Easter Sugar Cookies
These Easter sugar cookies are soft, buttery, and perfect for decorating with pastel icing and sprinkles. The dough rolls out easily, holds its shape, and doesn’t need to be chilled—making this the easiest (and cutest!) spring baking project.
Servings: 36 cookies (3 dozen)
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter softened
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
Optional Icing
- 4 cups powdered sugar sifted
- 4 tablespoons water or lemon juice
- 1½ tablespoons light corn syrup
- ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- gel food coloring optional
Instructions
- Prep: Preheat oven to 350°F and line two large baking sheets with parchment or silicone baking mats
- Creamed ingredients: Place butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl and cream with an electric mixer until well combined. Add egg and vanilla and mix just until combined—it may look a bit scraggly and that’s fine!1 cup butter, 1 cup granulated sugar, 1 large egg, 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- Make dough: In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture and mix on low until combined.3 cups all-purpose flour, 2 teaspoons baking powder, ½ teaspoon salt
- Roll out and cut: Turn dough onto a clean surface and gently press together a few times until smooth—do not knead or overwork. Divide dough in half and roll out each half on a lightly floured surface to ¼-inch thickness. Cut out cookies with 2–3 inch cutters, re-rolling scraps as needed.
- Bake: Place cookies 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheets. Bake in batches for 8–10 minutes, until just lightly golden at the edges and the tops spring back when gently touched.
- Cool: Let cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5–10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely
- To make icing, combine powdered sugar, water or lemon juice, corn syrup, and vanilla extract in a bowl. Mix until smooth, adjusting with more liquid as needed for spreadable consistency. Add gel food coloring if desired and decorate cooled cookies. Let icing set before storing or stacking.4 cups powdered sugar, 4 tablespoons water or lemon juice, 1½ tablespoons light corn syrup, ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract, gel food coloring
Notes
- Dough rolls best without chilling, but you can chill it if needed.
- Don’t overmix after adding the egg—just until combined.
- Roll to ¼ inch thick for soft cookies that hold their shape.
- Use lemon juice in the icing for a fresh spring flavor.
- A little corn syrup in the icing adds shine and helps it set.