Our Favorite Easter Cookies That Celebrate Spring

Add these festive cookies to your Easter table and baskets.

easter chick and egg cookies
Photo: Chelsea Cavanaugh

As the holiday coincides with the arrival of spring, some of our Easter cookie recipes play on classic spring flavors like lemon and carrot cake, as well as Easter-inspired shapes, like bunnies or eggs. Add them to your Easter baskets or serve them as a sweet ending to your holiday brunch or dinner.

01 of 11

French Meringue Cookies

french meringues
Mike Krautter

Inspired by the gorgeous displays of meringues in the patisserie windows of Paris in the spring, Martha developed the recipe for these elegant crisp-chewy treats. They're naturally gluten-free and colored in soft shades that mirror their flavors: chocolate, raspberry, and orange.

02 of 11

Martha's Easter Sugar Cookies

colorful frosted spring themed and easter egg sugar cookies
Marcus Nilsson

For Easter, Martha makes cookies shaped like eggs, chicks, and bunnies, all frosted with royal icing using her favorite streamlined decorating technique.

03 of 11

Watercolor Easter Bunny Cookies

rabbit cookies pastel painted
Bryan Gardner

As fun to make as they are delicious, these rabbit and carrot-shaped sugar cookies are frosted with royal icing and painted with a bright mixture of luster dust and water. Make it a family activity—like dyeing Easter eggs—by letting your kids help decorate.

04 of 11

Lemon Bars With Brown-Butter Shortbread Crust

lemon bars with brown butter shortbread crust

Lemon bars are a classic that delights year-round, but we think they're especially well suited to Easter. This sublime version contrasts the tart yet creamy lemon topping with a brown-butter shortbread crust.

05 of 11

Easter Chick Cookies

easter chick and egg cookies
Chelsea Cavanaugh

Lemon shortbread cookies become adorable chicks and eggs with the help of sanding sugar, sprinkles, mini chocolate chips, and candy.

06 of 11

Embellished Wreath Cookies

embellished wreath cookies
Mike Krautter

Take classic sugar cookies to special-occasion status with a simple glaze and a stunning combination of candied flowers, crystallized ginger, and chopped pistachios.

07 of 11

Carrot-Cake Thumbprint Cookies

carrot-cookie-0014-d112652.jpg
Marcus Nilsson

The flavors of classic carrot cake are combined into a convenient handheld package. Use cream cheese or go with goat cheese for a touch of sophistication in the thumbprint center.

08 of 11

Pastel Butter Cookies

pastel butter cookies
Anson Smart

These gorgeously-hued treats are almond shortbread cookies finished with tinted powdered sugar. It's made by blending equal parts of fruit with confectioner sugar in a food processor.

09 of 11

Lemon Madeleines

lemon madeleines
Victor Schraeger

These tangy delights have a citrus aroma that will pleasantly fill your kitchen. Serve them as a light dessert with fresh fruit or on their own at teatime.

10 of 11

Lemon-Ginger Cookies With Mint

lemon-ginger-cookies-med107484.jpg
Marcus Nilsson

Crystallized ginger gives a sweet heat to these lemon sugar cookies while fresh mint imparts a cool zing.

11 of 11

Lemon Icebox Cookies

med105388_0110_des_lemonicebox.jpg

Tart lemon cookies make an easy and satisfying treat, and they're easy to fit into your Easter preparations. You can make the dough and store it in the freezer up to a month ahead of time.

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