These are the absolute best grinch sugar cookies! I used my basic sugar cookie dough that's dyed green, rolled in green sprinkles, and topped with a single red heart sprinkle to represent the grinch's heart. All you need is 30 minutes in order to make these fun holiday cookies!
Why You'll Love These Cookies
- Can be baked right away. Unlike other traditional sugar cookie recipes, this cookie dough does not have to chill before baking. They are a drop-style sugar cookie that's ready to baked immediately.
- No rolling pin or cookie cutters. This is truly a simple sugar cookie recipe that only requires you to scoop out the dough with your cookie cutter, roll in sprinkles, and then bake. Perfect for your Grinch movie night!
- Soft and chewy texture. With the addition of corn starch to help make these cookies soft and then using melted butter, these cookies have a perfect chewy texture while also being soft in your mouth, just like my gingerbread cutout cookies.
- Quick prep time. The cookie dough gets mixed together in a large mixing bowl before rolling in green sprinkles. All of this takes just 10 minutes of prep!
- Fun for holiday parties. Both kids and adults alike will enjoy eating these sugar cookies! They're perfect for your next cookie exchange too.
These grinch Christmas cookies are a drop-style sugar cookie that's decorated to look like one of your favorite Christmas movies: How the Grinch Stole Christmas!
I added a little bit of green food dye to the dough to really make that green color "pop" but you could leave it out.
Each cookie dough ball is rolled in green sugar sprinkles and then topped with a red heart once out of the oven.
Jump to:
As a home baker who loves any excuse to make cookies during the holiday season, these Grinch cookies are also toddler approved!
I also enjoy baking these classic snickerdoodle cookies and chewy chocolate marshmallow cookies during Christmas time.
Ingredients For Grinch Cookies
- Flour: I used all-purpose flour.
- Corn Starch: With the addition of corn starch, the cookies will be thicker and softer.
- Butter: Unsalted butter is what I used.
- Green Food Coloring: This is an optional ingredient. If using, I highly recommend using a green gel food coloring, as it will give a more deeper and brighter green color.
- Green Sprinkles: Here are the ones I used. I found them at my local grocery store.
- Heart Sprinkles: These can be found in the baking aisle at your local craft store or on Amazon.
See the recipe card for the full ingredients list and the exact amounts.
How To Make The Best Grinch Sugar Cookies
Step 1: In a microwaveable-safe bowl, melt the butter and let it cool on the counter for 5 minutes.
Step 2: In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the flour, corn starch, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
Step 3: In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the melted butter, sugar, egg, egg yolk, vanilla extract, and green food dye until fully combined.
Step 4: Add the flour mixture and use a rubber spatula to gently fold everything together until the cookie dough forms.
Step 5: Scoop the cookie dough into your hands using a small cookie scoop (I used my #50, which is 1.5 tablespoons).
Roll the cookie dough into a ball and then roll it in the sprinkles. Bake the cookies for 9-11 minutes.
Step 6: Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before transferring them over to a wire rack.
Storing & Freezing
Storing: Keep any leftover cookies in an airtight container on the counter for up to 7 days.
Freezing: Place the cooled cookies onto a baking pan and freeze until solid. Then place them in a freezer-safe container or bag. They can stay frozen for up to 2 months.
Professional Home Baking Tips
- Baking Sheet: Line each pan with parchment paper.
- Measuring Flour: To help ensure you don’t add extra flour, follow these three simple steps: 1) Fluff up the flour using a fork. 2) Spoon the flour into your measuring cup. 3) Scrape a knife across the top of the measuring cup to level out the flour.
- Cookie Scoop: For this recipe I used my small cookie scoop (1.5 tablespoons) to create smaller cookies. You can use your preferred cookie scoop though.
- Perfectly Shaped Cookies: The trick to getting more circular cookies is to use a round cookie cutter to essentially “rotate or spin” around each cookie immediately when they come out of the oven. Since they’re really hot, the cookies will easily mold to that circular shape as you move around them.
- Sprinkles: Roll the cookie dough balls in green sugar sprinkles before baking. Once the cookies come out of the oven, place one small red heart onto the center and cool.
Recipe FAQs
Before baking, roll each cookie dough ball into the sprinkles. They should stick quite easily.
📖 Recipe
The Best Grinch Sugar Cookies
Equipment
- Baking Sheets
- Parchment paper
- Small Cookie Scoop
- Electric Stand Mixer
Ingredients:
- ¾ cup unsalted butter, melted
- 1 ¼ cups sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ⅛ teaspoon green food gel coloring
- 2 ⅓ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons corn starch
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- green sugar sprinkles
- 26 red heart sprinkles
Instructions:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.
- In a microwaveable-safe bowl, melt the butter and let it cool on the counter for 5 minutes.
- In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the flour, corn starch, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the melted butter, sugar, egg, egg yolk, vanilla extract, and green food dye until fully combined.
- Add the flour mixture and use a rubber spatula to gently fold everything together until the cookie dough forms.
- Pour the green sprinkles into a small bowl and scoop the cookie dough into your hands using a small cookie scoop (I used the #50). Roll the cookie dough into a ball and then roll it in the sprinkles. Repeat with the rest of the cookie dough.
- Arrange the cookie dough balls 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets and bake for 9-11 minutes. Once out of the oven, place 1 red heart onto each cookie. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes and then transfer them over to a wire rack to finish cooling.
- Keep any leftover cookies in an airtight container on the counter for up to 7 days.
Very cute cookies, the dough however was very crumbly and dry. This made it tough to roll in green sugar. Will try it again to see if I have the same results.
Hi Heather! This dough shouldn't be dry. The reason why yours might have turned out that way is 1) the flour wasn't measured properly. Do not scoop the flour directly from the bag. Instead, use a spoon to scoop the flour into the measuring cup. 2) the butter wasn't soft enough. It's important for the butter to be at room temperature and not cold. Hope these tips help!