Easter Cookies

These Easter cookies are buttery and slightly soft, decorated with an icing recipe using evaporated milk and natural food coloring! These Easter sugar cookies are easy enough for the kids to get involved.

I'm so thankful to be collaborating with Nature's Charm. All opinions are my own.

This recipe was originally published on April 10, 2022. It was updated with new photos and information on March 7, 2024.

Ingredients

• Gluten-free flour blend - Make sure your 1-to-1 or measure-for-measure flour blend includes xanthan gum! If you don't eat a gluten-free diet, you can substitute this with regular all-purpose flour.
• Almond flour - Adding almond flour gives these Easter egg cookies a tender crumb, as well as depth to the flavor.
• Salt - A little salt is necessary to balance the sweetness.
• Vegan butter - For best results, use vegan butter sticks rather than the butter spreads in tubs. If you consume dairy, you can substitute the butter and coconut oil with regular dairy butter. Use 1 cup (227g) unsalted butter to replace the vegan butter and coconut oil.
• Granulated sugar - Essential in any sugar cookie recipe!
• Vanilla extract - Use pure vanilla extract, and not imitation or artificial extract.
• Evaporated oat milk - The oat milk goes into both the cookie dough and the icing!
• Powdered sugar - Be sure to sift it first to get rid of any clumps.
• Natural food coloring - I made four colors using matcha powder, butterfly pea powder, beet powder, and ground turmeric.

How to Make Easter Cookies

Step 1: Combine the gluten-free flour blend, almond flour, and salt in a bowl. Set aside

Step 2: Cream together the softened vegan butter, melted coconut oil, and granulated sugar in a large bowl with a hand mixer, or in the bowl of a stand mixer. Add the evaporated oat milk, and vanilla extract, and mix again.

Step 3: Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix until you don't see any dry bits of flour. Cover and let it rest on the counter for 30 minutes.

Step 4: Take the dough out onto a piece of parchment paper, cover that with another sheet of parchment paper, and roll it out to ¼ inch (½ cm) thickness. Put it in the refrigerator while you preheat the oven.

Step 5: Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Step 6: Cut shapes out of the chilled rolled-out cookie dough using an egg-shaped cookie cutter and place them on the baking sheet.

Step 7: Bake the Easter egg sugar cookies for 8-10 minutes. Re-roll any leftover cookie dough and bake more cookies, until you have no more cookie dough left.

Step 8: Let them cool completely on the baking sheet before taking them onto a wire rack.

How to Decorate Easter Cookies

Step 1: Mix together sifted powdered sugar and evaporated oat milk in a small bowl.

Step 2: Separate the icing into smaller bowls and mix in natural food color.

Step 3: Dip in the top surface of each cookie and set it on a wire rack to let it dry.

Step 4: Put the rest of the icing in individual piping bags with a small piping tip. Decorate the cookies by drawing lines and dots with the icing.

Another option is to frost them with buttercream like I did for these gluten free sugar cookies.

Recipe Pro-Tips

• Roll out the dough before you chill. If the cookie dough is at room temperature, the dough will be too soft and you won't be able to transfer it onto the baking sheet. For beautiful egg-shaped cookies, make sure to roll out the dough first, chill it, then use your cookie cutter to cut out the cookies and put them on the baking sheet.
• Cool the cookies completely before you decorate. If the cookies are warm, the icing won't set properly. Patience is a virtue, so make sure you let them cool completely!
• Adjust the recipe if you're using powdered food coloring. Powdered food coloring tends to soak up the moisture in the icing, so add ¼ teaspoon of extra evaporated oat milk at a time and mix it until it reaches its original consistency.
• Let the base color set before decorating. If you don't let the base color set before adding dots and lines, the decorations won't be as crisp and clean. Make sure you wait about 15 to 20 minutes after dipping the cookies into the icing to let it dry, before going in with your piping tips to draw stripes.
• Fix the icing while it's still wet. If you see any air bubbles in the icing, you can poke it with the tip of a toothpick while it's still wet! If your icing starts dripping down the sides, you can easily wipe it off with your finger!

Storage Directions

• Storing: Keep these Easter cookies stored in an airtight container at room temperature for 3 to 4 days.
• Freezing: Wrap each cookie individually and put it in a freezer bag or airtight container. You can keep them in the freezer for up to 3 months. Let the cookies defrost in the refrigerator overnight to avoid condensation.

More Easter Recipes

• If you want more Easter egg-themed desserts, try my bird's nest cookies or my cupcakes baked in eggshells!
• Do you want more Easter cookie ideas? These lemon curd cookies are for you! They have the same buttery cookie base, but they're filled with luscious lemon curd.
• If you're more of a cupcake person, go for these carrot cake cupcakes or these dairy free vanilla cupcakes.
• If you're looking for gluten-free recipes to share on Easter, make these gluten-free oatmeal cookies, gluten-free brownies, or gluten-free German chocolate cake!

Thanks so much for stopping by! I hope you loved this Easter Cookies Recipe. For more delicious dairy-free, gluten-free, and/or vegan dessert inspiration, make sure to follow me on Pinterest, Facebook, and Instagram. You can also get all of my newest content delivered straight to your inbox by signing up for my email newsletter — I promise not to spam you!