How to Make these Easy-to-Decorate Chicks Easter Cookies

Cute and easy to decorate chicks sugar cookies all dressed up for Easter

It's so easy to get into spring spirit when baking - and EATING! - these butter and flaky sugar cookies ... all dressed up as cute chicks. Perfect for Easter!

Here are is basic, fool-proof recipe for irresistible sugar cookies, and an easy ways to decorate them. 

For these Easter cookies I'm using an egg shaped cookie cutter. But you are welcome to use any oval (or maybe round) cookie cutter too. 

These are the Easter cookie cutters I have.

These sugar cookies are perfect not just to enjoy for breakfast or snack, but also make delicious gift idea all wrapped up in some festive paper.

Here are some tips for you when baking these cookies.

First of all: Most (other!) recipes say to refrigerate the dough before you roll it out and cut into shape, but why?!?! 

It's so much harder to roll once it's cold. So here is what I do. Roll when still soft, and preferably on a piece of parchment paper or a silicone mat. 

Refrigerate (or freeze if you don't have much time to wait around) and cut into cookies. The edges will be perfect and the cut cookies will be so easy to move to the baking sheet without loosing their perfect shape!

Make sure to keep the cookie dough chilled. If it's taking you too long to cut, chill them again so they won't over-spread and loose their shape in the oven.

Roll out the cookie dough to about 1/4 inch to 1/6 inch thickness. Adjust baking time based on the size and thickness. Anywhere between 10 to 15 minutes. 

Oh, one more thing. Don't forget to roll out the scraps and make more cookies. And if you need, simply double up the ingredients and make even more.

To make the simple icing to decorate:  

You will need:

2 cups of powdered sugar

1/2 teaspoon of almond extract

about 4 tablespoons of water

yellow and red food coloring (to make the yellow and orange)

black icing (or dark food coloring)

If you have add 1 tablespoon of meringue powder (if not, the icing  still works!)

Sift the powdered sugar in a bowl, add the rest of the ingredients and mix well until smooth. 

You will need some thicker white icing to make to pipe the edges (I use a number 2 tip with a squirt bottle or bag). 

Spoon some of this icing in two different bowls.

One bowl: add some water to make the white flooding icing. 

Second bowl: add some water and a drop of yellow coloring to make the yellow flooding icing. 

Take a tiny bit of the yellow, and add with the tip of a toothpick some red to make the orange for the chick beak.  You only need a tiny bit of orange. 

Start by piping the white edges as shown in my video. Fill with the white and the yellow icing. 

When slightly dry, add the eyes (with black icing) and the orange mouth. 

Let dry for five minutes and if you like, pipe the white edges again for a thicker edge like I did. This step is optional but I think makes for a better decoration. 

NOTE: 

Reaching the right consistency for the icing is key. What I like to do is test the icing on a piece of parchment paper to see if I have what I need. If too watery (and icing spreads out) add more powdered sugar. If too stiff, add a tiny bit of water. 

Now, let's get baking :)

PRINTABLE RECIPE CARD: How to make easy and cute chicks Easter sugar cookies