Grinch Snowball Cookies

Even the grumpiest Grinch won’t be able to resist the cheer of these delightful Grinch Cookies! A festive twist on the classic snowball cookie recipe and one of our most popular Christmas treats of all time!

green snowball cookies with red heart decoration aka Grinch Cookies.

Grinch Christmas Cookies

The Grinch is one of my favorite Christmas movies ever! I think I’m not the only one because it’s a story that’s been re-made countless times!

Inspired by The Grinch, these Grinch Snowball Cookies are bright green with a red heart — they are sure to stand out on a party table! And they taste like the classic snowball cookies you love and treasure (maybe even better!)

Aren’t they super cute? I just love the red heart sprinkles!

Related: See my 10 best Grinch inspired recipes here!

What Are Snowball Cookies?

A traditional snowball cookie is a round shortbread cookie, filled with chopped pecans, and rolled in powdered sugar.

My Granny always makes snowball cookies for Christmas, so they hold a special place in my heart. Even though as kids we love hyper-sweet treats, at Christmas time we gravitated towards these more subtly flavored classics.

These Grinch Snowball Cookies are just like the holiday favorite from all of our childhoods — but with a fun and festive twist!

Our Grinch Snowball cookies add dried cranberries to the mix and bright Christmas colors. Plus we found these awesome red heart sprinkles that are just perfect!

There are a lot of recipes for Grinch cookies that use cake mix, but if you’re looking for Grinch cookies without cake mix, then these Grinch Snowball cookies are just the thing!

green snowball cookies with a red candy heart, inspired by The Grinch

For your convenience in re-creating our Grinch Cookies, I’ve included shop-able links to some of the supplies and kitchen tools used to make them. Disclosure policy available here.

Ingredients

Kitchen Supplies Used:

bright green Grinch Christmas cookies on plate

Instructions

To Prep: Preheat oven to 350°F and prepare a baking sheet with non-stick spray or a silicone baking mat.

Cream butter, sugar, and vanilla in a stand mixer or bowl using an electric hand mixer, until fluffy.

creaming butter and powdered sugar with hand mixer.

Gradually add in flour, salt, and food coloring until your batter is well combined and a rich green color. We found that kneading by hand was the easiest way to evenly distribute the green color. Wearing gloves prevents the hands from staining.

adding green food coloring to cookie dough. mixing green cookie dough by hand.

Stir in the dried cranberries and chopped pecans with a spatula or wooden spoon or work into the dough by hand.

adding dried cranberries to green cookie dough adding chopped pecans to green cookie dough

Roll dough into 1 inch balls and place the cookie dough balls on baking sheet(s). A cookie scoop is helpful for portioning the dough evenly and then you can shape dough by hand.

balls of green cookie dough on baking sheet

Bake for 10-12 minutes, keeping a close eye on them so you can remove from oven before they start to brown.

When cookies are cool enough to handle, roll each in a small bowl of powdered sugar, until well coated.

rolling a ball of green cookie dough in powdered sugarball of green Christmas cookie dough coated in powdered sugar

Use melted white chocolate to attach a large red heart sprinkle on top of each cookie and allow to set.

placing red heart decoration on Grinch snowball cookie

Prep Tips

  • Red Hearts – You can find jumbo red heart sprinkles on Amazon or in the baking section at many craft stores. Alternatively, you can use red candy melts to pipe your own red hearts on top of each cookie. I’ll explain how we did it in the FAQ section below.
  • Storage – These Grinch snowball cookies can last for up to a week in an airtight container at room temperature. You can also freeze them for up to 2-3 months.

 

Frequently Asked Questions

How Many Days Ahead Can You Make Cookie Dough?

You can prepare the cookie dough up to 3 days ahead of time. Once you’ve made the dough, wrap it tightly with plastic wrap and keep refrigerated until you’re ready to bake.

You can also freeze the dough ahead of time. The day before you’re ready to bake, move the ball of dough from the freezer to the fridge to thaw.

How Do You Get Decoration To Stick On Cookies?

