The season of Spring is upon us and with Spring, comes Easter.  Easter is clothed in tradition from church services to family gatherings to Easter egg hunts.  Easter brings chocolate covered eggs, peeps and other sweet treats to our homes.  My favourite Easter indulgence is Easter Cookies.  Easter cookies set the stage for this Easter season with cookies shaped like eggs, bunny rabbits, baby chicks, carrots and, tulips.

In fact, the tradition of painting and dying eggs have been around since before Christianity and is seen as a symbol of life and rebirth.  Easter and Spring are synonymous for rebirth with bright colourful flowers, bunnies and Easter goodies such as Easter cookies.

These cookies are made using a simple sugar cookie recipe. Sugar cookies have a lengthy history and can be traced back to the 7^th. century in Persia.  With so much history it’s no wonder why sugar cookies remain a staple in holiday baking.

Preparing Easter festivities always brings back memories of my childhood.  Waking up to find the Easter Bunny stopped by with a basket of heavenly goodies, to hiding Easter eggs in the back yard for the big hunt with my cousins.  Ahh… a time when life was a little simpler.

These cookies are quick to bake but may take a little time decorating.  To help cut time making your Easter cookie dough try our Vitamix Explorian E310 Blender.  This Vitamix can whip up the perfect cookie dough in a snap.  The Vitamix Explorian is NOW ON SALE FOR A LIMITED TIME at UNDER $400!!

One of the best cookie sheets I have found is the Le Creuset Insulated Cookie Sheet.  This cookie sheet is insulated with carbon steel which lowers the temperature of the metal touching your cookies.  This ensures even baking through-out the baking process.

With baking comes mixing and measuring.  To help you create those works of art Easter cookies, try our selection of All Clad baking tools today!  All Clad Canada carries a large assortment of high performing cookware, bakeware and accessories for your culinary needs.

Start a new tradition by having your kids help design and decorate these Easter cookies using royal icing.   We have decorating tools for beginners to professional bakers that are all easy to use.

Put on your creative hat and put this cookware and bakeware to work in creating these yummy Easter cookies.  This recipe was borrowed from Southern Living.

Easter Cookie Recipe

Ingredients:

COOKIES

• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 ½ tsp. baking powder
• ½ tsp. kosher salt
• 1 egg
• 2 tsp. milk
• ½ tsp. vanilla extract
• ½ tsp. almond extract

ROYAL ICING

• 3 oz. pasteurized egg whites (~3 large eggs) or use ¼ cup meringue powder
• 4 cups powdered sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Warm water
• Choice of food colourings

Directions:

Cookies:

1. In a mixer or using your Vitamix blender, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy, 2-3 minutes.
2. In a medium-sized mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
3. Add egg, milk, vanilla extract, and almond extract to butter mixture. Scrape down sides of the bowl, and beat on medium-high until fully incorporated. About 1 minute.
4. Add dry ingredients and scrape down sides. Mix on low until flour is fully incorporated, about 1 minute. Wrap and refrigerate dough for 1 hour.
5. Preheat oven to 350°F. Roll dough out to 1/4-inch thickness. Using Easter cookie cutters, cut out cookie dough, re-rolling scraps to cut out more cookies. Place on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake until just beginning to turn brown, about 9 minutes. Place on cooling rack for 1 hour.
6. Royal Icing:
   1. Combine egg whites or meringue powder, powdered sugar, and vanilla in a stand mixer fitted with the whip attachment, and whip on medium-high until glossy, about 5 minutes. Add water until the consistency is slightly thinner than toothpaste (when you lift the whip attachment, the icing should ribbon back into the bowl and slowly dissolve into at the rest of the icing).
   2. Divide royal icing between individual small bowls, one for each food coloring you have selected.  Add the desired amount of food coloring and stir until well combined
   3. Set aside remaining white icing in an airtight container for future use. Press plastic wrap onto the surface of the white icing and place in refrigerator.
7. Decorate Cookies:
   1. Place each colored icing into a piping bag and cut a small opening at the end of the bag. Pipe 1/8 inch away from the edge of the cookie and pipe a line around the perimeter.
   2. Carefully flood the cookie with more icing until cookie is covered. Let dry.
   3. Repeat with other cookies and other colors. Allow to sit for 12 hours or overnight uncovered.
8. Place icing in a piping bag, and pipe festive decorations across the face of each cookie. Allow cookies to dry for 1 hour before serving.

Happy Easter!