Name: Grinch Snowball Cookies
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 20 min
Yield: 48 Cookies
Ingredients: 1 cup unsalted butter ((softened)); 1/2 cup powdered sugar ((plus more for rolling)); 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract; 2 1/4 cup all-purpose flour; 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt **; green gel food coloring ((optional)); 3/4 cup finely chopped pistachios; 1/3 cup chopped, dried cranberries

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“You’re a mean one, Mr. Grinch! You really are a heel. You’re as cuddly as a cactus”…LOL, that always cracks me up! Well these Grinch Snowball Cookies are buttery, delicious, and packed full of chopped pistachios and cranberries for a holiday treat that everyone will love…even Mr. Grinch!!

Russian Teacakes are one of my all-time favorite cookies, so I decided a make a couple of changes and turn them into the perfect holiday Grinch Snowball Cookies…..

And after seeing all of the snowy pictures on facebook this weekend, I am still happy to make these my “only” snowballs this winter. 😉

How to make Grinch Snowball Cookies:

Heat oven to 400 degrees. In a large bowl, beat together butter, sugar, and vanilla…..

Add flour, salt, and food coloring {if using}. Mix in chopped pistachios until dough holds together…..

Stir in the chopped cranberries…..

Shape dough into 1 inch balls and place on ungreased baking sheets. Bake for 10 – 12 minutes, until set but not brown…..

Immediately remove from pan, one by one, and roll in powdered sugar…..

Let cool completely. Roll cookies in powdered sugar one more time to thoroughly coat…..

and serve to your eagerly waiting family and friends, lol

Yummy!!

Notes:

The only shelled pistachios that I could find were roasted & salted…so I omitted the sea salt when I made them. Trust me, those are salty enough!
Pistachios are much harder to finely chop, so I recommend using a food processor!
Yes, you will burn your fingertips a bit when rolling the hot out of the oven cookies in powdered sugar…but it is worth it. The sugar melts onto the cookies and make the glue that hold the second coating on and gives them their awesome, snowy appearance.
I wanted mine to be green, but it is not mandatory if you are avoiding food coloring…it just makes them fun and different. 😉
These cookie do not spread, so you can put them closer together on your baking sheets…but I still end up using 3 pans.
Placing the coated cookies on a wire rack keeps the bottoms from sticking and allows them to cool faster…so you can eat them faster!

I did not want to go overboard with the cranberries and risk adding to much moisture to these cookies, so I went with 1/3 of a cup. It is enough to add a slight citrus zing, without being over powering or chewy. 😉

Some additional Grinch recipes to brighten your holidays:

Grinch Hot Chocolate

Grinch Puppy Chow – for Max 😉

Grinch Who-Punch

Grinch Popcorn

These Cranberry Orange Pistachio Cookies are the perfect way to use up your extra ingredients…hint, hint…

Enjoy!!