Make a batch of grinch dip for your next Christmas party! Grinch dip is a sweet sugar cookie dessert dip that can be served with graham crackers, vanilla wafers, and pretzels.
Do you love sneaking a taste of sugar cookie dough before baking your favorite soft sugar cookies? This recipe is for you! Grinch dip is a fluffy, safe-to-eat sugar cookie dough that's perfect for holiday movie night.
I adjusted the ingredients in my classic cookie dough dip slightly and added a few drops of green food coloring and sprinkles to create this fun and festive grinch dip. It's made with heat-treated flour and doesn't include eggs, so it's perfectly safe to eat!
Serve grinch dip for the holidays. It's great for your next holiday party appetizer table or for family Christmas movie night. Serve it with fresh fruit, vanilla wafers, or pretzels.
Ingredients and substitutions
- Flour - You'll need all-purpose flour for this recipe. I haven't tested this recipe with other types of flour, so I can't say for sure how it would turn out with substitutions. If you'd like to use another type of flour, I highly recommend searching for a recipe that's written for that flour instead of making a substitution that hasn't been tested and potentially wasting ingredients.
- Sugars - We're using all granulated sugar today for a classic sugar cookie flavor.
- Butter - Salted or unsalted butter works in this recipe. If you're using salted butter, omit the salt listed in the recipe. Use room temperature butter, not cold or melted butter. The butter must be room temperature to cream together with the sugar to create the proper texture.
- Vanilla - Adds flavor to the cookie dough.
- Salt - Enhances the flavor of the dip and balances with the sweetness without making it "salty". I don't recommend omitting the salt unless you're using salted butter.
- Heavy cream - Necessary to make whipped cream, which gives the dip its fluffy texture. Lower fat dairy products like milk or half & half don't contain enough milkfat to whip into whipped cream and will not work in this recipe.
- Sprinkles - I recommend using large heart sprinkles and some festive red and green jimmies sprinkles as a garnish. However, these are optional if you don't love sprinkles!
- Food coloring - Gel or liquid food coloring works in this recipe. I prefer gel food coloring for a vibrant color.
Tips and tricks
Measure flour properly - It's easy to add too much flour to this recipe when measuring with a measuring cup. When scooping with a measuring cup into a bag or container of flour, the flour compacts into the cup and adds up to 25% extra flour to a recipe. Instead, I recommend using a kitchen scale for accurate measurements.
Heat treat your flour - Heat-treating flour kills harmful bacteria and makes it safe to eat. Use one of two methods: the microwave or oven. I prefer using the microwave because it's quick, easy, and effective. Place your flour in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave in 30 second increments until your flour reaches 160 degrees Fahrenheit. My flour was ready after 1 minute, but times may vary based on the model and power of your microwave.
Use room temperature butter - This recipe only works with room temperature butter. If your butter is melted, it will create a sludgy, muddy texture. Cold butter will leave chunks throughout the dough. To bring butter to room temperature quickly, unwrap, slice into thin pieces, and place on the countertop. Smaller pieces warm up faster than a whole stick.
Cookie dough look dry? - If too much flour has been added to your dough, or your home is particularly dry (like it frequently is in the winter), you may need to add a tablespoon of milk to the dough to help it come together.
Use a hand mixer - The cookie dough must be creamed together with a hand mixer to achieve a cookie dough consistency. You'll also need to whip the heavy cream in a separate bowl using a whisk attachment. I don't recommend preparing this dip by hand as you won't be able to recreate the fluffy, smooth consistency.
Fold gently - Using gentle, sweeping motions, fold the whipped cream into the sugar cookie dough mixture to avoid deflating the whipped cream.
Storage
Leftover cookie dough dip will keep for 3 to 4 days in a tightly sealed container in the refrigerator.
Cookie dough dip can also be frozen for up to 3 months. To thaw, transfer to the refrigerator to thaw overnight.
Frequently asked questions
I recommend serving grinch dip with graham crackers, pretzel chips, fresh fruit like strawberries or apple slices, and vanilla wafers.
Yes, your dessert dip can be prepared up to two days ahead of time and stored in a tightly sealed container in the refrigerator.
Recommended
📖 Recipe
Grinch Dip
Ingredients
- 1 cup (120 g) all-purpose flour
- ½ cup (113 g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- ¾ cup (150 g) granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- green gel food coloring
- ½ cup (113 g) heavy cream, cold
- red heart sprinkles
- red and green jimmies sprinkles
Instructions
Heat-treating flour
- Choose one of these methods to heat-treat your flour:
- Microwave - Pour flour into a microwave safe bowl and microwave in 30 second increments until temperature reaches 160 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Oven - Preheat oven to 300℉. Spread flour in a thin layer on a baking sheet and bake for about 10 minutes, or until flour reaches 160 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Allow flour to cool to room temperature before assembling dip.
Dip
- In a large bowl, add room temperature butter, granulated sugar, vanilla extract, salt, and a few drops of green gel food coloring (keep in mind the color will lighten after adding remaining ingredients). Using a hand mixer, beat until creamed and fluffy, about a minute.
- Add heat-treated flour and mix on low until combined. If your dough is looking dry, add a tablespoon of milk and mix to incorporate.
- In a separate bowl, add heavy cream. Using a hand mixer or stand mixer with a whisk attachment, whip for about 2-3 minutes to medium peaks.
- Gently fold whipped cream into cookie dough mixture until fully incorporated.
- Spread dip into a wide, shallow bowl and top with heart sprinkles and jimmies sprinkles.
- Serve immediately with pretzels, vanilla wafers, or fresh fruit.
Equipment Recommendations
Notes
- Do I need to heat-treat my flour?: Heating your flour kills harmful bacteria, making it safe to eat. We're heat-treating our flour in this recipe because the dip itself isn't cooked or baked.
- Serve with: Graham crackers, pretzels, apple slices, strawberries, or vanilla wafer cookies.
- Storage: Cookie dough dip will keep in a sealed container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.
I had so much fun creating this recipe! I hope you give it a try and love it as much as I do. If you have a question, check out the post above, which is packed with information about the recipe. Tried the recipe? I'd love to hear your thoughts — leave a comment and a star rating to share your feedback!