These Grinch cookies are festive, cakey cookies that bear a strong resemblance to a certain Christmas Grinch! In 20 minutes they’ll be ready to add to your cookie platter alongside chocolate sugar cookie cut-outs and chewy ginger molasses cookies.
This is probably the Christmas-y Christmas cookie I’ve ever made – and there’s not a Christmas tree, gingerbread man or ornament in sight. These cookies are the edible embodiment of the Grinch himself, with a heart that’s three sizes too… actually, no, it’s the perfect size.
If the heart were bigger it would look like the cookie had a dangerous enlargement of the aorta, and that’s just alarming.
I’d seen a lot of recipes for Grinch cookies on Pinterest similar to these, but they were all using a boxed mix and oil and just… no. I can’t go that route. I have to make things more complicated, obviously.
“Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn’t before! What if Christmas, he thought, doesn’t come from a store. What if Christmas…perhaps…means a little bit more!”
― Dr. Seuss, How the Grinch Stole Christmas!
Making Grinch crinkle cookies
- For my cookies, we’re going to make a white cake from scratch. It’s not hard at all, so don’t freak out. It’s just a matter of putting a few dry ingredients in a bowl and cutting in some butter. The end.
- From there, we’ll add some eggs, melted butter, vanilla and mint extract, and top it off with some food gel paste to give it that essential Grinchy green. You’ll even be using a stand mixer so your arms won’t get tired from mixing the dough.
See? That’s not so hard.
Quite frankly, the hardest part is going to be placing the little heart sprinkle (aff link) on top of each cookie when it comes out of the oven. You have to do it quickly before the cookies set, so have them at the ready! You’ll gently press them in enough so they stick, but not so hard that it looks like the cookie is consuming its own heart.
That’s pretty dark, even for me.
What you’ll end up with is this batch of completely adorable Grinch cookies that are absolute perfection for your holiday cookie exchanges. Not only will they be cute and tasty, they’re a great little conversation starter.
Kids and adults alike will be clamoring to get their hands on one – and lord knows they’re totally Instagram-worthy.
After you’ve made this recipe, please leave a comment below with a rating – and if you came from Pinterest, add a photo to the Pin of what you make to the pin to share your experience!
Grinch Crinkle Cookies
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 8 minutes
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 18-24 cookies 1x
Description
These Grinch cookies are festive, cakey cookies that bear a strong resemblance to a certain Christmas Grinch! In 20 minutes they’ll be ready to add to your cookie platter alongside chocolate sugar cookie cut-outs and chewy ginger molasses cookies.
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 2 eggs, room temperature
- 1/3 cup melted butter or vegetable oil
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon mint extract (or less, to taste)
- Green gel food coloring (aff link) paste
- Heart-shaped sprinkles (aff link)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F and line two baking sheets with nonstick silicon mats (aff link) or parchment paper. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.
- Using a pastry blender, cut in the butter and blend until completely combined with a fine crumb.
- In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine flour mixture, eggs, melted butter (or oil), vanilla extract and mint extract and beat on medium speed until combined.
- Add a few drops of gel paste and beat to fully combine – the dough will start to come together at this point. Add more food coloring to get to your desired color, keeping in mind that the color will fade slightly during baking.
- Use a medium cookie scoop (aff link) to place each ball of dough onto the prepared baking sheets, with no more than 9 on each sheet (they need room to spread while baking).
- Roll each ball of dough in your hands to shape into a smooth ball and press down on the top of each slightly. Bake for 8 minutes, or until the cookies start to crinkle – they will set and crinkle more as they cool.
- As soon as you remove them from the oven, press a heart sprinkle (aff link) into the top of each cookie. Let cool on baking sheets for a few minutes, and then move to wire racks (aff link) to cool completely. Enjoy!
Notes
If you’d prefer a shortcut, you can substitute the first 5 ingredients for a box of white cake mix.
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: grinch cookies, crinkle cookies, grinch crinkle cookies
Debbie Bond says
Ok, I have to say Leslie is right! Her recipe is much better than the boxed cake recipes out there. I followed it to a tee and they came out perfect. Texture, taste, color, It’s all there. The only thing I added was Grinch fur (green candy shred) as soon as they came out of the oven. Wish I could attach a picture to show you the very cute plate I created to put the cookies on!
★★★★★
Leslie Kiszka says
I’m so happy to hear you liked them – thank you so much for coming back to comment and leave a rating! Please email me some pictures, I would LOVE to see them! (leslie@stressbaking.com)
Debbie Bond says
Hi Leslie! I’m back and making these again for Monday’s Dr, Seuss Reading Across America Day. There will be for my granddaughter’s Kinder class. Do you think they would taste OK if I left the mint out? I think I would like to substitute cherry flavor for the mint. What do you think?!
★★★★★
Leslie Kiszka says
I’m not sure of the taste without the mint, but you could always substitute it for pure vanilla or almond extract, or your idea for cherry – that sounds yummy! I’ve honestly never used cherry extract before so I don’t have much advice to offer there.
Lenore Moore says
These needed some liquid. I added ⅓ cup of milk.
They turned out good.
Leslie Kiszka says
Glad you liked them!
Heather says
How many eggs !!!!
Leslie Haasch says
The recipe card at the bottom of the post lists out all the ingredients you’ll need with their quantities – it’s 2 eggs, room temperature for this recipe!
Nancy Higgins says
Do they freeze well and hold up when thawed?
Leslie Haasch says
I’ve never tried, but I doubt it since they’re soft, cakey cookies.
Carol Borchardt says
Adorable! Love the look of that chewy center! These could easily be adapted to St. Patrick’s Day!
Leslie Haasch says
Most definitely – that’s a great idea!
Katrin says
Wow, my kids would absolutely love these cookies!!!!!
Kristen says
My daughter made them for a Christmas breakfast at school, and she came home talking about how everyone loved them.
★★★★★
Leslie Kiszka says
That’s so great – thank you for coming back to share your experience and leave a rating! Happy Holidays <3