Easy Easter Cookies & Recipes

Easter Cheesecake Cookies

Ingredients

• 2 cups flour

• 1 tsp cornstarch

• 1 tsp baking soda

• 1/2 tsp salt

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

• 4 oz reduced-fat cream cheese, softened

• 3/4 cup sugar

• 1/4 cup light brown sugar

• 1 large egg

• 2 tsp vanilla extract

• 4/5 cup M&M's

• 3/4 cup Cadbury mini eggs, coarsely chopped

• 1/2 cup M&M's

Instructions

Whisk together flour, cornstarch, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. Beat butter and cream cheese in a large mixer bowl at medium speed until smooth, add sugar and beat until creamy. Beat in egg and vanilla until combined. Reduce speed to low and gradually add flour mixture, beat just until incorporated. Fold in chocolate. Cover dough and chill in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours or overnight. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Use a cookie scoop coated lightly with nonstick spray to form 1 1/2-inch balls of dough and place two inches apart on prepared baking sheets. Press mounds to flatten slightly and top with remaining M&M's, pressing to adhere. Bake for 11 to 13 minutes, rotating pans halfway through, until tops and edges are set. Cool for 10 minutes on baking sheets, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature. Enjoy !

Easy White Easter Chocolate

Ingredients

• White Chocolate Bars

• Easter Candies (look for smaller Easter candies)

• Sprinkles

Instructions

Place chopped chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave with 30-second intervals, stopping and stirring as needed until the mixture is smooth. Spread white chocolate onto a parchment-lined baking sheet to a thickness of about 1/4 inch. Sprinkle with candies, then sprinkles. Gently press the candy so they will adhere to the chocolate as it cools. Cool at room temperature for 2 hours. May place the pan in the refrigerator to hurry the cooling process. Break into shards. Store in the refrigerator to prevent melting on a warm day.

Nest Macarons

Ingredients

Macaron Shells

• 100 grams granulated sugar

• 1 gram egg white powder

• 50 grams carton egg whites

• 50 grams fresh egg whites

• 105 grams almond flour

• 105 grams powdered sugar

• Food coloring I

Cadbury Egg Buttercream

• 4 tbsp unsalted butter room temperature 56 grams

• 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar 191 grams

• 1/3 cup powdered Cadbury mini eggs from about 2/3 cup whole candies

• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

• 2-4 tbsp milk

Chocolate Frosting (for the nest)

• 4 tbsp unsalted butter 56 grams

• 1/4 cup cocoa powder 30 grams

• 1 1/2 cup powdered sugar 191 grams

• 2-4 tbsp milk

• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

To decorate

• Mini Cadbury Eggs

Instructions

Macaron Shells

Before you start, get all of the ingredients ready. Prepare a large piping bag, fitted with a large round tip, I use a 1/2” diameter tip. Set aside. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone mat. Measure out all of the ingredients. Sift the powdered sugar and almond flour together. Set it aside. Place a bowl over a pan with barely simmering water, add the sugar and the egg white powder, if using, to the bowl. Then add both the fresh and the carton egg whites to the bowl. Reminding you to read the notes below, but basically you don’t need to add egg white powder, it is completely optional, and also, you can use 100% carton egg whites or 100% fresh whites if you don’t want to to half of each. The reason why I chose to use egg white powder in today’s recipe is also to make the meringue a bit stronger, since the carton egg whites often times produce a slightly soft meringue.

Whisk the mixture until frothy and the sugar is completely melted. It will take a couple of minutes. You can test by touching the mixture between your fingers, and if you feel any sugar granules just keep whisking the mixture over the water bath. Make sure the bottom of the bowl isn’t touching the simmering water because you don’t want the whites to cook. Also, don’t overheat the sugar syrup, this may cause issues down the line, such as wrinkly macarons. Transfer the syrup to the bowl of a stand mixer. With the whisk attachment, start whisking mixture on low for about 30 seconds, then gradually start increasing speed to medium. Whisk on medium for one to two minutes, until the mixture is white and starting to become fluffy. Raise the speed to medium-high and whisk for a few minutes until stiff peaks are formed. Best way to check this is to keep your eye on the whites. Once they get glossy and you start seeing streaks formed by the whisk, it might be time to stop. Whisk until stiff peaks have formed. When you pull your whip up, the peak should be stiff and shooting straight up, with possibly a slight bend at the top, but not bending down to the side. With the carton egg whites might take a bit longer than using 100% fresh egg whites to achieve the stiff peaks. And even when stiff peaks form, they might look a bit softer than they would if made with fresh whites. Adding the egg white powder and a bit of fresh whites can help with this though. Pour the sifted powdered sugar and almond flour into the stiff meringue. I made the batter into 3 different colors to make it fun. You can just make one color if you want to, but here are the instructions to make the multicolor shells from the same batch. Start folding gently forming a letter J with a spatula. As soon as you see no more dry ingredients in the meringue, stop stirring. Divide the batter between three different bowls (or however many bowls as you’d like). Work with one bowl at a time, leaving the other ones covered meanwhile. To the first batter I added a touch of wedgewood food coloring by americolor. You can also obtain this color adding a bit of royal blue food coloring and a touch of purple. Fold the batter until the perfect consistency is achieved.

