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Looking for a festive, make-ahead treat to add charm to your spring table or Easter baskets? These Easter Shortbread Cookies are crisp, buttery, and melt-in-your-mouth delicious.
Wait until you see the delightful expressions when you serve or gift these Easter Shortbread Cookies. Whether you're hosting a brunch, delivering treats to friends and neighbors, or looking for a fun project with the kids, this recipe checks all the boxes!
Table of contents
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Shortbread is simple, versatile, and a universal crowd pleaser. This Easter variation features an easy one-bowl dough, a quick dip in a simple powdered sugar glaze, and a dusting of pastel sprinkles or edible decorations.
The egg shape makes them perfect for spring holidays, and they look just as charming tucked into a treat bag as they do on a dessert platter.
What you'll need to make these Easter Shortbread Cookies
This recipe calls for basic pantry ingredients, which makes it a great go-to treat even when you're short on time:
- Butter - very soft, but not melted - I use salted butter.
- Powdered sugar - gives these cookies a smooth, melt-away texture.
- All-purpose flour, plus a little cornstarch, helps the cookies to hold their shape nicely.
- Vanilla extract - the classic flavoring, but feel free to swap in lemon, almond, peppermint or your favorite!
- A simple glaze that's made with powdered sugar and milk (or cream), with a touch of vanilla.
- Decorations - pastel nonpareils and/or jimmies.
How to make these buttery shortbread cookies
- This dough comes together quickly and easily. To start, combine the butter and powdered sugar in a bowl and stir until smooth. Add the flour and cornstarch and mix until a soft dough forms.
- Once the dough is made, it's time to roll, no refrigeration needed!
- Roll out the dough and you're ready to bake. (Check out The Café Tips below for perfect rolling secrets.)
- Roll the dough out about ⅜ inch thick and cut it with an egg-shaped cookie cutter. You can use a circle or flower shape if you don't have an egg cutter on hand.
- Transfer the cookies to a parchment-lined pan and chill them for at least 1 hour before baking. This helps them hold their shape and develop a lovely texture.
- Bake at 350˚F until the edges are just beginning to turn golden. Let them cool completely before glazing.
- Mix up the simple glaze and dip the cooled cookies, then finish with your favorite spring sprinkles.
How to roll perfect cutout cookies
- Keep your work surface and rolling pin lightly dusted with flour.
- I also like to rub the cutting edge of my cookie cutter in a little flour in between each cookie.
- Press fairly firmly when cutting out the cookies, but don't twist the cookie cutter as the shape will get distorted.
- I like to use a thin-bladed metal spatula to transfer the cookies from my work surface to the pan.
- If you don't have room in your refrigerator to chill the cookies on two sheet pans, just transfer all of them to one pan after cutting. Then later, once they're chilled, you can divide them between the two pans for baking.
- When re-rolling the scraps, incorporate as little flour on the work surface as possible.
- This rolling pin has been a lifesaver for me when rolling dough. It has adjustable discs on the ends, which allow you to roll perfectly consistent cookies in different thicknesses.
Dip, Drip and Flip
We call the icing method for these shortbread cookies, the Dip, Drip and Flip technique. It's easy and quick and you don't need any fancy decorating skills.
We use this technique so often that my daughter-in-law, Lindsay, made a video to demonstrate how it's done. Check it out:
Free printable Easter tags
We've created a sweet printable tag to help you turn these cookies into thoughtful little gifts. Just place a few cookies in a box or cellophane bag, add a ribbon, and attach the tag for a beautiful presentation.
To receive the free printable gift tag, leave a comment on the post, and we'll email the PDF to you along with instructions on how to print the labels.
Be sure to put these festive Easter Shortbread Cookies on your Spring baking list. Everyone will be thrilled with the first delicious bite!
Café Tips for making these Easter Shortbread Cookies
- This dough does not have to be chilled before rolling, but be sure to allow time to chill the cut-out dough before baking.
- These cookies don't require a mixer and can be mixed up in minutes. The only secret is to make sure the butter is very soft. You can achieve this by allowing it to sit at room temperature for several hours. If it's still somewhat firm, a brief stint in the microwave will work wonders. Use the lowest possible power setting (10%) and start with 30 seconds. Every microwave is different and it could take as long as 3-4 minutes to soften a cold stick of butter.
- Don't roll these Spring Shortbread Cookies too thin or they'll be difficult to dip into the glaze when decorating. I roll mine to a ⅜-inch thickness.
- Sometimes these shortbread cookies will be slightly puffed on the top when removed from the oven. You can give them a nice flat top by pushing gently with a metal spatula.
- Use any type of sprinkles you like for these Spring Shortbread Cookies. I really like the tiny round balls called nonpareils. For these cookies, I mixed pastel nonpareils with jimmies and flower sprinkles. Have fun mixing and matching!
