Speckled robin egg sugar cookies are easy to make and so pretty for spring and Easter! Frosted in buttercream and speckled with Oreo cookie crumbs.
You might also like our Peeps sugar cookies, our Easter basket sugar cookies or our soft sugar cookies with marshmallow frosting.
My robin egg cookies are SO easy to make. No frosting tips are necessary; simply spread the beautiful frosting over each egg-shaped cookie!
Why I Like This Recipe
- Tried and true sugar cookie recipe. I used my popular bakery-style sugar cookie recipe for the bunny cookies. The go-to sugar cookie recipe I've used for over a decade.
- Buttercream frosting. It's no secret that sugar cookies are my favorite cookies. It's also no secret that I'm not a fan of using royal icing for anything except assembling pop tart houses. I'm team buttercream in taste, convenience, and style. I like to think of buttercream sugar cookies as "homestyle" sugar cookies. They are beautiful but still have a homemade look.
- Speckled egg frosting. Many times, when you see a robin egg-speckled dessert, it requires flicking chocolate or food coloring diluted with vodka over the finished product. Not these! You won't believe how easy it is to achieve this look.
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Tips and Tricks
- Speckled egg hack. My speckled frosting is buttercream mixed with Oreo cookie crumbs. It's super easy to make, and a little goes a long way, so you don't need very many crushed cookies. You can use this technique to make beautiful robin's-egg-speckled frosting for piping onto cupcakes or spreading over cakes, too.
- Malted buttercream. If you like the flavor of Whoppers and Robin Egg candy, you can add a bit of powdered malted milk to the frosting.
- 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.
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.
Additional Supplies
- egg-shaped cookie cutter
- food coloring
- 3 Oreo cookies, filling removed and crushed
- offset spatula or butter knife
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
How To Make Robin Egg 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: Beat frosting ingredients together. Divide frosting into bowls and tint with a couple of drops of food coloring.
Step 6: Stir in a small amount of Oreo crumbs to each bowl of frosting. A little goes a long way. Start with ½ teaspoon and continue adding until you are happy with how your frosting looks.
Step 7: Spread frosting over cooled sugar cookies.
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!
Speckled Egg Cookie FAQs
Many times, when you see a robin egg-speckled dessert, it requires flicking chocolate or food coloring diluted with vodka over the finished product. Not these! My speckled frosting is buttercream mixed with Oreo cookie crumbs. It's super easy to make, and a little goes a long way, so you don't need very many crushed cookies. You can use this technique to make beautiful robin's-egg-speckled frosting for piping onto cupcakes or spreading over cakes, too.
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.
These will stay fresh for about 3 days, but you can freeze them for months.
More Easter Treats to Make
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Speckled Robin Egg Sugar Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup salted butter softened
- ½ cup shortening
- 1 ½ cup sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla
- 2 teaspoon almond extract
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ cup corn starch
- 4 cup all purpose flour
Frosting
- 1 cup butter softened
- 6 cups powdered sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 6-8 Tablespoons milk
- 3 Oreo cookies filling scraped off, cookies crushed
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl combine butter, shortening, and sugar. Beat until fluffy with an electric hand mixer or stand mixer. Turn the mixer down and add egg, vanilla, and almond extract. Add baking powder. Sift in 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. If the dough seems too dry, add a tablespoon or two of water.
- Lightly flour your work surface and shape dough into a large ball.
- No refrigeration necessary.
- Press ball of dough into a disk shape and roll dough out to desired thickness using a rolling pin (I usually do ¼-1/2") and cut into shapes. Add flour to dough if it feels too sticky but a nice soft dough is what you want. Carefully transfer cut out cookie shapes with a spatula to a baking sheet.
- Bake on baking sheets at 325 degrees for 9-10 minutes. Cookies will be soft. Let sit on baking sheet for 5 minutes before carefully moving to a wire rack. Cool completely before frosting.
Frosting
- Twist Oreo cookies to open. Scrape filling out with a butter knife. Discard filling and crush cookies into small crumbs.
- Beat frosting ingredients together. Add more/less milk until desired consistency is achieved. Divide frosting into bowls and tint with a couple of drops of food coloring.
- Stir in a small amount of cookie crumbs to each bowl of frosting. A little goes a long way. Start with ½ teaspoon and continue adding until you are happy with how your frosting looks.
Decorating
- Spread frosting over cooled sugar cookies.
Notes
- No salt is necessary in this recipe.
- You may have extra frosting leftover. We like making extra so that we can make as many colors as we'd like.
- If you don't care for almond extract you can omit it and use your favorite flavoring (lemon, coconut, etc.)
- Cookies can be made ahead and stored in the freezer until ready to decorate.
- Store frosted cookies in an airtight container (or cookie sheet covered with plastic wrap) at room temperature or in the refrigerator.
- Cookies can be stacked once the frosting has had a chance to set up. I wouldn't stack them more than 2 cookies tall.
Angelia Carson says
We have an allergy in the family to corn so we cannot use cornstarch. What could I substitute for the cornstarch please?
Brandy says
You can simply leave it out 🙂
Pamela says
Does the recipe really call for a 1/2 cup of cornstarch?
Brandy says
Yes
Cindy L Auler says
These look amazing! What will I do with those darn Oreo middles??? 😀
Brandy says
Haha! I’ll leave that up to you. 😉