How to know when to stop folding the batter: It’s time to stop folding when the batter is glossy and has a thick and flowing consistency. There are several ways to test this. First, pick up some batter with the spatula and try to draw a figure 8 with the batter that is dripping off the spatula. If you can form several 8 figures without the batter breaking up, that’s one indication that it might be ready. There’s another test you can do. I call it the Teaspoon test. Grab a teaspoon of batter and spoon onto the parchment paper or silicon mat. Wait a minute to see how it behaves. If the batter stays stiff, forming a point and doesn’t spread out, fold a little bit more, about 3 folds. Test again. Once the batter spreads out a bit and starts to look glossy and smooth on top, on the parchment paper or silicone mat, it’s ready. You don’t want your batter to be too runny either. So be careful not to over mix. It’s always best to under mix and test several times until the proper consistency has been achieved. When you hold the spatula with batter on top of the bowl and the batter falls off the spatula slowly but effortlessly the batter is ready. The batter will keep flowing off the spatula non-stop, but not too quickly. Transfer the batter to the piping bag. Seal the top with a bag tie so the batter doesn’t dry out. I did notice that the macarons made with carton egg whites require way less macaronage time, so this is something to have in mind because you don’t want the batter to be over mixed. Now, it’s time to work with the second batter. To this batter I added a bit of yellow food coloring, then fold until the perfect consistency is achieved, like I’ve explained above. Transfer the batter to another piping bag fitted with a round tip. Secure the top with a bag tie. Set aside. Now time to work with the final batter, I added a little bit of pink food coloring. Fold and then transfer the batter to a piping bag fitted with a round tip and secure the top with a bag tie. Place the piping bag directly 90 degrees over the center of each macaron template. Apply gentle pressure and carefully pipe for about 3 to 5 seconds, and then quickly pull the bag up twisting slightly. I made larger macarons to make the nests on top, I am providing a template for the larger circles on the blog, you can print them and place under your mat to pipe the shells. The circles measured 2.3”. Once you’ve piped as many circles as you could, bang the trays against the counter a few times each. Use a toothpick to pop any air bubbles in the surface of the shells. Let the trays sit for a while so the shells will dry out a little bit. I usually leave about 20-40 minutes, depending on how humid the day is. Larger shells may take a bit longer to dry. You’ll know they’re ready when you gently touch the surface of a macaron and it seems dry. Pre-heat the oven to 325ºF. Bake one tray at a time. Bake for 5 minutes, rotate tray. I bake each tray for about 15 to 20 minutes. When baked, the macarons will have a deeper color and formed feet. If you try to move a macaron, it shouldn’t feel jiggly. If the macaron is still jiggly, keep baking. Remove from the oven and bake the other tray. Let the macarons cool down before proceeding with the filling. You can also place a piece of foil or parchment paper halfway through baking to prevent the macarons from browning too much for the pastel colors.

Cadbury Egg Buttercream Put the Cadbury eggs in a small food processor and process until finely ground. Beat the butter with an electric mixer for 1 minute. Add the powdered sugar and powdered Cadbury eggs. Mix on low until ingredients are combined. Raise speed to medium high and beat for one minute. Add the milk if necessary and also the vanilla. Mix to combine. Add more milk if frosting seems too stiff, about 1/2 teaspoon at a time. And add some more sifted powdered sugar if the frosting needs to be thicker. Transfer the frosting to a piping bag fitted with a round tip.

Chocolate Frosting (for the nest) Start by sifting the powdered sugar, and cocoa powder in a small bowl. Set aside. Add softened butter to the mixer bowl, and beat on medium-high speed for 1 minute. With the mixer off, add powdered sugar, cocoa powder, and milk. Mix on low until dry ingredients are incorporated with the butter. Raise the speed to medium-high, and cream from 30 -60 seconds, until smooth. Add the vanilla and mix. The frosting should be smooth, thick, not too stiff. Add more milk if the frosting is too stiff, and add more powdered sugar if the frosting is too runny and you went overboard with the milk. Always remember the a little bit of liquid here goes a long way, so you don’t want to be adding too much milk to the frosting. Transfer the chocolate frosting to a piping bag fitted with a small grass tip.

