Soft, fudgy and chewy, this chocolate crinkle cookie recipe is the ultimate Christmas cookie. These cookies are made with melted chocolate and rich cocoa powder, making them super soft and chewy on the inside. They're basically brownies in cookie form, and honestly, life-changing in the best way!
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- Why You'll Love This Recipe
- ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Reader Review
- Chocolate Crinkle Cookie Ingredients
- Optional Mix-In's
- What Makes A Great Chocolate Crinkle Cookie
- How to Make Classic Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
- Tips For Perfect Crinkle Cookies
- How To Store & Freeze Crinkle Cookies
- Frequently Asked Questions
- More Christmas Cookie Recipes
- 📖 Recipe
- ⭐️ Leave a Review
Christmas cookie season is here, and this graham cracker toffee is a must-try! These chocolate-dipped shortbread cookies are perfect for a Christmas cookie exchange. These whipped shortbread cookies and peanut butter blossoms always disappear first at the dessert table!
Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Chocolate crinkle cookies are like brownies, in cookie form.
- They have a crispy outer crust with classic "crinkle" cracks and a soft, fudgey, chewy interior.
- Chocolate crinkle cookies are the perfect recipe to make with kids. Kids will love to help roll the cookies in powdered sugar and see the crinkly cracks when they come out of the oven!
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⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Reader Review
These are fantastic. Just made them and couldn't wait till they cooled off, so, burnt my tongue, but it was worth it. YUMMY!! - Allison
Chocolate Crinkle Cookie Ingredients
- Semi-Sweet Baking Squares - If you can't find baking squares, you can use semi-sweet chocolate chips.
- Vegetable Oil - Can be substituted for avocado oil, if preferred.
- Dutch Process Cocoa Powder - Dutch process cocoa powder undergoes an alkaline treatment to neutralize the acidity of natural cocoa powder. Using Dutch process cocoa powder will give you a darker chocolate color, a smoother flavor in the final product and reduced bitterness compared to using natural cocoa powder.
A full list of ingredients with exact quantities can be found on the recipe card below.
Optional Mix-In's
- Nuts - add chopped roasted almonds, pecans, or cashews to give the crinkle cookies some crunch!
- Chocolate Chips - add up to 1 cup of chocolate chips (any flavor) to the mixed batter to give these cookies an extra chocolaty punch. Or make a batch of the best chocolate chip cookies to go alongside these cookies, we won't judge!
- Instant Espresso Powder - add up to 1 teaspoon of instant espresso powder to give these cookies insane flavor. However, don't add too much or the cookies will be bitter!
What Makes A Great Chocolate Crinkle Cookie
These chocolate crinkle cookies are like brownies in cookie form!
The ideal crinkle cookie has a soft and chewy interior, while the outsides are crispy and rolled in icing sugar to give the cookies that crackly Christmassy look. The crackle effect happens when the outer layer of the cookie slightly sets, but the inside still expands, creating the classic "crackle".
How to Make Classic Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
Step 1
This recipe requires a chill period in the fridge, so don't preheat your oven yet!
In a medium-sized mixing bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
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Step 2
Combine the granulated sugar, brown sugar, vegetable oil, and eggs. Beat on medium speed for 1 minute until the batter is smooth.
Melt the chocolate. Add the melted chocolate (make sure it is not too hot) and the vanilla extract to the batter. Beat on medium/low speed until the chocolate and vanilla are completely combined and the batter is velvety smooth.
Add the dry ingredients in two additions, beating until just combined after each addition.
The batter will be thick and resemble brownie batter.
Loosely cover the cookie batter and refrigerate for 2 hours.
Step 3
After the cookie batter has chilled in the refrigerator, preheat the oven to 350°F.
Place the icing sugar into a shallow bowl and, using a cookie scoop, scoop out the cookies and roll the cookie dough into a round ball.
Transfer the rolled cookie dough to the icing sugar and toss it around to coat it in icing sugar.
Place the cookie dough balls onto a baking sheet, leaving approximately 3-4" in between.
Step 4
Gently press on the tops of the cookie balls with your fingers to slightly flatten the cookie dough balls.
Step 5
Bake the cookies for 12 minutes until they are flattened out and have that classic crackle on top.
Immediately transfer the cookies to a cooling rack, let cool fully and enjoy!
Tips For Perfect Crinkle Cookies
- Chill the dough. This prevents excess spreading of the cookies, helps create the signature crackles, and enhances the flavor by giving the dry ingredients time to hydrate fully while letting the signature brownie-like flavor develop.
