It's that time for holiday baking! These Homemade Grinch Cookies have a crinkly sugar exterior and a buttery, soft almond-flavored interior. No need for a cake box just your pantry staples will do - let's get baking!
The Story Behind the Cookies
What's your favorite holiday movie? The Grinch is definitely one of my favs. Not only is it funny, but it sends a good message: life's about joy, generosity and love. A message straight from the heart 😉
I think a lot of people love that scene from the movie when the Grinch's heart grows 3 sizes and he realizes what Christmas is all about. So I thought, why not make a cookie dedicated to that message.
A lot of folks have already created their rendition of Grinch themed holiday cookies. Many of the recipes use boxed cake mix, so we're doing a homemade edition!
I think the crinkle of the cookies is an absolute must when imitating the Grinch. Makes sense, right? 🙂
Tips for Making Crinkle Cookies
To get that crinkle where the cookies spread just enough to get cracks with sugar still coating the top with a soft interior can be a challenge, but we're up to any kind of cookie challenge! Here's some tips to get that gorgeous crinkle look!
- Chill the dough beforehand. The cold dough on the inside will take longer to bake, while the exterior will bake to crispy perfection!
- Roll the dough in sugar first, then powdered sugar. This is a great food science tip! Sugar attracts water, so it draws out the moisture from the inside so that you get that lovely crinkle on the outside. You want to use granulated sugar too (not just powdered sugar) to help the powdered sugar stick and not melt while baking.
- Set the oven rack closer to the top part of the oven so that the exterior of the cookie bakes faster than the interior.
Crinkle cookies are often baked around Christmas time, and they're usually chocolatey fudgy goodness. While these cookies aren't chocolate flavored, they do have a fudgy brownie texture!
I used almond extract, ( I love a good buttery almond cookie during the holidays!) but you can also use vanilla extract if you prefer it.
How to Make the Cookies Green
Matcha powder! Jk! No thanks - there's a time for matcha but this ain't it. Just good ol' food coloring will do that trick.
Add the food coloring once the dough is made and mix it on low speed until it's well incorporated.
How to Add a Heart to the Cookies
There are multiple options here! You can buy pre-made candy hearts, cinnamon hot candies or you can do what I did because the store didn't have those options - use red frosting or icing!
A few tips for drawing on those hearts:
- Use a fine point piping bag or icing tube.
- Use a toothpick for help with getting the tip at the bottom of the heart
- Icing doesn't stick well to powdered sugar, so remove some of the powdered sugar where you plan to draw the heart.
Recipe Tips & FAQs
Yes, definitely! I wouldn't let it sit longer than overnight, but you can let it sit overnight and make them the next morning.
Nope! I'm sure it depends on the brand of food coloring, but I used one made by Betty Crocker and the color of the dough compared to the cookies looked the same!
Homemade Grinch Crinkle Cookies
Ingredients
- ½ cup sugar
- ¼ cup light brown sugar
- ½ cup room temperature unsalted butter
- 2 room temperature eggs
- 2 teaspoons almond extract
- 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- green food coloring
- ¼ cup sugar
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- red icing (optional)
- red sprinkle hearts (optional)
Instructions
- Beat the sugar and light brown sugar with the butter together until creamy (about 3 minutes on medium speed).
- Add eggs one at a time and almond extract.
- Mix the flour, baking powder and salt together in a bowl and gradually add into the mixer.
- Add food coloring until you get the desired color of green.
- Cover and refrigerate the dough for 2 hours.
- When ready to bake the cookies, preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and move the oven rack to a higher level.
- Take the dough out of the refrigerator and roll 1.5 tablespoons of dough into balls.
- Pour the sugar and powdered sugar in separate bowls.
- Coat the dough in granulated sugar and then in the powdered sugar.
- Place 2 inches apart on a lined baking sheet and bake on the upper oven rack for 10-13 minutes or until you notice air bubbles escaping in between the crinkles of the cookies.
- Let cookies cool completely before icing or adding the heart sprinkles.
Notes
- Baking on a higher baking rack, helps the cookies get a crispy exterior while the inside says soft.
- Instead of icing, try heart candies or cinnamon candies.
- If icing the cookies, remove the powdered sugar where you plan to pipe the heart to help the icing stick well. Use a toothpick to help get sharper lines.
