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Moss Bunny Cookies look just like a moss bunny decoration you’d see during the Easter holiday! A buttery soft sugar cookie is decorated with royal icing and cookie crumbs. This is an easy, elegant, decorated cookie idea for Easter. Great for kids! I’m sharing my best sugar cookie and royal icing recipes too! 
When I saw this cookie idea in the depths of Pinterest, I literally lost my mind. I fell in love with this decorated cookie for Easter. Fell. In. LOVE.
These cookies are absolutely precious. I can’t wait to show you how I made them.
This decorated bunny cookie is so easy to make
No matter what level of cookie decorating you’re at, you can’t mess these up! That means they’re also great for kids to help with too!
There are three main steps:
- Make the cookies
- Ice the cookies
- Cover the cookies in cookie crumbs
I used my perfect sugar cookie cut out recipe and my famous royal icing recipe. If you haven’t made either of these yet, I definitely urge you to go check them out! I have hundreds of rave reviews on both. The best part about my sugar cookie recipe is, that it’s a no chill cookie dough and the cookies do not spread at all. That means, you can capture every single detail of the cookie cutter and make perfect cookies!
I found this tall and elegant bunny cookie cutter through Ann Clark Cookie Cutters on Amazon. All of Ann Clark’s Cookie Cutters are amazing. There are an endless number of shapes and the quality of the cutter is great. As you can see in the other pics, I also made matching carrots (the carrot cookie cutter I used can be found here).
You can certainly use a different shape if you want to; an egg, a duck…anything Easter-y you can find.
We’ll be using leftover sugar cookies to create the crumbs for the moss. You can either plan on making extra cookies to use, or (my favorite tip) you can bake off the scraps of dough that are left over after you cut out your shapes.
I read about some folks using graham cracker crumbs too, but why bother to introduce a new flavor when you can use the scraps from the cookies you just made??
How to make moss bunny cookies
After your cookies are made and fully cooled, you can create the ‘moss’ crumbs.
In the bowl of a food processor, add about 7-8 cookies (or cookie ‘scraps’). For reference, each cookie should be about 3-4” in size. That's what I factored in order to create enough crumbs for a dozen of final decorated cookies. If your cookies are smaller, use a few more for good measure. It doesn't have to be exact.
Before you begin processing, add several drops of green gel food coloring. I used Americolor food gel in Moss, since we’re making moss!
Process the cookies until super fine crumbs form. This took a couple of minutes; the mixture should be fully green.
Dump the crumbs out onto a flat plate and set aside.
Next, make a batch of royal icing. Reserve some of the icing in a small bowl if you plan to decorate the cookies with other colors.
Dye the royal icing the same color as the crumbs. Don’t worry about it being the exact same color. All of the icing will be covered with the crumbs, but be sure it blends into the background.
Outline and flood your cookies.
While the icing is still wet, hold the cookies vertically over the plate and sprinkle the crumbs on top. I found this to be the best method, versus dipping the cookies right into the crumbs. I found that this smooshed all of the icing, which did not look great.
Continue to sprinkle the crumbs until all of the icing is covered. You can gently pat the crumbs into the icing if you need to, for full coverage.
Place the cookie on a wire rack and allow to set.
How to decorate moss bunny Easter cookies
These cookies look absolutely fantastic bare, but definitely feel free to get creative! I made simple, little flowers on the bunny.
A word of caution....
Because we have a layer of crumbs over the cookie, any royal icing decorations for the top have nothing to stick to. Be very careful when piping more royal icing on top of the crumbs, as the royal icing can easily be lifted off of the cookie as you release your piping bag.
This made decorating the bunny a bit difficult, but it’s totally still doable (royal icing transfers would be great option here).
Please leave me a comment if you made these adorable moss bunny cookies for your Easter holiday!
Moss Bunny Cookies
Moss Bunny Cookies look just like a moss bunny decoration you’d see during the Easter holiday! A delicious, buttery soft sugar cookie is decorated using royal icing and cookie crumbs. This is an easy, elegant, decorated cookie idea for Easter. Great for kids! I’m sharing my best sugar cookie and royal icing recipes too!
- Yield: 12 cookies 1x
Ingredients
- 12 sugar cookies (these will be for decorating)
- 7-8 pieces of cookie "scraps" or additional sugar cookies (this will be for the moss)
- green food coloring gel
- 1 batch royal icing (be sure to have enough extra for additional decorating. One batch of my royal icing will be enough for this recipe!)
- other decorations if desired (sprinkles, more royal icing colors etc.)
Instructions
- In the bowl of a food processor, add in the cookie scraps or additional cookies. Also add in 4-5 drops of green food coloring gel. You can use more for intense color.
- Blend the cookies and food coloring until very, very fine crumbs have formed and the mixture is green throughout. This can take up to 3 minutes.
- Dump the crumbs onto a flat plate.
- Dye your royal icing green using the same color as you did for the cookie crumbs. The icing doesn't have to be the exact same shade; it will blend into the background.
- Using a piping bag with a small, round tip, outline and flood your cookies.
- Holding the cookie vertically above the plate, sprinkle the cookie crumbs and allow them to fall on top of the iced cookie. Repeat until the entire cookie is covered. You can gently press them into the icing for full coverage.
Do not directly dip the cookie into the crumbs. The icing will get smooshed and you'll lose all that detailed work from outlining your cookies! - Lay the cookie on a wire rack and allow to dry uncovered, overnight.
