Easter egg and bunny cookies

This Easter, take a break from chocolate, and steer your eyes in a more lemony direction with cute and colourful Easter egg and bunny cookies. They’re easy to whip together and make a delectable treat for you, family or friends.

Looking for an alternative to chocolate eggs and bunnies this Easter? Easy! Whip together these adorable lemon Easter egg and bunny cookies to bring a little sunshine, joy and deliciousness into your home.

Lemon Easter egg and bunny cookie recipe

Ingredients:

For the cookies

• 2 cups flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 110 grams butter (1/2 cup)
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon lemon essence
• Easter egg and bunny cookie templates

For the icing

• 500 grams icing sugar
• 1 lemon
• Gel food colouring
• Water (optional)

Directions:

For the cookies

1. Print the Easter egg and bunny cookie template sheet, and cut out the 2 forms. Make sure you either use thick paper or trace the templates onto some cardboard and cut them out.
2. In a bowl, mix together the dry ingredients — flour, baking powder and salt.
3. In another bowl, beat the sugar and butter together on medium-high speed until pale.
4. Add the egg and lemon essence to the butter-and-sugar mixture, and mix for a further minute. If you’re not a citrus fan, then you can always substitute the lemon essence for another flavour, such as vanilla, almond or rose.
5. With the mixer on low speed, add the dry ingredient mixture 1 cup at a time, and mix until it’s well combined.
6. Knead the mixture softly for a minute, roll it into a ball, wrap it in cling foil, and place it in the fridge for an hour.
7. Preheat the oven to 170 degrees C.
8. Take the dough out of the fridge, and transfer it onto a lightly floured surface.
9. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough until it’s about 1/2 a centimetre thick.
10. Lightly flour the surface of the Easter egg and bunny templates, place them onto the dough, and use a knife to cut around the templates to form the shapes.
11. Repeat the process until you’ve cut out as many eggs and bunnies as you can, and then gather the remaining dough and repeat steps 9 to 11.
12. Place the Easter egg and bunny cookies in the freezer for at least 15 minutes, until they’re firm (this will prevent the cookies from losing their shape while baking).
13. Bake the cookies until they’re golden in colour — about 15 minutes.
14. Allow the cookies to cool.

Want beautiful Easter decor to match your cookies? Check out these elegant Easter decor ideas >> 

For the icing

1. In a bowl or cup, mix 100 grams of icing sugar with a teaspoon of lemon juice until it’s smooth and has the consistency of moisturizing cream.
2. Add the gel food colouring, and mix again until you achieve the desired colour.
3. Repeat steps 1 and 2 with other colours.
4. Using a teaspoon, drizzle one colour of icing onto the centre of each cookie, and spread it using the back of the spoon or a knife.
5. Allow the icing to dry for at least 10 minutes. If you leave it for longer, place some cling foil over the tops of the bowls or cups of icing to prevent them from drying out.
6. When the icing on the cookies is dry, add a little more icing sugar to each colour to thicken the icing in the bowls, until it is the consistency of toothpaste.
7. Place the icing into a piping bag with a small, round nozzle.
8. Practice squeezing the icing out onto a piece of paper until you’re confident with the flow.
9. Apply the icing to your iced cookies. You can fix any problems by using the tip of a toothpick (but be gentle).
10. Allow the icing to dry for at least 10 minutes, and then serve.

More Easter food ideas

Creative uses for leftover Easter chocolateRecipe ideas for your perfect Easter brunch
Russian Easter bread