Christmas Grinch Eye Nutter Butter Cookies

If your family loves How the Grinch Stole Christmas, these no-bake Grinch eye Nutter Butter cookies will steal the show this holiday season! They’re a quick holiday movie-night cookie project the kids will love — melt, dip, and decorate in under 60 minutes.

Ready in about an hour from start to finish, these Grinch-inspired cookies are the perfect mix of sweet, silly, and simple. Whether you’re hosting a holiday movie night or filling your cookie trays for gifting, they’ll bring instant smiles (and maybe a few green fingers!).

No oven required, just melt, dip, and decorate — a perfect family baking project for busy December days.

When my oldest grandson first helped me make these, he kept licking the green chocolate and saying, “I think the Grinch is delicious!” Now it’s our official start to Christmas season — Grinch cookies and cocoa, every December.

Why You’ll Love These Grinch Eye Nutter Butter Cookies

• No baking needed: Just melt, dip, and decorate — a great activity for kids or last-minute holiday prep.
• Movie-night favorite: Pair them with cocoa while watching How the Grinch Stole Christmas for the full Whoville experience.
• Perfect for gifting: These cookies stay fresh for days and look adorable wrapped in cellophane with red ribbon.

Grinch Eye Nutter Butter Cookies at a Glance

Prep time: 40 minutes
Total time: 55 minutes
Yield: 10 cookies

Ingredients You’ll Need for Grinch Nutter Butter Cookies

You only need a handful of simple ingredients — most are pantry staples.

• 10 Nutter Butters
• 6 ounces green chocolate melts
• 2 ounces yellow chocolate melts
• 2 ounces black chocolate melts

Substitutions & Dietary Notes

• Nut-Free: Swap Nutter Butters for vanilla sandwich cookies (like Vienna Fingers) or homemade oval sugar cookies.
• Gluten-Free: Use gluten-free sandwich cookies and check candy melts for GF labeling (Wilton usually is).
• Dairy-Free/Vegan: Choose vegan candy melts (Enjoy Life, Sweet Lauren’s) and plant-based food coloring.
• White Chocolate Grinch: Tint melted white chocolate with green oil-based coloring (not water-based).
• Minty Twist: Stir in a drop of peppermint extract for cool holiday flavor.
• Red Heart Detail: Add a red heart sprinkle to each cookie — just like the Grinch’s growing heart.

Kitchen Tools

• Piping Bags
• Microwave Safe Bowls
• Parchment Paper
• Fork/ Mini Spatula
• Toothpicks

How to Make Grinch Nutter Butter Cookies

These no-bake Grinch cookies are so simple that even the littlest helpers can join in. Just melt, dip, decorate — and watch the Grinch grin appear!

Step 1. Melt the green candy melts: Place the green melts in a microwave-safe bowl. Heat in 30-second intervals, stirring each time, until smooth.

Step 2. Dip the cookies: Dip one Nutter Butter at a time into the melted green chocolate. Make sure it’s fully covered. Lift it out with a fork or spatula and set it on parchment paper.

Step 3. Chill to harden: Repeat for all cookies, then place them in the freezer for about 8 minutes until the coating sets.

Step 4. Melt yellow and black candy melts: Heat each color in a separate bowl using the same 30-second method. Pour each into its own piping bag and snip a tiny hole at the tip.

Step 5. Add the Grinch’s eyes: Pipe two yellow ovals for eyes on each cookie. Let them dry for a few minutes, then outline each oval with black chocolate.

Step 6. Draw the eyebrows and nose: Use the black chocolate to add wiggly eyebrows above the eyes and a small dot below for the nose.

Don’t worry if your first dip looks uneven — that’s just the Grinch’s personality showing up early. If the candy coating feels too thick, a teaspoon of coconut oil will smooth things out faster than you can say “Whoville.”

Step 7. Let them set and serve: Allow the cookies to dry for a few minutes, then serve or package them for gifting.

Fun Variations

The best part about these Grinch-themed cookies is how easy they are to customize.

• Minty Grinch: Stir a drop of peppermint extract into the melted candy for a cool holiday flavor.
• White Chocolate Grinch: Swap green melts for white candy melts tinted with gel food color.
• Mini Grinches: Use mini Nutter Butters for bite-sized treats.
• Grinch-in-Pink: Replace the red heart candy with a pink one for Valentine’s Day

Make Ahead, Storage & Gifting

• Make Ahead: Prepare and decorate up to 3 days in advance. Let the coating harden completely before stacking or wrapping.
• Room Temperature: Store in an airtight container at cool room temp for up to 1 week. Separate layers with wax or parchment paper so the faces don’t smudge.
• Refrigerate: For longer storage (up to 2 weeks), refrigerate in a sealed container. Let cookies sit out 10–15 minutes before serving so the chocolate softens slightly.
• Freeze: Lay cookies in a single layer on a parchment-lined sheet and freeze until firm. Then transfer to a freezer bag or container, separating layers with parchment. Freeze for up to 3 months.
  • To thaw: Remove from freezer and let sit at room temperature (still sealed) for 30 minutes to prevent condensation from spotting the coating.
• Gifting: Package in cellophane treat bags tied with red or lime-green ribbon, or layer in a festive tin with parchment between cookies. Add a printable “From Nana’s Kitchen” tag for a sweet personal touch.

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