It’s a tradition during the holiday season at our house to watch our favorite Christmas movies throughout the month and one classic movie we can’t get enough of is How the Grinch Stole Christmas. So, naturally, I had to make some Christmas cookies that paid homage to that.
These Grinch cookies will steal your heart. They’re bright green and have an adorable tiny red heart on top channeling all of the Grinchiness.
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Also, not only are they adorable, they’re tasty, too. Crinkle cookies are one of my favorite types of cookies because of the way they puff up and crack slightly on the top — the cake-like interior of the cookie pairs perfectly with the slight crispiness of the outside.
If you’re looking for an easy recipe for a Christmas cookie that is bound to be a big hit, you’ll love these green crinkle cookies.
Common Questions about Grinch Crinkle Cookies
What are crinkle cookies?
Crinkle cookies have a texture that’s somewhat cake-like. They got their name from the fact that they crack, or crinkle, a bit on top when they bake.
How can you tell crinkle cookies are finished baking?
Crinkle cookies that are ready to come out of the oven will be slightly browned around the edges, cracked on top, and somewhat glossy inside.
How can I keep my cookies chewy?
Moisture is the main contributor to a cookie’s chewiness so maintaining that is key. Storing a slice of bread in the container with the cookies will help them to retain moisture.
Making Grinch Crinkle Cookies Ahead of Time
If you choose to make the dough ahead of time you can store it in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours before baking and in the freezer for up to 3 months.
More Grinch Goodies
Stained Glass Grinch Christmas Cookies
Grinch Chocolate Covered Pretzels
Storage
These crinkle cookies can be stored at room temperature in an airtight container (or wrapped in plastic wrap) for up to a week, but you can also place them in the fridge or freezer.
Refrigerator: While you don’t need to refrigerate Grinch crinkle cookies, if you choose to you can store them in a ziploc bag for up to a week.
Freezing: You can freeze baked cookies or the prepared dough for up to 3 months in the freezer.
Tips For The Best Grinch Crinkle Cookies
Crinkle cookies are fairly easy to make but there are a few things that you can do to make baking them even easier.
- Always use room temperature ingredients. This makes for easier mixing which ensures that all ingredients are fully incorporated.
- Have all ingredients out before beginning. Making sure that you have all of your ingredients handy makes the baking process go more smoothly and allows you to focus on each step of the process.
- Grease your hands prior to rolling the balls to prevent the dough from sticking to your hands. Use cooking spray, coconut oil, or vegetable oil.
Ingredients
If you’re not able to find the heart sprinkles at your grocery store you can easily order them online. Alternatively, you can use red gel food coloring to make the heart.
- All-purpose flour
- Baking powder
- Salt
- White sugar (granulated)
- Butter (softened)
- Large eggs
- Vanilla extract
- Peppermint extract
- Leaf green gel food coloring (or liquid food coloring if you can’t find gel)
- Sugar (for rolling)
- Large heart shaped sprinkles
Kitchen Supplies You’ll Need
You only need a few standard kitchen supplies in order to make these cute cookies.
- Medium size bowl
- Baking sheet
- Parchment paper or Silpat liner
- Rubber spatula
- Large mixing bowl
- Stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment (or hand mixer)
- Small cookie scoop (or melon baller)
- Small bowl or shallow dish (for sugar)
How to Make Grinch Crinkle Cookies
These Grinch cookies are a cinch to make.
- Add the flour, baking powder, and salt to a medium size bowl.
- Mix the ingredients together so that they are evenly dispersed.
- Add the sugar and butter to a large bowl of a standing mixer fitted with a paddle attachment (or use an electric mixer).
- Begin mixing on medium speed. Once the sugar is somewhat incorporated, turn the mixer up to high speed and beat until the sugar and butter are completely combined.
- Turn the mixer to low speed and add the eggs and extracts and continue to mix until they are combined.
- Next, slowly pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients in intervals and continue to beat until they are all fully incorporated.
- Next, add the green food coloring.