If you’re having any trouble getting your read heart sprinkles to stick to the cookies, here are a couple tips:

  • Make sure the cookies are completely cooled first. If the cookies are warm, they will melt the chocolate that you’re using as the “glue” for the sprinkles. If you’re making your own red hearts using candy melts, a warm cookie will keep the candy decoration from sticking.
  • Make sure that you’re using plenty of melted chocolate to attach your red heart sprinkles and press gently until they begin to set in place.

How to Make Your Own Red Heart Decorations?

While the red heart sprinkles are the easiest way to decorate, you can create your own hearts too!

What you’ll need:

  • Red candy melts -OR-
  • White chocolate and red food coloring

Here’s what to do:

  1. Melt the chocolate or candy melts. If using white chocolate, stir red food coloring into it until you have a rich red color.
  2. Scoop into a plastic decorating bag with fine tip.
  3. Use the melted chocolate to draw hearts onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or silicone baking mat.
  4. Place the cookie sheet into the freezer for about 10 minutes to harden.

Now you can use your candy hearts to decorate your cookies!

Related: Be sure to check out our Grinch Jello Shots too! (For grown-ups!)

 

More Grinch Recipes To Try:

Grinch Cookies Recipe (Printable Copy)

If you like this recipe, rate it! We’d also love to hear what you think in the comments below.

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bright green Grinch Christmas cookies on plate
Print Recipe
4.81 from 31 votes

Grinch Cookies - Christmas Snowball Cookies

So festive even the grumpiest of grinches will have to smile! These Grinch Snowball Cookies are a colorful twist on a classic Christmas treat!
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time12 minutes
Total Time22 minutes
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Keyword: Christmas, cookies, holiday
Servings: 36
Calories: 144kcal
Author: Stacey aka the Soccer Mom
Cost: $8

Equipment

  • hand mixer
  • Mixing bowls
  • Cookie sheet
  • Silicone baking mat

Ingredients

  • 1 cup unsalted sweet cream butter
  • 1/2 cup powdered sugar (plus 1 cup for rolling cookies)
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 1/4 cups flour
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 3-5 drops green food coloring
  • 1/2 cup pecans chopped
  • 1/3 cup dried cranberries chopped
  • 24 pieces red confetti heart sprinkles
  • 1/4 cup white chocolate wafers melted

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350°F.
  • In a standing mixer, cream softened butter, sugar, and vanilla extract. Gradually mix in flour, salt, and food coloring until your batter is well-combined and a rich green color.
  • Stir in chopped pecans and cranberries until evenly distributed.
  • Form dough into 1 inch balls and place onto a prepared baking sheet (or two baking sheets depending on how large they are).
  • Bake cookies for 10 - 12 minutes. Remove from oven before they start to brown.
  • Allow cookies to cool enough to handle, then roll each in a small bowl of powdered sugar until fully coated.
  • Use melted white chocolate to secure a red heart sprinkle to the top of each cookie. 
  • Allow cookies to cool completely and chocolate to set before serving or storing.

Video

Notes

Note: Nutrition information is a rough estimate only; actual values will vary based on the exact ingredients used and amount of recipe prepared.

Nutrition

Serving: 1cookie | Calories: 144kcal | Carbohydrates: 20g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 7g | Sodium: 1mg | Sugar: 3g

CLICK HERE to see all of our holiday recipes on the Soccer Mom Blog!

Be sure to pin our Grinch Cookies on Pinterest:

green Christmas cookies with red heart decoration, inspired by the Grinch

Want More Christmas Cookie Ideas?

Click here to see ALL of our favorite Christmas Cookies Recipes!

A HUGE collection of the best Christmas cookies from our favorite food and family bloggers. Secret family recipes, kids cookies, gluten free, and more!

Stacey aka the Soccer Mom
Latest posts by Stacey aka the Soccer Mom (see all)

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8 Comments

  1. Hi! I am also a soccer mom of 5 and new to your blog. I am so excited to find new cookie recipes for the holidays! I have a question regarding your Grinch cookie…could I substitute almonds for the pecans and have the texture/consistency come out right?
    Any thoughts you have are much appreciated!

  2. Needed to add about 2 T. of milk to moisten enough for the very dry batter to accept and incorporate the green color.
    I haven’t eaten a cookie yet, but I think it will be okay. Fingers crossed.

4.81 from 31 votes (30 ratings without comment)

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