Grinch Snickerdoodle Cookies
If you’re looking for a festive treat for your Christmas table, these Grinch snickerdoodle cookies should be at the top your list! They are a fun and vibrant twist on the classic chewy, cinnamon-flavored snickerdoodle cookie. Complete with a small confetti heart – just like the Grinch!
These grinch snickerdoodle cookies are easy to whip up and the perfect recipe for Christmas Eve baking with family including any little ones! And best of all – theres no need for fancy equipment since you can do everything by hand!
Check out more cookie recipes here plus other ideas for your holiday table – sweet and savory!
key ingredients
All-purpose flour. This flour has a moderate gluten content thats provides structure to the cookie.
Cinnamon. A must for snickerdoodle cookies
Melted butter. Butterfat makes the cookie flavorful and melting makes the cookies more fudgy and chewy
Brown sugar. Has a warmer flavor than granulated sugar and also helps make the cookies chewy.
Egg. Adds richness and and stability to the cookies
Cornstarch. Another ingredient to makes sure the cookies bake up soft
Cream of tartar. Ensures that the cookies keep their soft and chewy texture even once fully cooled
Baking soda. This leavening agent reinforces the chewy texture of the cookies as opposed to baking powder
Food coloring. Green is obviously needed for the Grinch’s iconic color but yellow is optional as well – if your green food coloring has a deeper/darker hue the yellow will brighten it so it’s more vibrant
Red confetti hearts. For the Grinch’s iconic tiny heart!
tips for the best grinch snickerdoodle cookies
What kind of food coloring should I use? Gel-based or a powdered food coloring is best for baking since you don’t have to use as much for the desired pigment and these are less likely to leave a “paint-like” flavor in these vibrant grinch snickerdoodle cookies.
Line your baking tray with parchment paper. This prevents the cookies from sticking to the pan and also allows them to spread more evenly during baking.
Use an oven thermometer. This recipe like most of my other cookie recipes calls for a higher baking temperature. This is so the cookies bake faster which ultimately results in less spread and a softer and chewier cookie.
Ovens can run hotter or cooler than the presented reading so an oven thermometer takes out the guess work to guarantee perfect cookies!
Spoon flour into measuring cups then level off. This makes it so that you’re not packing more flour than called for in the recipe which can result in a dry and tough cookie
Pack the brown sugar. Unlike the flour, brown sugar is prone large air pockets when measuring. Packing or pressing the sugar down into the measuring cup ensures that you are using the full amount called for and will give you more consistent results.
how to make grinch snickerdoodle cookies
Step 1. Mix the all-purpose flour, salt, cornstarch, cream of tartar, baking soda and cinnamon in a small bowl until evenly distributed. Set aside.
Step 2. Add the melted butter and the brown sugar to a separate bowl and mix with a spatula until completely combined and smooth. The mixture should be homogenous so make sure to mix until the butter is completely incorporated and no longer separated from the brown sugar.
Step 3. Add the egg and mix again until smooth.
Step 4. Add the all-purpose flour mixture from step 1 along with the green food coloring and mix until smooth. If your green is closer to a moss shade you can add a bit of yellow food coloring to brighten it.
Step 5. Chill the dough for at least 30 minutes in the refrigerator.
how to make the green cinnamon sugar coating
Step 6. While the dough chills add the granulated sugar and cinnamon to a small bowl and stir to combine.
Step 7. Add green (and yellow if needed) food coloring to the cinnamon sugar and mix with a spoon or gloved hand to distribute the pigment.
If using a spoon, press the the clumps of pigment into the sugar. If doing this step by hand use a rubbing motion at your fingertips to distribute the pigment. Do this until you have an even color throughout.
As with the cookie dough, add a little yellow food coloring to brighten the color if the shade of green seems to dark
assembling the grinch snickerdoodle cookies
Step 8. Once the dough is chilled, use a cookie scoop to portion the dough into 8-10 equally sized balls (about the size of a ping-pong ball or slightly larger). Roll the dough between your palms to form them into spheres. This doesn’t have to be perfect and you should avoid rolling the cookie dough between your palms for more than 5 as the dough can start to soften from your body heat causing it to spread more than intended.
For a really thick cookie you can refrigerate the dough again to allow the spheres to firm up. The harder/colder your dough is when it is placed in the oven, the less it will spread during baking.
Step 9. Roll the dough spheres in your prepared cinnamon sugar topping coating them thoroughly and evenly.
Step 10. Press a confetti heart into each of the cookie dough balls, positioning them off-center.
Step 11. Arrange the coated cookie dough spheres on a parchment-lined baking sheet allowing for about 2 inches of space around each to account for spreading.
Step 12. Bake the grinch snickerdoodle cookies for 8-9 minutes at 395°F. Don’t open your oven door to check before the 8 minute mark – all the heat will escape the oven causing you to bake for a longer time and also causing more spreading of the cookies.
To test, if you touch one of the cookies the top should feel dry, not leaving behind any stick/greasy residue on your fingertip. Also, the cookie should feel slightly spongy – this will transition to a soft & chewy texture as it cools.
Ingredients
For the Cookies
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- ¾ cups melted unsalted butter 1 ½ sticks
- 1 cup (packed) brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 tsp cornstarch
- 1 ½ tsp cream of tartar
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ¼ tsp salt
- green food coloring
- yellow food coloring optional as needed for brightening the shade of green
- red confetti hearts
Cinnamon Sugar Coating
- 1 ½ TBSP granulated sugar
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Mix the all-purpose flour, salt, cornstarch, cream of tartar, baking soda and cinnamon in a small bowl until evenly distributed. Set aside.
- Add the melted butter and the brown sugar to a separate bowl and mix with a spatula until completely combined and smooth.
- Add the egg and mix again until smooth.
- Add the all-purpose flour mixture from step 1 along with the green food coloring and mix until smooth. If your green is closer to a moss shade you can add a bit of yellow food coloring to brighten it.
- Chill the dough for at least 30 minutes in the refrigerator.
- While the dough chills make the cinnamon sugar coating. Add the granulated sugar and cinnamon to a small bowl and stir to combine.
- Add the green (and yellow if needed) food coloring to the cinnamon sugar until the desired color is achieved and mix with a spoon or gloved hand to distribute the pigment. If using a spoon, press the the clumps of pigment into the sugar. If doing this step by hand use a rubbing motion at your fingertips to distribute the pigment. Set aside.
- Once the dough has been chilled, portion it out into 8-10 equally sized balls (about the size of a ping-pong ball or slightly larger). Roll the dough between your palms to form them into spheres.
- Roll the dough spheres in your dyed cinnamon sugar – coating them thoroughly and evenly
- Press a confetti heart into each of the cookie dough balls, positioning them off-center.
- Arrange the coated cookie dough spheres on a parchment-lined baking sheet allowing for about 2 inches of space around each to account for spreading.
- Bake the cookies for 8 minutes at 395°F.
