An Ode to an Easter Cookie: The Ultimate Mini Egg Cookies
Updated: 21 hours ago
There are certain things about Easter that I find particularly difficult to resist, and this Mini Egg cookies recipe is one of them. A little spring sunshine. The first signs of green returning to the garden.
And those wonderfully colourful chocolate Mini Eggs that seem to appear in shops long before anyone has decided what to do about Easter lunch.
Of course, there's a perfectly sensible thing to do with them. Make cookies. Not just any cookies.
Big, golden cookies with crisp edges, soft centres, and pools of melted chocolate. With a few Mini Eggs pressed into the tops while they're still warm. Purely for decoration, naturally.
TIME About 2 hours | SERVES Makes about 36 | LEVEL Easy |
Why You'll Love It
GOLDEN EDGES, SOFT CENTERS Crisp, melty, gooey and chewy all at once | A FESTIVE FINISH Mini Eggs pressed in while the cookies are warm |
BIG BATCH About 36 bakery-size cookies | MAKE-AHEAD FRIENDLY The dough balls chill or freeze beautifully |
Tested in my kitchen · As seen on TODAY and The Tonight Show · Parade magazine's chef for 10 years · About Chef Jon → |
Cadbury Mini Egg Cookies
Makes about 36 cookies | Prep: 25 minutes | Chill: 30 minutes | Bake: 10 to 14 minutes per tray
Ingredients
2⅓ cups (530 g / 4⅔ sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1⅔ cups (333 g) granulated sugar
1⅔ cups (355 g) packed light brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs, at room temperature
6 cups (720 g) all-purpose flour
10 ounces (283 g) bittersweet chocolate chips or chopped chocolate
About 110 Cadbury Mini Eggs (3 per cookie)
Flaky sea salt, for sprinkling (optional)
Method
STEP 1 OF 6
Cream the Base
In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle, combine the butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, baking soda and salt. Mix on medium speed for 2 minutes.
Increase to medium-high and beat for another 2 minutes, scraping down the bowl, until pale tan and fluffy.
You'll know it's right when the mixture has turned pale tan, light and fluffy, and looks noticeably bigger in the bowl. |
STEP 2 OF 6
Add the Vanilla and Eggs
With the mixer running, add the vanilla, then the eggs one at a time, letting each fully emulsify before adding the next.
Increase to high and beat for 1 minute more.
STEP 3 OF 6
Add the Dry Ingredients
Add the flour and mix on low just until combined, then fold in the chocolate.
Chef Jon's tip: weigh the flour if you can, at 120 g per cup. Packed flour makes dry, cakey cookies. |
STEP 4 OF 6
Shape and Chill
Line baking sheets with parchment. Portion the dough into 65 g balls (about ¼ cup each) and set them on the sheets.
Chill for at least 30 minutes, or up to overnight, so they hold their shape.
Meanwhile, adjust an oven rack to the middle position and preheat the oven to 370°F (188°C).
STEP 5 OF 6
Bake
Bake one tray at a time, about 8 cookies per sheet, keeping the rest of the dough chilled. Sprinkle with flaky salt first, if using.
Bake until golden brown and still puffy, with set edges and soft centers, 10 to 14 minutes, rotating the sheet halfway through.
You'll know it's right when the edges are set and golden while the centers still look soft and a little puffy. |
If something's off: if the cookies spread thin and flat, the dough has warmed up. Put the remaining dough balls back in the fridge between trays. |
STEP 6 OF 6
Garnish and Cool
Set the sheet on a cooling rack and, while the cookies are still warm, gently press 3 Mini Eggs into the center of each.
Let cool for at least 10 minutes before serving.
You'll know it's right when the Mini Eggs settle into the warm cookies with their candy shells still whole. |
Tips for Success
Weigh Your Flour: Measuring by volume can vary wildly. Use 120 g per cup of flour for consistent results.
Use Soft Butter: Butter should be soft but not greasy, like clay that yields to pressure. It creams best with sugar and aerates the dough.
Line Your Baking Sheets: Parchment or a nonstick mat gives even results. Greased sheets can over-brown the bottoms; foil can make cookies spread thin.
Cream Properly: Under-creaming makes dense cookies; over-creaming makes them puffy and cakey. Aim for light and fluffy.
Chill the Dough: At least 30 minutes, or overnight, lets the flour hydrate for better flavor, texture and even browning.
Don’t Overmix: Once the flour goes in, mix only until combined to keep the cookies tender.
Don’t Overbake: Pull them when the edges are golden and the centers still soft. They finish setting on the hot sheet.
