These Grinch cookies use vanilla cake mix and a powdered sugar coating with a fun red heart sprinkle to make a delicious, festive crinkle Christmas cookie. They are the perfect baking project for kids, since they are so incredibly easy and quick to make. Bake them up for themed holiday parties or when you’re going to have a family Grinch movie night.
For more festive cookies, try my gingerbread whoopie pies, linzer cookies, candy cane cookies, and molasses cookies.
The Grinch is one of my favorite Christmas characters, and he is always such a hit with the kids, too. To get in the true Grinchy spirit, I wanted to make some fun and tasty Grinch cookies.
These cookies are perfect for anyone who wants to have fun baking holiday treats but may be intimidated by some of the more complicated recipes. They use cake mix, so are perfect for anyone who wants to try their hand at baking.
🥘 Ingredients
- Cake Mix - I used Betty Crocker's French Vanilla cake mix, but you can use any vanilla or white cake mix you like. Try my homemade white cake mix if you prefer to make your own.
- Butter - Let your butter come up to room temperature so it creams well with the other ingredients.
- Eggs - Your eggs should also be at room temperature so that the cookies bake evenly and don't have any cold spots.
- Vanilla Extract - I made my cookies vanilla-flavored, but they certainly don't have to be! See my notes below on how to make them mint or lemon-flavored instead.
- Green Food Coloring - I used neon green gel food coloring, but any green coloring would work. Keep in mind that the color of the dough will be slightly darker and more vibrant than the finished baked cookies.
- Confectioners' Sugar & Cornstarch - This combination is what you will use to coat the cookies before baking. It will give them a fun crinkled appearance.
- Red Heart Sprinkles - You can use any red heart sprinkles. Check out your Valentine's Day stash of sprinkles, or run by your local store. You can usually find hearts year-round, but you can always order them online if you are having trouble locating them.
If you don't want to buy red hearts, try my homemade fondant or marshmallow fondant to make your own.
Be sure to see the free printable recipe card below for ingredients, exact amounts & instructions with tips!
👩🍳 How To Make Grinch Christmas Cookies
These cake mix cookies are super easy to make. You will need a mixing bowl or stand mixer, a baking sheet, and measuring utensils.
This recipe will yield 26 cookies.
Step 1: Preheat. Preheat your oven to 375°F (190°C/Gas Mark 5) and line your baking sheets with parchment paper.
Mix the Cookie Dough
Step 2: Cream the butter. Use a stand mixer or hand mixer to cream ½ cup (113.5 grams) of butter until smooth and fluffy (photo 1).
❗ Top Tip: Best Temp For Room Temperature Butter
When instructions reference room temperature butter, butter that is slightly softened is best. The temperature should be between 67-72°F (19-22°C).
What this means is that if you can press your finger into the stick of butter easily, it is probably too softened for a great cookie structure. There should be just an indent from your finger when the temp is ideal.
Step 3: Add. Add 15.25 ounces (432 grams) of vanilla cake mix, 2 large eggs, and 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract (photo 2). Mix until well combined.
Step 4: Make it green. Mix in the green food coloring until you reach your desired shade (photos 3, 4).
Portion & Bake
Step 5: Make the coating. In a small bowl, use a fork or whisk to mix ¼ cup (30 grams) of confectioners' sugar and 3 tablespoons of cornstarch (photo 5).
Step 6: Portion and coat. Use a 1½ tablespoon cookie scoop (or portion out generous tablespoonfuls, 1 ounce each) to scoop the dough and drop it directly into the combined confectioners' sugar and cornstarch. Move the dough around until fully coated (photo 6).
Step 7: Arrange. Place the coated cookies onto your prepared baking sheet, leaving a few inches between each cookie for spreading (photo 7).
Step 8: Bake. Bake in the oven at 375°F (190°C/Gas Mark 5) for 10-12 minutes, or until the edges are set.
Decorate & Cool
Step 9: Add the hearts. Remove the baking sheet from the oven and immediately top each warm cookie with a red heart sprinkle, pressing down only slightly (photo 8).