- Add additional decorations as desired!
NOTE: Because we have a layer of crumbs over the cookie, any royal icing decorations for the top have nothing to stick to. Be very careful when piping more royal icing on top of the crumbs, as the royal icing can easily be lifted off of the cookie as you release your piping bag.
This made decorating the bunny a bit difficult, but it’s totally still doable (royal icing transfers would be great option here).
Notes
Recipe by Owlbbaking.com
The Best Sugar Cookie Cut Outs
Perfect Sugar Cookie Cut Outs are soft, thick, sinfully buttery and taste amazing whether they are decorated or not! Make the best, easy sugar cookie cut outs that keep their shape & edges. This is a no-chill recipe!
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 35 cookies 1x
Ingredients
- 2 ½ sticks butter ((or, 1c & 4tbsp butter, softened at room temp. Salted or unsalted can be used. If you're sensitive to salt and using salted butter, consider reducing the amount of added salt by ¼ tsp))
- 1 c granulated sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 3 c all purpose flour
- 1 ½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp fine salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Prepare baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer or in a large bowl using a hand mixer, beat the butter & sugar and light and fluffy.
- Add in the egg, egg yolk & vanilla. Beat until well combined.
- In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder & salt.
- Add half of the flour mixture to the butter mixture and gently mix. Once the flour is about absorbed, add the remainder of the flour mixture and mix until just combined. Do not over mix and be sure to thoroughly scrape the sides and bottom of your bowl while mixing.
- If you are ready to roll, start with about ¼ of the dough and roll out on a lightly floured surface (ensuring your rolling pin is also lightly floured).
- Roll to a ¼ inch thickness. Cut using your desired cookie cutters and place the cookies on the prepared tray. If you are decorating with sprinkles, this is when you would sprinkle your cookies.
- Bake time for me has been about 13 minutes, but since all ovens vary, I suggest starting your timer with 10 minutes and see how they look. These cookies are done when they are barely golden brown on the edges.
- Allow to cool on the pan for 5 minutes and transfer to a baking rack to finish cooling. Decorate as desired.
Notes
Recipe by Owlbbaking.com
One key to making cookies that hold their shape is to make sure your butter is properly at room temp before mixing. If it’s too cold it won’t mix well and if it’s too warm or melted, you’ll end up with a dough that’s way too soft. You should leave the butter to sit at room temp for at least 2 hours. You should be able to press into it with your finger easily and it should hold the shape of the indentation. If you're in a rush, keep the butter out for 1 hour and then microwave it in 5 second intervals until it is fully softened but NOT melted!
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Category: Cookies
Famous Royal Icing
This is the best royal icing recipe! It is easy to make, has amazing flavor and dries softer than other royal icings. I'm always getting compliments whenever I use this to decorate my sugar cookies!
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp meringue powder
- 4 tbsp warm water
- 2 c powdered sugar
- 1 tbsp light corn syrup
- 1-2 teaspoon lemon juice powder ((up to 2 tsp regular lemon extract can also be used))
- 1 tsp white food coloring ((optional, but a very nice touch if you plan on using white icing for your designs!))
- desired food coloring
- additional water for thinning out the icing
Instructions
- In a large bowl (make sure there is no grease or oil residue in the bowl), mix the meringue powder and 4 tablespoon of water using a hand mixer on high speed. Mix until completely dissolved and very frothy.
- Add half of the powdered sugar. Mix on low until incorporated.
- Add the other cup of powdered sugar along with the corn syrup and lemon powder (or extract). Mix on low until combined, and then switch the speed to high and mix for 2 minutes (no less!) Taste the icing and add more lemon flavor if desired.
- The icing should be thick and have a little more volume as well. It should hold a soft peak.
- Once mixed, grab a spatula and mix in the white food coloring or other colors as desired.
- To thin out the icing, add ½ teaspoon of warm water at a time until desired icing consistency is reached (10-15 seconds for flood icing). Mix with the spatula to avoid more air bubbles.
I usually make the entire batch flood consistency and then stiffen it up with more powdered sugar in smaller batches as needed. - This step is optional but helps with air bubbles, cover bowl with plastic wrap and allow it to rest for 30 minutes. The majority of air bubbles will release naturally giving you less trouble once your cookies are covered!
- Decorate your cookies and allow to dry uncovered overnight.
Notes
Recipe by Owlbbaking.com
*A quick note about adding the lemon flavor- when the lemon powder or extract is first added to the thick icing, the flavor can be intense. The powder specifically can have more of a citric acid flavor. Once you add water to create 15-20 second flood icing, the intensity of the lemon will lessen. The flavor of the cookie pairs very nicely with the flavor from the thinned out flood icing. If you are NOT making flood icing, feel free to adjust the amount and use less lemon.
If you think you might not enjoy lemon, swap out it out for vanilla extract. Be sure to either get clear vanilla extract or white food coloring though because normal vanilla extract will darken your icing.
Sharlene Rose Mason
Good mrng Liz,
I am a 77 year old retired nurse and do cookies, right now, as a hobby. I love doing it! And I want to thank you for always giving people ideas for a better, more creative cookie. I can't wait to try these. I have however already made my cookies, So I will have to try your cookie recipe another time. But I'll let you know how the "MOSS" thing goes. God bless you, and have a wonderful day.
Liz
I'm sorry for the delay in reply. Thank you SO much for your sweet and beautiful comment. I really appreciate the kind words and I hope you enjoyed making these! 🙂