Just in time for Christmas, these Grinch Sugar Cookies will brighten up your “Who-Feast” with some holiday cheer. Enjoy them as a dessert, or serve them with hot chocolate as you and your family settle down to watch the classic Christmas movie.
If you love this recipe, you’ll definitely want to try my meringue cookies without cream of tartar and these pretzel reindeer cookies.
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The Grinch: A Beloved Holiday Classic
The story of the Grinch has been enjoyed by American audiences since Dr. Seuss’ original 1957 picture book, How the Grinch Stole Christmas. However, a little-known fact is that Dr. Seuss, whose real name was Theodore Seuss Geisel, based the character of the Grinch on himself.
Three movie adaptations of How the Grinch Stole Christmas exist- the 2D-animated version from 1966 starring legendary actor Boris Karloff, the 1996 live-action version featuring Jim Carrey’s chaotic, irreverent Grinch, and the latest version from 2018, starring Benedict Cumberbatch and released by Illumination Entertainment.
Why This Sugar Cookie Recipe is a Keeper
- 30 Minute Cookie: These Grinch sugar cookies only take about a half an hour to make- and even less time to eat!
- Easy Ingredients: These Christmas cookies take very few ingredients, all found in the pantry or fridge.
- Enjoy the Movie: Kids big and small love this holiday cookie recipe to watch the favorite Christmas movie.
How Do I Make My Cookies Chewy?
For moist, chewy cookies, watch them carefully when they’re baking in the oven. Your cookies will be perfectly baked when they’re golden brown around the edges, without a shiny surface.
Ingredient Notes for Cookies for Christmas
Hold the Who Hash! These basic ingredients will make these adorable Grinch cookies delightfully soft and delicious. The perfect Christmas treat with a heart sprinkle on top.
- Cream Cheese: These produce a nice delicate, soft chewy cookie. You can use a low fat cream cheese or Greek Yogurt cream cheese. Use room temperature cream cheese for easy mixing.
- Powdered Sugar Substitute: To save a few calories, try a powdered sugar substitute. Powdered sugar is used instead of granulated sugar to make the cookies softer.
- Eggs: Large eggs are always the size that you should use, also make sure that all your ingredients are at room temperature.
- Green Food Coloring: If you do not have gel food coloring, try a liquid food coloring. A gel or paste food coloring will give these delicious cookies a bright green color.
See the recipe card below for a complete list of the ingredients with measurements.
Variations and Substitutions
- Grinch’s Small Hearts: If you don’t have red heart sprinkles, you can draw hearts on your cookies with frosting.
- Cake Mix: Use white cake mix to make a cake mix cookies.
- Powdered Sugar Substitute: To save a few calories, try a confectioner’s sugar substitute. Swerve and Splenda make a sugar free confectioners sugar.
- Extract: Try adding a little peppermint extract to the cookies for a fun mint flavor. Even add some colored green sugar to coat.
Special Equipment Needed for Chewy Sugar Cookies
- Cookie Scoop: While you can scoop and shape a cookie dough ball with your hands, a cookie scoop will easily give you cookies of the same size and shape.
- Parchment Paper: Place parchment paper on top of your baking trays in order to keep the cookies from sticking.
How to Make Grinch Sugar Cookies
These green sugar cookies are soft and chewy, and will make your heart grow three sizes with every bite!
These are the basic steps for making Grinch sugar cookies. Refer to the full, printable recipe card below for detailed instructions.
STEP 1: Prep the Easy Sugar Cookie Recipe
First, preheat the oven and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
STEP 2: Cream the Butter and Sugar
In a large bowl, cream the butter and cream cheese with a hand mixer or stand mixer until smooth and well combined, then add the egg and vanilla. Beat to combine. Add the powdered sugar and beat until smooth. Finally, add the flour and beat until combined.
STEP 3: Scoop the Holiday Cookie and Place Ball of Dough on Sheet
Next, place around 1 teaspoon of green gel food coloring in the batter and beat until well mixed. Add more food coloring if needed, until the desired shade of green is reached. Use a tablespoon or cookie scoop to scoop out the dough. Roll the dough between your hands and place the dough balls on the lined baking sheet. Slightly press down each cookie.
STEP 4: Bake the Cookies on Prepared Baking Sheet
Bake cookies for 15 to 17 minutes, or until the bottoms are lightly brown. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for five minutes or until firm, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely once they come out of the oven.
STEP 5: Decorate with Heart on Top
When the cookies are cool, take some powdered sugar and sprinkle on top. Place a small drop of red icing on the bottom of each cookie, then press a small red heart sprinkle into the icing to hold it into place.
Recipe FAQs for Chewy Grinch Sugar Cookies
Expert Tips for Making These Grinch Christmas Cookies Recipe
- Green Sugar Crystals: Green sprinkles really enhance these cookies. Roll in sugar before baking and they will bake as the cookies will spread.
- Short cut tip: Use premade sugar cookie dough, and decorate the same way.
- Variation tip: Use red gel icing to make the hearts if you don’t have sprinkles. Or drizzle with a little milk chocolate.
- Oven Temp: Know your oven. Use a thermometer to make sure that your oven is at the correct temperature, or turn cookie tray if you have hot spots.
- Look: Watch your cookies carefully. Take out when just slightly brown on the bottom.
Grinch Sugar Cookies
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Ingredients
- 1 cup Butter, softened
- 8 ounces Cream cheese, softened
- 1 Egg
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups Powdered sugar, plus more for topping
- 2 ½ cups Flour
- Green food coloring
- Red icing, I used red Pillsbury Funfetti icing
- Red heart sprinkles
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Beat together the butter and cream cheese until smooth and well combined.
- Add the egg and vanilla and beat to combine. Add the powdered sugar and beat until smooth. Add the flour and beat until combined.
- Place around 1 teaspoon of gel food coloring in the batter and beat until well mixed. Add more food coloring, if needed, until the desired shade of green is reached.
- Use a tablespoon to scoop out heaping scoops of dough. Roll the dough between your hands and place it on the lined baking sheet. Slightly press down each cookie.
- Bake the cookies for 15 to 17 minutes, until the bottom is lightly browned.
- Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for five minutes or until firm, then transfer to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
- When the cookies are cool, lightly dust each cookie with powdered sugar. Place a small drop of red icing, on the bottom of each cookie, then press a heart sprinkle into the icing to hold it into place.
Christina’s Notes
- Sprinkles: Green sprinkles really enhance these cookies.
- Short cut tip: Use premade sugar cookie dough and decorate the same way.
- Variation tip: Gel icing to make the hearts.
- Oven Temp: Know your oven, use a thermometer to make sure that your oven is at the correct temperature, turn cookie tray if you have hot spots.
- Look: Watch your cookies carefully, they should be very right in color, take out when just slightly brown on the bottom.
- Scale the recipe: Simply adjust the serving size in the recipe card and the ingredients will update automatically.
- Make your own All Purpose Seasoning: When a recipe calls for All Purpose Seasoning, you can use my homemade All Purpose Seasoning recipe or substitute salt and pepper to taste.
- Meat doneness: I always use a meat thermometer to test for doneness when cooking meat.
- Use unsalted butter: I use unsalted butter so I can control the salt level in the recipe.
- Preheat the oven: Unless otherwise noted, always preheat your oven before baking.
For more helpful information about this recipe, such as variations, substitutions and other pro-tips, check out the blog post.
What did I do wrong??? It’s super gummy. I thought that the dough needed fluid but did not see anything else to add.
Not sure what you did but this is a typical cream cheese cookie recipe. How did they bake?