Easter Bunny Cut Out Cookies
These adorable Easter Bunny cookies are surprisingly easy to make and decorate, and even more fun to eat!
Equipment
- 1 small icing bottle fitted with a small, round tip A piping bag will also work!
Ingredients
Cut Out Cookies
- 1 cup unsalted butter softened
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 3 cups flour
- 1/2 tsp salt
Royal Icing *See note below
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- 3 Tbsp meringue powder
- 7-9 Tbsp water
- Pink gel food coloring Or other colors if you want to have some fun!
Instructions
Make the Sugar Cookie Dough
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy (about 2-3 minutes).
- Add the egg and vanilla extract Beat until fully combined.
- Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, mixing until a dough forms.
- Chill your dough for about 30 minutes in the freezer or 1 hour in the fridge. I like to roll my dough out flat on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper to help it chill faster. You can also make two discs with your dough and wrap them in plastic wrap to chill.
Roll and Cut Out Cookies
- Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C) and line baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Roll out the chilled dough on a lightly floured surface to about 1/4-inch thickness.
- Use a bunny-shaped cookie cutter to cut out as many cookies as possible, re-rolling the scraps as needed.
- Place the cookies on the prepared baking sheets and bake for 8-10 minutes, or until the edges are just lightly golden.
- Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Make the Royal Icing
- In a mixing bowl, combine the powdered sugar and meringue powder.
- Add 5 tablespoons of water and beat with an electric mixer on low speed until the icing is smooth. Add more water, a teaspoon at a time, until the icing reaches your desired consistency. For this, I would say you want your frosting a bit on the runny side but still thick enough that it sticks to the cookies.
Decorate the Cookies
- Background Color: Dip all of your cooled cookies face-down in your bowl of white royal icing. Place them icing-side up on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper to dry.
- Pop Any Frosting Bubbles: If you see small bubbles forming in your white icing on your cookies, carefully pop them with a toothpick. Then, gently swirl the icing around to fill in the space left by the popped bubbles.
- Let Background Color Set: Wait at least 6 hours for your royal frosting to set before continuing to decorate.
- Store the rest of your icing: While your white royal icing is setting on your cookies, put the rest of the icing in an air-tight container with a lid so it doesn’t harden while you wait.
- Prepare Colored Frosting: After the white frosting on your cookies has set, give your leftover frosting a stir and it should be good as new. You might have to add a couple drops or so of water to “refresh” your royal icing. Then, add some pink food coloring and stir until evenly distributed (If you want multiple colors, you'll want a small separate bowl for each color).
- Put Colored Frosting in Small Icing Bottle: Put the colored frosting in a piping bag or a small icing bottle fitted with a small (I mean small!) round tip.
Decorate Your Easter Bunny Cut Out Cookies
- First, outline the ears of your bunny with colored frosting.
- Then, make a big squiggle through the middle of the ears.
- Lastly, take a toothpick (or just the tip of your icing bottle if you're careful enough) and gently spread the icing out so that the ears are covered.
- Finally, let your cookies dry again so the colored frosting can set.