Step 10: Cool. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire cooling rack to finish cooling.
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💭 Angela's Pro Tips & Recipe Notes
- Try vanilla, mint, or lemon cookies. I made these cookies with a vanilla flavor. However, you can make them mint or lemon instead. To do this, reduce the vanilla to ½ teaspoon then add 2 teaspoons of either peppermint or lemon extract.
- Drop the dough into the sugar. This cookie dough is very sticky, so I recommend using your cookie scoop to drop it directly into the confectioner's sugar for rolling. It will stick to your hands if you try to use them to put the dough into the sugar.
- Use your favorite coloring. I used neon green gel food coloring to get the classic Grinch color. You can use your favorite shade of green.
- Coat the cookies. For crinkle cookies, I typically recommend that the dough balls are first rolled in granulated sugar followed by confectioners' sugar to keep it in place during baking. However, since these cookies use a box of cake mix, they are very sticky and will turn out nicely even if my usual crinkle tip is skipped.
🥡 Storing
Keep your Grinch cookies stored in an airtight container at room temperature for 4-5 days.
Freezing
These cookies can also be frozen for 1-2 months. Let them thaw on the counter at room temperature before serving.
Do you love a recipe you tried? Please leave a 5-star 🌟rating in the recipe card below and/or a review in the comments section further down the page.
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📖 Recipe Card
Grinch Cookies
Ingredients
- ½ cup butter (at room temperature)
- 15.25 oz vanilla cake mix (or white cake mix)
- 2 large eggs (at room temperature)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- green food coloring
- ¼ cup confectioners sugar
- 3 tablespoon cornstarch
- red heart sprinkles
(Note: 2x or 3x only changes the ingredient list)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 375°F (190°C/Gas Mark 5) and line a couple of baking sheets with parchment paper.
Mix The Cookie Dough
- Use a stand mixer or hand mixer to cream ½ cup butter until smooth and fluffy.
- Add 15.25 oz vanilla cake mix, 2 large eggs, and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract and mix until well combined.
- Mix in the green food coloring until you reach your desired shade.
- In a small bowl, use a fork or whisk to mix together ¼ cup confectioners sugar and 3 tablespoon cornstarch.
Portion & Bake
- Use a 1½ tablespoon cookie scoop to scoop the dough and drop it directly into the bowl of confectioners sugar and cornstarch. Move the dough around until fully coated.
- Place the coated cookies onto your prepared baking sheet, leaving a few inches in between each one.
- Bake in the oven at 375°F (190°C/Gas Mark 5) for 10-12 minutes, or until the edges are set.
Decorate & Cool
- Remove the baking sheet from the oven and immediately top each cookie with a red heart sprinkles, pressing down only slightly.
- Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire cooling rack to finish cooling.
Notes
- I made these cookies with a vanilla flavor. However, you can make them mint or lemon instead. To do this, reduce the vanilla to ½ teaspoon and then add 2 teaspoons of either peppermint or lemon extract.
- This cookie dough is very sticky, so I recommend using your cookie scoop to drop it directly into the confectioners' sugar for rolling. It will stick to your hands if you try to use them to put the dough into the sugar.
- I used neon green gel food coloring to get the classic Grinch color. You can use your favorite shade of green.
- For crinkle cookies, I typically recommend that the dough balls are first rolled in granulated sugar followed by confectioners' sugar to keep it in place during baking. However, since these cookies use a box of cake mix, they are very sticky and will turn out nicely even if my usual crinkle tip is skipped.
- If you don't want to buy red hearts, try my homemade fondant or marshmallow fondant to make your own.
- Keep your Grinch cookies stored in an airtight container at room temperature for 4-5 days.
- These cookies can also be frozen for 1-2 months. Let them thaw on the counter at room temperature before serving.
Angela Latimer says
These are the easiest Christmas cookies to bake with your kids, especially if they already love everything 'Grinchy'. They taste great, look cute, and they're fun to share while watching all of the Grinch movies. ~ Angela