These easy, adorable Easter Bunny Cookies start with soft, fudgy chocolate cut-out cookies (no chill! no spread!) in a fun bunny shape. Frost them with glossy, stackable chocolate icing or leave them plain, and decorate with pastel M&Ms and sprinkles for the cutest bunny noses and tails. A fun and festive Easter treat!
For more Easter desserts, check out Lemon Cake Bars with robin's egg frosting and M&M Easter Bunny Sugar Cookie Cups next!
These Chocolate Easter Bunny Cookies are easy, adorable decorated cookies full of rich chocolate flavor! The no-chill chocolate sugar cookie dough holds its shape when baked (no spreading), and you can decorate the cookies with or without frosting using melted chocolate chips to hold the M&Ms in place. The chocolate icing dries to a firm stackable finish, making them perfect for gifting and Easter baskets.
You can also make these cute Easter bunny sugar cookies with this classic sugar cookie recipe or lemon cut out cookies. For tintable frosting options, try this simple vanilla buttercream, sugar cookie icing, or royal icing recipe and color it in pastel shades with gel food coloring.
❤️You're Going to Love These
- No-Spread, No-Chill Dough. Roll, cut, and bake right away. No waiting!
Rich Chocolate Flavor. Double the chocolate flavor from the cookie and icing.
Cute Cookie with Simple Designs. Just a few simple decorations create these super fun Easter cookies.
Easy to Make. No fancy decorating skills needed. Just frost (or not), decorate, and enjoy!
Perfect for Easter. A fun and festive Easter treat for dessert platters or gifts.
🍫Ingredients
See recipe card at the bottom of the post for the full list of ingredients and exact amounts.
Chocolate Cut Out Cookies
- Butter. Use room temperature butter, not soft or melted butter.
- Flour. To avoid adding too much flour, which can make the cookies dry, measure the flour by spooning it into the measuring cup and leveling off the top.
- Cocoa powder. You can use Dutch-process cocoa powder or natural unsweetened cocoa powder. I use Hershey's Special Dark Dutch-process cocoa powder.
- Chocolate chips. Chocolate chips melt onto warm cookies to hold the M&M noses and tails in place. Mini chocolate chips work well for the tails, but you'll need regular size for the noses with whiskers.
- Sprinkles. Pastel nonpareils (the little round balls) form the cute little bunny tails and noses, and pastel jimmies (long tube-shaped sprinkles) form the whiskers.
Chocolate Cookie Icing
- Cocoa powder. Dutch-process or natural unsweetened cocoa powder will work well. I use Hershey's Special Dark.
- Milk. Use any kind of dairy or non-dairy milk, whatever you have.
Equipment
- Bunny-shaped cookie cutter. I used this set of Easter cookie cutters from Amazon. It includes 5 bunny shapes, an Easter egg, carrot, and other spring shapes like a flower, butterfly, chick, and cross.
- Round piping tip, small spoon, funnel, or cupcake liner with a hole cut in the bottom. For the sprinkle noses and tails.
- Toothpicks. It's very easy to neatly move the icing and sprinkles around before the icing dries.
🥣How to Make Chocolate Easter Bunny Cookies
Step 1: Cream the butter and sugar until fluffy. Beat in the egg, then the vanilla. Sift in the dry ingredients and mix until the dough starts to come together into large clumps. Use your hands to gather the dough into a ball. Divide the ball in half.
Step 2: Use a rolling pin to roll the dough between layers of parchment paper or on a surface lightly dusted with flour or cocoa powder. Cut the dough with a bunny cookie cutter. Re-roll and cut the scraps.
Step 3: Bake cookies at 350 for 6 minutes until the edges are set. Cool cookies on the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack.
Step 4: Make the frosting. Combine powdered sugar, cocoa powder, salt, corn syrup, and vanilla extract in a large bowl. Add 4 tablespoons of milk and stir. Add more milk, one tablespoon at a time, until smooth and it drizzles into thick ribbons that dissipate back into the frosting.
Step 5: Spread icing onto cookies with a knife or pipe an outline, fill the center, and use a toothpick to fill it in. Immediately add sprinkles, sugars, and candies while the icing is still wet.
Step 6: Allow the icing to set, uncovered, for several hours or overnight until firm. When dried, the icing will have a soft bite yet be firm enough to easily stack.
🐇Easter Bunny Cookie Decorating Ideas
Unfrosted cookies with M&M bunny tails and noses: Place a chocolate chip onto a warm cookie (right out of the oven). When the chocolate softens, 1-2 minutes, press an M&M on top. For whiskers, poke sprinkles into the chocolate on either side of the nose.
Mini chocolate chips work well for the tails, but you'll need regular size chocolate chips for the noses with whiskers.
Iced cookies with M&M bunny tails and noses: While the icing is still wet, place an M&M for the nose or tail. Arrange long sprinkles on either side of the nose for whiskers. Allow frosting to dry, uncovered, several hours or overnight.
Iced cookies with sprinkle bunny tails and noses: While the icing is still wet, hold a round piping tip slightly above the surface of the icing. (See recipe card notes for other options.) Spoon a small amount of sprinkles into the tip and let them settle into a round shape. Lift the tip away. Use a toothpick as needed to neaten up the shape. Allow frosting to dry, uncovered, several hours or overnight.
Aren't they cute?
