Easy Grinch Cookies for the Holidays
These festive Grinch-themed cookies boast a fun green color and red candy hearts--perfect for sharing with others during the holiday season!
Ingredients
For the Cookie Dough:
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter (melted and slightly cooled)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
- 2 eggs (at room temperature)
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- green food coloring (gel, powder, or paste recommended)
For Rolling and Decorating:
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar (for rolling)
- 1 cup powdered sugar (for rolling)
- red heart-shaped candies or sprinkles (for decorating)
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl (or the bowl of a stand mixer), combine sugar, melted butter, vanilla extract, and almond extract. Mix until smooth.
- Beat in the eggs, one at a time, until well combined.
- Add flour and baking powder to the wet ingredients and mix just until combined.
- Add green food coloring and mix until you reach a vibrant “Grinch” green or your preferred hue. The dough will be sticky at this point--that's okay!
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it chill in the refrigerator for about 3–4 hours.
- Use a cookie scoop to scoop out rounds of dough (about 2 tablespoons in size) and roll into balls.
- Prepare to roll the dough in sugar by adding granulated sugar to one small bowl and powdered sugar to another. Roll each dough ball in granulated sugar, then in powdered sugar. Reserve the powdered sugar.
- Place sugar-coated dough balls on a lined baking tray and flash freeze for about 30 minutes.
- While the dough is in the freezer, preheat the oven to 325F.
- Remove cookie dough from freezer and roll the dough balls once more in the powdered sugar so they’re fully covered.
- Arrange on a parchment-lined baking sheet, leaving space between each cookie. Bake for 12–15 minutes, or until the edges are beginning to turn golden-brown.
- Remove the cookies from the oven and gently press a heart-shaped candy or sprinkle into the center of each cookie while still hot (this will help ensure the candy "sticks" to the cookie). Let cookies cool on the baking sheet for about 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
- You can make the rounds of dough a bit smaller (roughly 1 tablespoon) if you prefer to have smaller cookies. Just keep an eye on them as they're baking, as they will bake up a little faster.
- Gel, powder, or paste food coloring is ideal in this recipe as opposed to liquid. You can choose a neon green color for "Grinch" color, or more of a Christmas green hue. Start with less food coloring and add more if needed to achieve your preferred color.
- The cookie dough can be made ahead of time and refrigerated for up to 2-3 days before proceeding with the recipe.
- Double rolling the dough in powdered sugar helps to ensure there's an adequate coating that won't completely absorb during baking.
- Leftover cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature.
Nutrition
Serving: 1gCalories: 195kcalCarbohydrates: 37gProtein: 2gFat: 4gSaturated Fat: 3gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.3gMonounsaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0.2gCholesterol: 28mgSodium: 32mgPotassium: 27mgFiber: 0.5gSugar: 23gVitamin A: 143IUCalcium: 20mgIron: 1mg
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!