Is it just me or have all things Grinch sprung up? We all know I am a lazy baker, so I wasn’t about to get too creative! These Grinch cookies, which are essentially easy chocolate-covered Oreos, did the trick — and they can be customized.
When the holiday season rolls around, for me there’s no better way to get into the holiday spirit than by whipping up some of my family’s favorite cookies. These Grinch Christmas cookies are always at the top of my kids’ list. With their fun green color and the small red heart sprinkle, these no-bake cookies are a fun tribute to the classic movie, “How the Grinch Stole Christmas.”
Save the recipe — you can customize them after Christmas time for all sorts of other holidays and events!
Why You’ll Love Grinch Cookies
These easy Grinch cookies are sure to be the star of the show on any holiday cookie spread.
- Festive – These green cookies with their red heart are a sure way to get everyone in the Christmas spirit. They’re great for cookie platters at holiday parties or for a cookie exchange!
- Tasty – Nearly everyone loves the creme-filled cookies and the sweet coating makes them even more of a treat.
- Make Ahead – You can easily make these cookies ahead of time so that they’re ready for parties or movie nights.
Ingredients
You can find most of these simple ingredients in your grocery store’s baking aisle. You can also check craft stores for the ingredients except the Oreos.
- Light Green Melting Chocolate – This is the main chocolate that will coat the Oreos. Light green is the Grinch color- but we also used dark green and white.
- Oreos – You can use classic Oreos or any other flavor. Red velvet are fun because they are red on the inside, but these hot cocoa are also delicious!
- Heart Sprinkles – The red candy hearts are a great way to add color and also make them even more Grinchy.
- Green Sanding Sugar, White Candy Melts, Dark Green Candy Melts – These optional ingredients can be used to add even more flair to the cookies. Melt the candies to drizzle the chocolate over the cookies or sprinkle the sanding sugar for more color and sparkle.
How to Make Grinch Cookies
Once you get the chocolate melted, these Christmas Grinch cookies are a cinch to make.
- Simmer water. To make the double boiler, pour water into a pot and set the burner to the recommended temperature so that the water simmers.
- Melt chocolate. Place a second pot or a large bowl over the top of the pot of water and fill it with the green chocolate. Stir the melting chocolate as it melts and continue to warm until it is silky smooth.
- Dip Oreos. Dip the Oreo into the melting chocolate, completely covering it and tapping to remove any excess chocolate.
- Set on parchment paper. Place the chocolate-covered Oreo onto a prepared cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.
- Decorate with chocolate drizzle. If choosing to drizzle with other colors of chocolate, melt and place in a piping bag — or place in a resealable bag and snip the corner off.
- Add sprinkles and hearts. Sprinkle with sanding sugar and place a red candy heart on the top of each cookie.
- Allow to set. Let the cookies rest until set. To help them set more quickly, they can be refrigerated.
Tips for Melting Chocolate
Sometimes, chocolate can be a fickle thing. Check out these tips to make sure it turns out perfectly every time.
- Melting chocolate, like many other things in the kitchen, is chemistry and science.
- You need the optimal temperature to make sure your chocolate melts to a silky-smooth consistency. Don’t do it over high heat and keep it at medium.
- Skip the microwave and use a double boiler. The microwave heats too fast and too hot.
- If you do need to use the microwave, use it at 50% power or defrost mode and go slow, at 15-second intervals.
- Don’t fully boil the water in your double boiler. Get it hot enough to melt the chocolate, but not to a rolling boil.
- Put the top pot with the chocolate on after the water has come to temperature.
- Stir constantly while melting. It should only take a minute or so.
- Use immediately and while shiny.
- If chocolate gets too hot, it gets clumpy and matte — you can try to revive it by adding 2 teaspoons of vegetable shortening, but sometimes you are better off just starting over.
