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20 minute Peanut butter Easter Basket Cookie Cups are filled with homemade buttercream frosting and topped with festive Easter egg candies.
These Easter cookie cups are SO simple and make the perfect Easter dessert. For more Easter cookies, try Carrot Cake Cookies, Bird’s Nest Sugar Cookies, and Easter Cookies.
Easter Basket Cookies
Easter is almost here!! I feel like the holiday just snuck up on me wayyy too fast, and I’m trying to make sure my kids do some fun Easter activities before it comes.
We at least try to do our annual Glow-in-the-Dark Egg Hunt. It has become tradition, and even the hubby and I like taking part in this fun activity.
Something else I love to involve the kids in is making festive Easter treats! This recipe for Easter Basket Cookie Cups is perfect for that!
We make a tasty dessert every year, and the kids especially love these! They enjoy frosting them and placing the M&M’s on top. Not only are these cookie baskets cute and festive, but they’re yummy too!
Whenever we make these for family Easter get togethers, they are one of the first things to disappear!
HOW TO MAKE
What I love about these cookie cups is how EASY they are to make!
No rolling, cutting, or chilling this cookie dough! All you have to do is make the peanut butter cookie dough (or use pre-made cookie dough to simplify even more), scoop into a muffin tin, bake, and decorate!
The presentation looks so fancy that no one will ever know how easy they were to make! So easy that I let all of my littles help count out three Easter egg candies and place them on top of the frosting. It’s a festive activity and a treat all in one – win, win! 😉
COOKIE CUP
BATTER. In a mixing bowl or stand mixer, combine sugars, shortening, peanut butter, salt and vanilla. Mix well. Add eggs and milk, mix until creamy. Fold in flour and baking soda.
SCOOP. With a large cookie scoop, place dough in the cup of a greased muffin tin.
PRESS. Using a tart press or something similar make an indent into each scoop. This will help mold the dough into the muffin cup.
BAKE + COOL. Bake at 350°F for 10-12 minutes. They will rise when baking and will set down once taken out of the oven. Let cool completely.
FROSTING
MIX. Combine butter, milk, vanilla and 2 cups of your powdered sugar in a large bowl. Mix till smooth and creamy, about 5 minutes. Then add the remaining powdered sugar and food coloring of your choice.
PIPE. Pipe your frosting into your cookie cups and top with Peanut Butter M&Ms. ENJOY!
Tips + Variations
Change things up and use your own favorite Peanut Butter Cookie recipe, or ANY cookie dough for that matter!
- regular chocolate chip cookie dough (with or without the chips)
- chocolate cookie dough
- Sugar Cookie dough
- even Snickerdoodle
- for another alternative, try the rice krispies version
- Add shredded coconut to look like grass
- Make a basket handle with licorice, pipe cleaner, or melt chocolate and pipe a handle to place in the frosting once it has hardened.
Muffin tin size: I use a regular sized muffin tin, but you can easily use a mini muffin tin. Just reduce the cooking time to 5-7 minutes. The mini cookie cups work great if trying to feed a large crowd, or if you are trying to minimize how many sweets the kids have on Easter. 😉
Storing Info
STORE in an airtight container for 3 days.
If you want to make them last a little longer, you can FREEZE them for 3-4 months.
It’s best to FREEZE them unfrosted, if you’re making them ahead of time. But if they’re already decorated, you can set them individually on a sheet pan, uncovered, and flash freeze them for a couple hours to harden up the frosting, then stack them in an airtight container or wrap in plastic wrap and foil.
For more yummy Easter treats, check out:
- Carrot Cake Cookies
- Easter Oreo Bark
- Carrot Chocolate Covered Strawberries
- Rice Krispies Easter Cups
- Carrot Cake
- Easter Dirt Cake
Easter Basket Cookies Recipe
Ingredients
Cookie
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 cup shortening
- 1 cup creamy peanut butter
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 eggs
- ¼ cup milk
- 3½ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
Buttercream Frosting
- ½ cup unsalted butter
- 3-4 cups powdered sugar
- ¼ cup milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- food coloring
- peanut butter M&Ms
Instructions
Cookie Cup
- In a mixing bowl, combine sugars, shortening, peanut butter, salt, and vanilla. Mix well. Add eggs and milk, and mix until creamy. Fold in flour and baking soda.
- With a large cookie scoop, place dough in the cup of a greased muffin tin.
- Using a tart press or something similar make an indent into each scoop. This will help mold the dough into the muffin cup.
- Bake at 350°F for 10-12 minutes. They will rise when baking and will set down once taken out of the oven. Let cool completely.
Frosting
- Combine butter, milk, vanilla, and 2 cups powdered sugar in a large bowl. Mix till smooth and creamy, about 5 minutes. Then add the remaining powdered sugar and food coloring of your choice.
- Pipe your frosting into your cookie cups and top with Peanut Butter M&Ms. ENJOY!
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Can butter be used instead of shortening?
Yes, you can. I have not, but you can. It might make it more dense or chewier, but should still taste good.
How much dough is needed in individual cups the mini cupcake pan? Do you prefer the larger pan?
They took longer than expected, but they look great.
I thought these were dry and not as flavorful as others I have made. I like to try new recipes but will go back to my usual . I bake a lot so no concerns I didn’t measure properly or anything.
Thanks for the feedback and giving the recipe a try!