These Grinch Crinkle Cookies are one of my families all time favourite Christmas cookies and they’re the cookies I look forward to baking the most because of the excitement they create and the happiest of reactions they always get from my nieces. They also make a fun addition to any Christmas cookie exchange or cookie tray – a definite crowd pleaser!
Why These Grinch Crinkle Cookies are the Best!
- It’s the Ultimate Christmas Cookie because of the red, green, and white colouring!
- Fun to make and totally kid friendly
- Light and fluffy cookie with a hint of fresh peppermint
- Pop of colour in any Cookie Exchange
What you’ll need to make Grinch Crinkle Cookies
White Cake Mix: You’ll need a 400g box of white cake mix. I chose the Super Moist Better Crocker cake mix because it’s one I am familiar with and has always been consistent, but you can chose whichever one works best for you.
Butter: 1 stick, or 8 tablespoons of unsalted butter, softened to room temperature.
Eggs: 2 Large Eggs at room temperature.
Peppermint Extract: 2 teaspoons of peppermint extract give these cookies a gentle touch of peppermint. I tend to stay on the more subtle side when using peppermint extract, but if you’re a massive peppermint fan, you could always add an extra 2 teaspoons to up the mint flavours.
Vanilla Extract: 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract.
Green Food Colouring: You can find green food colouring at any grocery store or online. I didn’t have any on hand so I used blue and yellow gel food colouring to get the green colour I was looking for. This recipe does take quite a bit of food colouring in order to get the bright and festive Grinch green. In total, I used 14 blue to 7 yellow drops before I was happy. I also noticed that the food dye took a few minutes to fully saturate the mixture, so once you think you’ve nailed the colour, let it sit for a few minutes to make sure you’re happy with the colour before starting the next step.
Powdered Sugar & Cornstarch: 1/4 cup of powdered sugar and 3 tablespoons of cornstarch create the perfect crinkle effect.
Red Hearts: The red heart makes a perfect little pop of colour and ties this cookie back to the Grinch. You can always use cinnamon hearts if they’re easier to source. If you’re stuck and can’t find any hearts, you can use red sprinkles, or any other festive sprinkles you can find. Click HERE for a very similar package of hearts that I found at Michaels. It does come with red and pink but I figure the pink ones will come in handy soon.
How to Make Grinch Crinkle Cookies
- Preheat your oven to 375℉ and move your oven rack to the middle position.
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine the cake mix, butter, and eggs. Using an electric mixer, mix until fully combined.
3. Add the peppermint and vanilla extracts and the green food colouring. Mix with the electric hand mixer until fully combined and you achieve your desired green colour.
4. Mix the powdered sugar and cornstarch together in a small separate bowl.
5. Using a spoon, or cookie scoop, scoop about 1-1.5 tablespoons of dough into the powdered sugar mixture, and fully coat. Roll the coated dough ball in your hand until round and place on a large baking sheet lined with parchment paper about 2 inches apart. Tip: Because the dough is quite sticky, I let the scoop of dough fall into the powdered sugar mixture before even trying to shape it – once it’s coated it’s much easier to handle with your hands. They don’t need to look perfect because they will spread out while they cook.
6. Bake for 10 minutes or until the cookies appear dry.
7. Immediately add a heart sprinkle once the grinch crinkle cookies are removed from the oven. You can gently press them into the cookies while the cookies are still hot, or use a icing gel pen as a glue to keep them from falling off once cooled a bit.
8. Let cool for about 20 minutes before serving.
More Christmas Cookies To Try:
Grinch Crinkle Cookies
Course: DessertCuisine: AmericanDifficulty: Easy30
cookies20
minutes10
minutes90
kcal30
minutesSoft, minty Grinch crinkle cookies that are bright, festive, and impossible not to smile at
Ingredients
400g box of White Cake Mix
1 stick or 8 tablespoons of Unsalted Butter room temperature
2 large Eggs room temperature
2 teaspoons Peppermint Extract (see notes for extra peppermint flavour)
1/2 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
Green Food Colouring (see notes)
1/4 cup Powdered Sugar
3 tablespoons Cornstarch
Red Sprinkles (see notes)
Directions
- Preheat oven to 375℉ and move rack to centre position.
- In a large bowl, combine box cake mix, eggs, and butter. Using an electric hand mixer, mix until fully combined.
- Add the peppermint and vanilla extracts, and green food colouring. Mix until fulled incorporated and desired Grinch Green colour is achieved.
- Mix powdered sugar and cornstarch in a small bowl.
- Using a spoon, or cookie scoop, scoop 1-1.5 tablespoons of dough into the powdered sugar mix and fully coat. With you hands, roll into a ball and place onto a large cookie sheet lined with parchment paper about 2 inches apart.
- Bake for 10 minutes or until the cookies appear set and dry. Don’t over bake!
- Immediately (and carefully) press the heart shaped sprinkles into the cookies while they’re still hot. Let cool for 20 minutes before serving.
Notes
- For the peppermint lovers – add an extra 1-2 teaspoons of peppermint to boost the flavour
- If you’re unable to find green food colouring just use blue and yellow. I used 14 blue -7 yellow drops of gel food colour to achieve the green in the photos.
- If you can’t find heart shaped sprinkles use cinnamon hearts, other festive sprinkles (candy canes, Christmas trees, Santa hats) or just a pinch of regular red sprinkles.
- Store these cookies in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
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