These Grinch cookies are soft and chewy cake mix cookies, rolled in sugar and topped with a red heart. A super easy Christmas cookie recipe that’s always a hit with kids!
When the winter holidays arrive, I celebrate with lots of festive dessert recipes including stained glass cookies , cream cheese spritz cookies , eggnog cake and these adorable Grinch cookies.
Whenever I think Christmas, the Grinch comes to mind! This movie is a classic holiday tale for good reason. These Grinch cookies are green like the character, with a red heart to signify the day his heart grew three sizes. This treat is great for class parties and gift giving.
- Grinch Cookies Ingredients
- How Do You Make Grinch Cookies?
- Tips For The Perfect Cookies
- Quick Tip
- Recipe FAQs
- Flavor Variations
- More Great Christmas Cookies
- Love This Recipe?
- Grinch Cookies Recipe
Grinch Cookies Ingredients
To make these cookies, you will need a box of white cake mix, eggs, vegetable oil, vanilla extract, neon green food coloring, granulated sugar and red heart sprinkles.
How Do You Make Grinch Cookies?
Place the cake mix, eggs, vegetable oil, vanilla extract and food coloring in a large bowl. Stir until a dough forms. Chill the mixture until it firms up. Roll the dough into tablespoon sized balls. Take each cookie dough ball and coat it in sugar. Bake until the cookies are set. As soon as the warm cookies come out of the oven, immediately press a red heart sprinkle onto each cookie. Cool on a wire rack, then serve.
Tips For The Perfect Cookies
- I use a neon green gel food coloring for the most intense color. It’s the perfect shade of Grinch green! Liquid food coloring will also work, but you might need to use more of it. You can add as little or as much as you like. Look for the neon green color online or at a craft store in the cake decorating area.
- I use jumbo heart sprinkles which are sold in the cake decorating aisle of craft stores, or you can purchase them online.
- Grinch cookies will stay fresh in an airtight container for up to 3 days .
- Use a cookie scoop to make sure all the cookies come out the same size.
- If your sprinkles don’t stick well to your cookies, you can attach them with a dab of melted white chocolate.
Quick Tip
It’s important to use a 15 1/4 ounce box of vanilla cake mix , so read the labels carefully at the store to make sure you have the right size.
You can substitute 1/2 cup of softened butter for oil in this cake mix cookie recipe, but the cookies may have a slightly different texture.
Grinch cookies will stay fresh in the freezer for up to 2 months. Store them in a freezer bag or an airtight container for the best results.
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Flavor Variations
While these cookies are delicious as-is, you can customize the flavors to your tastes.
- Heart: If you can’t find the heart sprinkles, use another red candy instead such as a red hot cinnamon candy or a red M&M candy.
- Coating: You can also roll your cookies in green sanding sugar, or 1/4 cup powdered sugar mixed with 1 tablespoon of cornstarch.
- Flavorings: Feel free to add extra flavor to your cookies by adding 1/2 teaspoon of peppermint extract or almond extract.
You simply can’t go wrong with Grinch Christmas cookies. They’re quick to make, and always get rave reviews!
More Great Christmas Cookies
Christmas Wreath Cookies
15 mins
Chocolate Spritz Cookies
20 mins
Christmas Sugar Cookies
35 mins
Nutella Cookies
25 mins
Thumbprint Cookies
1 hr 35 mins
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Ingredients1x2x3x
- ▢ 15 1/4 ounce box white cake mix
- ▢ 2 eggs
- ▢ 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- ▢ 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ▢ neon green food coloring
- ▢ 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- ▢ 24 red heart sprinkles
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat.
- In a large bowl, mix together the white cake mix, eggs, oil, vanilla extract and 8-10 drops of neon green food coloring. Stir to combine.
- Cover the bowl of dough and chill it in the fridge for 30 minutes.
- Roll the dough into tablespoon sized balls.
- Pour the granulated sugar onto a plate. Roll the balls of dough around in the sugar to coat.
- Place the balls of dough 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheet. You will need to work in batches.
- Bake for 8-10 minutes or until cookies are set and lightly browned. When the cookies come out of the oven, immediately press a red heart sprinkle into each cookie while they are still hot.
- Cool, then remove from the baking sheet and repeat the baking process with the remaining dough. Serve immediately, or store in an air tight container for up to 3 days.
Notes
- Make sure you have a 15 1/4 oz. box of cake mix. Some cake mix boxes are smaller and will not work well for this recipe.
- You can make your cookies larger or smaller than what the recipe calls for; just adjust the bake time accordingly.
- Use a cookie scoop or measuring spoon to make all of your balls of dough the same size.
Nutrition
These thumbprint cookies are soft vanilla cookies filled with fruit jam and baked until golden brown. An easy and classic cookie recipe that’s perfect for parties, after school snacks and special occasions.
When the holidays roll around, I find myself in the kitchen whipping up plenty of festive Christmas recipes including Italian cookies , Oreo stuffed cookies , eggnog cookies , Nutella cookies and these beautiful little thumbprint cookies.
Thumbprint cookies are a classic for good reason – they’re simple yet look so impressive, and they couldn’t be any easier to make! You can customize your cookies by adding any number of fillings and coatings for a sweet treat that’s delicious any time of the year.
- Thumbprint Cookies Ingredients
- How Do You Make Thumbprint Cookies?
- Tips For Perfect Cookies
- Quick Tip
- Recipe FAQs
- Flavor Variations
- More Great Cookie Recipes
- Love This Recipe?
- Thumbprint Cookies Recipe
Thumbprint Cookies Ingredients
To make this recipe, you will need butter, granulated sugar, light brown sugar, a large egg, vanilla extract, all purpose flour, baking soda, salt and jam.
