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.
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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.