- Then, gently knead the dough to disperse the color. Continue kneading until the color is even throughout the dough. The dough should be a bright green color.
- Using a small cookie dough scoop, portion out the dough and roll into a ball before rolling the dough ball in the reserved sugar.
- Then, place the finished cookie dough ball on the prepared cookie sheet.
- Using your hand or a wooden spoon, gently flatten the cookie just slightly.
- Repeat until all of the dough has been used.
- Then place a red heart on the top of each cookie.
- Bake the cookies until they are slightly golden brown.
- Once the cookies have been removed from the oven, allow them to remain on the baking sheet for several minutes until they are cooled enough to safely transfer them to a wire rack.
- Allow the cookies to cool completely on the cooling rack before placing them in a storage container.
What to Serve With Grinch Crinkle Cookies
There are plenty of things you can serve with these adorable cookies but here’s the short list.
- Milk – A big glass of cold milk is perfect to dunk these cookies in. You can also try chocolate milk, soy milk, almond milk, or oat milk.
- Tea – Black tea and herbal tea go well with these cookies. Try green tea, too, to stick with the Grinchy theme.
- Coffee – Brew a pot of your favorite flavored or unflavored coffee or be a barista and whip up a latte.
- Frozen sweets – Garnish gelato, sorbet, or ice cream with these cookies. You can also make ice cream sandwiches by spreading your favorite flavor ice cream between two of the cookies.
- Whipped cream – Offer whipped cream to dip these in when serving.
Why You Should Make This Recipe
These cookies are bound to be a huge hit at a holiday party or cookie swap but there are a few other reasons to make this recipe.
- Easy – Even though there’s a bit of a long list of ingredients, this is an easy, standard cookie recipe that should be easy for novice bakers as well as experienced ones.
- Cost-effective – Many of the ingredients are pantry staples so you won’t need to spend a lot to create these cookies.
- Cute – These seasonal cookies are adorable whether you’re serving them at parties or giving as gifts.
Variations and Add-ins
This recipe is a great canvas for your creativity offering a ton of opportunity to customize them.
- Chocolate chips – Add white chocolate, dark chocolate, or milk chocolate chips to the dough for a chocolatey take on this Grinchy treat.
- Nuts – Gently fold crushed nuts into the dough before forming the balls.
- Extracts – Impart a different seasonal flavor with gingerbread extract instead of peppermint or use almond extract to add nuttiness.
- Fruit – Sprinkle some craisins or raisins into the dough before kneading for a fruity twist.
- Confectioner’s sugar – You can substitute confectioner’s sugar (powdered sugar) for the granulated sugar that you roll the cookies in.
If you love this easy Grinch Crinkle Cookies recipe, you’re going to love these other holiday cookies too. Please click each link below to find the easy, printable recipe!
Other Handheld Holiday Desserts
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Grinch Crinkle Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
- ⅓ cup butter softened
- 2 eggs
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- ½ tsp peppermint extract
- leaf green gel food coloring
- sugar for rolling
- large heart shaped sprinkles
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
- In a medium size bowl mix together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- In a large bowl with an electric mixer cream together the sugar and butter.
- Beat in the eggs and extracts.
- Gradually add in the dry ingredients mixing after each addition until it has all been incorporated.
- Add a few drops of food coloring and knead the dough until the color is evenly distributed.
- Place the additional sugar in a small bowl or a shallow dish.
- Scoop out the cookie dough into tablespoon-size scoops, roll into a ball and then roll them in the sugar to coat.
- Place them on the prepared baking sheet and flatten slightly.
- Press a heart shaped sprinkle into the center of each dough ball.
- Bake for 8 minutes or until set. The bottom of the cookies should be very slightly golden brown.
- Allow to cool on the baking sheet for 2-3 minutes before moving them to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Store in an airtight container.
Nutrition
Nutritional information for the recipe is provided as a courtesy and is approximate. Please double-check with your own dietary calculator for the best accuracy. We at Yummi Haus cannot guarantee the accuracy of the nutritional information given for any recipe on this site.
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