A super soft cookie filled with lots of Easter candy, these Easter Cookies are perfect the weeks leading up to Easter! The pastel colors scream spring, and the flavor and texture will have you coming back for more.
Looking for more fun Easter treats? Check out these Easter Cupcakes and these Easter Marshmallow Creme Truffles!
It’s not a holiday if you don’t make fun holiday-themed food, right? And all of that Easter candy at the store screams to me every year to make something with it.
And what could be better than cookies?
This cookie recipe is based off of my favorite Chocolate Chip Pudding Cookies. But we’ve turned them into Easter Cookies with fun colors and candy.
Such a fun treat to make in the weeks leading up to Easter!
Ingredients
Butter: I use unsalted butter. And one of the tricks to these cookies is using partially melted butter. So no need to set it out to come to room temperature first!
Sugar: You’ll want a mixture of brown sugar and granulated sugar for flavor and texture. I use 1 cup of light brown sugar and 1/2 cup of granulated sugar.
Eggs: Use large eggs.
Vanilla Extract: I always like to use real vanilla extract.
Flour: All purpose flour works the best here.
Pudding Mix: You want to make sure you are using instant pudding mix, not cook and serve. And you are using just the dry powder – you are not making the pudding first.
Salt: For flavor and balance.
Baking Soda: This is to give the cookies lift.
Candy: I used a mixture of plain Easter m&ms and Cadbury mini eggs. But feel free to use any small, chocolate Easter candy. You could even add holiday sprinkles!
How to Make Easter Cookies
1: Start by partially melting the butter. You don’t want it melted all the way, but you do want it very soft. There will be some fully melted butter on the outsides, but the majority of the butter will still hold its shape. See the photo above to see what the butter should look like.
2: Combine the butter with both sugars and cream them together really well. I like to mix this in my stand mixer for at least 2 minutes. Then mix in the eggs and vanilla.
3: Add all of the dry ingredients – the flour, pudding mix, salt, and baking soda. Mix.
4: Mix until the dough comes together. If it is still super sticky, you can add in another tablespoon or two of flour.
5: Add in your candy and mix to combine.
6: Use a 2 tablespoon scoop to make balls with the dough. I like to press some extra candy into the outsides of the cookie dough balls. This just makes them prettier when they bake up. But you don’t have to do this step!
7: Bake the cookies until they are just golden brown. Don’t overbake!
Tips and Tricks
Make sure and keep an eye on your cookies as they bake. You don’t want to overbake them. I like to bake only one tray at a time. If you do two trays, rotate them halfway through the baking time.
For the mini eggs, I used a mallet to break up the eggs that went into the cookies, but then used a knife to chop the eggs that I added to the tops. While the mallet was faster, the eggs that I used a knife to chop had cleaner cuts. But either way will work!
You can make oversized cookies with this recipe, as well! Use 1/2 cup of dough for each cookie, and bake for 15-18 minutes.
Make Ahead, Storage, and Freezing
Make Ahead:
You can make the dough ahead of time and bake the cookies later, if desired. You’ll want to refrigerate the dough and make sure it is covered well so that the dough doesn’t dry out. I wouldn’t let it sit in the refrigerator for more than three or four days.
Storage:
Store the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature. These cookies stay soft for awhile.
Freezing:
You can successfully freeze both the dough and the baked cookies.
More Easter Desserts
Easter Basket Scotcheroos
Bird’s Nest Cupcakes
Carrot Cake
Pavlova with Fresh Berries
Carrot Cake Cookies
Lemon Cheesecake
Bunny Bait
Easter Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter
- 1 cup (213 g) light brown sugar
- 1/2 cup (99 g) granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3 cups (360 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 package 3.4 oz instant vanilla pudding mix, dry
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 cup Easter m&ms
- 1 cup chocolate eggs, smashed or cut into pieces (I used Cadbury mini eggs)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF.
- Cut the butter into pieces and place in a microwave safe bowl. Place in the microwave and heat in 15-30 second intervals, until the butter is very soft, but not completely melted. There will be some melted around the edges, but the majority should still be solid but very soft. You can also do this on the stove top – just keep an eye on it so that you don’t completely melt the butter.
- In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the partially melted butter with the brown sugar and the granulated sugar. Beat on medium speed for 2 minutes, or until well combined.
- Add the eggs and the vanilla and beat to combine.
- Add the flour, pudding mix, salt, and baking soda. Mix until it all comes together. The dough should be easy to handle – if it is still to sticky, add a bit more flour.
- Add in the m&ms and the crushed eggs and mix just until combined.
- Use a 2-tablespoon sized scoop (or a spoon) and make balls from the dough and place at least 2 inches apart on a parchment or silpat lined baking sheet.
- **If desired, you can press a few more m&ms or egg pieces into the cookie dough now. You don’t have to do this – it just makes them a little prettier!**
- Bake one sheet at a time until the cookies are just set, 8-10 minutes.
- Cool on the pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Karen says
This was the easiest cookie recipe ever! Love using my mixer! I smashed the eggs with a rolling pin which was way quicker than chopping them