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Studded with mini eggs. Fragranced with citrus and spices. Bright with zesty lemon. Decorated with bunnies and sprinkles. Chewy. Gooey. That’s right: This collection of Easter biscuits recipes has it all.
I’ve got such fond memories of Easter.
My Mum — superwoman that she is — made Easter a celebration to remember. We had garlands, bunting, cut-outs of bunnies, flowers, and butterflies all over the walls, not to mention vases of daffodils covering every possible surface. Cornwall is home to many beautiful daffodil farms; driving to the coast, you can see sunny yellow flower fields as far as the eye can see, then the beautiful blue of the bay in the distance. My Dad worked at one for a while, so we always had bouquets a-plenty.
Then there were the Easter egg hunts in the back garden amidst the spring tulips. Instead of the modern chocolate eggs, I had painted matryoshka-style nest eggs hiding little treasures: springtime jewellery, pretty hair clips, and small toys. I never complained about not getting chocolate!
My Grandma taught me how to blow eggs over the kitchen sink. After, we’d dye them with onion skins or hand-paint them with pretty patterns.
But, as with other festivals, the food was where it really came alive. Every year, without fail, we would make my Mum’s “heirloom” Easter biscuits recipes, plus a few lemon cookies and chocolate birds’ nests for good measure.
This year, inspired by those happy memories, I’m going to make a big hamper of Easter cookies. If you’d like to do the same, or you’re just cooking for your new favourite Easter cookie, this list is perfect for inspiration.
I’ve asked my fellow extremely creative food bloggers to send in their favourite recipes, , ranging from cute and child-friendly to traditional and allergy-friendly.
🐣 What are Easter Biscuits?
Here in England, we use the word “biscuits” for sweet treats our American friends know as “cookies.”
Easter biscuits can mean two distinct things, depending on where in the U.K. you’re from:
In the Southwest of England (my home region!), Easter biscuits are a regional treat served to guests on Easter Sunday. They’re buttery, sugary little things scented with mixed spice, currants, and citrus peel. My Mother, who was born in Yeovil (Somerset), passed down a recipe that used cassia oil in the biscuits, as it was used to embalm Christ. While it’s worth noting that cassia oil is widely considered non-edible, it is essential for the authentic recipe and adds a lovely spiced aroma.
Yet in the rest of the U.K., Easter biscuits are an umbrella term. It can refer to any Easter-decorated biscuit, including sugar cookies cut into Easter shapes, lemony shortbread (lemon is always associated with Easter, isn’t it?), and mini-egg bird’s nests (every child brings these home from school!). These are more modern inventions, but nonetheless delicious.
🐰 Why Are Biscuits Associated with Easter?
Biscuits have a strong connection with Easter, especially in the U.K.
In the 40-day run-up to Easter, called Lent, people abstained from all meat and dairy products. In the modern era, not many people still abstain from dairy. However, in the days of tradition, people baked and gifted biscuits on Easter Sunday — complete with luxurious amounts of dairy, eggs, and sugar — to mark the end of the Lenten fast.
There’s a myriad of other popular dishes associated with Easter, including hot cross buns, chocolate eggs, and roast lamb. In other parts of the world, Easter holiday recipes include Italian torta pasqualina (spinach pie) and Russian blini (crepes).
🌸 Easter Biscuits Recipes
Below is a list of more than 40 Easter cookies. They’re all different; they’re all delicious.
I’ve gathered these recipes from talented recipe developers world-over. That means you can grab traditional Easter biscuits recipes from Italy, Greece, the U.S., and more, all in one place.
Easter Cookies for Kids (Fun & Cute Ideas)
If you have a family with small children, don't scroll — these recipes are perfect for you.
Because most of these recipes are surprisingly quick and easy, with fun, colourful decorations, it's also the ideal opportunity to get your kids involved in the baking process. Let's raise the next generation of bakers!
P.S.: Baking an extra batch is always a good idea. There's a high chance they'll disappear in seconds. These Easter cookies from kids also make fantastic gifts for all ages (more on that later).
1
Keep Calm and Eat Ice Cream
Bunny Cookies
Themed desserts are always a hit, and these sugar cookies shaped like bunnies are no exception! Despite the high impact, cute-as-a-button appearance, they couldn't be easier to make: a buttery biscuit base, fondant icing, and store-bought decorations.Note: To make these vegetarian, please use vegan mini marshmallows. Typical marshmallows are made using gelatin (derived from animal skin, bones, and tissues), making them unsuitable for a vegetarian diet.
These cookie bars boast a delicate coconut flavour and a melt-in-the-mouth texture. The eye-catching decoration is easy: store-bought white frosting dyed pink, candy melts, and colourful sprinkles. It's a homemade luxury, but there's no need to toil for delicious results!
