Easter cookies with a bold color palette
Easter is my favorite springtime holiday. After a long winter, it’s such a joy to see all the flowers beginning to bloom and fill the garden with color and elegance. I also like decorating Easter cookies because all the shapes that match this season symbolize new and abundant life...bunnies, butterflies, flowers, ducklings, etc. The pastel colors are soft and dreamy, too. Such a lovely time of the year.
“Easter is the soul’s first taste of spring.” Richelle E. Goodrich
Sometimes I limit my cookies to just a few shapes, but when I was making these glazed Easter cookies, I pulled out almost every cookie cutter I had that would say “Spring,” “New Life,” “Abundance," “Beginnings.” That meant decorating all kinds of shapes: eggs, butterflies, tulips, flowers, rabbits (several different kinds), ducklings. What fun!
Cookie specifics
Classic Sugar Cookies. This cookie recipe brings back memories of the Christmas cookies my mother made during the holidays...with a bold vanilla flavor and slightly soft texture, they make me smile every time I eat one. The icing is a think vanilla-bean glaze. The embellishments are made with royal icing and big sugar crystals for “fur.”
Easter shapes & critters
eggs, flowers, butterflies, bunny heads, ducklings, little crosses
Sizes range from mini 2 to 4 inches. 2½ to 3 inches is my favorite size for decorating and eating!
Old (and New) Family Recipes
Classic Sugar Cookie. A recipe based on one from Mrs. Gregor, a neighbor of my mom’s when she was a newlywed.
Glaze for Piping: This glaze/icing dries hard enough that you can stack or package the cookies without damaging the embellishments. I used it for all the decorative elements on these birthday cookies.
Glaze for Piping Recipe
Cookies
Classic Sugar Cookies: flour, butter, granulated sugar, egg, pure vanilla extract, baking powder, salt
Icing & Decorative Embellishments
Vanilla-Bean Glaze: sugar, water, corn syrup, food coloring, vanilla extract
Royal Icing: confectioner’s sugar, egg whites, corn syrup, pure vanilla extract or almond extract, cream of tartar, food coloring
Plate, Box or Bag?
Since I gave these Easter cookies to friends locally and mailed them to family throughout the country, I packaged them all differently. Here’s what I used:
Paper Plate. For local delivery, I arranged them on a sturdy Chinet paper plate and wrapped the whole thing in clear plastic wrap. This is a safe way to get them from my house to my friends’ houses.
Box. Since I also took them to an Easter brunch, I packaged them in a cardboard bakery box with a clear window on top that made the contents visible to anyone who wanted to peek. Since the cookies were about 2½-to-3 inchesI was able to fit 12 to 18 cookies in a box.
I like these 6x6x3" bakery boxes from amazon.com.
Bags. I wrapped some of the cookies individually in clear, food-safe bags, secured with a twist tie. This made the cookies stackable without causing damage to the decorations. It also allowed people to take them home to share with family and friends.
I like these 4x6" treat bags from amazon.com.
Mailing. I mailed several boxes of cookies to my family and friends throughout the U.S., sending them Priority Mail through the U.S. Post Office. They all arrived on time and in good condition. I know the packages were appreciated because of the texts I received with all those smiling faces.
What I’ve learned...
These cookies were made with the best ingredients I could find and baked in a small batch of two dozen. I’ve experimented with less expensive ingredients, but have come to the conclusion that flavor is best when I use the best. Why spend all this time baking and decorating if taste and texture are just so-so? Decorating the cookies takes time, but it’s an enjoyable process for me and I know that those who receive them appreciate that. Life is just better when you can share something you love with someone you love. Don’t you agree?
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