Description
Celebrate the holiday season with these festive Christmas Grinch Crinkle Cookies. Made from a simple white cake mix, buttery dough is infused with vibrant green gel food coloring to capture the Grinch’s iconic hue. Rolled generously in powdered sugar, these soft, chewy cookies bake up with a charming crackled surface. Finished with melted chocolate and red heart-shaped candies, each cookie is decorated to showcase the Grinch’s mischievous grin, making them perfect for holiday parties or gifting.
Ingredients
Scale
For the Cookies:
- 1 box (15.25 oz) white cake mix
- ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Green gel food coloring, several drops
- ½ cup powdered sugar (for rolling)
For Decoration:
- Red heart-shaped candies (red chocolate hearts or heart-shaped sprinkles)
- ½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1 teaspoon coconut oil or vegetable shortening (for melting chocolate)
Instructions
- Prepare the Cookie Dough: Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. In a large mixing bowl, combine the cake mix, melted butter, eggs, and vanilla extract. Stir until the ingredients are thoroughly blended. Add several drops of green gel food coloring and mix well until the dough turns the perfect Grinch-green color. Refrigerate the dough for 15–20 minutes to help prevent spreading during baking.
- Roll and Bake: After chilling, scoop about one tablespoon of dough and roll it into a ball. Generously coat each dough ball in powdered sugar, ensuring full coverage. Place the balls on the prepared baking sheet spaced about 2 inches apart. Bake for 8–10 minutes, until the cookies have set and display a crackled surface. Avoid overbaking to keep them soft and chewy. Allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Decorate the Grinch’s Face: Melt the semi-sweet chocolate chips with coconut oil in a microwave-safe bowl by heating in 20-second bursts, stirring between intervals until smooth. Using a piping bag or a small ziplock with a corner cut, pipe a small dot of melted chocolate in the center of each cookie. Press a red heart-shaped candy onto the chocolate to secure it. Next, pipe the Grinch’s grin with the melted chocolate: create two upward-curved lines on each side of the heart for the smile and add small lines to simulate facial creases above the smile and between the eyes if desired. Let the chocolate set at room temperature for 10–15 minutes or refrigerate to speed up setting.
Notes
- The dough chilling step is key to preventing the cookies from spreading too much and helps achieve the perfect crackled appearance.
- Be careful not to overbake; the cookies should remain soft and chewy rather than crispy.
- For easier piping, warm the melted chocolate slightly if it begins to harden during decorating.
- If red heart-shaped candies are unavailable, small red sprinkles or edible hearts can be substituted.
- Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 110
- Sugar: 12g
- Sodium: 150mg
- Fat: 5g
- Saturated Fat: 3g
- Unsaturated Fat: 2g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 16g
- Fiber: 0.5g
- Protein: 1g
- Cholesterol: 25mg