Tropical, nutty, and sweet: these coconut bird's nest cookies offer a scrumptious spin on the fun treat. Made with toasted flaked coconut, creamy condensed milk, vanilla, and flour (yes, that's really all there is to it), you'll have barely finished filling these with Easter eggs before they're snatched up and eaten.
Although these might look a world away from a basic sugar cookie, that's what they are — a really good one. Shaped into little cups and filled with a creamy frosting plus obligatory Cadbury eggs, you'll struggle to find a more adorable bite-sized treat.
With a no-bake five-ingredient recipe, these nutter butter chick cookies could have just as easily fit in another category — but they're definitely a treat your children will be clambering for. Made with peanut butter sandwich cookies decorated with royal icing and candies, this is a recipe for the busy parent who doesn't want to bake, but still wants to impress.
If you want to lean into the egg themes of Easter without the store-bought chocolate eggs, this recipe is one for you. Featuring a zesty, sweet cookie dough filled with buttercream and zesty lemon curd, they're wonderfully effective — from a distance, they look just like the real thing!
Everyone's favourite sugar cookies — but make them both gluten and dairy-free. This recipe is perfect for families with dietary preferences/restrictions, and decorating the cookie cut-outs with royal icing is a fun holiday activity.
Six ingredients are all you need for this melt-in-your-mouth shortbread cookie recipe. Almond-flavoured, blue-coloured icing speckled with cocoa completes the Robin's egg look — all that's left to do is enjoy your hard work and nibble on the goodies.
Easter is, of course, a religious holiday — and baking can be the perfect vessel for teaching your children about the story of Jesus' resurrection. The hollow cookies (made with crushed walnuts for a divine nutty flavour) echo the story of the empty tomb, and taste heavenly.
Now, these are such "in-your-face" Easter cookies. You could say they're for the sophisticated home cook who likes to host springtime dinner parties. Imagine lots of seasonal flavours, buttery shortbreads, and fruity finishes.
10
Midwestern Home Life
Lemon Blueberry Cookies with White Chocolate Chips
A lot is going on in these chewy sugar cookies, but it works! Lemon zest — and a lemon sugar coating — help counter the intense sweetness of white chocolate chips, while the blueberry-infused dough is both gorgeous and fruity.
With gorgeous springtime flavours, these lemon cookies sprinkled with floral, herby lavender are a perfect match for your morning tea. They also make beautiful gifts for the festive season.
While strawberry cream sandwich cookies happen to be keto, that's only half of it: they're also delicious! The cookies themselves have a classic flavour combination of almond, coconut, and vanilla, while the smooth filling is intensely fruity, thanks to freeze-dried strawberries.
Soft, pillowy, and oh-so-buttery, these biscuits have lemon juice and zest in the dough for a double-dosage of citrusy brightness, plus raspberries (fresh or frozen will do) for fruity tartness.
Carrot cake is undoubtedly one of the top Easter desserts. If you don't quite feel up to baking (or eating!) a whole cake, these carrot cake cookies might be just the thing you're looking for. Picture a gently spiced batter laden with grated carrots, pecans, and coconut (optional), topped with the smoothest whipped cream cheese frosting.
Loaded with the piquant flavour of fresh lemon zest, these cookies stand out from the crowd thanks to the crunchy poppyseeds. This is a quick, no-chill recipe, which bakes in less than 15 minutes.
Looking for something a little different, yet still familiar, this Easter? These cookies take a comforting, time-honoured flavour match — strawberries 'n cream — and bake it right into a cookie. Expect a base of buttery sugar cookies topped with tangy, thick cream cheese icing, crowned with juicy, fresh strawberries. Yum!
These buttery little pastry cups filled to the brim with a zesty sunshine-yellow lemon curd are a classic Southern Recipe via Scotland! Uniquely, the pastry is made with cream cheese, giving it an unbelievably melt-in-the-mouth texture and tangy, ultra-creamy flavour.
There are few things more rewarding than foraging for your own food, then baking with the spoils of your harvest! Dandelions are found all over lawns, fields, and parks, making them the perfect easy-to-forage food. The delicate petals bring a uniquely subtle floral flavour to these buttery shortbreads.
I always favour the light, bright tanginess of lemon curd cookies. Made extra special with a buttery shortcake base, this is the ultimate Easter biscuit for refined home-bakers.
Everyone loves chocolate, right? It's such a crowd-pleasing choice of flavours.
These Easter biscuits recipes are indulgent, decadent, and rich. There's a good selection here: dark chocolate for the palate that enjoys intense, nutty undertones; white chocolate paired with fruits, for the sweeter, cleaner finish; gooey, fudgy, and melty for that "brownie, but a cookie" vibe.
Let's check them out.