What to Serve with Grinch Cookies
You can dunk these delicious cookies in a tall glass of milk or serve them with a whipped coffee, Grinch hot chocolate or even Grinch shots. They’re also a great addition to a spread of other holiday treats like melted snowman cookies or gingerbread man cookies.
Variations
There are already a few options for taking these adorable Grinch cookies to the next level by drizzling with other colored chocolates and sanding sugar but there are a few other ways to take these cookies to the next level, too.
- Sanding Sugar – Use red decorator’s sugar instead of green.
- Cookies – Use a different type of cookie, either from the grocery store or homemade.
- Hearts – Use small hearts and decorate by sprinkling many of them on top of the cookies.
- Melts – If you can’t find green candy melts you can use white melts and color the melted chocolate with green food coloring. Just add a few drops at a time and stir — continue to do so until the mixture is a bright green color.
- Flavor – You can add more flavor by adding a little bit of vanilla extract, peppermint extract, or almond extract to the melted chocolate.
- Heart – If you can’t find heart sprinkles, you can substitute a red M&M on each cookie. Or, you can use red gel food coloring to make the heart.
Storage and Freezing
These cookies will last for 3-4 weeks at room temperature in an airtight container or resealable plastic bag, but there are other ways to store them, too.
Make Ahead: Since they last for nearly a month, you can make a big batch of Grinch cookies and keep them handy for snacking, the unexpected guest, or as a way to get a jump start on your Christmas season baking.
Refrigerator: Store these cookies in an airtight container, or wrapped in plastic wrap, in the refrigerator for up to 1 month.
Freezer: Freeze Grinch cookies for up to 3 months in a resealable freezer bag.
Common Questions About Grinch Cookies
If you keep them stored in an airtight container, chocolate-covered Oreos will last up to 4 weeks.
While the cookies in this recipe are Grinch-themed, you can decorate chocolate-dipped Oreos in lots of other ways. Change them up for the season, or make them different colors for other events like baby showers or Mother’s Day.
Unless your storage area is humid or warm, you do not need to store these in the refrigerator. However, it won’t hurt them to store them in the fridge, either.
More Holiday Treats
Bring even more holiday cheer with these other Christmas treats.
Christmas Blondies
Christmas Dunkaroo Dip
Christmas Fudge (Almond Fudge)
How to Make Grinch Cookies
Equipment
Ingredients
- 10 ounce light green melting chocolate*
- 12.2 ounce package Oreos
- Heart sprinkles
- Green sanding sugar , white candy melts, dark green candy melts, all optional
Instructions
- Line baking sheets or work space with parchment paper and get all of your embellishments ready.
- Fill the bottom pot of a double boiler with about 1-2 inches of water and set over medium heat. Add the chocolate to the top pot and position over the top when simmering. Melt the light green melting chocolate in a double boiler, stirring until smooth.
- Using a spoon or dipping tool, dip each Oreo into the melting chocolate, tapping the sides to smooth and get rid of excess. Place into the parchment paper. Repeat with remaining cookies.
- If drizzling with light green chocolate, transfer some into a piping bag, snipping a small corner, and drizzling over the cookies. Repeat with white chocolate or dark green chocolate too. Use sanding sugar while chocolate is still tacky.
- Afix a red heart to each cookies.
- Allow to set at room temperature or chill to speed up the process.
- If you’ve tried this recipe, come back and let us know how it was in the comments or star ratings.
Notes
Nutrition
I love these! They’re so festive and cute (and they taste yummy!) They’re going to look so good on a holiday cookie tray.
I love how easy these are! What a great idea. Can’t wait to make some for the holidays.
What a fun and festive chocolate covered Oreo. They are easy to make and will be a great addition to my Holiday dessert table.
Chocolate-covered oreos are always a treat in our house and I love the idea of turning them into a fun Christmas treat. This will be perfect to serve when watching How the Grinch Stole Christmas!
These are adorable, we loved them! Decorating premade cookies is such a time-saver this time of year and these are the cutest.