Celebrate Easter with these tender dairy-free cut out sugar cookies that are as delicious as they are beautiful. The crisp, golden edges and chewy center are complemented by easy sugar icing and sprinkles that add a pop of color to any holiday season.
These homemade cookies are made with few ingredients, are low sugar, contain no butter and the dough is very easy to work with which makes them perfect for beginners.
For more delicious holiday cookies, try our decorated no chill Gingerbread Cookies, Valentine's day favorite Shortbread Cookies, and Spritz Christmas Cookies. I'm sure this cut-out cookie recipe is about to become your favorite!
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
- No Chill - these cookies don't need chilling time in the fridge as they are made with vegetable oil instead of butter. They don’t spread as much and hold their shape after baking.
- Non-dairy and less sugar added - which makes these cookies suitable for certain diets and are a tad bit healthier. For decoration, you can use half less icing, as I did, and it will still produce beautiful-looking easter sugar cookies which are less low calorie and still delicious.
- Easy to work with and customizable. The cookie dough is simple to work with. You can roll out the dough thin for a more crisp result or thick for softer sugar cookies. Easy icing is a cherry on top but these cookies taste incredibly divine without it.
- Just like with my shortbread cookies, cheese cookies and Christmas cookies, kids love decorating these cookies with the whole family for a fun Easter tradition.
🛒Ingredients
For the full list of ingredients, please scroll down to where you'll find the recipe card.
- All purpose flour - Gives the cookies a light structure. A good quality Gluten free flour brand could work too (just make sure these contain xanthan gum just like Bobs Red Mill and King Arthur). Measuring your flour correctly is important (scoop and level method). This is the most often common mistake in making cookies. Another great way is to use a kitchen scale to measure everything out.
- White granulated sugar - otherwise known as regular table sugar (not caster sugar) adds sweetness, texture, and moisture to the cookies. You only need ¼ cup of it for the whole batch and this makes a significant difference in the nutritional value (without contributing to flavor) than many other popular sugar cookie recipes.
- Vanilla Extract - I highly recommend using the highest quality you can find (and all-natural, not the artificial kind) because it does make a difference in the flavor.
- Salt - adding salt does enhance the overall flavor and will not make your cookies salty unless you use way more than the recipe instructed.
- Egg - large or medium egg, both will work. Egg contributes to the overall structure, leaving, and color of the cookies. It tenderizes the cookie dough and adds flavor.
- Olive oil - instead of butter, we like to use extra virgin olive oil (you can actually use any olive oil or vegetable oil here). Compared to adding butter, baking with oil produces more moist and tender sugar cookies. This helps a lot as we are not using lots of sugar.
- Icing sugar - otherwise known as powdered sugar, confectioners sugar, 10x sugar. Icing sugar will add sweetness to your cookie icing making it nice and smooth. This is a simple method and works pretty well with the decoration of any cookie, muffin, or breakfast breads. For more complex decorations and more ‘’workable’’ icing feel free to use the classic Royal icing.
- Food Coloring - I prefer using gel food coloring instead of liquid ones because they blend evenly in the icing and give more vibrance and brighter color.
- Sprinkles - depending on what look you are going for (and the time to make the recipe) sprinkles or sanding sugars are an easy way to decorate on top of the icing. If you are trying to limit your sugar intake, skip those altogether.
✅ NOTE FROM ME about flavor and texture - this cut out sugar cookie recipe is something between shortbread and a buttery sugar cookie. These cookies are not too soft and chewy yet hold their shape well without being dry.
🥣Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
Dry ingredients. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
Wet ingredients. In a separate bowl or stand mixer with the paddle attachment, whisk the eggs, sugar, and vanilla until the sugar is dissolved in the mixture.
About 2 minutes.
Stir in the olive oil and mix to combine.
Combine. In batches, add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients, and beat on low with an electric mixer until all the ingredients are nicely combined. The dough will be relatively soft.
Sugar cookie dough. Transfer the dough onto a lightly floured silicon baking mat or on an even table surface.
Knead the dough into a ball and with a rolling pin, roll the dough out flat to about ¼ inch thickness.
It doesn’t matter if the dough is irregular in shape or size. And there is no need to chill the dough for these sugar cookies because there is no butter added.
Decoration. Using a cookie cutter, cut out the dough into desired shapes. Transfer each cookie onto a prepared baking sheet.
Re-roll the remaining dough and continue cutting until all is used. Repeat with the rest of the dough by rolling it again into a ball and then flat.
Bake the cookies for 11-12 minutes. The cookies are ready when the edges start to become golden.
Allow the cut out easter sugar cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely before decorating.
