Easter Cookies

The cutest bird’s nest Easter cookies made with a simple sugar cookie topped with vanilla buttercream, toasted coconut and chocolate flecked eggs. The perfect Easter treat that’s so much fun to make.

Ingredients:

For the Coconut Flakes:

5 oz coconut flakes sweetened

For the Cookies:

4 cups all-purpose flour 500g
¾ tsp salt
½ cup cornstarch 60g
2 sticks butter 230g, room temp
1 cup sugar 240g
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract

For the Buttercream:

1 ½ sticks butter 200g, unsalted, room temp
½ bag confectioner’s sugar 350g
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp heavy cream

For the Chocolate Speckle:

1 tbsp cocoa powder nice quality
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1 bag chocolate eggs

Instruction:

For the Coconut Flakes:

Preheat oven to 325F.
Spread out coconut on a baking sheet.
Bake for about 5 -10 min.

For the Cookies:

Increase oven temp to 375F.
Sift flour, salt, cornstarch into a medium bowl. Give it a whisk.
In a standing mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar together until fluffy.
Scrape down the bowl before adding eggs.
Add eggs. Mix until combined.
Add dry ingredients to the wet.
Mix on low with a paddle attachment until just combined. Drizzle in vanilla.
Transfer dough to parchment paper.
Roll into a disk.
Chill for about 1 hour.
Press to flatten and roll between 2 pieces of parchment paper.
Roll dough to ½ inch.
Use 2.5 inch circle cookie cutters.
Place cookies onto a baking sheet with a silpat.
Bake for 12 min.
Let cool before decorating.

For the Buttercream:

In a standing mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream butter and confectioners sugar together. Add a cream and vanilla.
Transfer to a piping bag.
Snip off the tip.

For the Speckles:

Mix cocoa powder and vanilla in a bowl.
Using a paint brush, splatter chocolate eggs with mixture to create a speckled, robin’s egg look.

For the Assembly:

Pipe a ring of buttercream on each cookie.
Press on toasted coconut to create a nest look.
Add speckled eggs to the nest.

Recipe Notes:

Rolling the dough out between layers of plastic wrap makes moving it around, as well as storing it in the fridge or freezer, much easier.
When you toast the coconut make sure to remove it half-way through baking and toss it around as the edges will burn quickly.
Make sure to let the cookies cool for at least 5 minutes to set before moving to a cooling rack to cool completely
The cookies need to be cooled completely before frosting
For making buttercream your butter needs to be at room temperature and soften to avoid lumps
Make sure to add the confectioner’s sugar gradually when making the buttercream to avoid making a mess
You can store the cookies in a cool dry place for up to 5 days or can be frozen