Grinch Sugar Cookie Ice Cream Sandwiches (Seuss Landing Copycat)
Celebrate the holidays in Whoville style with these merry green sugar cookies, each topped with a cherry-red candy heart and optionally filled with a scoop of creamy vanilla ice cream. This festive treat is inspired by the Grinch Ice Cream Sandwiches from Seuss Landing at Universal's Islands of Adventure — and is sure to grow hearts three sizes!
Servings: 7 ice cream sandwiches
Cost: $10–14
Equipment
- Heart pattern template (printable)
- 3 Mixing bowls
- Electric hand mixer
- Baking sheet
- Parchment paper
- Wire cooling rack
- Ice cream scoop
Ingredients
Cherry Heart Candies
- 2 Tbsp unsalted butter softened
- 3/4 cup powdered sugar
- 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp milk
- 1/2 tsp cherry extract
- 10 drops red food coloring use at least 10 drops for vibrant red
Grinch Cookie Dough
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 Tbsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter softened
- 2 large eggs
- 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
- 12 drops green food coloring use at least 12 drops for a vibrant green
Cookie Sugar Coating
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 1/2 cup corn starch
Ice Cream (Optional)
- 1 container vanilla ice cream use if making sandwiches
Instructions
- Make the Cherry Heart Candies (Ideally Day Before): In a mixing bowl, beat together all candy heart ingredients. Transfer mixture to a sandwich-size Ziploc bag with the corner snipped. Pipe heart shapes onto parchment using a printed template underneath. Let dry overnight or until firm.
- Make the Grinch Cookies: Preheat oven to 350°F. In a large bowl, stir together flour, powdered sugar, baking powder, and salt.
- Add softened butter (cut into small pieces), eggs, vanilla, and green food coloring. Use electric mixer on low until just combined. Avoid over-mixing.
- In a separate bowl, mix powdered sugar and corn starch for rolling. Shape dough into 1.5-inch balls and roll in coating mixture.
- Place dough balls on a parchment-lined baking sheet and slightly flatten. Bake for 10–14 minutes, until crackly on top and barely golden on the edges.
- Transfer to wire rack and let cool. Add a cherry heart candy to each cookie with a dab of leftover frosting if needed.
- Grinch Ice Cream Sandwich Assembly (Optional): Once cookies are completely cool, scoop vanilla ice cream between two cookies and gently press to sandwich. Serve immediately or freeze assembled sandwiches for later.
Video
Notes
Making the heart candies ahead of time gives the best result, but you can pipe directly onto cookies in a pinch. The cookie dough is soft and should not be overmixed to preserve the tender texture. If freezing sandwiches, let them rest at room temperature for 5 minutes before serving for the best bite.