20
Life with Holly
Easter Chocolate Pecan Cookies
Easter biscuits made with mini eggs are nothing new — this recipe adds something special by using the rich, caramel notes of brown butter, toasted pecans, oats, and melty chocolate chips.
Fudgy, chocolatey cookies sound tempting enough as-is, but as soon as I found out these were no-chill treats, I knew I needed to share the recipe. Finish them off with a glossy, rich chocolate-based icing for double the indulgence, or leave them plain.
With strawberry powder in the buttery, sweet cookie dough, a white chocolate drizzle on top, and freeze-dried strawberries to decorate, these white chocolate strawberry shortbread cookies are a dream for anyone with a sweet tooth.
Crisp and chewy with inviting crackled tops, these mini egg-stuffed cookies are loaded with the rich flavour of chocolate. Made with no flour (making them naturally gluten-free), the meringue-based treats make for a luxurious, different addition to your Easter cookie platter.
If you take chocolate chip cookies but make them Easter-themed, you get these gooey, decadent goodies. Made with both white and dark chocolate for depth of sweetness, plus crunchy Cadbury's Easter eggs and a touch of flaky salt to finish, you won't be able to get enough of these.
Whether you've got a packet of mini eggs leftover from Easter or you just want to incorporate them into your cookies, these recipes have got you covered.
25
On My Kid’s Plate
Mini Egg Cookie Bars
If you don't like scooping individual cookies, try these press-and-bake mini egg cookie bars. With mini eggs and chocolate chips in the cookie dough, then a pastel frosting topped with more mini eggs, this is a densely-packed treat that looks as luxurious as it tastes.
The ideal little biscuits to fill a bountiful Easter basket, these M&M-studded titbits are soft, chewy, and woefully moreish. Note: Red M&Ms aren't vegetarian, as they contain carmine (a colouring derived from beetles). You can either skip using red M&Ms, or substitute them for brands like Mummy Meegz M'z Gems.
Whether you want to make these for your Easter celebrations or extend the holiday a little further (it's a fantastic way to use up leftover Easter eggs), these biscuits do the trick. It's an easy recipe that's comforting and familiar, with a soft and chewy texture — just studded with micro chocolate eggs!
No-bake Easter cookies are for two types of bakers:
The procrastinating baker (No shame, I relate!) who left it to the last minute, and now has hardly any time to prepare — but still wants to make something spectacular (because we're always procrastinators and perfectionists, right?) and;
The low-effort baker who hates putting the oven on (not to mention energy bills!) when you can make delicious, stunning treats without touching a stove!
28
Fantabulosity
Oreo Easter Cookies
If you don't have much time for baking this Easter, consider these sweet treats. Take Oreos (everyone's favourite cookie, right?) and cover them with colourful melted chocolate. With just a few artfully placed sprinkles, you have bunnies (although we like the more simple garland look, too).
Talk about nostalgia! Bird's nest cookies were the Easter go-to sweet-treat of my childhood. If you want a trip down memory lane, or want to make your children's Easter memories just as special, these no-bake cookie recipe is waiting for you.
Spruce up store-bought sugar cookies with a quick and easy decoration: sweet vanilla frosting, desiccated coconut dyed in fun pastel shades, and chocolate chips to make the bunny paw-prints!
Not only are these no-bake, but butterscotch bird's nest cookies require just 3 ingredients — and an unexpected one, at that! All you need to do is coat chow mein noodles in rich, buttery butterscotch sauce. They make the perfect woody “twigs” to cradle chocolate mini eggs.
From Western Europe to Central and Eastern Europe, every region has its own take on totally tempting Easter biscuits.
I've included traditional, time-honoured recipes and more modern, inspired-by recipes here.
Baking any one of these treats is a fabulous catalyst to teach your family about Easter traditions around the world.
32
Jellojoy
Italian Orange Almond Cookies
Made entirely with almond flour, these orange-flavoured cookies are naturally gluten-free and dairy-free, not to mention dainty and moreish. Sophisticated yet simple, your family are sure to be impressed when you bake up a batch of these ricciarelli/acetani.
If you can't get over the pistachio craze (hello, Dubai chocolate brownies and kataifi recipes!), these authentically Italian-flavoured cookies will be right up your street. With the buttery nuttiness of pistachios combined with the tart fruitiness of raspberries and fresh, milky richness of ricotta, they're a winner.
Travel to Central-Eastern Europe (specifically Poland and Czechia) for these kolacky biscuits, which are a mainstay on holiday tables. Made with a crisp, flaky, and stupendously buttery dough, the filling is the chef's choice: raspberry, apricot, or prune preserves.
I can't explain it, but Italian treats and Easter are just a match made in heaven. These are particularly delicious, with the ricotta lending a uniquely cakey, light, and moist texture to the biscuits. And of course, citrus is dominant here — from the cookie batter to the frosting.
