Easy Homemade Grinch Cookies Recipe

0 Preheat your oven to 350°F and line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper.
1 In a large bowl, cream the softened butter, sugar, vanilla extract, and peppermint extract for 1 1/2 minutes at medium-high speed. 
2 Mix in the egg, yolk, and green gel food coloring. Adding the food coloring now helps avoid overmixing the dough later. Start with a few drops until the dough is a darker green, keeping in mind it will lighten once the dry ingredients are added. Also, the green sugar will help give your cookies the perfect shade of Grinch green.
3 Gradually incorporate the dry ingredients into the wet mixture, mixing just until combined. If needed, add more food coloring to adjust the green hue. Avoid overmixing to ensure the cookies stay soft and tender.
4 Use a 3-tablespoon cookie scoop to portion the dough, place the green sugar in a deep, small bowl, and roll each ball in green sugar until fully coated. If the dough feels too sticky, refrigerate it for a few minutes to make handling easier.
5 Place the dough balls on the prepared baking sheet, spacing them about 2.5 inches apart. Bake cookies for 10–15 minutes, or until the centers look slightly soft and the edges are crisp. Remember, the cookies will finish baking as they cool on the pan.
6 Once out of the oven, press a heart-shaped sprinkle into the center of each cookie while they’re still warm. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for a little bit, around 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.