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grinch cut out cookies
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Grinch Cookies

Soft sugar cookies cut into cute Grinch faces and decorated with sweet royal icing. These Grinch Cookies are the perfect holiday treat for kids of all ages.
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Keyword Grinch, sugar cookies
Prep Time 40 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Decorating 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 50 minutes
Servings 11 cookies

Equipment

  • Bowls
  • Stand mixer
  • Rolling Pin
  • Grinch cookie cutter ( the link in post)*
  • 3 Icing bags
  • Wilton tip #1 and #3
  • Wilton black food coloring gel
  • 1 mm brush - food grade

Ingredients

Cookies

  • ½ cup unsalted butter room temperature (113 grams)
  • 1 cup granulated sugar 200 grams
  • 1 large egg room temperature
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
  • ½ teaspoon salt

Royal Icing

  • 2 ½ cups confectioner's sugar sifted
  • 2 tablespoons meringue powder 20 grams
  • ½ cup warm water 120 ml
  • Red and green food coloring gel I used Wilton Christmas red and moss green food coloring gel that can be found at their store or on-line

Instructions

NOTE- You will need an additional 6-8 hours of drying time once the cookies are decorated - before they are ready to be stacked or stored in a container.

    Cookies

    • Combine the butter and sugar in the mixing bowl and beat until light and fluffy, using a stand mixer with the paddle attachment.
    • Add the egg and vanilla and beat until combined.
    • Add the flour and salt and beat until it forms a smooth dough.
    • On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to a thickness ¼-in (1 cm).
    • Cover with plastic and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
    • Preheat the oven to 350 F (175).
    • Line 1 large or 2 small baking sheets with parchment paper.
    • Cut out the Grinch shapes and stamp then using the Grinch cookie cutter set (the link below or use one similar).
    • 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 a stand mixer (or with a hand mixer) slowly stir the sugar and meringue powder together until combined.
    • Add the water and beat on medium until stiff peaks form, about 5 minutes.
    • Separate the icing into 3 bowls.
    • Tint one portion of the icing with green food coloring gel (add a few drops of gel color and stir until the color is even and streak-free). I recommend adding in a drop or two at a time until you get a color you like.
    • Reserve 1/2 cup of white icing and tint the remaining icing with the red food coloring gel.

    Decorating

    • Transfer the icing into piping bags with a # 1 or # 3 tips.
    • 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.
    • Set aside to dry for about 15-20 minutes before moving onto the black. This is very important as you don't want to pull the wet icing as you work and ruin the nice smooth icing you just created.
    • Place ⅛ - 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. Be creative! It is fun to do it with kids.
    • Dry cookies at room temperature for 6-8 hours until the icing is completely firm.

    Notes

    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.