✅ EXPERT TIP When cutting the cookies, try to cut them as close to each other as possible. You get the maximum cookie amount with less effort and multiple re-rolling attempts.
While the cookies are cooling, prepare the icing.
Combine sifted icing sugar and milk. Feel free to tint the mixture with gel food coloring.
Transfer the glaze into a pastry piping bag and decorate the cookies. Add sprinkles if using and let everything set.
Enjoy cookies right away or wait until the icing sets to serve them.
Plain or decorated cookies will stay fresh and soft for about 4-5 days in an airtight container at room temperature.
You can also refrigerate them for up to 10 days.
📋Tips
- Avoid too crumbly dough. Just like with Ricotta Cookies, don’t overmix the batter. Mix the ingredients together until they are just combined. This will result in softer cookies. If you overmix, the cookies may become harder due to having gluten develop for too long in your cookie batter.
- Let the cookies cool - before adding any icing. If the cookies are too warm or soft the icing will not hold and cookies may crack.
- We used easy glaze icing here instead of the classic Royal Icing. Our glaze is a little thinner than the Royal one but decorates the cookies pretty well too. It will be harder to make complex patterns or drawings with it but cuts the prep time in half if not more.
- The great thing about the icing is that you can make a double batch in advance and store it in the freezer for up to 2 months. It thaws fairly quickly too!
- Don’t forget to sift the icing sugar to prevent any lumps from occurring. Store the powdered sugar in a dry cool place and check for the expiration date. Once it starts to go off it may develop hard bits and lumps in it.
- If you work with the dough for too long and it becomes too soft to handle, pop it into the fridge for 15 minutes.
- About the gel colorings - gel food colorings have more concentrated colors in them than liquid ones. Add the color in small drops as you’ll need way less of it.
✅ EXPERT TIP for Beginners. This recipe is easy and quick to make. However, if you are making these for the first time, allow some extra time for cutting and decorating those cookies. Also if you work for too long while cutting the cookies, pop the remaining dough in the fridge.
Decorating Sugar Cookies With Glaze Icing
We use a simple powdered sugar icing here, that even a new beginner can attempt to make.
Use plant-based milk, water, or more flavor juice of your choice to mix in the powdered sugar.
Or for a very quick fix, you can use premade icing.
For recipe success you don’t need complex tools - instead of piping bag you can use small ziplock bags and cut out a small hole in one corner. Or use squeeze bottles (best for Royal Icing).
For cookie cutters, we like to use Wilton or Ann Clark sets, bunny shape, and gel food coloring sets.
Just like with my Carrot Cookies, you can add orange or lemon zest to the icing glaze, or go for a cream cheese frosting as I did with my soft Pumpkin Cookies.
For these small-batch sugar cookies, we need just a little icing but you can make a double batch and freeze the leftovers in a freezer bag for a couple of months.
To get the right consistency follow the recipe as instructed, the icing needs to be thick yet still pourable. The glaze adds a tasty sweet flavor however cookies are delicious on their own too.
Do you decorate sugar cookies before or after?
Indeed, there are two types of decoration. Before baking, which is called ‘’embossing’’ and it is made with special tools - cookie embosser and cookie cutters.
However as we are working with icing here, we will decorate these easter sugar cookies only after baking and cooled.
Storage Instructions
- 🍱To Store. Place the plain or decorated cookies in a jar or airtight container and store them at room temperature in the kitchen. The cookies will stay soft for up to 5 days.
- 🥶Freezing. Baked and decorated cookies can be frozen for up to 2-3 months. Allow the icing to set first and in a large airtight container, freezer bag, or baking sheet, layer the cookies (multiple layers are okay) between sheets of parchment paper. When ready to enjoy, thaw them in the refrigerator or at room temperature.
- Cookie dough can be frozen for up to 3 months as well. You don’t need to roll it out for this. Just knead the dough into a ball, cover it tightly with plastic wrap, and freeze. Let thaw in the refrigerator and then take it out and let come to room temperature. Although, I still recommend baking these cookies from scratch as they are best enjoyed fresh, and without chilling at all.
Variations
Why stick with the classic vanilla flavor? Try something different!
- I like to add a little almond, rum, or lemon extract for a pop of zesty flavor. Or use a combination of two: almond extract and vanilla extract or paste, delicious!
- You can easily sneak in some mini chocolate chips, shredded coconut, nuts, or dried fruit to the mix.
- For more fun icing ideas try vanilla frosting, buttercream frosting, ganache topping,or cream cheese frosting.
🤷Frequently Asked Questions
If using gel food coloring, the color shouldn’t fade at all. Please follow the steps I mentioned on how to freeze this recipe in the Storage Instructions.