To assemble Pipe a bit of the Cadbury Egg Buttercream in the center of each macaron. Top with another shell. On the top shell, pipe a tall ring of the chocolate frosting using the grass tip to form a nest. Sprinkle some toasted coconut on top if desired to create a bit of texture. Place a few Cadbury mini eggs in the middle of the nest. Let the macarons mature in the fridge overnight before serving.

Storage Store the macarons in the fridge for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 1 month.

source:piesandtacos.com

Easter Cinnamon Bunny

Ingredients

• Canned store-bought cinnamon rolls with icing

• Easter colored sprinkles

• Easter colored M&M's

• Baking sheet

• Parchment paper

Instructions

Preheat the oven according to the package directions on the canned cinnamon rolls or recipe you use. Separate the cinnamon rolls so you can start forming each one into the bunny shape. Use your hands to pull the outer end out and up into one bunny ear and then another bunny ear. Press down between the two bunny ears and in on the outsides of the bunny ears to secure them to the round part of the cinnamon roll. Transfer them to a baking sheet and reinforce the shape, if necessary, so each one looks like a bunny. Place them in the oven and bake according to the directions on the can or for the recipe. Halfway through the baking time, remove the bunny cinnamon rolls from the oven and reinforce the shape with the handle of a spoon and/or carefully with your hands as they’ll be warm. Place the bunny cinnamon rolls back in the oven to finish baking. Once baked, remove them from the oven and drizzle with the icing while still warm. Immediately sprinkle with festive sprinkles and garnish with two round candies for the eyes and one round candy for the nose. Serve and enjoy!

source: thebakermama

Fruity Pebble Rice Krispy

Ingredients

• Butter

• Mini marshmallows

• Rice Krispie Cereal

• Fruity Pebbles Cereal

• Kosher salt

Instructions

Line a 9×9 pan with parchment paper and spray lightly with cooking spray, set aside. In a large pot over low heat melt butter. Once butter in melted add in 8 cups mini marshmallows, stirring constantly. Once the marshmallows are just melted remove from heat and stir both cereals and salt until just coated in the melted marshmallow mixture. Now stir in the remaining 2 cups of mini marshmallows. Pour mixture into prepared pan and press in evenly. Allow to cool completely before cutting into squares. Best if served same day.

White Chocolate Easter Bunny Bark Bites

Ingredients

• White Chocolate

• Sprinkles

• M&M's

Instructions

Place silicone mold on baking sheet. Sprinkle M&M's and sprinkles in candy mold. Melt white chocolate wafers according to package instructions. Spoon white chocolate into mold. Chill until set.

Birds Nest Cookies

Ingredients

• 2 eggs (room temperature)

• 1/4 tsp lemon juice

• 1/2 cup granulated sugar

• 1/2 stick butter (softened)

• 1 cup confectioners sugar

• 1 tbsp cocoa powder

• 1-2 tbsp milk

• Candied Easter eggs

Instructions

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside. Preheat your oven to 200 degrees F. Separate your eggs and pour the egg whites into a bowl (you will only need the egg whites for this recipe). Using an electric mixer, start beating egg whites on slow. Add ¼ tsp lemon juice as the egg whites mix. Increase the speed of your mixer and slowly add granulated sugar. Gradually increase speed to high. Beat the egg white mixture until it is white and forms stiff peaks. This should take about 10 to 15 minutes. Once the meringue mixture is done, scoop it into a piping bag, with Wilton’s 1M tip attached. Pipe out circular rosettes onto your lined baking sheet, about 2 inches in diameter. Once your rosettes are piped out, pipe out a second layer around the circumference of each rosette. This will leave a hollowed center to put your buttercream and candied eggs. Bake the meringue for 2 hours. Once the 2 hours are up, turn off the heat and let sit in the oven for 35 to 40 minutes. Remove from oven and place on wire rack. Using an electric mixer, beat together butter, confectioners’ sugar, cocoa powder and milk. The chocolate buttercream is ready once the ingredients are completely combined, smooth and for semi-stiff peaks. Scoop the buttercream into a piping bag, with Wilton’s icing tip #233 attached. Frost the center of each meringue. Add 2-3 candied eggs on top. Serve and enjoy!