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Deviled Egg Cookies Recipe

Adorable Deviled Egg Cookies made with soft sugar cookies, creamy buttercream, and realistic details for a fun and tasty treat!
Prep Time1 hour
Cook Time20 minutes
chill time2 hours
Total Time3 hours 20 minutes
Servings: 24 cookies
Calories: 323kcal
Author: Lucy Brewer

Ingredients

For the Cookies

  • 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • ½ teaspoon lemon extract
  • 1 large egg
  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 pinch of salt
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder

For the Royal Icing:

  • 4 cups powdered sugar
  • 3 tablespoons meringue powder
  • 8 tablespoons water, room temperature, plus more as needed
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (or other extract)

For the Buttercream

  • 2 ¼ cups powdered sugar
  • ½ cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
  • 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
  • 1 tablespoon heavy cream
  • 1-2 drops yellow gel food coloring
  • red sanding sugar (to simulate paprika)

Instructions

For the Cookies:

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
  • Cream together 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature and 1 cup granulated sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer for a full 2 minutes.
    A glass mixing bowl with yellow frosting and a white spatula, with a tube of yellow food coloring lying nearby on a white marble surface.
  • Scrape sides and add 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 1/2 teaspoon lemon extract, and 1 large egg. Mix until combined.
  • Add 3 cups all-purpose flour, 1 pinch of salt, and 2 teaspoons baking powder to the bowl. Mix slowly at first, gradually getting faster until the dough comes together. The texture should be like Play-Doh. Add a little flour or water as needed to achieve a soft, pliable consistency.
    A glass mixing bowl containing a ball of raw cookie dough on a white marble surface.
  • Wrap the dough tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for one hour, up to overnight. Remove from refrigerator and allow to soften slightly to make rolling easier.
    A ball of dough wrapped in plastic wrap on a white marble surface.
  • Use a rolling pin and roll the dough onto a floured surface until 1/4-1/2 inch thick, depending on the size of your cookie cutter. The cookies do not rise or spread while baking. Roll out to your desired finished thickness.
    Rolled-out cookie dough on a silicone baking mat over a marble surface, with some scattered flour visible in the corner.
  • Use egg-shaped cookie cutters and cut out desired shapes. We used mini, medium, and large. Transfer the cookies to a parchment-lined cookie sheet.
    Rolled out cookie dough with oval shapes cut out, placed on a silicone baking mat on a marble surface.
  • Bake at 350 degrees F for 7-11 minutes or until the centers are puffy and no longer glossy. Pull the cookies out of the oven just as the underside starts to brown lightly. Remove before the edges of the cookies begin to brown.
    A baking tray with 16 egg-shaped cookies on parchment paper; one cookie has a golden brown surface, while the others are pale.
  • Remove the lightly browned cookies from the oven. Leave them on the cookie sheet for a couple of minutes to firm up.
  • Using a small offset spatula, transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool. Cover the fully cooled cookies with plastic wrap and chill for at least an hour before decorating.
    Sixteen plain, egg-shaped sugar cookies are arranged in a 4-by-4 grid on a cooling rack over a white marble surface.

For the Royal Icing:

  • Sift 4 cups powdered sugar through a fine mesh sieve into the bowl of a stand mixer. Add 3 tablespoons meringue powder. Beat on low until combined.
    A fine mesh strainer with powdered sugar is placed over a glass bowl, with a spatula resting inside the strainer on a white marble surface.
  • Add 7 tablespoons of water and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (or other extract). Whip on high speed for 1-2 minutes until the icing flows off the beater and blends into the icing in the bowl within 5-10 seconds.
    A gloved hand holds a spoon over a white bowl filled with a thick, white liquid on a marble surface.
  • Add more water or a bit more powdered sugar until you reach the desired consistency. Add water or powdered sugar in small amounts. A little goes a long way. Place the icing in a covered bowl until ready to use.
  • Dip the chilled cookies into the royal icing, allowing the excess icing to run off. Turn the cookie over and lightly shake it back and forth until the icing forms a smooth layer.
    A gloved hand dips an oval cookie into a bowl of white icing, with iced oval cookies drying on a cooling rack in the background.
  • Transfer the iced cookies to a wire rack to dry completely, for several hours to overnight. Do not attempt to add the “yolk” until the royal icing has hardened.
    A baking tray with 24 egg-shaped cookies covered in smooth white icing, arranged in neat rows on a cooling rack.

For the Royal Buttercream:

  • Sift 2 1/4 cups powdered sugar through a fine-mesh sieve into the bowl of a stand mixer.
    A glass bowl with a fine mesh sieve holding sifted flour, and a white spatula resting inside, on a white marble surface.
  • Add 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature and beat until combined.
    A glass mixing bowl containing a small amount of creamed mixture with a white spatula resting inside, on a white marble surface.
  • Add 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice and 1 tablespoon heavy cream, half of each at a time, to make sure the buttercream is not too thin. Add the remaining liquids and beat until the frosting is smooth and thick enough to pipe.
  • Add 1-2 drops yellow gel food coloring a bit at a time, mixing after each addition until the perfect egg yolk color is achieved.
  • Add the buttercream to a piping bag fitted with a star tip and pipe the “yolk” on the cookie, 2/3 of the way down from the pointed end. Lightly sprinkle with red sanding sugar (to simulate paprika). Any crystals that get on the royal icing can easily be brushed away.
    A white decorative plate holds twelve egg-shaped cookies with white icing and yellow frosting; a piping bag with yellow icing and a jar of red sprinkles are nearby.

Notes

  • Chilling the dough helps the butter firm up and makes the dough easier to roll and cut clean shapes.
  • Rolling the dough between 1/4 and 1/2 inch thick allows the cookies to bake evenly while remaining sturdy enough for decorating.
  • Because the cookies do not spread much during baking, you can place them fairly close together on the baking sheet.
  • Chilling the baked cookies before dipping them in royal icing helps the icing set more evenly.
  • Royal icing consistency is important. It should flow smoothly but not run off the cookie too quickly.
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