A Creative Cookie Recipe for Easter

Written by Ashley Pepitone of Camp Makery for Building Blocks.

This iced sugar cookie recipe is a family favorite. My daughter Delaney and I make them every chance we get, and it is such a lovely bonding experience. We have so much fun deciding what shape to make and getting creative with the icing colors and decorations!

For Easter, I love classic, natural design elements such as the simple beauty of speckled Robin’s eggs — the timeless combination of pale turquoise with chocolate brown specks are beautiful. However, I was making these cookies with a four year old and the usual method of getting those perfectly random dots on the cake is to load a brush with food coloring and splatter it on. Quite messy- even for an adult! I decided to try a different method and thank goodness it worked like a charm. Read below to see how we did it!

Robins Egg Cookies

INGREDIENTS

Almond Sugar Cookie Dough

• 3 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 c granulated sugar
• 2 sticks cold salted butter
• 1 egg
• 1.5 tsp pure almond extract

Almond Royal Icing

• 4 tbsp meringue powder (available in specialty baking stores as well as the baking section of craft stores such as Hobby Lobby or Michael’s)
• Scant 1/2 c. water
• 1 lb. powdered sugar
• 1/2 – 1 tsp light corn syrup
• Few drops clear almond extract
• Gel food coloring turquoise blue and brown

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Sift together the dry ingredients (flour and baking powder), set aside. Cut the butter into chunks and cream with the sugar. Add the egg and extracts and mix. Gradually add the flour mixture and beat just until combined, scraping the bowl as you go.
3. Knead the dough together with your hands as you scoop it out of the bowl for rolling. It will be crumbly at first!
4. Immediately on a floured surface to about 1/4″ to 3/8″ thick. Cut with cookie cutters. Place on parchment lined baking sheets and bake for 10-12 minutes. They will not spread too much, but leave at least 2″ between cookies. Let sit a few minutes on the sheet, then transfer to a cooling rack.

For the Icing

Using the paddle attachment of your mixer, combine the meringue powder and water. Beat until foamy. Continue beating on low as you slowly sift in the powdered sugar. The sifting is extremely important- do not skip or rush through it or you will get lumpy icing! Add in the corn syrup and extract, and beat on high approximately 5 minutes until your icing forms a stiff peak when you pull the paddle attachment out. Add blue gel food color one drop at a time.

To decorate you will need

• Pastry bag
• Small round tip for pastry bag
• Gel food coloring turquoise blue and brown
• Toothpicks
• Small spray bottle
• Small squeeze bottle

*Note: all of the above are available at specialty baking stores as well as craft stores.

1. The icing you just made is the consistency you will use to line your cookies. Fill a piping bag fitted with a small round tip about halfway with icing and outline all of your eggs. Add whatever remaining icing you have left back into the bowl. Begin adding water slowly, by the tablespoon, while mixing until your icing reaches the consistency of maple syrup.
2. Fill a squeeze bottle with this “filling” icing. Squeeze about a silver dollar sized amount into the center of each cookie and spread with a toothpick, being careful not to break the outlines you just finished.
3. Put a few drops of your brown food coloring in the small spray bottle and fill the rest of the way with very warm water. Replace top of spray bottle and shake vigorously until food coloring is dissolved. Lightly mist all of your blue egg cookies with this mixture.
4. Allow the cookies to dry a minimum of 3 hours, or overnight.

Don’t forget! Easter is this Sunday, April 5 — Shop our Easter Collection online or in stores!