Grinch Cookies
Made and loved by thousands every year! These Cake Mix Grinch Cookies are so easy and festive they will be sure to put you in the holiday mood. Print and Pin The ORIGINAL Cake Mix Grinch Cookies at In Katrina’s Kitchen!
Every Who down in Whoville liked Christmas a lot,
But the Grinch, who lived just north of Whoville, did not.
The Grinch hated Christmas — the whole Christmas season.
Oh, please don’t ask why, no one quite knows the reason.
It could be, perhaps, that his shoes were too tight.
It could be his head wasn’t screwed on just right.
But I think that the most likely reason of all
May have been that his heart was two sizes too small.
Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn’t before:
“Maybe Christmas,” he thought, “doesn’t come from a store–
Maybe Christmas–perhaps–means a little bit more.”
And what happened then–well, in Whoville they say
That the Grinch’s small heart grew three sizes that day.
And then the true meaning of Christmas came through,
And the Grinch found the strength of ten Grinches–plus two.
And now that his heart didn’t feel quite so tight,
He whizzed with his load through the bright morning light.
With a smile in his soul, he descended Mount Crumpet,
Cheerily blowing Who! Who! on his trumpet.
Welcome, Christmas, while we stand
Heart to heart… and hand in hand.
Grinch Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 box french vanilla cake mix, dry mix only
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 2 eggs
- green food coloring, 1 drop
- 1/2 cup Powdered sugar, or more for dusting
- Sprinkles or candies, large heart-shaped
Instructions
- PREHEAT oven to 350° F.
- In the bowl of your mixer CREAM together cake mix, food coloring, oil, and eggs.
- DROP by Tablespoon into confectioners sugar.
- CHILL dough balls for 20 minutes before transferring to a baking sheet to bake.
- PLACE on baking sheet and press 1 large heart candy/sprinkle.
- BAKE for 8-10 minutes until just set.
- COOL 3-4 minutes on pan before removing to cool completely on a wire rack. SPRINKLE with more powdered sugar if desired.
Nutrition
Recipe Notes for Cake Mix Grinch Cookies
- These are the Original Cake Mix Grinch Cookies- made and loved by thousands every December. Cake mix boxes may have changed proportions since 2012.
- This author prefers this recipe made with Betty Crocker French Vanilla Cake mix.
- The author uses AmeriColor Electric Green gel food coloring and Wilton Jumbo Heart Sprinkles.
- The best way to prevent flat cookies is to scoop the dough into Tablespoon portions and then chill for 20-30 minutes. Roll in powdered sugar and bake.
- These cookies are supposed to look a bit wonky and Grinch-like so embrace the crackles!
Merry Christmas, friends! ♥
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145 Comments on “Grinch Cookies”
My cookies came out super flat??? I made these last year and followed your recipe exactly and have zero issues so I don’t know what it changed or what was different. Any suggestions on how I can avoid flat thin cookies?
Ok so I’ve made these 2 years in a row now because I love them…they’re cute easy festive and delicious. But they didn’t turn out so cute this 2nd year. The dough was super oily and they came out flat. Also, all the powdered sugar just baked into the cookie so I had to re sugar them. I saw your “tip” about others who cut the oil back but I stuck to your recipe. Do you think that’s why they were so flat? I won 2nd place in a cookie contest the first year I made them, this year almost no one ate them bc they looked so sad. What did I do??
These are wonderful! So easy and tasty! I couldn’t find candy hearts so I bought a small silicone mold with 12 little hearts and red chocolate melts and made my own! They held up beautifully in the bale and added a little extra to the cookie:-) thank you!
Wish I could post a picture of the ones I made! They turned out great!
I couldn’t find heart candies so I bought a heart mold and some red chocolate wafers and made my own.
My friend and I make these for our family cookie boxes every year now. I think this is our fourth year. This year, we found that the brand of cake mix determined whether they cookies came out flat or puffy. We had 3 boxes of Betty Crocker brand and 1 box of Duncan Hines. The Duncan Hines mix had a thinner batter and came out flatter, where as the Betty Crocker made a stiffer batter and the cookies were puffier. Thanks for the recipe.. it’s our most requested cookie every Christmas 🙂
Will this work with gluten-free cakr mix?
I wish I had scrolled down farther to buy the Wilson heart candies. I bought cinnamon red hearts but they didn’t have a definitive heart shape. I also bought vanilla cake mix and found the flavor lacking. So go for the french vanilla cake mix for sure. I loved this great recipe. I added crushed candy canes and sprinkled those on top because I wanted a little mint flavor since i didn’t have peppermint extract.
The candy canes didn’t add much and may have taken away from the vanilla flavor. Next time i’m going to try to add peppermint extract for a little more flavor.
This was a great idea! I also found that I needed to refrigerate the dough about 15 minutes before forming into balls which you suggested. The cookies were fluffy and adorable! I’m starting a new holiday tradition of watching the Grinch and then making the cookies. Thanks for sharing!
Like EVERYONE else…considering my cake mix included “pudding in the mix” I did 1/3 cup oil maybe …a table spoon more and 2 tablespoons of water. Refrigerated for 2 hours, not sticky…didnt “spread out” Turned out perfect!!
I tried to come with the recipe before reading your comments at the end what’s the vegetable oils an ounce and I signed your instructions just fine they tasted better with the half a cup thank you for this cute little treat and the popcorn bag added to it awesome
Love these cookies, went exactly by the recipe, turned out perfect. Will be a Christmas cookie every year. Thank you for sharing.
Do the grinch cookies freeze well?
Where do you find the small red heart in mid-winter? I have looked everywhere.
Do you have to use French vanilla flavored cake batter or would just a regular yellow or white cake mix work also?