These Grinch-inspired Christmas cookies can be made in any shape you like, decorated with vanilla icing, green sugar and red sprinkle hearts. And you don’t even need to use piping bags to ice the cookies, instead using my easy method for dipping the cookies into the icing.
You might also like these iced brown sugar cutout cookies, chocolate and vanilla striped sugar cookies, and Christmas star cookies.
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Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Simplified Decorating Technique. With an easy recipe royal icing, you can quickly ice your cookies by simply dipping the cookies in the icing. There are no piping bag skills required to get beautiful results on your iced sugar cookies.
High Altitude Tested. While I develop everything on my site for Denver’s altitude of 5,280 feet, today’s sugar cookie recipe will work great at any altitude with no adjustments needed.
See the recipe card at the end of the post for the full ingredients list and instructions.
Ingredients
- Vanilla Cutout Cookie Dough. I started with my recipe for perfect, no spread, cutout cookie dough. The cookies hold their shape beautifully, and they’re not too sweet on their own. Perfect for decorating with sweet royal icing or buttercream. I only made 1/2 the recipe for today’s Grinch cutout cookies, and ended up with 16 cookies.
- Meringue Powder. The meringue powder is necessary when making royal icing, as it helps the surface of the icing to harden and set, while staying soft underneath.
- Decorating Sugar. The Grinch is a lime green or electric green color, not a forest green, so be sure to get the right shade of sugar. I also used white and gold sparkling sugar.
- Assorted Sprinkles. Tiny red hearts and candy canes add the cutest touch. Note that the color on the sprinkles will likely bleed into the icing by the next day – unfortunately I don’t know of any way to prevent this. When just making these to enjoy at home, of course, my kids don’t care how the cookies look. But for a more professional finish, consider making a thicker batch of red royal icing to pipe the hearts onto the cookies, instead of using sprinkles.
Instructions
Cookies
- Make the vanilla cutout cookies as instructed, using any shape cookie cutter you like.
- Let the cookies cool completely before icing and decorating.
Icing
- In a bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar and meringue powder.
- Add the vanilla and water to the powdered sugar mixture, and whisk until smooth and drizzly.
- To ice the cookies, hold a cookie by its edges and dip the top of the cookie in the icing. Lightly shake off the excess icing, then set it right side up to dry. If the icing gets too thick to dip the cookies as you’re working, you can add more water, a teaspoon at a time.
Decorating Tips
- When decorating cookies iced with royal icing, there are a few best practices to follow for the most beautiful results.
- When whisking the icing, try not to beat too much air into it, which will result in air bubbles on your iced cookies.
- After the icing has set for 20-30 seconds, use a toothpick to pop any tiny air bubbles that rise to the surface of the iced cookies, and to smooth out any uneven areas.
- If decorating the cookies with sprinkles or sparkling sugar, add these within about 30-60 seconds, before the icing sets and dries. If you add sprinkles and sugar immediately, they will sink into the icing. But if you wait too long, and the icing has fully dried, they’ll sit on top of the icing and won’t stick.
Be sure to read all of my BAKING FAQs where I discuss ingredients, substitutions and common baking questions, so that you can be successful in your own baking!
Frequently Asked Questions
The baked cookies (without icing) should be cooled completely then stored in an airtight container for up to 5 days. If you won’t be frosting and decorating them immediately, freeze the cookies in an airtight container for 3-6 months.
Iced cookies should be dried completely for at least several hours, before storing in a single layer in an airtight container. Note that the color on the sprinkles will likely bleed into the icing by the next day – unfortunately I don’t know of any way to prevent this. When just making these to enjoy at home, of course, my kids don’t care how the cookies look. But for a more professional finish, consider making a thicker batch of red royal icing to pipe the hearts onto the cookies, instead of using sprinkles.
You Might Also Like
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Grinch Cutout Christmas Cookies
All recipes on Curly Girl Kitchen are developed for high altitude at 5,280 feet. See FAQs for adjusting to higher or lower elevations.
Ingredients
Cookies
- ½ recipe Vanilla Cutout Cookie Dough
Icing
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 2 tsp meringue powder
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- 1 ½ – 2 tbsp water
- decorated sugar in electric/lime green, white and gold
- red heart sprinkles
Instructions
Cookies
- Make the vanilla cutout cookies as instructed, using any shape cookie cutter you like.
- Let the cookies cool completely before icing and decorating.
Icing
- In a bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar and meringue powder.
- Add the vanilla and water to the powdered sugar mixture, and whisk until smooth and drizzly.
- To ice the cookies, hold a cookie by its edges and dip the top of the cookie in the icing. Lightly shake off the excess icing, then set it right side up to dry. If the icing gets too thick to dip the cookies as you're working, you can add more water, a teaspoon at a time.
Decorating Tips
- When decorating cookies iced with royal icing, there are a few best practices to follow for the most beautiful results.
- When whisking the icing, try not to beat too much air into it, which will result in air bubbles on your iced cookies.
- After the icing has set for 20-30 seconds, use a toothpick to pop any tiny air bubbles that rise to the surface of the iced cookies, and to smooth out any uneven areas.
- If decorating the cookies with sprinkles or sparkling sugar, add these within about 30-60 seconds, before the icing sets and dries. If you add sprinkles and sugar immediately, they will sink into the icing. But if you wait too long, and the icing has fully dried, they'll sit on top of the icing and won't stick.
Notes
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