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An Ode to an Easter Cookie
I have a confession to make. I find chocolate Mini Eggs rather difficult to ignore.
There's something about those little pastel coloured shells that makes them particularly appealing. Perhaps it's the crunch. Perhaps it's the chocolate. Or perhaps it's simply the knowledge that they're only supposed to appear at a particular time of year. Whatever the reason, they have a remarkable habit of disappearing.
And I think one of the finest things you can do with them is make cookies. Big, generous cookies. Golden around the edges. Soft in the middle. With little pieces of chocolate scattered throughout and those unmistakable Mini Egg shells providing a wonderful crunch.
But a good cookie is more complicated than it appears. And understanding a few simple baking principles makes the difference between something magnificent and a tray of rather disappointing chocolate cookies.
The First Stage: Why Butter Determines So Much
Let's begin with the butter. Butter contributes flavour, fat, and water. And all three influence the finished cookie. In this recipe, softened butter is creamed with the sugars until pale and fluffy.
As the dough heats, the butter begins melting. The dough softens. And the cookies start spreading. But the amount of spreading depends on several factors. The temperature of the dough. The quantity of flour. The balance of sugar. And the way the ingredients were mixed.
If the butter is excessively warm when the dough enters the oven, the cookies may spread before the flour and eggs have developed enough structure. The result can be thin cookies. Which are not necessarily unpleasant. But they're rather different from the thick, chewy Easter cookies we're hoping to create.
This is one reason chilling cookie dough can be so useful.
The Second Stage: Why Brown Sugar Makes Cookies Chewy
Now for the sugar. And this is where cookie texture becomes particularly interesting. White sugar and brown sugar behave differently.
Brown sugar contains molasses. That contributes flavour and helps retain moisture. A cookie made with a generous proportion of brown sugar often develops a softer, chewier texture. White sugar contributes sweetness and can encourage a crisper result. The balance between the two helps determine the final texture.
For these Mini Egg cookies, I particularly enjoy a combination. Enough brown sugar for chewiness. Enough white sugar for those lovely golden edges.
Because the ideal cookie should offer contrast. A little crispness around the outside. A tender centre. And a satisfying bite.
The Third Stage: Why Eggs Matter
Eggs contribute moisture, proteins, and emulsifiers. As the cookies bake, the egg proteins begin setting. This helps create structure. The yolk also contributes richness. And the moisture in the egg affects how the flour hydrates.
But the balance matters. Too much liquid can create a softer dough that spreads excessively. Too little can produce a dry, crumbly cookie.
This is why I prefer to follow a carefully measured recipe rather than adding an extra egg simply because the dough looks a little thick. Cookie dough is supposed to be relatively substantial. It's not cake batter. And treating the two as interchangeable is rarely a good idea.
The Fourth Stage: Why Flour Needs Careful Measuring
Flour provides much of the cookie's structure. Its starch and proteins influence how the dough behaves as it heats. But too much flour can make cookies dry and dense. Too little can encourage excessive spreading.
This is why weighing flour is particularly useful. I use 120 g per cup. A measuring cup can hold very different amounts depending on how the flour is scooped and packed. And in a cookie recipe, those differences matter.
Once the flour is added, mix just until the dough comes together. Excessive mixing can encourage gluten development. We're making tender cookies. Not preparing dough for a loaf of bread.
The Fifth Stage: Why the Mini Eggs Go On at the End
Now we come to the star ingredient. The Mini Eggs. And here's where I recommend a little care.
Their candy shells are quite firm, and they don't much enjoy the oven. Bake them in the dough and the shells can crack and the chocolate can melt. This is why, in this recipe, I press three whole Mini Eggs into each cookie while it's still warm from the oven. They settle in gently and keep their pretty shells intact.
If you'd like a little extra Mini Egg in the dough itself, place a few in a sturdy bag and crush them gently with a rolling pin. Trying to chop them casually with a knife can send pieces skittering across the kitchen. Not into powder. We want a mixture of larger pieces and smaller fragments. Just expect the shells to soften a little in the oven.
But there's no need to cover every square inch. We still want to see the golden cookie underneath.
The Sixth Stage: Why Chocolate Chunks Make Everything Better
Mini Eggs already contain chocolate. So why add more? Because the two ingredients create different textures.
The Mini Eggs have firm candy shells. Chocolate chunks melt more readily during baking. And those little pockets of melted chocolate provide a lovely contrast to the crunchy shells.
