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Easy Grinch Cookies Recipe (Made with Cake Mix)

Adorable Grinch Cookies are my favorite cookies to bake for the holiday season. Inspired by one of the best holiday movies, these chewy sugar cookies are perfect for a cookie exchange, holiday parties, or even to enjoy during a Grinch movie night.

green crinkle grinch cookies on white and red plate

Just like how Grinch stole Christmas, these Grinch Christmas Cookies will steal the hearts (and tastebuds) of nearly anyone who tries them.

I personally love to bake cookies during the holidays and these are so easy to make, it’s practically my go-to cookie recipe when I want to get into the holiday spirit and make a tasty cookie.

This truly is the perfect holiday cookie recipe as it makes Grinch green crinkle cookies that are soft, chewy and totally cute.

grinch cookies on pink table

Want more Christmas cookie recipes? Try our Grinch Meringue Cookies, Old Fashioned Gingersnap Cookies, and Eggnog Cookies. And if you want something to wash it all down with, try our Easy Grinch Punch recipe.

upclose of grinch cookies on a white plate

Ingredients Need to Make Grinch Cookies

  • Vanilla Cake Mix – These are cake mix cookies and if you’ve never made them, trust the process.
  • Unsalted Butter, softened
  • Canola Oil
  • 2 Eggs, Room Temperature
  • Powdered Sugar
  • Corn Starch
  • Green Gel Food Coloring – The gel food coloring is important as it gives it a better overall color. Regular green food coloring doesn’t work as well.
  • Red Heart Sprinkles – These may be hard to find in-store so I have linked them for you. You may even have some leftover heart sprinkles from Valentine’s Day recipes.

Equipment Needed:

  • Parchment Paper
  • Large bowl
  • Stand mixer (or hand mixer)
  • Baking Sheet
  • Wire rack (for cooling the cookies)
  • Small cookie scoop (optional but helps keep all the cookies the same size)
  • Measuring cups
grinch cookie ingredients on pink table

How to Make Grinch Cookies

This is such an easy cookie recipe. You will simply throw all the ingredients into a large mixing bowl and make the dough.

Once the dough is made, you’ll roll cookie dough balls into the powdered sugar to give it that crinkle cookie look.

You’ll bake the cookies and once they are done, while the cookies are still warm, you will gently push in the heart sprinkle.

collage with steps on how to make grinch cookies

Serve and enjoy!

grinch cookies on cookie sheet

You can serve and enjoy these Grinch green cookies right away or store in an airtight container for future consumption!

You can even put these inside a cute cookie tin and give them away as gifts for the holidays!

grinch cookies on plate with christmas decorations around it

Want More Grinch Recipes? Check out:

Plus, we have a ton more Grinch Ideas here.

grinch cookies stacked on white cookie tray
Grinch Cookies

Grinch Cookies

Yield: 1
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes

These Grinch Cookies are the ultimate holiday cookie. They have a soft, gooey texture, are colored to the perfect shade of Grinch-green and topped with powdered sugar and a tiny red heart sprinkle. They are so perfect, you'll never need another Christmas cookie recipe again!

Ingredients

  • 1 Box Vanilla Cake Mix
  • 1 Stick Unsalted Butter, softened
  • 1 Tablespoon Canola Oil
  • 2 Eggs, Room Temperature
  • 1 Cup Powdered Sugar
  • 1 Cup Corn Starch
  • Green Gel Food Coloring
  • Parchment Paper
  • Red Heart Sprinkles

Instructions

  1. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
  2. Add powdered sugar and corn starch together in a loaf pan.  Mix well.
  3. Mix the butter, cake mix, oil and eggs together (the batter will be thick).
  4. Stir green food coloring to get the perfect Grinch green color (I used about 3 drops).
  5. Using a small ice cream scoop get a chunk of dough then roll it into the powdered sugar/corn starch mixture.
  6. Pick up the dough and roll into a ball and place on cookie sheet.
  7. Place the cookie balls 2 inches apart on the cookie sheet.
  8. Bake at 375 degrees for 8-10 minutes or until they puff up.
  9. Cool on the cookie sheet for several minutes then transfer to a wire rack to completely cool.
  10. Once the cookies have cooled, mix a tablespoon of powdered sugar and a teaspoon or so of water, to make a tiny bowl of sugar glue to stick the heart sprinkles onto the top. You can also gently push the heart onto the dough before it gets baked.
  11. You can serve and enjoy right away or store in an airtight container for future consumption!

Notes

This recipe will make exactly 2 dozen cookies using a 1 1/2 inch cookie scoop

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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 24 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 138Total Fat: 2gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 17mgSodium: 166mgCarbohydrates: 28gFiber: 0gSugar: 14gProtein: 1g

*Nutrition facts are an estimate and not guaranteed to be accurate. Please consult with a registered dietitian for dietary advice.

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The bottoms of mine turned a weird color lol is that okay? They look good from the top lol

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Yes that is totally fine. Sometimes green can be a little funny and it can also be the type of spray/oil you used on the pan (if any) but if they look good from the top, no worries. :)

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