👉Top Tip: If you don't have a piping tip, use a small measuring spoon, funnel, or a cupcake liner with a small circle cut in the bottom to carefully place the sprinkles. Use a toothpick to refine the shape.
☑️Tips
- Sift the cocoa powder into the frosting if it is clumpy.
- The frosting is ready when it spreads onto a cookie with texture, then settles into a smooth layer.
- If the dough is too soft or sticky, chill it for 30 minutes.
- Adjust the consistency of the icing by adding more milk if it's too thick or more powdered sugar if it's too thin.
🎁Storage
- Once the frosting is firm, store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for 5 days or in the refrigerator for 10 days.
- Freeze chocolate sugar cookie dough in a freezer bag for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator.
- Freeze frosted or unfrosted cookies for up to 3 months. Before freezing frosted cookies, let the icing set until hardened, then place the cookies in a single layer between parchment paper or wax paper. Thaw at room temperature or in the refrigerator. Once thawed, the cookies won't be as glossy but will still taste delicious.
- Store frosting in a bowl covered with plastic wrap or sealed in piping bags or ziploc bags in the refrigerator for a couple of days. Bring to room temperature. Add a little more milk if the icing has thickened.
❓FAQs
No. These cookies taste delicious on their own and look adorable decorated with M&Ms and sprinkles affixed with melted chocolate chips.
Yes! As the chocolate icing dries, it becomes firm enough for stacking but still has a soft bite when you eat it.
Yes. Try this buttercream frosting that hardens or this simple sugar cookie icing that hardens if you prefer a different look or texture for your Easter sugar cookies.
Unsweetened natural cocoa powder or Dutch-processed cocoa both work well in the chocolate cookie dough and chocolate icing.
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📖 Recipe
Chocolate Easter Bunny Cookies
Equipment
- Bunny-shaped cookie cutters
- Round piping tip, small spoon, funnel, or cupcake liner with a hole cut in the bottom. for the sprinkles bunny tails and noses
- Toothpicks to spread piped icing and move the sprinkles into shape
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1 egg, room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ cup cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- pastel M&Ms, chocolate chips, and sprinkles (nonpareils and jimmies), for decorating Mini chocolate chips work well for the tails, but you'll need regular size for the noses with whiskers.
Chocolate Sugar Cookie Icing
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- ¼ cup cocoa powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons corn syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 4-6 tablespoons milk
Instructions
Chocolate Easter Bunny Cut Out Cookies
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
- In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar at medium-high speed until fluffy, 3-5 minutes. Beat in the egg, then the vanilla for a minute.
- Sift in the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt. (Or whisk in a separate bowl and mix them in). Mix on low speed until the dough comes together in large clumps. Gather the dough into a ball with your hands and divide it in half.
- Roll dough to ¼" to ½" thickness between sheets of parchment paper or on a surface dusted with cocoa powder or flour. Cut dough with bunny-shaped cookie cutters, re-rolling and cutting the scraps.
- Place cookies 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 6 minutes or until the edges are set and the cookies are slightly puffy. Cool cookies on the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a rack to cool.
Chocolate Sugar Cookie Icing
- Place the powdered sugar, cocoa powder, salt, corn syrup, and vanilla extract in a large bowl. If the cocoa powder is clumpy, sift it in. Add 4 tablespoons of milk and stir. As needed, add more milk, one tablespoon at a time, until the icing is smooth and drizzles into thick ribbons that hold their shape, then dissipate back into the icing.
- Spread icing onto cooled cookies using a knife or offset spatula. Or use a squeeze bottle, piping bag, or a zip-top bag with the corner snipped off to pipe an outline, then fill the center. Use a toothpick to spread and smooth the icing.
- Decorate with sprinkles and candies while the icing is still wet. Allow icing to set, uncovered, for several hours or overnight until firm.
Easter Bunny Cookie Decorating Ideas
- For unfrosted cookies with M&M bunny tails and noses, immediately place a chocolate chip onto a warm cookie where you want the M&M to go. When the chocolate softens (1-2 minutes), press an M&M on top. For whiskers, poke long sprinkles into the chocolate on either side of the nose. Transfer to a wire rack to cool and allow the chocolate to harden. Mini chocolate chips work well for the tails, but you'll need regular size for the noses with whiskers.
- For frosted cookies with M&M bunny tails and noses: While the icing is still wet, place an M&M for the nose or tail. Arrange long sprinkles on either side of the nose for whiskers.
- For frosted cookies with sprinkle bunny tails and noses: While the icing is still wet, hold a round piping tip just slightly above the surface of the icing. Carefully pour a small amount of sprinkles into the tip, letting them settle into a neat, circular shape. Gently lift the piping tip away, If you don't have a piping tip, use a small measuring spoon, small funnel, or a cupcake liner with a small circle cut in the bottom to carefully place the sprinkles. Use a toothpick to refine the shape. Place long sprinkles on either side of the nose for whiskers.
Notes
- If the dough is too soft or sticky, chill it for 30 minutes.
- Adjust the consistency of the icing by adding more milk if it's too thick or more powdered sugar if it's too thin.
- The frosting is ready when it spreads onto a cookie with texture, then settles into a smooth layer.
- Store frosted and unfrosted cookies covered in an airtight container at room temperature for 5 days or refrigerated for 10 days.
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