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Grinch Cookies

Grinch Cookies

These Grinch Cookies are the ultimate holiday cookie. Made with a traditional sugar cookie base and decorated with icing.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 40 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Decorating Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 50 minutes

Equipment

  • Bowls
  • Stand mixer
  • Rolling Pin
  • Plastic wrap
  • Grinch Cookie Cutters and Stamps
  • 3 icing bags
  • Wilton tip #1 and #3
  •  Wilton black food coloring gel 
  •  1 mm paint brush 

Ingredients
  

For the Cookies:

  • ½ cup butter, at room temperature
  • 1 cup granulated white sugar
  • 1 egg, at room temperature
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1¾ cups  all-purpose flour 

 For The Royal Icing: 

  • 2½ cups  confectioner sugar (powdered sugar)
  • 2 tbsp  meringue powder 
  • ½ cup warm water
  • red, green, and black gel food coloring

Instructions
 

Cookies

  • Mix the butter and sugar until light, using a stand mixer with the paddle attachment. Add the egg and vanilla and beat until combined. 
  • Add the salt and flour and beat until you get a smooth dough. 
  • On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to a thickness ¼-in. Cover with plastic and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. 
  • Preheat your oven to 350° F. Line 1 large or 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. 
  • Cut out Grinch shapes and stamp on the faces using the Grinch cookie cutter set. Transfer to the prepared baking sheet. 
  • Bake for 10-12 minutes or until the edges are just golden brown. 
  • Allow cookies to cool completely before decorating or enjoy plain! 

Royal Icing Using Meringue Powder: 

  • In the bowl of your stand mixer (or with a hand mixer) beat sugar and meringue powder until combined. 
  • Add the water and beat on medium until stiff peaks, about 5 minutes. 
  • Reserve 1/2 cup of white icing and tint the remaining icing with the red food coloring gel. I recommend to add in a drop or two at a time until you get a color you like. 
  • Scoop the icing into piping bags with # 1 or # 3 tips. 

How to Decorate the Cookies

  • Decorate your Grinch cookies by first outlining the border and face features of Grinch face using green icing. Then fill in the middle with the green icing, leaving the eyes. Use a toothpick to fill in any gaps by spreading the icing around. Tap the cookie a few times to help the icing settle. 
  • Fill eyes with the white icing. You can fill nose too if desired or draw it later. 
  • Now, outline the border of the fur part of the Grinch hat with the white icing and fill in the middle. 
  • Using red icing, outline and fill the hat. 
  • Fill the pompom part of the hat with white icing. 
  • Dry for about 15-20 minutes 
  • Place 1/8-¼ teaspoon of Wilton black food coloring gel on the plate. Using a 1 mm brush, draw the face features and outline the Grinch hat. 
  • Dry cookies at room temperature for 6-8 hours until the icing is completely firm. 

Notes

* Find the cookie cutters here or here
** Find the icing gel here
** Dip your Grinch cookie cutter and stamp in flour between cutting out and stamping cookies to make sure the dough doesn’t stick to the cutter or stamp. 
*** You can store the frosted cookies for several days in an airtight container. Store between layers of parchment paper. 
**** Royal Icing with Egg Whites: If you cannot find meringue powder or prefer to use raw egg whites, you could just replace both the water and meringue powder called for in the recipe with 2 large egg whites and 2 teaspoons of lemon juice.