These tasty cookies will last up to 7 days at room temperature or in the fridge for about 10 days. But for fresh and maximum moist texture I’d recommend eating these within 3-5 days of making.
You may have added too much of liquid to your icing sugar. To fix it, just keep adding sugar until you get that nice and thick yet pourable consistency. And if it ends up too thick, add a tiny bit more milk until the consistency is right. Test the glaze on one cookie to see how it sets.
Place the plain or decorated cookies in a jar or airitght container and store at room temperature in the kitchen. The cookies will stay soft for up to 5 days.
There is no strict rule and it depends on personal preference. Soft and chewy cookies are typically thicker, slightly underbaked and are made with higher sugar content (more often brown sugar) which produces moist and soft cookies. For crispy cookies, it is best to make them with white sugar, thinner and baked until golden and crispy.
⏲️ Recommended Equipment
- Cookie Cutters - For this, we like to use Wilton or Ann Clark sets, bunny shape cutters.
- Rolling Pin
- Electric handmixer or stand mixer
- Food coloring - this needs to be of high quality so it won’t alter your icing consistency
- Silpat baking mat
Thank you so much for reading about this cut out sugar cookie recipe. Please feel free to comment with any questions you may have! I love reading your feedback.
Happy baking,
Rita
More Dessert Recipes
Take a look at our Baking archives to find even more tasty treats.
❤️Did you make this recipe? Please be sure to leave a star rating and a comment below. Thank you!❤️
📖Recipe
Easy Cut Out Easter Sugar Cookies
Ingredients
For Sugar Cookies
- 1 ½ cup all purpose flour
- 1 large egg
- 3 tablespoon olive oil, or your favorite choice
- 3 tablespoon white granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Glaze Icing
- ½ cup icing sugar
- 1 ½ tablespoons milk, plant based or dairy or water or juice
- sprinkles for decoration
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Dry ingredients. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- Wet ingredients. In a separate bowl or stand mixer with paddle attachment, whisk the eggs, sugar, vanilla until the sugar is dissolved in the mixture. About 2 minutes.
- Stir in the olive oil and mix to combine.
- Combine. In batches, add the flour mixture to wet ingredients, and beat on low with an electrical mixer until all the ingredients are combined. Dough will be relatively soft.
- Sugar cookie dough. Transfer the dough onto lightly floured silicon baking mat or even surface. Knead the dough into a ball and with a rolling pin, roll the dough out flat to about ¼ inch thickness. Note: It doesn’t matter if the dough is irregular in shape or size. There is no need to chill the dough for these sugar cookies because there is no butter added.
- Decoration. Using a cookie cutter, cut out the dough into desired shapes. Transfer each cookie onto prepared baking sheet.
- Re-roll the remaining dough and continue cutting until all is used. Repeat with the rest of the dough by rolling it again into ball and then flat.
- Bake the cookies for 11-12 minutes. The cookies are ready when the edges start to become golden. Allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before decorating.
- Simple icing. While the cookies are cooling, prepare the icing. Combine sifted icing sugar and milk. Feel free to tint the mixture with gel food coloring. Transfer the glaze into a pastry piping bag and decorate the cookies. Add sprinkles if using and let everything set.
- When cutting the cookie shapes, try to cut them as close to each other as possible. You get the maximum cookie amount with less effort and re-rolling.
- Enjoy cookies right away or wait until the icing sets to serve them. Plain or decorated cookies will stay fresh and soft about 4-5 days in an airtight container at room temperature. You can also refrigerate them for upto 10 days.
Notes
- Let the cookies cool - before adding any icing. If the cookies are too warm or soft the icing will not hold and cookies may crack.
- Don’t forget to sift the icing sugar to prevent any lumps from occurring. Store the powdered sugar in a dry cool place and Check for the expiration date. Once it starts to go off it may develop hard bits and lumps in it.
- About the gel colorings - gel food colorings have more concentrated colors in them than liquid ones. Add the color in small drops as you’ll need way less of it.
- Don’t overmix the batter. Mix the ingredients together until they are just combined. This will result in soft and chewy cookies. If you overmix, the cookies may become harder due to having gluten develop for too long in your cookie batter.
Rita
These cut out sugar cookies are a delicious treat on their own or use these as a great base to decorate for any occasion!
cookie lover
I was skeptical, but the cookies turned out great and took such a short time to prepare!
Rita
thank you so much!
Evelyne Jahja
Sorry the recipe says 1TBS baking powder, but it seems excessive. Is it that much or is it supposed to be 1 tsp?
Thank you.
Rita
hi Evelyne, sorry it is a typo, thank you for pointing this out. I have now adjusted the recipe card.