Description
Delight in these classic Easter Sugar Cookies, perfectly soft and chewy with a light vanilla flavor and colorful icing decorations. Easy to prepare in just under 40 minutes, these festive cookies are ideal for holiday celebrations or any occasion deserving a sweet treat.
Ingredients
Scale
Cookie Dough
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 2/3 cup butter
- 2 eggs
- 2 Tbsp milk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 3 1/4 cups flour
- 2 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
Icing
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 3-4 tbsp milk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- Green, pink, yellow, and blue food coloring
- Sprinkles of your choice
Instructions
- Preheat the oven: Preheat the oven to 350ºF to ensure it reaches the right temperature for baking the cookies evenly.
- Prepare baking sheet: Line a baking sheet with parchment paper to prevent the cookies from sticking and to make cleanup easier.
- Cream butter and sugar: In a large mixing bowl, use a hand mixer to cream together the butter and sugar until the mixture is light and fluffy, incorporating air for a soft cookie base.
- Add wet ingredients: Mix in the eggs, milk, and vanilla extract with the creamed butter-sugar mixture until the batter is smooth and homogenous.
- Incorporate dry ingredients: Gradually add the flour, baking powder, and salt to the wet ingredients. Mix until a consistent dough forms, providing structure to the cookies.
- Form cookie balls: Roll the dough into 1-inch balls and place them evenly spaced on the prepared baking sheet to ensure uniform baking.
- Flatten cookies: Dip a glass in flour and press each dough ball down to about 1/2-inch thickness, shaping the classic sugar cookie form.
- Bake cookies: Bake in the preheated oven for about 9 minutes or until the tops begin to lightly brown, watching carefully to prevent over-baking.
- Cool cookies: Remove from the oven and let the cookies cool completely on a wire rack before decorating to prevent icing from melting.
- Prepare icing: In a bowl, whisk together powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla extract until smooth. Adjust thickness by adding more milk (to thin) or powdered sugar (to thicken).
- Color icing: Divide the icing evenly into 4 small bowls, adding about 2 drops of food coloring to each (green, pink, yellow, and blue) to make colorful icing.
- Ice cookies: Dip the cooled cookies into the colored icing, making sure to cover the surface evenly for a beautiful glaze.
- Add sprinkles: Immediately after icing, sprinkle your choice of sprinkles on top before the icing sets to add texture and festive decoration.
- Set and serve: Allow the icing to harden completely at room temperature before serving or storing the cookies to preserve their shape and appearance.
Notes
- Ensure the cookies are fully cooled before icing to avoid melting and sliding.
- You can adjust icing consistency to your preference for either a thin glaze or thicker decoration.
- Use parchment paper or silicone baking mats to prevent sticking and simplify cleanup.
- Store the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature to keep them fresh for up to a week.
- Customize the icing colors and sprinkles to suit different occasions beyond Easter.
