Grinch Thumbprint Cookies

These adorable Grinch Thumbprint Cookies are homemade sugar cookies with a sweet filling adorned with candy red hearts. Based on the classic Dr. Seuss movie,” How the Grinch Stole Christmas,” these cookies are fun, festive and the perfect treat for the Christmas season. 

Grinch-Style Sugar Cookies

Everyone loves the story of that famously mean holiday character, Mr. Grinch. It’s a sweet and wonderful tale of how love and kindness can change anyone! When you take a look at how cute these cookies are, complete with a little red heart sprinkle to represent Grinch’s small heart, it will make your own heart feel like growing three sizes!

These buttery thumbprint cookies are made from scratch using just a few simple ingredients and are melt-in-your-mouth delicious! They’re so much fun to make and even more fun to eat, especially as a snack on Grinch movie night!

Make an extra batch because homemade cookies make the best gifts. Add some of these Grinch cookies to a clear cellophane bag with these Chocolate Christmas Thumbprint Cookies and these delicious Fruitcake Cookies. Tie them up with pretty Christmas ribbon and give to family, friends and neighbors this holiday season!

💗 Why We Love This Recipe

• Grinch® Sugar Cookies start with a from scratch cookie dough that comes together quickly without requiring any chill time.
• They make fun and festive cookies that are perfect for your next cookie exchange or to add to a cookie tray for holiday parties.
• This is an easy cookie recipe that uses just a handful of ingredients you get from the grocery store.

🔪 Recommended Tools:

• Large baking sheet
• Electric mixer
• Medium mixing bowls
• Cooling rack
• Measuring cups
• Measuring spoons

🛒 What’s Needed to Make Grinch Christmas Cookies

For the Cookie Dough

• Butter (softened)
• Sugar
• Salt
• EggyYolk
• All-purpose flour

For the Filling

• Confectioner’s sugar
• Milk
• Corn syrup
• Vanilla extract
• Green food coloring-gel
• Large red heart sprinkles – we use these heart sprinkles.

🥄 How to Make Grinch Thumbprint Sugar Cookies

Preheat the oven to 350 and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Step One: Combine Dry Ingredients

• In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, and salt. Mix until well incorporated.

Step Two: Mix Wet Ingredients

• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment cream butter and sugar.
• Add in egg yolk and vanilla and continue mixing until well incorporated.
• Add the flour mixture in gradually, mixing after each addition, until it’s all added.

Step Three: Form Cookies

• Scoop out dough in tablespoon-size scoops and roll into balls (or use a small cookie scoop).
• Place on the prepared cookie sheet.
• Using the handle of a wooden spoon, your finger, or another small round object press a hole in the center of each dough ball.

Step Four: Bake Cookies

• Bake cookies for 8-10 minutes.
• Remove from the oven, gently press in the center of each cookie again.
• Place back in the oven and bake 10-12 minutes or until the cookie is light golden brown.
• Allow to cool on the baking sheet for 2-3 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Step Four: Make the Filling

• In a medium bowl combine the powdered sugar, corn syrup, vanilla and 2 tsp milk. Mix until nice and smooth.
• Add enough green gel color until it’s the perfect Grinch green color.

Note: If the filling is too thick add a little bit more milk ½ teaspoon at a time. You want it thin enough to scoop out but thick enough to set and not run out of the cookies.

• Fill each cooled cookie with the filling, place a small red heart sprinkle in the center of each cookie.
• Let Grinch sugar cookies sit uncovered until the filling has set.

Store in an airtight container.

Variations of Adorable Grinch Cookies

• Cookies: You can make green cookie dough by adding a little food coloring to the dough mixture.

• Filling: For chocolate thumbprint cookies, you could use green cookie dough, to make green cookies, and add a chocolate center with Hershey kisses. Make sure you add the kisses in the chewy sugar cookies as soon as they come out of the oven.

• Grinch’s heart: If you can’t find the candy hearts, you can use cinnamon hearts. You can even just add some red food coloring to melted chocolate. Pour into a piping bag and make a red dot in the center of the filling to represent the heart,

• Flavors: We used classic vanilla extract, but you can use almond extract, coconut extrac,t or even rum extract to give the cookies different flavors.

💚 More Grinch Recipes

• Grinch Fudge
• Grinch Hot Chocolate
• Grinch Pretzel Bites
• Grinch Crinkle Cookies
• Grinch Rice Krispies Treats
• Grinch Truffles
• Grinch Jello Shots
• Grinch Popcorn
• 20 Grinch Christmas Desserts

Can I Freeze these Christmas Thumbprint Cookies?

You sure can. For best results, place them in a single layer on a cookie sheet. Stick them in the freezer for about 30 minutes before removing them and transferring them to a freezer bag or other airtight container. This helps the filling freeze firm. They will stay fresh for up to a couple months.

Why is My Dough Crumbly?

If your cookie dough is crumbly, it could very well be that the butter was too cold when you mixed it in with the other ingredients. If this happens, let the dough sit out at room temperature for a few minutes then see if it comes together without crumbling.

Why Did my Thumbprint Cookies Spread Out Too Much?

There are two main reasons this happens. Always start the cookies out in a preheated oven. You want them to start baking immediately and if the oven is not hot enough the dough will melt before it begins to bake.

The other reason is the dough did not come to room temperature before you baked them. Most of the time, while you are rolling the dough into balls, it warms the dough up enough. But if you made the dough balls in advance, you’ll want to let them sit out for about 10 minutes before baking them.

🎄 More Christmas Cookie Recipes

• Christmas Wreath Cornflake Cookies
• Chewy Chocolate Peppermint Cookies
• Pinwheel Sugar Cookies
• Cranberry and White Chocolate Cookies
• Peanut butter balls