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Rabbit Cookies

My sister had a bunny rabbit themed baby shower, so I decided to make these adorable rabbit cookies for the dessert table. And yes, I also made a matching bunny cake and bunny cupcakes. Go big or go home, right?!

These soft-batch cookies are frosted vanilla buttercream, and will totally knock your socks off. They’re not too sweet on their own, which makes them the perfect base for my sweet buttercream frosting.

image of adorable bunny rabbit cookies decorated with buttercream and sprinkles

The Secret Ingredient(s) in These Rabbit Buttercream Cookies

What gives these buttercream cookies that unique texture and taste? We can thank a bit of cream cheese and cornstarch for making these cookies so great.

Both help the cookies bake up soft so they’re still chewy once they’re baked and have cooled.

Now I know cream cheese is probably not an ingredient you’d expect to find in a cookie recipe. But trust me, it makes all the difference.

It also brightens the color of the cookies by giving them a lighter color. I love this because it really helps highlight the buttercream once the cookies are frosted.

image of cute easter bunny cookies being cut out and ready to be baked

And the cornstarch? It helps soften cookies by softening the proteins in the all-purpose flour.

The end result is almost like you’re using cake flour in this recipe! It creates a super tender, melt-in-your-mouth cookie.

Making Sure Your Bunny Rabbit Cookies Are Soft & Fluffy

While I love getting caught up in the decoration of my desserts, it’s super important that my recipes are just as delicious.

When I eat a cookie like this I want it to be thick, soft, and buttery.

close up shot of sugar cookie with cream cheese

Now, this isn’t the easiest thing to accomplish. Even if you have the best sugar cookie recipe, so much comes down to your technique and how you make the cookie dough.

The first thing to keep in mind is measuring the right amount of flour. Some home bakers really pack flour into their measuring cup. Unfortunately, this can cause a person to add a lot more flour to a recipe than it calls for.

I like to use a kitchen scale to be exact, but you can also fluff your flour up in your bag with a spoon, then add spoonfuls into a measuring cup and level it off with a knife.

image of flour being leveled in a measuring cup

It’s also important that you chill your dough and liberally flour your counter and cookie cutters.

This makes the dough so much easier to roll out and cut.

The final and absolutely imperative part of this recipe is the double chill. This recipe chills the dough before it’s rolled out, and one more time once the cookies are cut out.

However, the dough usually warms to room temperature once I’m done cutting out my cookies.

image of bunny rabbit cookies cut out and chilled and ready to be baked

I pop the tray of cut cookies into the freezer for about 10 minutes before baking them. The second chill ensures the cookies are still cold when they go into the oven. This really helps them keep their shape.

The Buttercream Frosting

Now onto my favorite part, the buttercream frosting. These bunny rabbit cookies are decorated with my American buttercream.

While this frosting is amazing for making cakes, it is also fantastic for cookies! I add a bit more heavy cream to make it easy to pipe with.

An added bonus this type of frosting hardens! American buttercream crusts as it sits and is exposed to air. It might sound creepy, but it’s a totally natural reaction caused by the high sugar content in the frosting.

image of smooth dairy free buttercream frosting in bowl

Making frosting from scratch can be intimidating the first time, but I promise once you try it you’ll never go back to canned or premade frosting.

My buttercream frosting for cookies only uses 5 ingredients and comes together in about 5 minutes. It doesn’t get easier than that!!

You can also easily add an additional teaspoon or two of extract to make your favorite flavors.

Another great thing about my buttercream recipe? It can be made in advance and keeps in the fridge for up to a month!

I love prepping things in advance so that I don’t have to make everything in one day. It makes the decoration process so much easier and more enjoyable.

Decorating these Rabbit Cookies

Now it’s time to discuss my favorite part, decorating these cookies!

If we’re going to spend a bunch of time baking these rabbit cookies from scratch, we should take a little extra time to make them look as cute as possible!

All you need are some piping bags and a bit of gel food coloring. This recipe makes quite a few cookies so you can invite your friends or kids into the kitchen with you and have some fun.

Use white, pink, and black buttercream to create each rabbit’s face. Start by piping white buttercream on top of a cookie.

image of buttercream piped on a bunny cookie

Dunk the frosted cookie in white sanding sugar, gently tapping it to help flatten out the frosting and fully cover the frosting in sanding sugar.

image of a rabbit cookie being dunked in sanding sugar to decorate it

Pipe a small pink heart in the center of the cookie, and pipe a pink line in the center of each ear. Use the black buttercream to pipe two circles on the sides of the nose to be the bunny’s eyes.