Greece has a long tradition of celebrating Easter with fervour. These koulourakia — soft, buttery cookies fragranced with orange zest and honey — are part of any Greek Easter festivities … and now they can be part of your holiday table, too.
These moist, soft, and almost fluffy Italian cookies are a must-try. Made for almost all major holidays, the colourful sprinkles make them perfect for a springtime Easter celebration.
Crisp, crunchy, studded with almonds: that's right, it's traditional Italian biscotti. Just made for dipping in a hot cup of tea, these twice-baked cookies have long been a favourite addition to holiday gift baskets.
People with dietary restrictions deserve to enjoy all the sweet treats of Easter just as much as anyone else.
This collection of Easter biscuits recipes includes gluten-free cookies, dairy-free cookies, soy-free cookies, nut-free cookies, and even vegan cookies.
But, the best news yet? These allergy-friendly cookies taste just as scrumptious as any other recipe, if not more!
39
Entirely Emmy
Gluten-Free + Dairy-Free Chai Cookies
Chai is typically considered a fall/autumnal flavour, it's true — but I think these dense, delicately spiced cookies sweetened with monk fruit and maple syrup make for an unexpectedly scrumptious addition to an Easter biscuit spread.
Carrots may not be as synonymous with Easter as bunnies or eggs, but they're up there! These fun treats aren't just shaped and decorated like carrots; they also use carrot puree in the mixture, along with warming spices like cinnamon and nutmeg.
Offering a lighter choice than a traditional cookie, these meringue nests are surprisingly straightforward to make with minimal ingredients. Finished with “twigs” (delicious chocolate buttercream icing!), and mini Easter eggs, they certainly look the part, too.
Cookies with no eggs and no flour? Yes, it's possible! These bright and zesty vegan lemon cookies use almond flour (making for a gorgeously nutty undertone), coconut oil, maple syrup, and plenty of fresh lemon, of course.
Gluten-Free + Dairy-Free Stuffed Carrot Cake Cookies
What's better than a carrot cake cookie? A cream cheese-stuffedcarrot cake cookie! Loaded with spices, applesauce, walnuts, and raisins, this recipe uses a blend of nutty gluten-free flours such as tigernut and tapioca to make unbelievably soft, chewy cookies.
Holiday cookies aren’t just for your immediate household — they make fabulous great gifts, too!
I love gifting Easter biscuits to neighbours, friends, and even the postman. Sometimes I even send my cookies by mail to friends and family who live miles away. Everyone loves a biscuit, and it’s a great way to say “I love you” or “I appreciate you.”
If you’ve put a lot of effort into baking these homemade easter biscuits recipes (or even decorating store-bought ones), they deserve a little extra attention at the gift-packing stage, too.
Here are six of my favourite fun ways to gift-wrap homemade cookies. They range from budget-friendly and thrifty to downright creative and crafty!
Use a cookie tin! If you’re gifting lots of cookies, this is a great idea. Cookie tins may not be original, but they’re a classic for a reason. Shop around for cute patterned tins, or head to your local thrift store/charity shop to scout out unique, antique versions (be sure to line them with food-safe parchment paper first).
Patterned paper in cellophane. Use a home or office printer to print out cute Easter-themed patterns or greetings on thick cardstock. If you don’t have access to a printer, use Easter scrapbook paper. Even simple designs, like pastel polka-dots, will do the trick! Cut to size, then slip these printed designs into a flat cellophane bag, add your cookies on top, and seal. This option is ideal for individually wrapped cookies and really makes an impact.
Window gift boxes with shredded paper filling — another classic. Boxes with windows are a fantastic way to show off your homemade biscuits! For a really professional look, I like to seal the cookies in individual bags first (also great if you’re doing a selection of different cookies/flavours). Stuff the box with shredded tissue paper, lay the cookies on top, and finish the box with adorable Easter stickers.
Easter baskets are my choice for children. Use natural wicker baskets if you’d like to reuse them as household décor throughout the rest of the year, or more colourful bespoke Easter baskets for a themed look. Fill the baskets with shredded tissue paper, bagged-up cookies, Easter bunny plush/teddy, and chocolate eggs!
Mason jars are a perfect way to package smaller bite-sized cookies — and you probably already have some in your house! Wrap a ribbon around the rim to add a touch more “I put effort into this” energy: I’d go with yellow gingham ribbon for a sophisticated look, or a selection of Easter-printed ribbons for more fun vibes.
Hello, Reader! My name is Ellanor, and I’m the author, recipe tester, chef, and food photographer behind Oh My Veg. Outside of my work on this blog, I’m a professional food writer for a digital media company, so my life is all about food! Read More about Ellanor
