Easy Crunchy Shortbread Easter Bunny Biscuits

In the run up to Easter I’ve been starting to bake these batches of crunchy shortbread bunnies as gifts. The biscuits are dead easy to make, and you can leave them plain, or decorate them, but I personally think they look better with a little icing on them and it hides a multitude of sins. I then put several in a sterilised Kilner jar, and top with a bow or streamer in a pretty spring colour. These really do taste bloody good!

You will need:

• 125g Butter
• 55g Caster Sugar
• 180g Plain Flour
• Tube icings to decorate (you can buy these from most major supermarkets)
• Rabbit biscuit cutter(s)
• A small Kilner Jar
• Bow/Ribbon to decorate the jar

Why These Easter Shortbread Bunnies Beat Shop-Bought Every Time

I’ve been making these Easter bunny biscuits for years now, and honestly, they never fail to go down well. There’s something about proper homemade shortbread that just tastes miles better than anything you’ll find in the supermarket – that buttery, crumbly texture you get from using actual butter rather than whatever mystery fats go into mass-produced biscuits.

The thing I love most about this recipe is how straightforward it is. You don’t need any fancy equipment or ingredients you’ve never heard of. Just butter, sugar, and flour. That’s it. No eggs, no baking powder, no faff. If you’ve got those three things in your cupboard, you can make these.

I started making them as gifts for my kids’ teachers and friends at Easter, and they’ve become a bit of a tradition now. Pop them in a small Kilner jar with a ribbon, and suddenly you’ve got a properly thoughtful homemade gift that looks like you’ve spent ages on it. Nobody needs to know it took you less than an hour, start to finish.

The recipe makes a decent batch too – usually around 15 to 20 bunnies depending on your cutter size – so you can keep some for yourselves and still have plenty to give away. Which is handy, because once you taste them, you’ll want to scoff the lot. 

Instructions:

1. Heat the oven to 190C/375F/Gas 5.

2. Beat the butter and the sugar together until smooth.

3. Stir in the flour to get a smooth paste. Turn on to a work surface and gently roll out until the paste is 1cm/½in thick.

4. Cut into rabbit shapes and place onto a baking tray. Sprinkle with caster sugar and chill in the fridge for 20 minutes.

5. Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes, or until golden-brown. Set aside to cool on a wire rack.

6. Once cool, decorate with icing as desired.

7. When the icing has set, place biscuits in the jar and seal.

8. Decorate with your ribbon or bow.

 

9. Et, voila! Bootiful bunny biscuits to go!

My Top Tips for Foolproof Easter Shortbread

After making these more times than I can count, I’ve picked up a few tricks that make all the difference:

Getting the Texture Just Right

Don’t skip the chilling step. I know it’s tempting to bung them straight in the oven, but that 20-minute chill in the fridge is what stops them spreading into blob shapes. Trust me, I’ve tried skipping it, and you end up with weird flat things that look nothing like bunnies.

Use proper butter, not margarine. I’m not usually precious about this sort of thing, but shortbread is basically butter with a bit of flour holding it together. Use cheap spread and you’ll taste the difference – and not in a good way.

Watch them like a hawk in the last 5 minutes. The difference between perfectly golden and slightly overdone is about 2 minutes. You want them just starting to turn golden around the edges, but still pale in the middle. They firm up as they cool, so don’t be tempted to bake them longer.

Cutting and Shaping

Roll the dough to about 1cm thick – any thinner and they’re too fragile, any thicker and they take forever to bake through. I use a floured rolling pin on a floured surface to stop everything sticking.

If your dough is getting too soft to work with, stick it back in the fridge for 10 minutes. Warm dough is a nightmare to cut cleanly.

The Decorating Bit

Wait until the biscuits are completely cool before decorating – warm biscuits will make the icing slide off in a sad, melty mess. Ask me how I know.

Ready-made icing tubes from the supermarket are brilliant for this. I’ve tried making my own royal icing and honestly, for simple decoration like this, it’s not worth the extra washing up. Get the tubes with the fine nozzles for better control.