I particularly enjoy using a good bittersweet chocolate, as this recipe does. It helps balance the sweetness of the Mini Eggs. But the exact choice is personal. Milk chocolate produces a sweeter cookie. Dark chocolate provides a more pronounced cocoa flavour. Either can be delicious.
The important thing is not to overwhelm the dough. There should still be enough cookie surrounding the chocolate to hold everything together.
The Seventh Stage: Why Chilling the Dough Helps
Now for one of the most useful techniques in cookie baking. Chilling the dough. In this recipe, the dough balls chill for at least 30 minutes, or up to overnight.
As the dough rests in the refrigerator, the fat becomes firmer. The flour also has more time to hydrate. These changes can influence how the cookies spread and how their texture develops. A chilled dough often spreads more slowly in the oven than a warm dough. This can help produce thicker cookies.
But chilling isn't a guarantee. The recipe's ingredient balance still matters. And extremely cold dough may require a slightly different baking time.
For the best results, I recommend testing one or two cookies before baking the entire batch. It's a wonderfully practical way to discover how your oven and dough behave together. And it provides the perfect excuse to eat a warm cookie. Which I consider a perfectly reasonable professional responsibility.
The Eighth Stage: Why the Oven Creates Crisp Edges and Soft Centres
Now comes the transformation. The cookies enter the oven. The butter melts. The dough spreads. Water begins evaporating. And the outer edges heat and dry more quickly than the centres.
As the temperature rises, the proteins set and the starch changes structure. Browning reactions contribute those lovely toasted flavours. The edges become golden. But the centres remain softer because they retain more moisture. This is the contrast we're looking for.
And here's something worth remembering. Cookies continue changing after they leave the oven. The residual heat helps the centres finish setting. So if you wait until the entire cookie looks firm and dry before removing it, you may end up with a much crisper result than intended.
I prefer to remove the cookies when the edges are set and golden but the centres still look slightly soft. For this recipe, that's 10 to 14 minutes at 370°F (188°C). Then allow them to rest on the baking sheet for a few minutes.
The Ninth Stage: Why Cooling Is Part of Baking
Freshly baked cookies are delicate. Their structure hasn't fully stabilised. And the melted chocolate is still soft. If you try to move them immediately, they may break.
Allowing them to rest briefly on the baking sheet gives them time to firm. Then transfer them to a wire rack. As they cool, the texture changes. The edges become more defined. The centres settle. And the chocolate begins to firm again.
Of course, there's something rather wonderful about eating one while it's still slightly warm. The chocolate is soft. The Mini Egg shells provide a little crunch. And the kitchen smells of butter and freshly baked cookies.
But for storage, allow them to cool completely. Otherwise, trapped moisture can soften the texture.
The Perfect Easter Cookie
A good Mini Egg cookie should be golden around the edges. Soft and chewy in the middle. Generous with chocolate. And topped with those colourful little Mini Eggs.
It should look cheerful without appearing excessively decorated. And it should taste like a proper homemade chocolate cookie. Because the Mini Eggs are wonderful. But they're not a substitute for a good cookie dough.
The butter matters. The sugar matters. The flour matters. And the baking time matters. Get those things right, and the Mini Eggs become the finishing touch to something rather magnificent.
As for how long the cookies will keep? Well, that's a perfectly sensible question. Unfortunately, in my experience, a plate of freshly baked chocolate cookies has a rather limited life expectancy. Particularly when there's a kettle boiling nearby. And someone has just suggested a cup of tea.
Key Ingredients
Unsalted Butter: Softened but not greasy, it creams with the sugars to give the golden edges and rich, buttery chew.
Granulated and Light Brown Sugar: White sugar keeps the edges crisp while brown sugar adds moisture, chewiness and a lovely molasses depth.
Pure Vanilla Extract: It gives the dough that warm, comforting scent and flavour that hums through every bite.
All-Purpose Flour: Weighed at 120 g per cup, it gives the cookies structure without turning them dry or cakey.
Bittersweet Chocolate: Chips or chopped chocolate melt into soft puddles and balance the sweetness of the dough.
Cadbury Mini Eggs: Pressed into the warm cookies after baking, they add a festive crunch and keep their pretty candy shells whole.
Flaky Sea Salt: An optional sprinkle before baking makes the chocolate and caramel notes really pop.
The Cookie That Made Her Eyes Close
It was a month before Easter, and I found myself alone in the quiet of the kitchen, chasing a feeling more than a recipe. I’d been asked to create a dessert for Crystal Cruises: something festive, playful, undeniably delicious. But my thoughts weren’t in pastel themes or seasonal trends. They were somewhere softer. Warmer.
