I make these every Easter so they’ve become a bit of a tradition now. They’re gingerbread bunnies, iced and decorated with chocolate buttons and strawberry laces, and honestly the decorating part is where everyone fights over a seat at the table. Kids love it. Adults love it too. The golden syrup is the gingerbread. Without it, these are just spiced sugar cookies.
One thing I learned the hard way: cut the butter back to 100g (7 tbsp) instead of the usual 125g (9 tbsp). That small change is why the bunny shapes actually hold in the oven instead of melting into blobs. Also, pop the cut shapes in the freezer for five minutes before they go in. Cold dough keeps its edges.
They store well in a tin for days, so you can bake them ahead of any Easter gathering. Good luck not eating half the batch while you decorate. 
How to Make Easter Bunny Gingerbread
Get the Dough Right
Sift the flour, bicarbonate of soda, ginger and cinnamon into a big bowl. Cut your cold butter into small cubes and rub it into the flour with your fingertips until the whole thing looks like fine breadcrumbs. Go slow here. You want no visible chunks of butter left.
Stir through the sugar, then make a well in the center and pour in the beaten egg and golden syrup. Mix with a wooden spoon first, then get your hands in to bring it together into a smooth ball. Wrap it in cling film and refrigerate for 30 minutes so it firms up enough to roll.
Rolling and Cutting Clean Shapes
Flour your surface well and roll the dough to about 5mm (1/4 inch) thick. Keep it even. Thinner spots will overbake while thicker parts stay soft in the middle.
Press your bunny cutter down firmly in one motion, then lift straight up. Don’t twist it or the edges tear. Re-roll the scraps once, maybe twice, but after that the dough gets tough and the ginger flavor flattens out.
Bake at 180C (350F) for 12 to 15 minutes. They should look slightly underdone when you pull them out. They firm up as they cool on the tray.
Icing That Actually Sticks
Add water to your icing sugar a few drops at a time. You want it thick enough to hold its shape on a spoon for a second before it slowly drips off. Too runny and it slides right off the cookie.
Spread a thin layer on each bunny with the back of a teaspoon, then press your chocolate buttons and strawberry laces in while the icing is still wet. Work in small batches of four or five so the icing doesn’t set before you decorate.
Leave them flat on a wire rack for a full hour. The icing needs to be completely hard before you stack them or they’ll stick together.
Easter Bunny Gingerbread
- Total Time: 1 hour 25 minutes
- Yield: 30 biscuits 1x
Description
Cut from sweet, spicy gingerbread, topped with a generous layer of royal icing and studded with a selection of pick and mix favorites, they conjure up memories of smearing fondant over digestives and calling it cooking, and will make a fun, festive addition to any Easter table.
Ingredients
- 350g (2 3/4 cups) plain flour
- 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 3 tsp ground ginger
- 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 100g (7 tbsp) butter (cut down from the original 125g / 9 tbsp to prevent spreading)
- 175g (3/4 cup + 2 tbsp) light brown sugar
- 1 medium egg
- 5 tbsp golden syrup
- 250g (2 cups) royal icing sugar
- 70g (1/2 cup) chocolate buttons
- 100g (2/3 cup) chocolate chips
- 75g (about 3 oz) strawberry laces
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celcius.
- Sift the flour, bicarbonate of soda and spices together into a large mixing bowl.
- Add the softened butter and rub into the flour until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs (like when you’re making crumble!)
- Stir through the sugar, and then add the egg and golden syrup, mixing thoroughly until everything is combined.
- Bring the mixture together with your hands (add a tsp or two of water if necessary) to form a smooth ball of dough.
- Chill the dough in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
- Remove the dough from the fridge and roll it out. Using your cutter (which doesn’t have to be a bunny, of course – use your imagination!), stamp out your biscuit shapes until all of the dough has been used.
- Place the biscuit shapes onto baking trays lined with parchment paper, and put these trays into the freezer for 5 minutes before popping them into the hot oven. You can do this in batches if necessary – I had three on rotation!
- Bake your biscuits for 12-15 minutes until they become a light golden brown.
- Leave them to cool on the parchment paper for at least 10 minutes before removing, and at least 30 minutes before icing.
- Whilst the biscuits are cooling, gradually add small drops of water to the royal icing sugar until you reach a thick consistency – the icing should be able to hold its shape and not run off the edges.
- Spread the icing across the surface of your cooled cookies, and then decorate them however you like!
Notes
Don’t make the mistake of leaving these cookies out on the side – store them in an airtight container. Biscuits left out tend to go soft – they’ll still taste delicious, but they’re much more satisfying with a bit of crunch.
- Prep Time: 40 mins
- Cook Time: 45 mins
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use treacle instead of golden syrup for gingerbread?
You can, but the flavor will be darker and more bitter, so I’d do half treacle, half golden syrup if you want to split the difference. Pure treacle also makes the dough a bit stickier, so you might need an extra tablespoon of flour when rolling out.
How long do decorated gingerbread cookies last?
In an airtight tin with sheets of baking paper between layers, they’ll keep for about two weeks. The royal icing actually helps seal the surface, so decorated ones sometimes hold up better than plain ones. Just make sure they’re fully cooled and the icing is completely set before you stack them.
Can I use this gingerbread dough for shapes other than bunnies?
Go for it. This dough holds its shape well, so eggs, chicks, flowers, whatever cutter you have will work. Bigger shapes need a minute or two longer in the oven; just watch the edges and pull them when they start to turn golden.