Ways to Make These Bunnies Your Own

The basic recipe is spot on as it is, but there are loads of ways to mix things up if you fancy:

Simple Decoration Ideas

• Classic icing faces – Two dots for eyes and a little nose is all you need
• Just the tail – A blob of white icing on the bunny’s bottom with a mini chocolate egg stuck on top
• Pastel perfection – Use pink, yellow, or blue icing for proper Easter colours
• Sprinkle madness – Let the kids go wild with hundreds and thousands before the icing sets
• Keep it simple – Honestly, they’re lovely just sprinkled with a bit of extra caster sugar before baking

Flavour Variations

Once you’ve mastered the basic recipe, you can experiment a bit:

Lemon shortbread – Add the finely grated zest of one lemon to the butter and sugar. Gives them a lovely fresh flavour that’s perfect for spring.

Chocolate chip bunnies – Stir in 50g of mini chocolate chips before rolling out. The kids absolutely love these ones.

Vanilla boost – Add half a teaspoon of vanilla extract when you’re beating the butter and sugar. Makes them taste even more luxurious.

How to Store Your Easter Bunnies

These keep really well, which is brilliant if you’re getting ahead for Easter or making batches for gifts.

Room temperature storage: Once the icing is completely set, store them in an airtight tin or container. They’ll stay fresh and crunchy for up to a week. Just make sure they’re fully cooled before you seal them up, or you’ll get condensation and soggy biscuits.

Freezing the dough: You can freeze the uncooked dough for up to 3 months. Wrap it really well in cling film, then pop it in a freezer bag. Defrost it in the fridge overnight before rolling and cutting.

Freezing baked biscuits: The plain baked biscuits freeze brilliantly. Layer them between sheets of baking paper in a freezer-safe container. They’ll keep for 2-3 months. Defrost at room temperature for a couple of hours, then decorate as normal.

Best time to make them: I usually bake these about 3-4 days before Easter. Fresh enough to still taste amazing, but far enough ahead that I’m not in a mad panic on Easter weekend.

Gift packaging tip: If you’re giving them as gifts, wait until the day before to pack them in jars. They stay fresher that way, and you don’t have jars of biscuits sitting around tempting everyone for a week.

Common Questions About Easter Shortbread Bunnies

Can I use salted butter for shortbread biscuits?

Yes, you absolutely can. I usually use whatever butter I’ve got in the fridge. If you’re using salted butter, you might want to use slightly less than 125g – maybe knock off about 10g – as shortbread can end up a bit too salty otherwise. Unsalted gives you more control, but salted works fine.

Why do my shortbread biscuits spread in the oven?

This usually happens if you skip the chilling step or if your dough is too warm when it goes in. Make sure you chill the cut shapes for the full 20 minutes in the fridge. Also check your oven temperature – if it’s too low, the butter melts before the flour sets, causing spreading.

How do I know when shortbread is done baking?

Look for the edges just starting to turn golden – they should still be quite pale in the middle. Shortbread firms up as it cools, so don’t be tempted to bake them until they’re brown all over or they’ll be rock hard. They should feel set but not dark when you take them out.

Can I make these without a bunny cutter?

Of course! Any Easter-themed cutter will work – eggs, chicks, carrots, whatever you’ve got. Or just cut them into rounds or squares if you want to keep it super simple. The recipe works for any shape.

What icing is best for decorating Easter biscuits?

Honestly, the ready-made tubes you get from Tesco or Sainsbury’s are brilliant for this. They come in loads of colours, the nozzles are fine enough for detail work, and there’s no mixing or mess. If you want to make your own, royal icing works well, but for simple decoration, shop-bought is absolutely fine.

There you have it – dead simple Easter shortbread bunnies that actually taste as good as they look. I’ve made these countless times over the years, and they never fail to go down well. Whether you’re making them for your own Easter tea, giving them as gifts, or letting the kids loose with the decorating, they’re a proper winner.

The brilliant thing about this recipe is that once you’ve mastered it, you can use it for any occasion – just swap out the bunny cutter for whatever shape fits. I’ve used the same recipe for Christmas stars, Halloween pumpkins, and plain rounds when I just fancy some decent biscuits. It’s become one of those recipes I know off by heart now.

If you give these a go, I’d love to know how you get on. And if you come up with any genius decoration ideas, do share them in the comments!

 

See more of my baking posts here!