Repeat with the remaining cookies, then enjoy!

image of a rabbit cookie frosted with buttercream frosting to look just like a bunny rabbit's face

Tips for Making the Best Rabbit Cookies:

  • Liberally flour your counter before you roll out your cookie dough and move it around while you roll and cut your cookies.
  • Also, flour your cookie cutters before each cut! It helps the dough easily pop out of the cutter and helps the cookies keep their shape.
  • Really cream together the butter, cream cheese, and granulated sugar for a couple of minutes in the first step of this recipe. It helps incorporate air into the dough which makes fluffy and soft cookies.
  • Don’t over-mix your cookie dough once you add in the flour! It can over-work the gluten and result in tough and dense cookies
  • Roll your cookie dough out to a consistent thickness of 1/3 inch. If some are thicker or thinner than others, they may over or under-bake in the oven.
  • Chill your cookie dough. It helps prevent your cookies from spreading while they bake and helps them bake up soft and chewy.
  • Don’t overbake your cookies. Err of the side of under-baking your cookies and remember that the cookies continue to bake for a few minutes once they’re out of the oven and firm up as they cool.
  • Wait to pipe on the eyes until right before you plan to serve the cookies. The black frosting can sometimes bleed into the sprinkles if the cookies have been chilled or if you live in a humid environment.
image of adorable bunny rabbit cookies decorated with buttercream and sprinkles

Making these Bunny Cookies in Advance and Storage Tips

You can store frosted cookies in an airtight container for up to 2 days at room temperature or for up to 5 days in the fridge.

If you want to stack the cookies on top of one another, I recommend adding a layer of parchment paper between them.

This cookie dough can also be frozen for up to 1 month if wrapped tightly in plastic wrap and stored in an airtight container. I like to move the cookie dough to the fridge the night before I plan to roll it out and bake the cookies.

Baked, unfrosted cookies can also be frozen! These cookies last for up to a month if frozen in an airtight container. I recommend waiting to frost them until they’ve thawed to room temperature.

Move them to the fridge the day before you plan to eat them, then let them sit out at room temperature for a few hours before frosting them.

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Let Me Know What You Think!

If you try this recipe for rabbit cookies I’d love to hear what you think of it! Please leave a rating and let me know your thoughts by sharing a comment below.

Yield: 24

Rabbit Cookies

image of a rabbit cookie frosted with buttercream frosting to look just like a bunny rabbit's face

These adorable rabbit cookies bake up perfectly soft and are topped with the most delicious homemade buttercream frosting.

Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 11 minutes
Additional Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Total Time 2 hours 1 minute

Ingredients

Soft Bunny Rabbit Cookies

  • 3/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature (170g) - 1 1/2 sticks
  • 1/2 cup full fat cream cheese, room temperature (113g) - 4 oz.
  • 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar (300g)
  • 1 large egg, room temperature (56g)
  • 2 tsp vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract (6g)
  • 1 tsp almond extract (3g)
  • 3 cups all-purpose flour (390g)
  • 1 Tbsp cornstarch (8g)
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder (2g)
  • 1/2 tsp salt (3g)

Buttercream Frosting for Rabbit Cookies

  • 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature (226g)
  • 1 Tbsp vanilla extract (12g)
  • 1/2 tsp salt (3g)
  • 3 1/2 cups powdered sugar (454g)
  • 2 Tbsp heavy cream (30g)

Additional Supplies

Instructions

Soft Buttercream Cookies

    1. Mix together 3/4 cup butter and 1/2 cup cream cheese at a medium speed with a whisk attachment or hand mixer until smooth.
    2. Next, mix in 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar at a medium-high speed for a couple minutes, until the mixture becomes lighter in color.
    3. Add in 1 egg, 2 tsp vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract, and 1 tsp almond extract. Mix on a low speed until incorporated.
    4. In a separate bowl, sift together 3 cups flour, 1 Tbsp cornstarch, 1/2 tsp baking powder and 1/2 tsp salt.
    5. Gradually mix the flour mixture into the butter mixture on a low speed, until it is JUST incorporated. I like to do this in a couple of installments and scrape the sides of the bowl between additions.
    6. At this point, the dough will still be pretty sticky. Divide the dough in half and wrap each piece of dough in a piece of plastic wrap.
    7. Chill in the fridge for about 2 hours or the freezer for 30 minutes. You can also chill the dough overnight.
    8. Preheat your oven to 350 F / 175 C for about 30 minutes before you plan to roll out the dough.
    9. Generously dust the surface you plan to roll the cookies out on with additional flour. Take one ball of dough out of the fridge or freezer, leaving the other to continue to chill.
    10. Sprinkle some more flour on top of your dough ball and on your rolling pin.
    11. Roll the chilled dough to be 1/3 inch thick and cut out your shapes with a flour-dusted bunny cookie cutter. I used one from this set that I got on Amazon.
    12. Use a kitchen brush to gently brush off any excess flour and place them on a parchment-lined baking sheet or silicone mat.
    13. Chill the cutout cookies one more time in the fridge for 15 minutes or the freezer for 10 minutes to help them keep their shape better.
    14. Bake for 10-13 minutes on the top rack of your oven (time varies based on the size and shape of the cookies). Keep a close eye on these and be sure to pull them out before the edges start to brown.
    15. Let the baked cookies cool on the pan for about 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling.
    16. While the first batch bakes and cools, knead together the cookie dough scraps, and rewrap them in plastic wrap. Pop them back in the fridge to chill.
    17. Pull out your 2nd chilled ball of dough, and repeat steps 9-15. Then repeat with the chilled dough scraps.