I wanted to create something that seduced the palate. Something that whispered rather than shouted. A cookie that didn’t just taste good but made you feel something. And if I’m honest, I wasn’t thinking about the guests at sea. I was thinking about my wife.
There’s something about the scent of butter and vanilla blooming in a warm kitchen. It wraps around you like a hug. Gentle. Familiar. Intimate. I wanted to capture that feeling and fold it into dough.
The result? A chocolate chip cookie, yes, but not just any. This one wears golden edges, with a center so soft it makes your eyes flutter shut. Cadbury Mini Eggs press into the top like scattered love notes, their candy shells cracking under your teeth before giving way to a silky, buttery chew.
The vanilla hums. The salt teases. The brown sugar deepens everything like a bass line under a slow-dance song. Each bite is a quiet crescendo: crispy, melty, gooey, and just a little bit magic.
I wasn’t just baking that night. I was composing. For her. For us. And when she took that first bite, smiled with her eyes closed, and reached for another without a word, I knew the cookie had done its job.
Ways to Make It Your Own
Brown your butter, you glorious beast. Browned butter is regular butter’s more interesting cousin: nutty, rich, with the scent of roasted hazelnuts. Cool it until soft and spoonable before creaming, and don’t burn it, unless you like your cookies with a side of regret.
Mix your sugars like a jazz band. Brown sugar brings moisture and molasses depth; white sugar keeps things snappy. Lean toward brown for a chewier cookie.
Finish with flaky sea salt. Salt is chocolate’s best friend. A light sprinkle before baking makes everything pop like the grand finale at the Proms.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Skipping the chill: this is a very buttery dough and will spread too much
Packing the flour: too much flour makes dry, cakey cookies; weigh it
Adding the Mini Eggs before baking: the candy shells crack and melt in the oven
Baking two trays at once: one at a time on the middle rack bakes most evenly
What to Serve with Mini Egg Cookies
A cold glass of milk
A cup of tea or coffee
An Easter dessert table
Warm, with a scoop of vanilla ice cream
How to Store
Room temperature: keep in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
Freeze the dough: freeze shaped dough balls for up to 3 months and bake from frozen, adding a minute or two.
Freeze baked cookies: freeze without the Mini Eggs for up to 3 months, then warm briefly and press the eggs in.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are Mini Egg cookies?
Chocolate cookies made with candy coated chocolate Mini Eggs, often made around Easter.
Should you crush Mini Eggs before adding them?
Not for this recipe. The Mini Eggs are pressed in whole while the cookies are still warm, so their shells stay intact. If you'd like extra in the dough, crush a few gently in a bag with a rolling pin, knowing the shells may crack and melt a little in the oven.
Why are my Mini Egg cookies flat?
Warm dough, insufficient flour, or an unsuitable ingredient balance can cause excessive spreading.
Should you chill Mini Egg cookie dough?
Yes. Chilling helps control spreading and improves consistency. In this recipe, chill the dough balls for at least 30 minutes, or up to overnight.
Can you use chocolate chips with Mini Eggs?
Yes. Chocolate chips or chunks add a softer melted chocolate texture.
How do you keep Mini Egg cookies chewy?
Use a balanced recipe, avoid overbaking, and store the cooled cookies in an airtight container.
Can you freeze Mini Egg cookie dough?
Yes. Portion the dough before freezing, then bake from frozen, adding a minute or two.
Can you make Mini Egg cookies without chocolate chunks?
Yes. The Mini Eggs provide plenty of chocolate flavour on their own.
Why are my cookies hard after cooling?
They may contain too much flour or have been baked too long.
How do you make Mini Egg cookies look attractive?
Press three whole Mini Eggs gently into the centre of each cookie while it's still warm from the oven.
How many cookies does this make?
About 36 large cookies, using 65 g of dough each.
Can I halve the recipe?
Yes. Use 265 g butter, 1 egg, 3 cups (360 g) flour and half of everything else.
Why add the Mini Eggs after baking?
Pressing them into the warm cookies keeps their candy shells intact and pretty.
Can I use other chocolate?
Yes. Semisweet chips or a chopped bar both work well.
You Might Also Like
Try my Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies, Easy Chocolate Cake, Molten Chocolate Lava Cake, Coconut Layer Cake, and Banana Bread.
Recommended Equipment
Make this recipe easier with the right tools: Cookie Baking Sheets, Stand Mixer, Silicone Spatula, Chef Cooling Rack. Also useful: Rimmed Baking Sheet and Parchment Paper.
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