Soft Grinch Cookies (Cake Mix) – Easy Green Christmas Cookies with Heart Sprinkles
These Grinch Cookies are the ultimate holiday treat with a soft, gooey texture and the perfect Grinch-green color. Topped with powdered sugar and tiny red heart sprinkles, they’re festive, fun, and ideal for any Christmas celebration.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 24 cookies 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
Scale
Main Ingredients
- 1 box Vanilla Cake Mix
- 1 Stick Unsalted Butter, softened
- 1 tablespoon Canola Oil
- 2 eggs, Room Temperature
- Green Gel Food Coloring (about 3 drops)
Coating and Decoration
- 1 Cup Powdered Sugar
- 1 Cup Corn Starch
- Red Heart Sprinkles
Instructions
- Prepare the baking sheet: Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and preheat your oven to 375°F (190°C).
- Mix coating mixture: Combine powdered sugar and corn starch in a loaf pan and mix thoroughly to create the coating mixture.
- Make the batter: In a mixing bowl, blend the softened butter, vanilla cake mix, canola oil, and eggs together. The batter will be thick and slightly sticky.
- Add color: Stir in green gel food coloring gradually until you achieve the perfect Grinch green shade, typically about 3 drops.
- Shape the cookies: Use a small ice cream scoop to portion the dough, then roll each portion into the powdered sugar and corn starch mixture to coat completely.
- Form the cookie balls: Roll the coated dough into balls and place each ball on the prepared cookie sheet, spacing them about 2 inches apart to allow for spreading.
- Bake: Bake the cookies at 375°F for 8-10 minutes or until they puff up and are slightly set.
- Cool: Let the cookies cool on the cookie sheet for several minutes, then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Decorate: Once cool, mix 1 tablespoon powdered sugar with about 1 teaspoon water to make a sugar glue. Use this to attach the red heart sprinkles on top of each cookie for the finishing festive touch. Alternatively, you can press the hearts onto the raw dough before baking.
- Serve or store: Enjoy immediately or store the cookies in an airtight container for later enjoyment.
Notes
- This recipe yields exactly 2 dozen cookies when using a 1 1/2 inch cookie scoop.
- You can adjust the amount of green food coloring to reach your preferred shade of green.
- Pressing the heart sprinkles onto dough before baking helps them stick without additional sugar glue.
- Store cookies in an airtight container to maintain softness and freshness.