Grinch Cookies Recipe (Drop Sugar Cookies) - Crazy for Crust (2024)

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Adorable Grinch Cookies are the perfect holiday cookie recipe! These green sugar cookies each have a small red heart sprinkle reminding everyone of the classic Christmas movie. They taste good, freeze well, and they’re so cute!

Grinch Cookies Recipe (Drop Sugar Cookies) - Crazy for Crust (1)

How the Grinch Stole Christmas Cookies

I just love “How the Grinch Stole Christmas,” don’t you? We read the Dr. Seuss book to Jordan every year when she was small, and we never miss it when the original special is on TV each year! Of course, I had to come up with a fun Grinch-inspired cookie for the holidays, but I wanted to keep it simple. No complicated cut-outs or decorating are required for this easy holiday cookie.

These green cookies start with my easy sugar cookie recipe. They are soft and chewy and, the best news, they are a no-chill recipe! Because it’s the holidays, right? There’s just no time to wait for cookie dough to chill.

Grinch Cookies Recipe (Drop Sugar Cookies) - Crazy for Crust (2)

Ingredients in Grinch Sugar Cookies

  • Butter and Sugar: I always use softened unsalted butter and granulated sugar in my sugar cookies
  • Whole egg plus one egg yolk: my secret to chewy sugar cookies!
  • Vanilla extract, Baking soda, Salt, Flour: typical cookie ingredients
  • Cream of tartar: keeps the cookies soft
  • Decorations: Green gel food coloring makes the perfect shade of green and jumbo heart sprinkles to turn them into GRINCH!
Grinch Cookies Recipe (Drop Sugar Cookies) - Crazy for Crust (3)

How to Make Grinch Cookies

  1. Cream Butter and Sugar: In a stand mixer (or large bowl with a hand-held mixer), cream the butter and sugar until fluffy. This should only take about a minute.
  2. Mix the dough: Add the whole egg, extra egg yolk, and vanilla and continue mixing until smooth. Mix in the baking soda, cream of tartar, and salt.
  3. Add the flour and mix until the cookie dough forms.
  4. Turn them green: Add a few drops of gel or liquid food coloring to the cookie batter and stir until it’s evenly mixed into the dough.
  5. Scoop: Form two tablespoons of dough to form each cookie dough ball. Place them two inches apart on a baking sheet.
  6. Decorate & Bake: Place one heart sprinkle on one side of each cookie and then bake the cookies for 11 to 15 minutes or until the bottoms are golden and the tops of the cookies are no longer glossy.

How to decorate Grinch Cookies

To make it easy, use red heart sprinkles or candy hearts. Just press them onto the cookies as soon as they come out of the oven. The sprinkle represents the grinch’s small heart and the bright green color is like his fur.

These sweet treats are soft and chewy and are so fun at Christmas time!

Grinch Cookies Recipe (Drop Sugar Cookies) - Crazy for Crust (4)

Recipe Tips

  • Food Coloring:The amount of food coloring you will need will depend on the kind you use. If you use gel color, you will only need a few drops. If you opt for the regular grocery store kind, you will need to add a little more. Always start with less because you can always add more!
  • Heart Sprinkles:If you want the heart sprinkle positioned exactly where you want it on the cookie, wait to add them until after the cookies are baked. As soon as you take them out of the oven, press the sprinkle on top. If you wait, they won’t stick after the cookies cool.
  • Storing the Cookies:Keep them in an airtight container for up to three days at room temperature. Or, you can freeze the baked cookies for up to a month.
  • Want semi-homemade cookies? Make vanilla cake mix cookies with white cake mix!

Grinch Cookies Recipe (Drop Sugar Cookies) - Crazy for Crust (5)

Grinch Cookies Recipe

4.92 from 48 votes

Tis the season for GRINCH COOKIES! I turned my easy sugar cookie recipe into a green cookie for Christmas – decorated easy with a heart sprinkle!! These are such a fun cookie recipe!

Yield 22 cookies

Serving Size 1 serving

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Ingredients

  • ¾ cup (170g) unsalted butter softened
  • ¾ cup (150g) granulated sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 large egg yolk
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • ½ teaspoon almond extract (optional – for flavor)
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon cream of tartar
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 2 cups (248g) all-purpose flour
  • Green Food Coloring
  • Heart sprinkles

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350°F. Line two cookie sheets with silicone baking mats or parchment paper.

  • Cream butter and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or a large bowl with a hand mixer). Cream until the mixture is fluffy, about one minute.

  • Add the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla and mix until smooth, then mix in baking soda, cream of tartar, and salt. Add flour and mix until cookie dough forms.

  • Add a few drops of green food coloring and stir to mix throughout. How much food coloring depends on the kind (gel vs. grocery store food coloring). Add more as needed to get the green color you want.

  • Scoop 2 tablespoon sized balls 2-inches apart on cookie sheet. Place one heart sprinkle on one side of each cookie. Bake for 11-15 minutes, or until the bottoms are just starting get golden and the top is no longer glossy. Cool at least 10 minutes on cookie sheet before removing.

  • Alternately, if you want to know exactly where your sprinkle will land, press the sprinkle on the cookie as soon as it comes out of the oven.

  • Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days or freeze for up to a month.

Recipe Video

Recipe Notes

Food Coloring:The amount of food coloring you will need will depend on the kind you use. If you use gel color, you will only need a few drops. If you opt for the regular grocery store kind, you will need to add a little more. Always start with less because you can always add more!

Heart Sprinkles:If you want the heart sprinkle positioned exactly where you want it on the cookie, wait to add them until after the cookies are baked. As soon as you take them out of the oven, press the sprinkle on top. If you wait, they won’t stick after the cookies cool.