- In addition to online, I find pretty sprinkles at Homegoods and TJMaxx. Walmart also usually has a nice seasonal collection, as well as the big box craft stores.
- Switch out the flavoring in the glaze to lemon, mint, almond, etc. Just substitute any flavor of pure extract for the vanilla in this recipe.
Thought for the day:
You are worthy, our Lord and God,
to receive glory and honor and power,
for You created all things,
and by Your will they were created
and have their being.
Revelation 4:11
What we've been listening to for inspiration:
If you enjoy this recipe, please come back and leave a star rating and review! It's so helpful to other readers to hear your results, adaptations and ideas for variations.
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Easter Shortbread Cookies
Ingredients
For the cookies:
- 8 ounces very soft butter, 2 sticks
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
- ⅓ cup corn starch
- ½ teaspoon salt
For the glaze;
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 4 tablespoons half and half, or milk
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
For the prep:
- Line 2 sheet pans with parchment paper. Set aside.
For the dough:
- Place very soft butter in a medium-size mixing bowl. Stir with a wooden spoon or sturdy spatula until nice and smooth. Add sugar and vanilla. Mix together by hand for about 30 seconds, until fluffy and well blended.
- Add the flour, cornstarch and salt. Stir until flour is completely incorporated. The dough will look a little shaggy. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and press dough in a ball. Knead a few times until fairly smooth then form into a ball again and press with your hands into a flat disk.
- On a lightly floured work surface, roll out dough to a ⅜-inch thickness. Keep work surface, dough and rolling pin lightly dusted with flour. Cut desired shapes and place on prepared pans. Re-roll scraps as many times as needed to use up the dough.
- Place cutouts in the refrigerator for at least one hour or up to 24 hours.
To bake:
- When ready to bake, preheat oven to 375˚F. Remove cookies from refrigerator and bake for 12-14 minutes or until just beginning to turn golden at the edges. Rotate pans halfway through for even browning. Cool completely before icing.
- For the glaze:
- Combine powdered sugar, half and half and vanilla extract in a medium-size bowl. Mix until smooth. The glaze should be thick, but pourable. Add a little more half and half if too thick. Add a drop or two of food color if desired and stir well. Transfer the glaze to a shallow bowl.
- To glaze the cookies, hold onto the edges of a cookie and dip the top surface into the glaze, being sure the entire surface of the cookie touches the glaze. Pull cookie up and out of the glaze. Allow excess glaze to drip back into the bowl. When glaze stops dripping, quickly flip the cookie right side up and give it a gentle jiggle to allow the glaze to flow evenly over the surface then sprinkle with jimmies, nonpareils, sprinkles, etc. Repeat with remaining cookies.
- Allow glaze to dry for at least 30 minutes or 4-6 hours if you want to stack them.
To store:
- These cookies keep well in an airtight container for up to a week. They also freeze well!
Notes
Nutrition
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Can you tell me how to make the glaze a light blue like yours?
Hi Kristine, I use a bit of Wilton Sky Blue and just a tiny touch of Wilton Leaf Green to create the robin egg color. You don't need much of either as you want a pretty pastel color. It's better to start super small as you can always add more. ENJOY!
I would love the labels for the Easter shortbread cookies. They are always a hit!
Sending them your way, Holly!
I would love the labels for these cookies. Thank you!
Sending them your way, Judy!
Chris, these cookies are the best sugar cookies I have ever made! Thanks for sharing your recipes!!
Wonderful! Thanks for letting us know, Malinda!
Your recipes are so wonderful. Please send the labels. Thank you
Thank you, Dot! Sending them your way.
Your recipes are always a big hit with my grandkids and the printable tags make them a great gift for friends and neighbors. I would love the PDF for these cookies
Thank you, Patricia! Happy to send the labels.
Theses are so pretty. I would love the labels. Such a great gift idea.
Thanks, Debbie! Sending them your way.
May I have the labels please. Thanks
lovely !
Thanks, Coline!
I'm going to make these with lemon extract. Would the glaze work with lemon instead of vanilla extract? Thank you.
Yes, for sure!
The recipe is great
please send the labels they would be perfect for my cookie gifts this Sunday. Happy Easter
Thank you
Hello Chris,
Another beautiful, but simple decorating idea. Would love to have the gift labels, pls.
Thanks,
Linda P. Myers
Not only are your recipes wonderful but the gift giving labels take it up another level
Please send me the PDF
Making them for Sunday get together
Would love the labels.
Have a wonderful Easter
As always, this cookie recipe is delicious and easy to make. Kindly forward the label.
Happy Easter to you and your family!
Hello Chris - I have time to make these for Sunday gifting. May I please have the labels to match. Thanks again Wendy
Beautiful cookies for Easter. Would love the tags.
Thank you and have a “Happy Easter”.
