Green Grinch Sugar Cookies for Christmas
Grinch Sugar Cookies are the perfect way to give some festive flair to your holiday dessert table. These soft, and sweet adorable Grinch cookies are my own twist from the popular Christmas movie How the Grinch Stole Christmas.
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This recipe is a soft and fluffy Grinch Sugar Cookie that will melt in your mouth. These cookies are always a hit with young and old alike during the holiday season.
Table of Contents
What Are Grinch Sugar Cookies?
Watching How the Grinch Stole Christmas is a yearly Christmas Tradition in our household. Every year we gather around the TV with our favorite snacks for our Grinch movie night. This year I will be making these Grinch Christmas Cookies to enjoy while we kick back and watch the family’s favorite holiday movie.
These are the perfect addition for Grinch-themed holiday parties, or if you just want a fun and different cook to take to your next cookie exchange, these Grinch Sugar Cookies are just what you need to liven up the party.
What could be better in a Grinch cookie than frosting and soft sugar cookies?
Why You Should Make This Grinch Cookie Recipe
- Easy to make – These fun and festive chewy sugar cookies are perfect for the holidays. They are going to love amazing on your holiday dessert table.
- Soft and chewy – These adorable Grinch Sugar Cookies are so simple to make that the entire family is going to love helping out in the kitchen.
- Great for Santa – These cookies will look so good on a plate waiting for Santa to come down the chimney for his Christmas Eve dessert. Santa and his elves always love these easy Grinch Cookies.
If you love recipes like this, you may also enjoy this Fresh Raspberry Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe.
Ingredients For Grinch Sugar Cookies
- Pillsbury Sugar Cookie Mix: This is a ready-to-bake, convenient mix that saves you time and guarantees delicious cookies every time.
- Butter, softened: Softened butter blends easily with other ingredients and adds a creamy texture and rich flavor to your cookies.
- Flour: A foundational ingredient in baking cookies, serving as the structure that holds the cookies together.
- Granulated Sugar: Serves to sweeten your cookies, enhancing the flavors of the other ingredients.
- Egg: A binding agent that gives your cookies structure and keeps them from falling apart.
- Cream Cheese Frosting: This creamy, tangy frosting adds a delightful contrast to the sweet cookies, enhancing their overall flavor.
- Red Sprinkles: Add a pop of color and a slight crunch to your cookies, making them visually appealing and fun to eat.
- Green Food Coloring: This allows you to customize the color of your cookies, perfect for festive occasions or themed parties. The green gel food coloring will work as well.
Substitutions And Variations
- Cookie Dough: Don’t have cookie mix on hand? Make up a batch of your favorite sugar cookie dough.
- Frosting: Switch up the cream cheese frosting to your favorite vanilla or buttercream frosting for a change of flavor.
- Sprinkles: Don’t like sprinkles or can’t find red and pink. Turn your cream cheese frosting red instead of green for a festive look. I used sprinkles and frosting to make my heart cookies. However, you could also use red M and M’s or even pink or red frosting. The choice is yours.
The complete list of ingredients, quantities, and instructions can be found in the printable recipe card below.
How To Make Grinch Sugar Cookies
- Pour the Pillsbury Sugar Cookie Mix into a large mixing bowl and add softened butter and egg. Add 2 – 4 drops of food coloring. Using a hand mixer, mix cookie dough on medium speed until well combined. (Photo 1)
- Press cookie dough into a ball and wrap it with plastic wrap. Chill for about 1 hour. When the dough is ready, preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. (Photo 2)
- Add 3 drops of green food coloring to ¼ cup sugar and stir to combine. You may want to press the sugar through a mesh strainer to get a nice consistent color. (Photo 3)
- Sprinkle a bit of the flour out on your clean work surface. Place cookie dough on top of the flour. Use a rolling pin to roll out the dough about ¼ inch thick. (Photo 4)
- Use a 2-inch round cookie cutter to cut cookies out. Place cookies on a baking sheet about 3 inches apart. Sprinkle cookies with sanding sugar before baking. Bake cookies for about 7 – 8 minutes. You don’t want the edges to get brown, or they won’t be as pretty. Watch the cookies carefully. (Photos 5 & 6)
- Remove the Grinch Sugar cookies from the oven and allow them to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes. Use a heart cookie cutter to cut a heart out of the center of HALF the cookies. Then, allow cookies to finish cooling on a cooling rack/wire rack. (Photo 7)
- Meanwhile, add 2 – 4 drops of food coloring to 8 oz. of the cream cheese frosting. Stir to combine and mix well. (Photo 8)
When your heart cookies have cooled, spread a layer of frosting on the bottom of one cookie (without the heart cut out). Top a heart cookie on top so that the frosting peeks through the heart shape cut out. Fill the heart with red sprinkles, pressing the sprinkles gently into the frosting. (Photos 9 & 10)
Expert Tips
- If you want to make your green cookies darker, add a few more drops of food coloring.
- Food coloring gel will give you a more vibrant color than liquid food coloring.
- If you don’t want to dye your own sugar for the topping, you can purchase green sanding sugar.
- Instead of using a pre-made cookie mix, you can always opt for a homemade sugar cookie recipe. This allows for more control over the ingredients and flavor.
- For uniform baking and easier removal, consider using silicone baking mats instead of parchment paper.
- When rolling out dough, ensure it’s evenly spread to avoid overcooked or undercooked cookies.
- When decorating, let the frosting set a bit before adding the sprinkles. This helps them stick better and not bleed into the frosting.
