Bright green Grinch cookies with a simple candied small red heart take basic soft and tender sugar cookies up a fun and festive notch that even the Grinch himself would love!
Add these delicious cookies your holiday baking list along with these snowball cookies and this Christmas Crack Saltine Cracker Toffee. All of these recipes are a quick, easy, and welcome addition to any dessert table at holiday parties throughout the season!
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Grinch Christmas Cookies
These adorable Grinch cookies are so festive and whimsical that there’s no mistaking the essence of the Dr. Seuss classic! Christmas cookies made from scratch, especially sugar cookies, are a simple way to include easy baking into the holidays. The kids will love getting involved, whether it’s making sure they’re decorated or just taste testing along with a mug of hot chocolate!
It’s a basic and delicious homemade sugar cookie recipe that includes the addition of bright green food coloring and heart sprinkles. Use this fun holiday cookie recipe for your next cookie exchange, as part of a cookie tray or dessert charcuterie board this Christmas. Everyone will rave about them!
Why we love this recipe
- Quick and easy – With just 8 ingredients (2 are for decoration!), these cookies are ready and waiting for you in under 1 hour.
- Delicious – A sugar cookie tastes amazing no matter how it’s decorated!
- Festive and fun – The green and red are festive for Christmas and fun for the How the Grinch Stole Christmas lovers in your life!
- Great texture – Who doesn’t love a melt in your mouth, chewy sugar cookie with slightly crispy edges?
Ingredients/shopping list
- Softened butter – Remember to bring it to room temperature at least 30 minutes before you begin so it’s easy to cream.
- Granulated sugar – Puts the sugar in sugar cookie!
- Egg yolk – Just the yolk will help to ensure these cookies remain soft, tender and all kinds of melt in your mouth yummy.
- Vanilla extract – A warm flavor that is popular in many baking recipes.
- All-purpose flour – Gives the cookies a strong foundation, but also provides them with a nice light texture. Not too dense or heavy, especially when measured properly.
- Baking powder – An ingredient used to help give the cookies a bit of a rise. So they don’t end up flat and crispy.
- Green food coloring – You can choose to use liquid or gel coloring, it’s up to you.
- Candy hearts – These can be sweet or spicy (thanks to the cinnamon), or a bit of both!
How to Make this Recipe
This recipe will come together in a few easy steps!
Step 1: In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer (or hand mixer), beat and cream butter and green food coloring on medium speed until combined. Add the sugar, vanilla, and egg yolk and beat until thoroughly mixed.
Step 2: Gradually add in the flour and baking powder and give it a gentle mix, scraping down the sides as you mix. Do NOT overmix.
Step 3: Chill in the freezer for 15 minutes then roll out the dough on a floured surface to about 1/4” thick. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Step 4: Using a cookie cutter, cut out 2” circles and place them on a parchment-lined cookie sheet. Bake cookies for 13-15 minutes or until the edges are slightly golden brown.
Step 5: Remove the cookies immediately and while they are still soft, press a candy red heart sprinkle into the center of each one. Cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Variations/ Substitutions
- Use red M&M’s or use red icing to draw a heart onto the center of each cookie if you don’t have candy hearts.
- The signature one heart is very cute, but if you feel like adding more, go ahead. Think about adding green candies too.
- Add a couple of drops of peppermint extract or almond extract if desired.
- For extra quick cookies, use a box of yellow or white cake mix and mix with ⅓ cup vegetable oil and 2 eggs then add the green food color to it and refrigerate. Baking time should be reduced to 10-12 minutes.
Tips
- Measure the flour by spooning it into a measuring cup and leveling off with the back of a knife. Measuring flour by scooping it directly out of the bag into your measuring cup packs it down resulting in using more flour than needed.
- Add 3-4 drops of food coloring to start. Then add more if desired. Gel coloring is more concentrated than liquid coloring.
- Do not overmix your cookie dough.
- If you don’t have cookie cutters, the top of a mason jar is a perfect size.
- Be careful not to overbake your cookies. Sugar cookies are just slightly golden on the bottom but with the green, it may be harder to tell. Keep a close watch. Burnt sugar cookies are no fun.
FAQ’s
Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to three days.
You bet! Sugar cookies are freezer-friendly. Once completely cooled, transfer the cookies to a Ziploc bag. You can either separate the layers with parchment paper or wrap them individually with plastic wrap. They may not have the same texture upon thawing as they once did, but the taste will still be there!
Other Holiday Treat Recipes
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Grinch Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 stick butter softened
- Green food coloring gel or drops
- ½ cup white sugar
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups all purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- Candy hearts
Instructions
- In a large bowl, beat the butter and 3-4 drops green food coloring together with an electric mixer (or stand mixer) on medium speed for approximately one minute until combined well.
- Add the sugar, vanilla extract and the egg yolk and beat to until mixed thoroughly.
- Gradually add in the flour and baking powder and mix until just barely combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl as you mix.(be careful not to over-mix).
- Place the dough in the freezer for 15 minutes to chill for easier rolling.
- Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface until approximately 1/4 inch thick.
- Then cut out 2” circles with round cookie cutter (or a top of a mason jar) and place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
- While the dough is in the freezer, preheat the oven to 350° F.
- Bake the cookies for 13-15 minutes or until the edges are golden brown, careful not to over-bake.
- Remove the cookies from the oven and immediately press a candy heart into the center of each cookie.
- Let the cookies cool on a baking sheet for 5 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely
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