Easter Egg Pinata Cookies

Pinata cookies are a fun way to surprise a recipient with their favorite candies, cookies, dry fruit, or nuts. Today I’ll show you how to make super cute and simple buttercream Easter egg pinata cookies.

HOW TO MAKE BUTTERCREAM EASTER EGG PINATA COOKIES

Over the years I’ve made my share of pinata cookies. Like these royal icing-decorated Donut Pinata Cookies, or my undecorated Lego Pinata Cookies.

BAKE PINATA COOKIES AND PREPARE BUTTERCREAM

To make Easter egg pinata cookies I used my Soft Sugar Cookies along with Crusting Buttercream Frosting (this recipe makes 4 cups).

To make Pinata Cookies you need three or more cookies.
Bottom and top cookies; these are usually whole, without an opening (see picture 1 ).
Unless you are using an isomalt (via Sugar Geek Show) to make a cookie shaker/pinata (see picture 2).
One or more cookies with the center cut out. This section can be filled with small candies or other treats. For the best results, cavity cookie should have at least 3/8-inch wide frame.

The size of the pinata cookie depends on what you’d like to put inside of the cavity. You can use candies, dry fruit, and even nuts.

My chocolate egg candies were a bit tall and so I had to double on the cavity size, using a total of four cookies. One bottom, one top cookie, and two cookies with a cutout.

BAKING TIP: Transfer all unbaked cookies onto a baking sheet lined with parchment or a perforated mat. Then cut out centers from the cavity cookies. Don’t move the cookies after you cut the centers. Bake as instructed in the recipe.

Surprise!

Detail of pinata cookies, showing candies hidden inside of the pinata cookie.

DECORATE COOKIES WITH BUTTERCREAM

You only need to decorate the very top cookie, the rest of the cookies remain undecorated.

Bake the cookies and let the cookies cool completely before decorating (steps 1-2). Spread a layer of sky blue buttercream onto a cookie, using a spatula, keeping about 1/2 inch border undecorated (steps 3-4). It might be easier for you to use a piece of plastic icing spreader if you have one. Use it to smooth the buttercream (steps 5-8).

Spreading blue buttercream onto an egg cookie.

HOW TO MAKE SPECKLED BUTTERCREAM EASTER EGG COOKIES

Speckled Easter egg cookies are super popular. To make a speckled design on buttercream decorated cookies I decided to use edible paint made using cocoa powder and Vanilla extract or Everclear.

Into a small bowl sift the cocoa powder, pour in Vanilla extract or Everclear. Stir well with a paintbrush until homogenous (steps 1-3).

Small blue silicone bowl with cocoa powder and water.

Now, to create the speckled pattern, I used a toothpick to aid me in splattering the cookie with cocoa paint.

Dip the food-only paintbrush in the cocoa paint. Remove access cocoa paint on the edge of the bowl (step 1). Place the brush over the surface you want to splatter. Take a toothpick and run it back and forth thru the bristles, until you are happy with the design (steps 2-5).

Coarse brush dipped in cocoa powder paint, splattering a cookie with cocoa paint.

DECORATE WITH SIMPLE BUTTERCREAM FLOWERS

To make dainty flowers and a pretty shell border I used pink and yellow buttercream, using round piping tip #2 and a star piping tip #16.

Large Easter egg cookies frosted with blue buttercream and three piping bags filled with frosting.

Create 3 slightly curved guides across the buttercream cookie. I used a toothpick to make shallow cuts in the buttercream (step 1). With a pink buttercream pipe the flowers onto the line, and slightly off the guide line. Flowers are consisting of several teardrop shapes piped with buttercream (step 2) – watch the video for visual help.

Carefully pick up edible pearl with tweezers. Push edible pearl into the center of each flower (steps 3-4). Repeat piping flowers with yellow buttercream (step 5-6). Continue piping flowers onto the remaining parts of the cookie (steps 7-8).

Piping pink and yellow buttercream flowers on buttercream speckled Easter egg cookie.

PIPE BUTTERCREAM SHELL BORDER

Let’s finish this festive Easter cookie design with a pretty shell border. I used a star piping tip #16 and white buttercream to pipe the border around the blue buttercream layer. Allow buttercream to crust for 6-7 hours.

Piping a white buttercream border with a star piping tip.

ASSEMBLE EASTER EGG PINATA COOKIES

Pipe buttercream on the underside of the cavity cookie (cookie with a cutout) and glue the cookie on the bottom cookie (steps 1-2). Repeat with the 2nd cavity cookie, is using, (steps 3-4). Fill the cavity with candies or other treats (steps 5-6) Lastly, glue the decorated cookie to seal the pinata cookie (steps 7-8).