These look so good. I’d love the labels to go with them. Happy Easter from Pennsylvania.
Would you please send me the label link? I read though the recipe and am wondering what the changes are to it. Thanks so much, Donna
Happy Easter. Would you kindly send me the labels for these delicious shortbreads.
Thank you.
Happy Easter. Would you kindly send me the labels for these delicious shortbreads.
Thank you.
I love your scone recipes, especially the raspberry😋 Thinking your dip/drip frosting method will become my new go-to, so thank you for that great idea. I, too, would appreciate receiving the label pdf.
Looking forward to trying; so pretty!
Please send me pdf of easter gift card. TY
Please send the shortbread with dip, drip & flip frosting labels.
Hi Chris,
I have made your various shortbread cookies many times and they are easy and always delicious. Always a hit with family and friends. Please send the pdf for the labels..
Thank you.
I hope to make these during the weekend as a hostess gift for an Easter brunch we are attending. May I have the labels? Every recipe of yours is a hit! Kathy
how did you make that color glaze? I find it so hard to make the *right* color and I really like this one--not too blue, not too green, not too dark. Pretty please?
Hi Ellen, I use Wilton gel food coloring in Teal. https://amzn.to/4jwmxkN
I just use a tiny dab on a clean toothpick and run it through the icing. Then I stir it well and then add more (in tiny increments), if needed.
Thanks!
I'm excited to try these. I'd love to have the labels as well. Thank you!
Thanks for the recipe and the labels. Can't wait to make them. Perfect timing.
Chris, I love your cookies...and have started using your dip and flip method for ALMOST every cookie! Please send the tags. Thanks!
Love everything about these! Thank you for sharing them. Would adore having the labels to use for Easter gifts. Gratefully and with much appreciation to you! Happy Easter! Stella
Thanks for hopping in to my email today with a delicious and fun Easter Cookie recipe!🐇 Please do fill my email basket with the adorable pdf for the labels. Wishing you all a blessed and joyous Easter.
Beautiful cookies! I would love to have the labels. Thanks
I’m going to try these! Would mlove the label as well. Thank you & Happy Easter!
Would appreciate the labels for these cookies. Thanks so much and happy Easter!
These look perfect. I can't wait to make them! Your other shortbread cookie recipes are delicious so I am sure these will be. The dip and drip frosting is awesome. My grandkids love to do this. Please send labels. Thank you.
What a winning combination- YUMMY cookies and beautiful labels. Please send the lovely holiday labels so I can share these cookies and your recipes with family and friends this holiday! Thanks
Please send the labels for the Easter Shortbread Cookies. Thanks you for these great holiday cookie recipe and ideas.
Easter cookies look beautiful. Could you please send me your labels.
They don't spread! Perfecto! Delicious and iced with sprinkles, how lovely! Thank you all again for wonderful recipes. Would love the labels!
Thanks again,
Sandra Lee
My youngest granddaughter has decided that she likes to bake. We have set up a time every 2 weeks or so to try new recipes together. These easy shortbread with your dip & drip icing were our latest recipe. They are very easy and VERY good. I did splurge on the rolling pin so we'd get the right thickness!
Thank you so much for sharing all your wonderful recipes. I have made quite a few and have never been disappointed!
Wonderful! Thank you for your kind review, Cathi!
This was such an easy cookie dough recipe! I let them chill overnight, and they did not spread at all when baking. Quick glaze was perfect, and they are now ready for the kiddos for Easter. thank you so much for a wonderful, simple treat!
Awesome! Thank you for letting us know, Kay!
Lovely cookies! Can you tell me which color did you use for the icing on the cookies. They are perfect for Easter!
Turquoise gel food colouring as mentioned in another recipe
Thanks, Carole!
Hi AJ, I used Witon Teal food color: https://amzn.to/402ckTk
Just a little at a time on the end of a toothpick to achieve a pretty pastel color.
Thank you Chris
Hi Chris,
I made a double batch of Easter Bunny shortbread cookies yesterday. They are on their way to our grandcritters in Houston as we speak. I love this recipe - they just melt in your mouth - and the recipients always give them rave reviews. I have made them at least a half dozen times! My adaptations are to substitute almond extract for vanilla, and to decorate them with an almond flavored Royal icing, which gives them a little more strength for packing and shipping. They usually make the trip intact, yay! Thank you so much for this wonderful recipe.
Best regards from the GA coast,
Victoria
I'm sure they will love them, Victoria! Thanks for sharing your results, that's great to know!
I made these for Easter. My dough was a little runny so I just kept adding flour and cornstarch till it got better.
And they were a hit. All my friends loved them. I haven’t baked in years. Super easy!!! Thank you. They were the best sugar cookies ever. The icing was perfect. It as good as professional cookies
Thanks so much for sharing your results, Kimberly. I'm happy you had a successful venture back into the baking world!
