With pre-made dough and fun Easter candies, these EASY Easter Sugar Cookie Cups make the perfect Easter treat. Ready in less than 30 minutes from start to finish.
We are all about easy recipes here at Best Dessert Recipes. Why not take a baking shortcut when you’re able to? The treats are still a semi-homemade recipe and they definitely taste better that the store bought variety.
Sugar Cookie Cups
Easter time is here and besides hunting for Easter eggs, I have been all about finding the perfect Easter dessert. But I’m not talking a 5 tier cake with homemade frosting and fresh fruit filling; I need easy Easter treats.
That’s where this easy cookie cups recipe comes in. They are the perfect size to grab when you just want a sweet bite. There is no need to roll dough, use cookie cutters or any other fancy tools.
Ingredients
- Pillsbury Sugar Cookie Dough – I’m always trying to go the easy route when it comes to desserts, so premade sugar cookie dough was the easiest option here. Hooray for short cuts!
- Unsalted butter – I always opt to use unsalted butter when baking, that way I can control the amount of salt added. Make sure your butter is softened to room temperature.
- Powdered sugar – When mixed with the butter, this helps to make the delicious frosting. Powdered sugar gives a fine texture while also being sweet.
- Vanilla extract – The vanilla helps to add a little flavor to the frosting. If you’d prefer, you can use another flavored extract. Or even combine a couple of different flavors. Coconut or almond would be good here too.
- Kosher salt – This is where the salt comes in. I have a million different types of salt, but coarse Kosher salt is my favorite.
- Milk – The milk helps thin out the frosting and also adds to the creaminess factor. Whole will be the richest, but low fat or skim works.
- Food coloring – Use any color you’d like here, however I chose green food coloring because I wanted these Easter cookies to look like Easter baskets. The green makes the frosting look like grass and it’s so cute! Use a variety of colors for a beautiful centerpiece or display and mix them with our Bunny Butt Cupcakes.
- Hershey’s Egg Candies – You can also use Cadbury Mini Eggs, jelly beans, a peanut butter cup, M&M eggs, or any other type of Easter candy that you’d prefer.
How to Make Easter Sugar Cookie Cups
For the cookies:
- Preheat oven and prepare pan. Preheat your oven and liberally spray a regular sized muffin tin with cooking spray. Without the spray, you will have a hard time getting them out.
- Add the dough. Separate the premade cookie dough into their pre portioned pieces and put one section of dough in each well.
- Bake. Bake until the cookies cups are until golden brown. This should follow the time on the package instructions pretty closely.
- Shape. Immediately after removing from the oven, using a tart shaper or the bottom of a spice jar, to lightly and slowly press the centers of the cookies down. This creates a small indentation for the frosting.
- Cool. Let the cookies cool for a bit in the tin and then carefully remove them by using a butter knife to help lift them out of the wells. Transfer them to a cooling rack to finish cooling.
For the frosting:
- Make the frosting. Beat the butter until it is light and pale in color, then add in the powdered sugar, one cup at a time. Add the vanilla extract and salt. Then slowly add the milk a little bit at a time until desired consistency is reached.
- Color. If coloring frosting, add the gel food coloring one drop at a time until desired color is achieved. You can use any color here, but I prefer to use green.
- Decorate. After the cookies have completely cooled, pipe the green frosting into the center of each baked cookie cup. Top with 3 chocolate eggs.
Easter Sugar Cookie Cup Variations
Don’t have a fancy piping tip or bag? The frosting can be put into a large storage bag or pastry bag with the corner cut on a diagonal. Just make sure the hole is big enough to let enough frosting out.
If you don’t have the time or energy to make homemade frosting, you can use store bought vanilla frosting from the grocery store instead.
If the consistency of the frosting is too thin, simply add more powdered sugar until you reach your desired consistency. On the other hand, if it’s too thick you can add more milk.
Toppings
Try mixing up the toppings. Green coconut adds another fun element to these cookie cups. It looks like grass! You can use mini Cadbury eggs instead of the Hershey version. You can also use cream cheese frosting or chocolate frosting if you prefer.
Instead of a sugar cookie recipe, feel free to use peanut butter cookie dough, chocolate chip cookie dough or any other variety that you might like. It’s really personal preference, just keep in mind the baking times may vary.
Storage and Freezing
Unfrosted sugar cookie cups can be stored, at room temperature in an airtight container for up to a week. If they’re already frosted or decorated, they can be stored at room temperature, in an airtight container, and are best within 3 days for taste.
Unfrosted sugar cookie cups can be stored, in the freezer, in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Be sure to bring them to room temperature before frosting and decorating.
More Easter treats you will love:
Easter Sugar Cookie Cups
Ingredients
- 1 16 ounce package Pillsbury Sugar Cookie Dough
- 1 cup unsalted butter , softened to room temperature
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ⅛ teaspoon coarse kosher salt
- 1-2 tablespoons milk
- Food coloring
- 2.9 ounce packages Hershey’s Egg Candies , or similar candy
Instructions
For the cookies:
- Preheat the oven to 350℉. Liberally spray a regular sized muffin tin with baking spray.
- Separate the premade cookie dough and put one section of dough in each well.
- Bake for 10-14 minutes until lightly browned (according to package instructions.)
- Immediately after baking, using a tart shaper or the bottom of a spice jar, LIGHTLY and SLOWLY press the centers of the cookies down. This creates a small indentation for the frosting.
- Let the cookies cool for about 5 minutes in the tin and then carefully remove them by using a butter knife to help lift them out of the wells. Transfer to a cooling rack to finish cooling.
For the frosting:
- In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter until light and pale in color, about 2-3 minutes.
- Add the powdered sugar, one cup at a time, and beat on low until all the powdered sugar has been added. Increase mixer speed to medium and beat until fully combined.
- Add the vanilla extract and salt.
- Add 1 tablespoon of milk and continue to beat, adding a little more milk until desired consistency is reached. Beat for an additional 2-3 minutes until the frosting is light and fluffy.
- If coloring frosting, add the gel food coloring one drop at a time until desired color is achieved. Add the frosting to a piping bag.
- After the cookies have completely cooled, pipe the frosting into the middle of the cookie cup. Top with 3 chocolate eggs.
- If you've tried this recipe, come back and let us know how it was in the comments or star ratings.
Louise
These are so cute and fun to make! I love the shortcut cookie dough idea. Always here for the short-cuts!
Toni
These are really adorable! My kids will surely enjoy these cookie cups!
Emily Flint
I did a test run on these to make sure they would turn out and they were perfect! My son is going to have so much fun decorating these.
Juliane
Looks reaally good and fun to make!
Heather Johnson
delicious and adorable – definite win for Easter! loved these and loved using premade dough – simple!!!