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Shaped like a bird’s nest, these deliciously adorable Easter sugar cookies are perfect for all things spring!
If you like these Easter Sugar Cookies, you’ll love the Rice Krispies version – Rice Krispie Easter Nests and our classic Easter Cookies.
We Love Spring!
I love Sugar Cookies! They are perfect for decorating for any holiday or occasion!
Easter and springtime call for pastel-colored desserts with Cadbury eggs, which is why we made this version today.
I love our bakery-style Sugar Cookies and thought it would be fun to turn them into little bird’s nests. The kids especially loved these Easter sugar cookies!
Why we love them:
- Easy. These cookies are very simple, but do require some chill time!
- Quick. If you’re in a hurry, easily use store-bought cookie dough.
- Delicious and cute! Everyone loved these bright and cheery Easter sugar cookies, that are a great Easter dessert to add to the menu.
Ingredients
- cake flour – Easily make your own. Add 2 tablespoons of cornstarch to a 1-cup measuring cup. Fill it the rest of the way up with all-purpose flour. Sift them together and it’s ready to use in a recipe.
- all-purpose flour
- sugar
- butter
- whole egg
- egg white – use our post about How to Separate Egg Whites
- butter flavored shortening – or use regular shortening
- baking powder
- cream of tartar
- salt
- vanilla extract
- almond extract
- powdered sugar
- milk
- salt
- green food coloring – Gel food coloring doesn’t change the consistency of the frosting.
How to Make Easter Sugar Cookies
- WET INGREDIENTS. In a large mixing bowl with a paddle attachment, cream sugar, butter, and shortening until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes on medium-high.
- Add extracts and the whole egg. Mix, then add the egg white and mix until combined.
- DRY INGREDIENTS. In a small mixing bowl, whisk together dry ingredients. With mixing speed on low, gradually add dry ingredients until no flour pockets remain.
- CHILL. Place dough in an airtight container and refrigerate for at least 3 hours OR in the freezer for 45 minutes.
- PREP. Preheat oven to 375°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- SHAPE. Scoop balls of dough, and lightly roll them on a floured surface to coat them completely.
- Press each ball of dough flat so that it is ½” thick and about 2½” wide. Place 6 cookies onto each prepared baking sheet.
- BAKE for 10-12 minutes. Cool for 3 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
- FROSTING. Cream unsalted butter until it becomes light and smooth. Add salt, food coloring, and 2 tablespoons of milk. Gradually add powdered sugar.
- Once the powdered sugar is incorporated, bring the mixing speed up to high and beat for 2 minutes. Add more milk to reach the desired consistency.
- DECORATE. Frost onto cooled cookies with a spatula or a large star tip (to get the nest look). Add sprinkles, candies, or coconut.
Piping the Nest
To pipe a nest you will need a piping bag, a large star piping tip, and green frosting. Start piping the frosting at the center of the cookie and work outward.
If you do not have a piping bag set, use a large plastic Ziploc bag and cut the corner off. You won’t have the grooves, but you can still pipe out a fluffy nest of frosting.
Recipe Tips
- Decorating. I used milk chocolate Cadbury eggs, but any Easter egg (or candy) will do. Make egg-shaped cookies with an egg-shaped cookie cutter.
- Colored coconut. In a separate bowl add ⅛ cup to ¼ cup of shredded coconut, add 1-2 drops of green food coloring, and stir. Continue adding food coloring one drop at a time until the desired color is reached.
- No roll. Keep your rolling pin and cookie cutters in the drawer because this is a no-roll recipe. You will need to press the dough into the correct shape.
Storage Info
- STORE. Place Easter sugar cookies in a Ziploc bag and store them at room temperature for 4-5 days.
- FREEZE. Wait to frost the bird’s nest cookies. After the cookies have cooled, stack the unfrosted cookies in an airtight freezer-safe container.
- Separate the layers with wax or parchment paper. Label and freeze for up to 3 months. Freeze the frosting in a separate container.
- Store the frosting. To make ahead of time, or store leftovers, keep the frosting in the fridge for 3-5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw and, if needed, whip it with a whisk to fluff it up a bit before piping it onto the cookie.
For More Easter Treats:
Easter Sugar Cookies
Shaped like a bird's nest, these deliciously adorable Easter sugar cookies are perfect for all things spring!
Ingredients
Cookie
- ¾ cup unsalted butter, softened
- 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 1 cup sugar
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- 1 egg
- 2 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
Frosting
- 3 ¾ cup powdered sugar
- ¾ cup butter, room temperature
- 3-4 tablespoons milk
- pinch salt
- 2-3 drops green food coloring
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F. Lightly grease a cookie sheet and set aside.
- To make cookie dough, cream butter, cream cheese, both sugars, almond extract and egg in a large bowl or stand mixer until fluffy.
- In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt.Add dry ingredients to the creamed mixture and stir until a soft dough forms.
- Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface to about 1/2 inch thick (roll thinner for more crunchy sugar cookies).
- Cut with cookie cutters and bake for 10-12 minutes on the prepared cookie sheet or until no longer glossy and bottoms are a light golden color. Let cookies sit on the cookie sheet for a few minutes, then remove to a rack to cool.
- To make the frosting, in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, cream butter until it becomes light and smooth. Add salt, food coloring, and 2 tablespoons of milk.
- With the mixing speed on low, gradually add powdered sugar. Once the powdered sugar is incorporated, bring the mixing speed up to high and beat for 2 minutes. Add more milk to reach the desired consistency.
- Frost onto cooled cookies with a spatula or a large star tip (to get the nest look). Add sprinkles, candies, and colored coconut.
Video
Notes
Recipe Tips
- To mix the right dough consistency, be sure to use softened butter and cream cheese as well as room-temperature eggs.
- To avoid overmixing be sure to mix the wet and dry ingredients separately before combining them.
- We used milk chocolate Cadbury eggs, but other Easter egg candies will work.
Nutrition
Calories: 439kcal, Carbohydrates: 61g, Protein: 3g, Fat: 20g, Saturated Fat: 11g, Cholesterol: 54mg, Sodium: 191mg, Potassium: 108mg, Sugar: 41g, Vitamin A: 495IU, Calcium: 40mg, Iron: 0.5mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
The ingredients description and the recipe don’t match. It says things like cream of tartar but the recipe has none and vice versa cream cheese. Looking for a cream of tartar cookie recipe so I’ll keep going
I love these cookies so much although I am not a coconut fan, so I just did the icing and the candy eggs and it was fantastic! thank you so much for sharing this recipe
Yes, you can totally leave it off. Glad you liked them! Thank you!
We loved these cookies, they are so pretty! Kid approved too!
Thanks for sharing that!!