim
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Tips and Tricks
- Frosting tips: 5 and 7 are small round tips. They are very similar in size, so just use what you can find! Michael’s is actually the cheapest place to find these tips. They are $1 each, and you can usually apply a 20% coupon, bringing the price to $.80 each. 18 is a star tip. Again, I’d check Michael’s if you have one in your area.
- How to pipe frosting with round tips. Apply firm pressure for a smooth application.
- How to pipe frosting with star tips. Use short “bursts” instead of applying firm, steady pressure. You aren’t making lines or covering large sections, you are making small starbursts all over the cookie.
- Frosting tip hack. Consider buying a few #5 tips. This makes it easier to work with a variety of frosting bags filled with different colors!
- Stacking cookies. The frosting will set up enough (after an hour or two) to allow you to stack the cookies 2 cookies tall for storage. I don't recommend stacking them any taller.
How to Fill a Frosting Bag and Use Couplers
Ingredients
Sugar Cookies
- Butter and Shortening: I use a combination of butter and shortening for the best texture and flavor. If you don't want to use shortening you can use all butter, but I highly recommend trying the recipe as written first.
- Sugar: There are only two types of cookies that I don't use a combination of brown sugar and granulated sugar for: sugar cookies and snickerdoodles. White sugar is best for sugar cookies. It gives them great flavor and texture.
- Egg: For richness and texture.
- Vanilla Extract and Almond Extract: Extracts are where you can get creative when making cookies. Vanilla and almond are my favorites to use and are a wonderful flavor combination.
- Flour: All-purpose flour is a great option for baking cookies.
- Cornstarch: This recipe requires a substantial amount of cornstarch. Trust me, it makes a soft and tender cookie.
- Baking powder: Baking powder gives sugar cookies life and a light texture.
Easy Buttercream Frosting
- Butter: For the best flavor and texture, always use butter in your frosting.
- Powdered Sugar: Powdered sugar gives the frosting a fluffy and smooth texture.
- Milk or Heavy Cream: A bit of milk or cream helps thin the frosting out to a spreadable consistency.
- Vanilla: For flavoring.
Decorating Supplies
- Disposable Frosting Bags: these are convenient to have and just toss after using.
- Couplers: couplers attach to the frosting bag and make it easy to switch out the frosting tip that you are using. With a coupler, you can switch from a round tip to a star without filling a new bag with frosting!
- Food coloring: This is my favorite and gives such bright, vivid colors.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
How To Make Easter Basket Sugar Cookies
Step 1: In a large mixing bowl (or bowl of a stand mixer), combine butter, shortening, and sugar. Beat until fluffy.
Step 2: Turn the electric mixer to a low speed and add the egg, vanilla extract, and almond extract. Add baking powder. Stir in the flour and cornstarch, and mix until a soft dough forms.
Step 3: Lightly flour your working surface and shape dough into a large ball.
Step 4: Roll the dough out to the desired thickness using a rolling pin (I usually do ¼- ⅜"). Cut into shapes and bake sugar cookies. Let cookies cool completely.
Step 5: Whisk ingredients together for frosting (or beat with a hand mixer). Separate into bowls and stir in food coloring. Fill piping bags with frosting and desired frosting tips. Use a #5 or #7 tip for the basket and background colors, and a #18 tip for the grass.
Step 6: Outline cookies with basket color and a #5 frosting tip. Fill the bottom half of the cookie with the same color.
Step 7: Pipe the background color (blue) using a #5 frosting tip. Use the star tip (#18) to add grass.
Step 8: Pipe on bunny ears for the bunny cookie variation using white for the ears and pink for the pinks of the ears.
Step 9: Add M&M chocolate candy or jelly beans for the basic Easter basket variation. Add a few sprinkles if you'd like.
For best results store decorated sugar cookies in an airtight container at room temperature or chilled in the refrigerator.
You can also bake cookies ahead of time and freeze undecorated cookies in a freezer bag until ready to decorate!
Easter Basket Cookie FAQs
Corn starch softens the dough, making it feel like a cloud. It also makes for a softer sugar cookie.
Some recipes call for refrigeration, but this one doesn't. If you'd like to make it ahead of time you can wrap the dough tightly in plastic wrap and then use it later, but this is a great last-minute recipe because refrigeration is not necessary.
The frosting will set up enough (after an hour or two) to allow you to stack the cookies 2 cookies tall for storage. I don't recommend stacking them any taller.
More Easter Cookies To Make
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Easter Basket Sugar Cookies
Equipment
- Rolling Pin
- #5 frosting tips (round tip)
- #18 frosting tip (open star tip)
- frosting/pastry bags
- frosting couplers
- egg shaped cookie cutter
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter
- ½ cup shortening
- 1 ½ cup sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 ½ tsp. vanilla extract
- 2 tsp. almond extract
- 2 tsp. baking powder
- ½ cup cornstarch
- 4 cup all purpose flour
Buttercream Frosting
- 1 cup butter room temperature
- 6 cups powdered sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract or any extracts you'd like
- 6-8 Tbsp. milk
- food coloring
- Easter candy M&Ms
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
- In a large mixing bowl, cream softened butter, shortening, and sugar. Beat until fluffy with an electric or stand mixer using the paddle attachment. Turn the mixer down and add egg, vanilla, and almond extract. Add baking powder. Add flour* and cornstarch and mix thoroughly.*Start with 3 ½ cups of flour, and if the dough seems too soft, add the last ½ cup of flour to the mixture. If the dough seems too dry, add a tablespoon or two of water.
- Lightly flour your work surface and shape the dough into a large ball. No refrigeration necessary. Press the ball of dough into a disk shape and roll the dough out to the desired thickness using a rolling pin (I usually do ¼-½") and cut into shapes. Carefully transfer cut out cookie shapes with a spatula to a baking sheet.
- Bake on parchment paper-lined baking sheets for 9-10 minutes. Cookies will be soft. Let sit on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before carefully moving to a wire cooling rack. Cool completely before frosting.
- Whisk ingredients together for frosting (or beat with a hand mixer). Separate into bowls and stir in food coloring.Fill piping bags with frosting and desired frosting tips. Use a #5 or #7 tip for the basket and background colors and a #18 tip for the grass.
- Outline cookies with basket color and a #5 frosting tip. Fill bottom half of cookie with the same color.
- Pipe the background color (blue) using a #5 frosting tip. Use the star tip (#18) to add grass.
- Pipe on bunny ears for the bunny cookie variation using white for the ears and pink for the pinks of the ears.
- Add M&M chocolate candy or jelly beans for the basic Easter basket variation. Add a few sprinkles if you'd like.
Bonnie says
Can't wait to make these Easter cookies.
Brandy says
I hope you love them!
Cathy says
The cookies are so cute. You make it look so easy to do. That is because you have the God given talent. I am going to try making them with your cookie recipe. But what about the icing recipe, did I over look it?
Thank you
Brandy says
Hi Cathy! Thank you for your kind words! I hope you have fun making them! The frosting recipe is in the recipe card at the very bottom of the post. You can click “jump to recipe” at the top of the post and it will take your right to it. Hope that helps!