How to Make Easter Basket Cookies

As Easter Sunday quickly approaches, I wanted to fit in one more tutorial from this year's Easter Collection. Out of the whole bunch, I would say the Easter basket cookies are probably the most challenging. I wouldn't say they are difficult to decorate, but these Easter basket cookies do have a lot of tiny details to add that some might find time-consuming.

For these Easter basket cookies, I would definitely recommend breaking out a projector if you have one. It will save you a lot of time over having to decorate this design by hand using a paper template. However, because I know not everyone has access to a projector, I'll demonstrate the template method below.  

Easter Basket Cookie Cutter

You can find this Easter basket cookie cutter in my shop. This cutter is available in various sizes. For this tutorial, I'll be decorating the LARGE-sized cookie.

Template for Easter Basket Cookies

To help with the decorating process, I made a PDF template of all of my Easter cookies, including this Easter Basket cookie design.

You can download the Easter cookie templates HERE.

If you have a Kopykake or Pico projector, just print it out (or pull it up on your mobile device) and you are good to go. For those without a projector, follow the suggested steps below by tracing the design onto the cookie with an edible food marker.

Decorating Process

The colors Easter basket cookies can be customized to any colors you would like. However, for the exact colors I used, check out this post on a bright and cheery Easter color palette.

Step 1

Begin by applying a very thin layer of white icing to the center area of the cookie. I used a food-only paintbrush and brushed on flood icing on the cookie surface. Let this icing dry completely (about 1 to 2 hours).

Step 2

Once the thin layer of icing has dried, now comes the tricky part-- creating guidelines for the details in the middle of the cookie. For those without a projector, mark guidelines where the bow tails, center egg, and basket handle should be, as shown. I made a template with template plastic from the PDF file above and used a food marker to draw the guideline on the cookie.

For those with a projector, feel free to skip this step.

Step 3

Fill in the bow tail sections with blue icing and the middle brim of the basket with brown icing. Let that set (about 15 minutes).

Next, fill in the bow wings with blue icing and fill in every other section of the basket with brown icing. This will give the basket more of a woven dimensional look once it's dry.

Step 4

Once the basket sections have set, add the remaining sections to complete the basket areas. Then add the center of the bow and the middle egg detail. Let this set again (another 15 minutes).

Add the remaining two eggs in the color of your choosing.

Step 5

Lastly, add the finishing touches. Using a #1 PME tip, I outlined the bow details, as well as added tiny blades of grass. These Easter basket cookies are now complete!

Video Tutorial

The steps above are summarized in the time-lapsed video below.

This is just one why of decorating these Easter basket cookies. If you're strapped for time, I might suggest foregoing the separate filling of the basket sections and go for a solid fill of the basket. Once dry, you could go over the basket areas with a brown marker and draw woven lines to give it a wicker look.

Or, for a more textured effect, this basket weave technique by SweetAmbs is an awesome look.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Easter break. Eat an extra Cadbury creme egg for me!