Easter Cookies: Make Your Best Ever!

By Libby Pomroy
 

One cookie, 10 ideas – who knew a quick and easy treat could be so versatile? Get creative with them: Tuck them in Easter baskets, add them to an Easter buffet or give them away as Easter gifts. Any way you slice it, Pillsbury® refrigerated cookie dough makes it easy.

1. Dip it. Tint melted white chocolate chips with a few drops of food color, and dip one end of the cookies in the white chocolate. Set them on a cooling rack until the coating hardens.
   
   
2. Drizzle it. Simple sweetness:
   
   Melt a cup of chocolate chips in the microwave with 2 teaspoons vegetable shortening for just one minute. 
   
   Carefully stir until it's smooth, and put it in the microwave 15 seconds at a time until it's melted and smooth. 
   
   Drizzle chocolate across cookies with a spoon and let stand it until chocolate hardens.
   
   
3. Give them away. Drop a cookie in a food-safe plastic bag and tie it with a pastel ribbon. Finish it off with a few foil-covered chocolate eggs or jelly beans in the bag.
   
   
4. Shop for it. Find an egg cookie cutter and other spring shapes at the Pillsbury Store.
   
   
5. Slice it. Gumdrops and other jelly candies make the perfect cookie decorations. Have some fun with it: Slice them in different shapes and add them to frosted cookies in geometric patterns and stripes.
   
   
6. Flavor it. Want to give your Easter cookies a twist? Try adding a few drops of almond or orange extract to purchased frosting.
   
   
7. Color it. Food coloring is perfect for giving your Easter cookies a cool kick. Quick tip: Gel and paste will give your frosting a bolder colo, but liquid works too. You can find paste and gel colors at craft and food specialty stores, and liquid food coloring at most supermarkets in the spice aisle.
   
   
8. Spread it. The secret of pro cookie decorators? A small offset spatula! Find one at the Pillsbury Store or in the utensil section of a discount store.
   
   
9. Thin it. Making frosting thinner or thicker is super easy: Thin it with a teaspoon of milk or water; thicken it by stirring in a few teaspoons of powdered sugar.
   
   
10. Sprinkle it. To add a simple design to cookies:
    Cut a shape out of paper (bunnies are easier than you think!). Make sure it's smaller than your cookie surface.
    
    Frost the cookie, and before the frosting sets, set the paper shape lightly on the center of the cookie.
    
    Sprinkle colored sugar over the entire cookie.
    
    Carefully lift off the paper, and you'll be left with an unsugared design.