How Do You Make Thumbprint Cookies?
Thumbprint cookies are all about the perfect dough that bakes up crisp on the outside, yet soft on the inside. Make this dough by beating sugar, brown sugar and butter together. Mix in an egg, some vanilla, flour and baking soda and the dough is ready to go. Chill the dough in the fridge and roll it into balls. Dip the dough balls in sugar, then place them on a baking sheet. Press wells into the cookies with a spoon. Fill the cookies with a little jam, you can use any flavor of your choice. Bake until light golden brown, then cool and enjoy.
Tips For Perfect Cookies
- Keep the dough cold when you roll it into balls. If the dough warms up, it can get sticky and the balls can become rough instead of smooth. You can place sticky dough in the fridge or freezer to chill if needed.
- After you put the jam in the cookies, place the sheet pan of cookies in the freezer for about 10 minutes before baking. Chilling the dough prevents the dough from spreading too much as it bakes.
- Some dark jams and jellies can “stain” the dough of the cookies. If you are worried about staining, avoid using blackberry or grape jams or jellies. I typically use raspberry, strawberry or apricot jam.
- Make sure you don’t overfill the cookies or the jam may bubble over and run down the sides of the cookies.
- If your balls of dough crack as you make the indentations in the middle, your dough may be overly cold and stiff. You can simply patch any cracks with your fingers .
Quick Tip
If you have trouble shaping the dough into balls, try putting a little cooking spray on your hands.
You can freeze baked thumbprint cookies. Just place them in an airtight container in a single layer. If you want to stack cookies, put a piece of waxed paper, plastic wrap or parchment paper between the layers. The frozen cookies stay fresh for about a month. When you are ready to eat the cookies remove them from the container and let them thaw on the counter.
There is no need to refrigerate thumbprint cookies, and they will stay fresh at room temperature in an airtight container for 5 days.
It’s very important to chill your cookie dough before you bake it. This will prevent the cookies from spreading too much in the oven.
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Flavor Variations
While this recipe is delicious as written, you can easily customize the flavors to suit your tastes.
- Coatings: Try rolling your balls of cookie dough in coatings such as sprinkles, coconut, finely minced almonds, pecans, walnuts or cinnamon sugar.
- Fillings: The filling possibilities are endless and include ingredients such as Nutella, lemon curd, chocolate ganache, marshmallow cream or caramel sauce.
This thumbprint cookie recipe is so fun to make because you can fill the cookies with all different kinds of flavors. This is a holiday classic that never goes out of style!
More Great Cookie Recipes
S’mores Cookies
27 mins
Monster Cookies
25 mins
Cake Mix Cookies
20 mins
Snowball Cookies
50 mins
Chocolate Spritz Cookies
20 mins
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Ingredients1x2x3x
- ▢ 1 cup unsalted butter softened
- ▢ 1/2 cup granulated sugar plus more for rolling the cookies
- ▢ 1/4 cup light brown sugar packed
- ▢ 1 egg
- ▢ 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ▢ 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- ▢ 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- ▢ 1/4 teaspoon salt
- ▢ 1/2 cup jam
Instructions
- Place the butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar in the bowl of a mixer. Beat until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes.
- Add the egg and vanilla extract, then beat for 1-2 minutes or until well combined.
- Add the flour, baking soda and salt to the bowl. Beat until just blended.
- Place the dough on a large sheet of plastic wrap and form it into a disk. Cover the dough completely with the plastic wrap, then refrigerate for at least one hour, or up to 3 days.
- Remove the cookie dough from the refrigerator about 10 minutes before you plan to use it.
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
- Roll the dough into 1 inch balls, then coat each ball in granulated sugar.
- Place the balls of dough 3 inches apart on 2 sheets pan lined with parchment paper or silicon baking mats.
- Use your thumb, the back of a teaspoon, or the round end of a pestle to make an indentation in each cookie. Be gentle as you make each indentation so that the cookies don’t crack.
- Fill each cookie with 1/2 teaspoon of jam.
- Place the trays of cookies in the freezer. Chill for 10-15 minutes or until cookies are firm.
- Bake for 10-11 minutes or until light golden brown around the edges. Let sit for 5 minutes, then transfer to a rack and cool completely.
Notes
- Keep the dough cold when you roll it into balls. If the dough warms up, it can get sticky and the balls can become rough instead of smooth. You can place sticky dough in the fridge or freezer to chill if needed.
- If you have trouble shaping the dough into balls, try putting a little cooking spray on your hands.
Nutrition
Grinch Cookies
Ingredients
- 15 1/4 ounce box white cake mix
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- neon green food coloring
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 24 red heart sprinkles
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat.
- In a large bowl, mix together the white cake mix, eggs, oil, vanilla extract and 8-10 drops of neon green food coloring. Stir to combine.
- Cover the bowl of dough and chill it in the fridge for 30 minutes.
- Roll the dough into tablespoon sized balls.
- Pour the granulated sugar onto a plate. Roll the balls of dough around in the sugar to coat.
- Place the balls of dough 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheet. You will need to work in batches.
- Bake for 8-10 minutes or until cookies are set and lightly browned. When the cookies come out of the oven, immediately press a red heart sprinkle into each cookie while they are still hot.
- Cool, then remove from the baking sheet and repeat the baking process with the remaining dough. Serve immediately, or store in an air tight container for up to 3 days.
Notes
- Make sure you have a 15 1/4 oz. box of cake mix. Some cake mix boxes are smaller and will not work well for this recipe.
- You can make your cookies larger or smaller than what the recipe calls for; just adjust the bake time accordingly.
- Use a cookie scoop or measuring spoon to make all of your balls of dough the same size.
