Description
Soft and chewy green sugar cookies with a hint of peppermint and festive red hearts, perfect for holiday movie nights.
Ingredients
Scale
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups red and green M&Ms, divided
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon peppermint extract
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1 teaspoon salt
- Green gel food coloring
- 1 2/3 cups granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 2 Tablespoons cornstarch
Instructions
- Start by preheating your oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) and lining your baking sheets with parchment paper. In a large bowl or stand mixer, cream the softened butter and granulated sugar together on medium speed until the mixture looks pale yellow and fluffy. This step is crucial for aerating the dough, so take your time and scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Add the room temperature eggs, vanilla extract, and peppermint extract to the butter mixture. Beat these wet ingredients together until they are fully combined and the mixture looks smooth and creamy. The peppermint smell should be fragrant but not overpowering at this stage.
- In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, and salt until no lumps remain. Gradually add these dry ingredients into the wet mixture, mixing on low speed just until the flour streaks disappear. Be careful not to overmix the dough once the flour is added, as this can make the cookies tough.
- Add the green food coloring to the dough and mix until the color is evenly distributed and reaches your desired shade of Grinch green. Gently fold in about one cup of the M&Ms using a spatula, being careful not to crush the candy shells. Reserve the remaining candies for pressing into the tops of the warm cookies later.
- Scoop the dough using a 1.5 tablespoon scoop and drop rounded mounds onto the prepared baking sheets, spacing them at least 2 inches apart. Bake in the preheated oven for 8 to 10 minutes, or until the edges are just barely set and the centers still look slightly soft. Do not let them brown too much, or you will lose the vibrant green color.
- Remove the baking sheet from the oven and immediately press a few extra red M&Ms or heart sprinkles into the tops of the hot cookies. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for at least 10 minutes so they can firm up before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
If you don’t like peppermint, simply omit it and increase the vanilla extract to 3 teaspoons. For a more traditional look, use a large red heart sprinkle on each cookie.
- Prep Time: 25 min
- Cooling Time: 15 min
- Cook Time: 10 min
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 165
- Sugar: 14g
- Sodium: 120mg
- Fat: 7g
- Saturated Fat: 4g
- Unsaturated Fat: 2g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 23g
- Fiber: 0.5g
- Protein: 2g
- Cholesterol: 25mg
Keywords: Grinch Cookies, easy Christmas cookies, holiday baking, peppermint cookies