I'm wondering if this recipe works well doubled. I'm assuming it would, but just curious if you have done that.
Thanks
Hi Kris, yes! I double this recipe all the time! Enjoy!
I have made these numerous times and they are always spot on! Sometimes I glaze them, but most of the time I just enjoy them plain, with a cup of tea. I love that these are so easy and quick and that there are so many different ways to personalize them!
Thanks so much for sharing your review, Teresa! A cup of tea and a buttery shortbread cookie is about as good as it gets, this side of heaven 🙂
Do you use salted or unsalted butter?
Hi Kathy, I use salted butter.
Do I omit the salt since I’m using salted butter?
No, I actually always use salted butter and that small amount of salt gives the perfect amount of flavor.
I attempted these cookies today and the dough was so soft I had to knead in flour to roll it out. Even after 2 hours in the refrigerator they spread like crazy. I had to go back and make a batch of my go-to sugar cookies to make my Easter cookies for tomorrow. :-(.
Hmmm, that's so sad Karen. I'm sorry that you wasted good ingredients. I've made these cookies so many times and the thing I love about them is that they don't spread. Not sure what the problem could have been. Hope your cookies turned out great! Happy Easter!
Perhaps it was due to not enough flour - a cup of flour varies depending on how it is measured. Chris - could you share your method for measuring flour? Do you spoon the flour into the measuring cup or do you fluff up the flour in the bag and scoop out with the measuring cup?
Hi Ann,
That's a good thought.
I almost always whisk my flour and then scoop it up and level it with a knife. When I'm making certain breads I do weigh it. I think weighing is much more accurate but sadly, that's not the way the vast majority of cooks in this country measure.
I made these cookies tonight, using your flour measuring method, and they turned out amazing!!! Pretty and yummy. The cookies are for a bake sale that will occur in about 1.5 days...I will put them in an airtight container, but should I put them in the fridge or leave them at room temperature until the bake sale? Also, can I stack the cookies on top of one another in the container, without damaging the glaze?
Thanks
Ann
Yay! I'm so happy you had good results with these cookies Ann! I would probably just pop them in the freezer for 24 hours. You can freeze them on a cookie sheet and then once they're frozen, stack them in a container. When you remove them from the freezer, just put them back on a cookie sheet to thaw. I've had good results with freezing them. They stay nice and fresh.
If you don't want to freeze them, I would let them get nice and dry before stacking them.
Thanks, Chris. Will the cookies keep in an airtight container at room temp for 1-2 days? Or should I put them in the fridge (freezer is probably not an option because I have to hand them in to the bake sale coordinator tomorrow (Fri) morning for the bake sale that will happen on Saturday...not sure if she has enough freezer room or can manage the logistics of freezing/thawing)... I would be grateful for your advice.
I think they'll be just fine in an airtight container at room temp. I would probably put parchment paper between them.
Scott is making me yearn for Spring, but then again it might be these cookies!
Austin sounds like a great place to visit and enjoy the food. I would also enjoy a few of these pretty cookies with a cup of tea. Have a Happy Easter!
Austin is fun, isn't it? I remember it back in the 80's when it was still a bit sleepy, but really dynamic at the same time. Anyway, speaking of dynamic, these cookies are! They look wonderful, and I love shortbread. Perfect for me -- thanks!
I am longing to see some of those blooms and buds here! I am color-starved 🙂 I absolutely love your Easter egg shortbread cookings, Chris!
These are so pretty Chris! And shortbread is my favorite kind of cookie! Thanks for sharing the gorgeous photos from your trip! I'll need to visit Austin!
First, I absolutely love these pretty and festive cookies! And I'm totally jealous of your Austin adventure. I would have loved to go, but it's a destination that costs an arm and a leg to fly to from Canada. I'll just have to live through your beautiful photos 🙂 Enjoy your trip!
These are so pretty and festive for Easter!
Simple iced cookies make my family very happy! And such a fun Easter treat. Enjoy your time in Austin!!!
Scott's talents as a photographer continue to amaze me. His photos are gorgeous!!! And how he even captured those bridge shadow lines. He has made Austin look like an Eden. So I know you have to be having so much fun. the cookies are perfectly beautiful. One could cut them into ovals and they would be Easter egg cookies, too!
So pretty Chris - just absolutely perfect for spring and Easter! Love Scott's photos- looks like a lovely place. I've never been but I hear the food truck BBQ is great! Enjoy 🙂
GORGEOUS! Love the color, these are just screaming spring! Pinning and sharing 🙂
I follow some lovely Austin ..etc..Texas bloggers and it looks nothing short of botanical gardens right now tome in the tundra.
Dr Zhivago:(
Still snow..
I love these colors Chris..super sweet!Enjoy your time there.
So seasonal and very beautiful! Happy Spring, Chris!