- The dough can be chilled overnight.
Nutrition
(Nutrition values are calculated by third-party software and an estimate that can vary based on product brands and cooking methods.)
Joann says
Adorable & Yummy! And Veganized!
Made these last night for a secret Santa party today.
I followed the recipe, and swapped out butter for vegan butter, and 2 eggs for the equivalent of Just Egg. I also used vanilla extract instead of almond.
The green color was made with “electric green” from Americolor.
They baked up beautifully! Cakey and fluffy inside with a delicately crispy exterior. Not too sweet, and super easy to whip up! Refrigerating the dough is a must, as is the first coating of granulated sugar. Coating was perfectly crinkly!
I made tiny red fondant hearts and pressed them into the cookies right after they came out of the oven. They look perfect, easy to make, and are very yummy!
Thank you for this fun cookie recipe!
Monica Nedeff says
Absolutely! So happy to share it and hear how much you enjoyed the cookies 🙂 Thanks for sharing your thoughts and very sweet comment! Happy holidays!
Jamie says
How many dozen of cookies will this make?
Monica Nedeff says
Hi Jamie, it makes on average 17 cookies so around 1.5 dozen. It definitely depends on how large you make the cookies. If you're wanting two dozen, I would double the recipe to be safe. You can easily do that by clicking the 2x button under ingredients. Happy baking!
ardea says
what temperature to bake cookies
Monica Nedeff says
350 degrees Fahrenheit
Courtney Haas says
Can you directly swap the measurements for the almond extract for vanilla extract?
Monica Nedeff says
Hi Courtney! Yes, they'll have a different taste, but you can swap the two equal parts. Enjoy!
Gillian says
I made these love it !!! I also made a homemade buttercream frosting for my decoration for the hearts And spelled grinch too !! Everything turned out so good thank you !!
Monica Nedeff says
Homemade buttercream frosting sounds divine!! So glad you enjoyed them and thank you for sharing your comment and rating! Merry Christmas!!
Rose Plummer says
Love these cookies, very pure flavor, and the smallest batch does not make a TON of cookies. As a family of 2, we have no real need for 4 dozen cookies, which is the standard recipe size for most batches of cookies.
Monica Nedeff says
Hi Rose, so glad this recipe served you well and you enjoyed them!
Jeanette Burris says
I am making these cookies today. Our 7 year old great grandson is wild about the Grinch, so I knew these are a must for him. I'll let you know what his reaction is like. on Saturday.
Monica Nedeff says
Aww, I can't wait to hear! I hope he loves them!
Rena Hearn says
I finally got around to making these and I'm so glad I did. They are so delicious and super cute. I actually used a neon green gel food coloring and they are a true Grinch green. I can wait for my family to see them. Thank you for this fun recipe.
Monica Nedeff says
Hi Rena, thank you for the sweet comment and rating! Love the tip of using neon green gel food coloring. Hope your family enjoys!
Lindsey George says
Hello! These are delicious. Can the dough be frozen for future use?
Monica Nedeff says
Glad to hear you enjoyed them, Lindsey! Yes, you can freeze the dough. I would just thaw the dough overnight or for a few hours in the fridge before you want to bake your next batch of cookies!
Alexis says
My whole family said they were delicious 10/10
Monica Nedeff says
So happy the whole family enjoyed them! Thank you for sharing the feedback - happy holidays!
sera says
i loved the concept and tried a batch and they came out sooo good .
Monica Nedeff says
So happy to hear it! Thanks for sharing, Sera!
Teresa says
Love these cookies. I made these for work . We had 12 days of cookies.
Monica Nedeff says
Yay so happy to hear you and your coworkers enjoyed them! Thanks for the comment and rating, Teresa!
Carla Pearson says
Hi, can you use gluten free flour instead of regular flour?
Also can you use regular butter then omit the salt called for in the recipe?
Monica Nedeff says
Hi Carla! Sorry for the delay in response - I recently moved and it's taken a long time to get wifi and set up. To answer your question, I would say feel free to experiment with gluten free flour but know you may not get the same consistency. They may turn out crumblier and not hold well. However, if you do try it please let us know how they go! Regarding salt, feel free to omit it but salt is key to bringing out other flavors. If you notice your batch is lacking a bit in flavor try it as the original recipe and see if that helps 🙂 Let me know if you have any more questions!