- If you don’t have a heart-shaped cookie cutter for the center, you can use other shapes or even freehand with a knife. Get creative!
- Check your oven’s temperature accuracy with an oven thermometer. Baking at the right temperature is key for the perfect chewy cookie texture.
Storing Tips
These Grinch Cookies can be stored for up to one week in an airtight container on the counter.
You can freeze these cookies for up to two months. I suggest freezing the cookies without the frosting and sprinkles. Just add those when you are ready to serve.
If you need to make these cookies in advance, you can store the unfrosted cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to one week or in the freezer for up to two months. It’s best to add the frosting and sprinkles just before serving to maintain the cookies’ freshness and appearance.
What To Serve With Grinch Sugar Cookies
These Grinch Sugar Cookies are a standalone treat that can be served on any occasion, be it a festive gathering over the Christmas season, a kid’s party, or an afternoon tea. However, they pair exceptionally well with a variety of beverages. A cup of hot chocolate or a spiced chai latte can enhance the delight of savoring these cookies during the winter season.
On a warmer day, a glass of ice-cold milk or freshly brewed iced coffee would make for a refreshing accompaniment. For an adult gathering, consider pairing these cookies with a dessert wine or a flavored liqueur.
Recipe FAQs
Yes, this Grinch Sugar cookie dough is best after being chilled for at least one hour. I like to make my cookie dough at night and then let it sit in the fridge overnight.
Yes, you can absolutely experiment with different types of frosting. If you’re not a fan of cream cheese frosting, you could try a simple royal icing, a buttercream frosting, or even a flavored frosting like lemon or strawberry.
While this recipe uses a round cookie cutter and a heart-shaped cutter for the center, you can use any shapes you like. Christmas tree shapes, star shapes, or even animal shapes would all work wonderfully for this recipe. Just remember to adjust the bake time according to the size of your cookies.
Yes, you can make these Grinch Sugar Cookies gluten-free by using a gluten-free cookie mix or by making your own gluten-free sugar cookie dough. Just make sure all other ingredients added are gluten-free.
More Dessert Recipes We Love
- Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies
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- Dr. Pepper Cupcakes
- Easy Peppermint Bark Dessert Bowls
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- Single Serve Mini Cherry Cheesecakes
- Frosted Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Peanut Butter Cup Cookie Bars
Or any other delicious recipes on my site? If so, please leave a ★★★★★ star rating below and a 📝 comment sharing your thoughts!
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Reader’s Are Saying
“My kids loved these! Will definitely be making again before the holiday season is over!” – Bobby
Grinch Sugar Cookies
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Ingredients
- 1 bag Pillsbury Sugar Cookie Mix
- ½ cup (113 ½ g) butter softened
- 1 egg
- 16 oz (453 ⅗ g) Cream Cheese Frosting
- Red Sprinkles
- ¼ cup (50 g) sugar
- Green Food Coloring
- Flour for dusting surfaces
Instructions
- Pour the Pillsbury Sugar Cookie Mix into a mixing bowl and add softened butter and egg. Add 2 – 4 drops food coloring. Using a hand mixer, mix cookie dough until well combined.1 bag Pillsbury Sugar Cookie Mix,1/2 cup butter,1 egg,Green Food Coloring
- Press cookie dough into a ball and wrap with plastic wrap. Chill for about 1 hour.
- When dough is ready, preheat oven to 375 °F (191 °C) degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Add 3 drops of green food coloring to ¼ cup sugar and stir to combine. You may want to press the sugar through a mesh strainer to get a nice consistent color.¼ cup sugar
- Sprinkle a bit of the flour out on your clean work surface. Place cookie dough on top of flour. Use a rolling pin to roll out the dough about ¼ inch thick.Flour
- Use a 2 inch round cookie cutter to cut cookies out. Place cookies on baking sheet about 3 inches apart. Bake cookies for about 7 – 8 minutes. You don’t want the edges to get brown or they won’t be as pretty. Watch the cookies carefully.
- Remove cookies from oven and allow them to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes. Use a heart cookie cutter to cut a heart out of the center of HALF the cookies.
- Allow cookies to finish cooling on a cooling rack.
- Meanwhile, add 2 – 4 drops of food coloring to 8 oz. of the cream cheese frosting. Stir to combine and mix well.16 oz Cream Cheese Frosting
- When cookies have cooled, spread a layer of frosting on the bottom of one cookie (without the heart cut out). Top a heart cookie on top so that the frosting peeks through the heart shape cut out. Fill the heart with red sprinkles, pressing the sprinkles gently into the frosting.Red Sprinkles
- Store cookies in an air tight container.
Notes
- If you want to make your green cookies darker, add a few more drops of food coloring.
- Food coloring gel will give you a more vibrant color than liquid food coloring.
- If you don’t want to dye your own sugar for the topping, you can purchase green sanding sugar.
- Instead of using a pre-made cookie mix, you can always opt for a homemade sugar cookie recipe. This allows for more control over the ingredients and flavor.
- For uniform baking and easier removal, consider using silicone baking mats instead of parchment paper.
- When rolling out dough, ensure it’s evenly spread to avoid overcooked or undercooked cookies.
- When decorating, let the frosting set a bit before adding the sprinkles. This helps them stick better and not bleed into the frosting.
- If you don’t have a heart-shaped cookie cutter for the center, you can use other shapes or even freehand with a knife. Get creative!
- Check your oven’s temperature accuracy with an oven thermometer. Baking at the right temperature is key for the perfect chewy cookie texture.
Nutrition Information
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