You won’t believe how easy it is to make these Grinch cookies from scratch! There’s no need to buy cake mix for these cookies, as most of these ingredients are likely in your pantry already. I love how they’re tender, cakey, and chewy with a crispy bottom. You won’t be able to eat just one.
These colorful green cookies make for a great addition to your next cookie box or for a night of marathoning Grinch movies! The green represents the fur of the Grinch, the sprinkle is his tiny heart, and the powdered sugar is snow. They’re definitely a show-stopping treat for the holidays. Want another holiday cookie recipe? Try my snowflake cookies recipe, anise cookies recipe, or candy cane cookies recipe.
What You Need to Make This Recipe
Flour — you don’t need anything fancy to make these cookies from scratch, just regular all-purpose flour.
Powdered sugar — you need enough powdered sugar for the dough and to roll the dough in. When you add powdered sugar to the dough, it gives you an extra tender and chewy cookie. If you do not have powdered sugar on hand, see my post on how to make powdered sugar.
Baking powder — make sure it is fresh and not expired, or you may end up with a flat cookie.
Butter — always use unsalted butter to ensure the cookies are not too salty. Salted butter does not have the same amount of salt across different brands, so you should add your own so you can be precise. You can cut the butter into small pieces to help mix it into the batter more easily.
Gel food coloring — I recommend using gel food coloring over liquid food coloring as liquid food coloring can affect the liquid ratio in the cookie dough and alter the texture and consistency.
Cornstarch — it may seem odd to combine cornstarch with powdered sugar, but it helps the powdered sugar stick to the cookies without being completely absorbed into the dough balls.
How to Make Grinch Cookies
1. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, 2 cups of powdered sugar, baking powder, and salt. Add the butter, eggs, and vanilla to the bowl.
2. Beat with an electric mixer on medium speed until combined.
3. Add 2 drops of food coloring if desired, and beat until well incorporated, making sure there are no white streaks in the dough.
4. In a small bowl, whisk together the cornstarch and the remaining ½ cup of powdered sugar. Scoop the dough into 1½ tablespoon-sized balls. Roll each between the palms of your hands to form a ball, then roll in the cornstarch mixture until well coated.
5. Place each ball about 3 inches apart on parchment-lined baking sheets and slightly press down on the tops. Bake for 12 minutes or until the cookies start to crinkle and are lightly browned on the bottoms.
6. Remove the cookie sheets from the oven and immediately press a heart-shaped sprinkle or candy on each cookie. Transfer to a wire rack and allow to cool completely.
Pro Tips for Making This Recipe
- As the Grinch cookies bake, the color will lighten. Feel free to adjust the amount of food coloring to make the cookies as light or dark green as you prefer.
- You can use red heart-shaped sprinkles or cinnamon candies. If you cannot find any of them, you can use red M&M’s.
- Careful not to overmix the cookies, or they’ll be dense.
- I recommend bringing the eggs to room temperature, so they incorporate into the batter without over-mixing. If you forgot to bring the eggs out, place them in a bowl of warm tap water to help warm them up.
- The cookie dough will be sticky initially, but once you start rolling them into balls, the stickiness goes away.
- I highly recommend using a scale to measure your flour. However, if you don’t have a scale, fluff your flour with a spoon and sprinkle it into your measuring cups before leveling it off with a knife. This method is the best way to measure flour without overpacking the cup.
- I highly recommend using a cookie scoop. A cookie scoop ensures that all the cookies are the same size, so they bake evenly. It is worth purchasing if you bake regularly.
- For the best flavor, use pure vanilla extract instead of artificial extract. It’s subtle but it makes a difference! Even better, try my recipe for homemade vanilla extract.
- You can change the size of the cookies if you’d like larger or smaller ones, but it’ll yield a different amount of cookies. You will also have to adjust the baking time.
- Don’t wait long after you remove the cookies from the oven to press the hearts on them. If they cool, they won’t stick to the cookies.
Frequently Asked Questions
You can store these Grinch cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week.
These cookies freeze wonderfully! They will stay fresh in the freezer for up to 3 months. You can flash-freeze them on a lined sheet pan before transferring them to a freezer-safe bag or simply add them directly to the bag once they’ve cooled to room temperature. Thaw them at room temperature before serving them.
If you love this recipe try these out!
If you’ve tried this Grinch Cookies recipe, then don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know how you got on in the comments below, I love hearing from you!
Grinch Cookies
Video
Equipment
- Electric mixer
Ingredients
- 2½ cups all-purpose flour (300g)
- 2½ cups powdered sugar (300g)
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup unsalted butter cubed and softened (113g)
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- green gel food coloring
- ½ cup cornstarch (56g)
- red heart-shaped sprinkles or cinnamon candies
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, 2 cups of powdered sugar, baking powder, and salt.
- Cut the butter into tablespoons and drop the pieces into the flour mixture. Add the eggs and vanilla. Beat with an electric mixer on medium speed until combined. Add 2 drops of food coloring if desired, and beat until well incorporated, making sure there are no white streaks in the dough.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the cornstarch and the remaining ½ cup of powdered sugar.
- Scoop the dough into 1½ tablespoon-sized balls. Roll each between the palms of your hands to form a ball, then roll in the cornstarch mixture until well coated. Place each ball about 3 inches apart, on prepared baking sheets and slightly press down on the tops.
- Bake for 12 minutes or until the cookies start to crinkle and are lightly browned on the bottoms. Remove from the oven and immediately press a heart-shaped sprinkle or candy on each cookie. Transfer to a wire rack and cool completely. Cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week.
Notes
- As the Grinch cookies bake, the color will lighten. Feel free to adjust the amount of food coloring to make the cookies as light or dark green as you prefer.
- You can use red heart-shaped sprinkles or cinnamon candies. If you cannot find any of them, you can use red M&M’s.
- Careful not to overmix the cookies, or they’ll be dense.
- I recommend bringing the eggs to room temperature, so they incorporate into the batter without over-mixing. If you forgot to bring the eggs out, place them in a bowl of warm tap water to help warm them up.
- The cookie dough will be sticky initially, but once you start rolling them into balls, the stickiness goes away.
- I highly recommend using a scale to measure your flour. However, if you don’t have a scale, fluff your flour with a spoon and sprinkle it into your measuring cups before leveling it off with a knife. This method is the best way to measure flour without overpacking the cup.
- I highly recommend using a cookie scoop. A cookie scoop ensures that all the cookies are the same size, so they bake evenly. It is worth purchasing if you bake regularly.
- For the best flavor, use pure vanilla instead of artificial extract. It’s subtle but makes a difference! Even better, try my homemade vanilla extract.
- You can change the size of the cookies if you’d like larger or smaller ones, but it’ll yield a different amount of cookies. You will also have to adjust the baking time.
- Don’t wait long after you remove the cookies from the oven to press the hearts on them. If they cool, they won’t stick to the cookies.
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