Buttercream Frosting

  1. Beat 1 cup of butter on a medium speed for 30 seconds with a paddle attachment, until smooth.
  2. Mix in 1 Tbsp vanilla extract and 1/2 tsp salt on a low speed
  3. Slowly add in 3 1/2 powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time. Halfway through add in 2 Tbsp of heavy cream or milk to make it easier to mix.
  4. Beat on low until the ingredients are fully incorporated and the desired consistency is reached
  5. If the frosting seems too thick, add in additional cream (1 Tbsp at a time). If the frosting is too thin, add in more powdered sugar (a quarter of a cup at a time).
  6. Place 1/4 cup of frosting into two separate bowls, and use gel food coloring to one pink, and 1the other black.
  7. Place the remaining white buttercream in a large piping bag fit with a large round tip (like an Ateco 806).
  8. Place the pink and black frosting into small piping bags fit with small round piping tips (like a Wilton 3).

Decorating these Bunny Cookies

  1. Pipe white buttercream on top of one of the cookies. Dunk the cookie in white sanding sugar, gently pressing it into the sugar to help flatten out the frosting, and fully cover it in sanding sugar.
  2. Pipe a small pink heart in the center of the cookie, and pipe a pink line in the center of each ear. Use the black buttercream to pipe two circles on the sides of the nose to be the bunny's eyes.
  3. Repeat with the remaining cookies, then enjoy! Frosted cookies can be stored in an airtight container for up to 1 day at room temperature or up to 5 days in the fridge.

Notes

Yield

This recipe can be used to make 24 3-inch bunny cookies. The yield and bake time will vary based on the size and shape of cookie cutter you use.

This recipe can be halved or doubled to make more or less cookies.

Making These Bunny Rabbit Cookies in Advance and Storage Tips

You can store frosted cookies in an airtight container for up to 1 day at room temperature or for up to a 5 days in the fridge.

If you want to stack the cookies on top of one another, I recommend adding a layer of parchment paper between them.

This cookie dough can be frozen for up to a month if wrapped tightly in plastic wrap and stored in an airtight container. I like to move the cookie dough to the fridge the night before I plan to roll it out and bake the cookies.

Baked, unfrosted cookies can also be frozen! These cookies last for up to a month if frozen in an airtight container. I recommend waiting to frost them until they’ve thawed to room temperature.

Move them to the fridge the day before you plan to eat them, then let them sit out at room temperature for a few hours before frosting them.

Tips for Making the Best Rabbit Cookies:

  • Liberally flour your counter before you roll out your cookie dough and move it around while you roll and cut your cookies.
  • Also flour your cookie cutters before each cut! It helps the dough easily pop out of the cutter and helps the cookies keep their shape.
  • Really cream together the butter, cream cheese and granulated sugar in the first step of this recipe. It helps incorporate air into the dough which makes fluffy and soft cookies.
  • Don’t over-mix your cookie dough once you add in the flour! It can over-work the gluten and result in tough and dense cookies
  • Roll your cookie dough out to a consistent thickness of 1/3 inch. If some are thicker or thinner than others, they may over or under bake in the oven.
  • Chill your cookie dough. It helps prevent your cookies from spreading while they bake and helps them bake up soft and chewy.
  • Don’t over bake your cookies. Err of the side of under-baking your cookies and remember that the cookies continue to bake for a few minutes once they’re out of the oven.
  • Wait to pipe on the eyes until right before you plan to serve the cookies. The black frosting can sometimes bleed into the sprinkles if they've been chilled or if you live in a humid environment.

Nutrition Information

Yield

24

Serving Size

1

Amount Per Serving Calories 323Total Fat 16gSaturated Fat 10gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 5gCholesterol 50mgSodium 131mgCarbohydrates 42gFiber 0gSugar 30gProtein 2g

MO

Sunday 27th of February 2022

I want to make this a little bit ahead of time. Can the dough stay in the fridge a couple of days?

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