Storing the Cookies:Keep them in an airtight container for up to three days at room temperature. Or, you can freeze the baked cookies for up to a month.

Want a sweeter cookie? Roll these in granulated sugar before baking.

Recipe Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 129kcal | Carbohydrates: 16g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Cholesterol: 33mg | Sodium: 82mg | Potassium: 28mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 216IU | Calcium: 6mg | Iron: 1mg

Nutritional information not guaranteed to be accurate

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Author Dorothy Kern

Did you try this recipe? Click the stars to rate the recipe below

Tis the season for GRINCH COOKIES! I turned my easy sugar cookie recipe into a green cookie for Christmas – decorated easy with a heart sprinkle!! These are such a fun cookie recipe!

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Grinch Cookies Recipe (Drop Sugar Cookies) - Crazy for Crust (2024)

FAQs

What makes cookies chewy instead of crispy? ›

The ingredients you use and how you shape your cookies both play an important role in whether your cookies turn out crispy or chewy. The type of flour and sugar you use, if your cookie dough contains eggs, and whether you use melted or softened butter all factor into the crispy-chewy equation, too.

What is the number 1 Christmas cookie? ›

Peanut Butter Blossoms are America's favorite Christmas cookie, based both on total number of pageviews from the U.S. population as a whole, and number of states that ranked it as their top cookie (which is six, by the way).

How do you make sugar cookie dough not crumble? ›

To avoid this, try using as little flour as possible while preparing to roll your dough. Dry – “Dry” or “Crumbly” dough is a product of over-mixing or using too much of any ingredient during the mixing process. This can be reversed by adding one to two tablespoons of liquid (water, milk or softened butter) to your mix.

How to dress up sugar cookie dough? ›

Take plain sugar cookies up a notch with exciting mix-ins like chocolate chips, rainbow sprinkles, toasted chopped nuts, chopped dried fruit or M&M's. Add these after blending your butter and egg into the sugar cookie mix. This is our favorite hack for holiday Pillsbury cookie dough.

What is the secret to chewy cookies? ›

Cornstarch helps product soft and thick cookies. Using more brown sugar than white sugar results in a moister, softer cookie. An extra egg yolk increases chewiness. Rolling the cookie dough balls to be tall and lumpy instead of wide and smooth gives the cookies a bakery-style textured thickness.

What is the least favorite Christmas cookie? ›

On the naughty list of cookies, Americans gave the lowest win records to anise cookies, which only won 29% of its matchups.

What is the most eaten cookie in the world? ›

Oreo is the best-selling cookie in the world. It is now sold in over 100 countries. Oreo was first produced in 1912 by the National Biscuit Company, now known as Na-Bis-Co.

What is Santa Claus's favorite cookie? ›

Chocolate Chip cookies

Santa himself lists these as his favorites, and he prefers them soft and gooey with lots of chocolate chips. If you decide to leave these out for him, make sure there's a glass of cold milk nearby!

Should you let sugar cookie dough rest? ›

Generally speaking, you should chill your cookie dough before baking it. But for how long? You want to give it at least 2 hours to chill through.

Why are my sugar cookies not crunchy? ›

To make cookies crispy, add less liquid or bake it in the oven for longer to dry out the dough. Generally bake around 13-15min at 180C for a crispy cookie. But if you want a thoroughly crispy cookie – not those just charred on the outside – decrease the temperature to 140C and bake for 30min.

What happens if you add milk to cookie dough? ›

Baking recipes have to be fairly precise for the best results; adding extra liquid in the form of milk to cookie dough could cause the baked cookies to spread, over-brown, and lose their shape. However, it's easy to add a tablespoon or two of milk powder to cookie batters without affecting the final texture.

How do you doctor up sugar cookies? ›

Use flavored water, add some flavor extract, stir in some sprinkles or baking chips, or broken up candy canes, roll in sugar before flattening and baking. What are some things that I can add to my no bake cookies to make them have an extra kick? I currently use the basic recipe. You might like some flavored chips.

How long should sugar cookie dough sit out before rolling? ›

As a general rule of thumb, you should refrigerate cookie dough for at least 30 minutes and up to 24 hours. More than that, and you won't see a noticeable difference in the final product. Once the dough has chilled, let it warm up at room temperature until it's just pliable (about 5 to 10 minutes).

Should you chill sugar cookie dough before cutting? ›

Chilling the dough is a key step in making sugar cookies, especially when you're making cut-outs. Even if you're tight on time, make sure to get the dough in the fridge, or even the freezer, even if it's only for a little while. Skip this step, and the dough will be sticky, and much harder to work with.

What causes cookies to be chewy? ›

Chewy cookies

Sugar dissolved in baking forms a syrup as the dough heats up. Different types of sugars affect the texture because they absorb different amounts of water. Remember moisture is the key! White sugar creates crispier cookies and brown sugar creates chewier cookies.

Why don't my cookies come out crispy? ›

Decrease the number of eggs in your recipe, or use egg yolks in place of whole eggs. Too high a ratio of brown sugar to white sugar. Increase the ratio of white sugar to brown sugar, or use all white sugar. Using corn syrup will also help crisp up a cookie when it bakes.

What ingredient contributes most to the texture of a crisp cookie? ›

Fat is a very important ingredient in cookies – it tenderizes, crisps and browns, adds color and a wonderful flavor that is impossible to duplicate. Butter, our fat of choice, ensures good baking results and adds the most desirable taste, texture and appearance.

How do you keep cookies from getting crispy? ›

Since moisture helps cookies stay soft and fresh, adding a slice of white bread into the container with cookies can help. The moisture from the bread slice transfers to the cookies, preventing them from getting dry. White bread is best for this hack so that no flavor is added to the cookies.

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