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Are you ready to welcome spring?  These butterfly chocolate chip Easter cookies made with Nestle® Toll House® Cookie Dough are a super-fun way for you and your family to say, “Oh, hello spring!”

This post was originally written a sponsored post for Nestle® Toll House® Cookie Dough Bars and has since been revised.

Passing the Time til Spring by Baking

I’m pretty sure I’m a tiresome broken record at this point, but hello, spring!  Would you please get here already?!? Even as I write this, we are in the middle of a nor’easter, an ironic reminder that spring will come when she’s good and ready.

In the meantime, I’ve taken it upon myself to bring a little spring to my home and my neighbors with some baking.  If there were ever a mom who loved a good baking hack, that mom is me.

With my two little guys running circles around my house all day long, there just is not enough time to bake recipes from scratch.  However, I love celebrating holidays and seasons with them, so I’m not ashamed to use pre-made cookie dough.

Creative Way to Use the Cookie Bar? Spring Butterfly Cookies, Please!

While I’m never against a good cookie bar on its own,  I’m always looking for creative ways to use them.  The boys especially love having cookies and treats in all kinds of shapes and objects, especially if it lines up with a new holiday or season they are discovering.

Since Easter and Spring are soon coming, I thought the perfect spring dessert recipe would be butterfly cookie bars.    Nothing says spring and new life more than butterflies, and I knew my boys would love them.

I also like to share the love and bring over any sweet treats I make to my neighbor and her girls.  These are also great for an Easter cookie recipe as well.

Pro Tips to Make Butterfly Spring Cookies

I purchased the big butterfly cookie cutter when I was at Walmart buying the cookie dough.  And the little butterfly cutter? Well, full disclosure – that came from my sons’ PlayDough kit!  It really was the perfect size for baby butterfly cookies!

For these butterfly cookie bars, you can make them one of two ways:

First, you can either roll out the bars and cut out the butterflies with cookie cutters before you bake them.

Or, you can roll out the whole bar and then cut them afterward.

I tried them both ways and found the second method easier.  When I cut the cookie dough before baking, they lost a little shape and had to be recut again once they were done. 

I found it easier to cut the cookies after the whole bar was cooked.

Another caution: cookie dough is SO good raw.  The cookie bars come scored in 24 different pieces, and I had a hard time resisting trying a bite or two before I baked them! (And, um…I didn’t resist, lol).

Once they were finished, I took some regular cream cheese frosting and added some food coloring.

 

Then I iced the cookies like I would a cake or cupcake. I also had some squeeze icing that I used to embellish just a little bit.

After that, I decorated them with candies and sprinkles.  Easy breezy! 

Using the pre-made dough was the ideal hack to make super-cute spring desserts without spending a ton of time.

Baking, Bonding, and Butterfly Cookies: The Perfect Way to Pass the Time til Spring

We had such a good time baking  – and eating –  these spring treats.  Even though the wind was howling outside, it felt like spring inside, and with any luck, spring really is just around the corner. 

We loved this activity for baking our Easter cookies.  Any way to make baking with toddlers easier is a plus in every mom’s book! 

These cookies were a huge hit with my boys!  After we were done baking and decorating, they were begging me for ‘Butterfly cookies! Butterfly cookies!”

 

Looking for other spring ideas? Try:

If you are looking for more fantastic Easter sweets to make, here are 35 amazing Easter treats that are as delicious as they are adorable – and perfect for kids, too!

 

And if you want some Easter Crafts, try these 30+ Adorable Easter Crafts for Kids!

What are your favorite, go-to, super-easy desserts? I’d love to hear about them!

If you think others might enjoy this recipe, I’d love it if you shared it!