- Use good-quality cocoa powder and chocolate. Use Dutch process cocoa powder to ensure the cookies aren't bitter, and high-quality semi-sweet chocolate for the best flavor.
- Make sure the cookie dough balls have a generous coating of powdered sugar to create those signature crackles while they bake.
How To Store & Freeze Crinkle Cookies
Chocolate crinkle cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
Crinkle cookies can be frozen (if fully baked) for up to 3 months, stored in a ziplock. Cookie dough can be frozen (unbaked), portioned into balls and stored in a ziplock for up to 3 months.
To bake frozen cookie dough balls: Preheat the oven, roll frozen dough balls in icing sugar and bake for 14-15 minutes until crispy.
Frequently Asked Questions
There are a few reasons why your cookies may not have crinkled.
The first thing to check is that your flour was properly measured; properly measured flour weighs about 140 grams/cup. For this recipe, you need 210 grams of all-purpose flour. If your cookies didn't crinkle, they may have had too much flour.
The next culprit could be that the dough wasn't chilled long enough, or the leavener (baking powder) you used was expired and not active.
Yes! Prepare the cookie dough up to the chilling part. Instead of chilling, portion and roll the cookie dough into balls. Freeze and store in a ziplock bag for up to 3 months. See the section above on how to bake frozen cookie dough balls.
Yes! Baked crinkle cookies can be frozen and stored in a ziplock bag for up to 3 months.
Yes! Check out this recipe for a vegan version and this recipe for a gluten-free version!
More Christmas Cookie Recipes
Looking for more Christmas cookie recipes like this? Try these:
These cookies are a part of our 12 Days of Christmas Series - Season 2. Check out Day 2: Whipped Shortbread Cookies! 🎄
If you made these Chocolate Crinkle Cookies or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating, a 💬 comment and share it on Pinterest, Instagram and Facebook!
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Chocolate Crinkle Cookie Recipe
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Print Recipe Pin RecipeIngredients
- 1 ½ cups All Purpose Flour
- ½ cup Cocoa Powder
- 1 teaspoon Baking Powder
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- 1 cup Granulated Sugar
- ⅓ cup Brown Sugar firmly packed
- ⅓ cup Vegetable Oil
- 2 Eggs
- 2 oz Semi Sweet Chocolate melted and slightly cooled
- 1 teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract
- ½ cup Confectioners Sugar
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the granulated sugar, brown sugar, vegetable oil, and eggs. Beat on medium speed for 1 minute until smooth.
- Add the chocolate to a small microwave-safe bowl and microwave in 30-second intervals, stirring after every interval, until the chocolate is fully melted. Add the melted chocolate and vanilla extract to the batter and beat on medium/low speed until completely combined.
- Add the dry ingredients in two additions to the wet ingredients. Beating after each addition. The batter will be thick and resemble brownie batter, loosely cover and refrigerate for 2 hours.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Place the icing sugar into a shallow bowl and, using a cookie scoop, scoop out the cookies and roll the batter into a ball. Transfer the rolled cookie balls to the icing sugar and toss to completely coat in icing sugar. Transfer the cookie dough balls to a baking sheet, leaving approximately 3-4" between the cookies. Press on the tops of the cookie balls to slightly flatten the dough balls. Bake for 12 minutes until the cookies have flattened out and are crackly on top.
- Transfer the cookies to a cooling rack and enjoy!
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Notes
- Nuts - Add chopped roasted almonds, walnuts, pecans or cashews to give these cookies some extra crunchy bits.
- Extra Chocolate - Add extra chocolate chips to the finished cookie dough batter to make these cookies extra chocolatly!
- Instant Espresso Powder - Add up to 1 teaspoon of instant espresso powder to the dry ingredients to elevate the richness of the flavor of these cookies.
- Properly weighed all purpose flour weighs approximately 140 grams/cup. For this recipe you will need 210 grams of flour.
- Do not skip the chill time. Chilling the cookies ensures that the dry ingredients are fully hydrated and the flavor is fully developed, helping the cookies create that classic crackle look.
- Use Dutch process cocoa powder. Dutch process cocoa powder is less bitter and has a better flavor than natural cocoa powder.
- Ensure the cookies get a generous coating of icing sugar. This will help create the signature crackle that encases these crinkle cookies!
- Cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
- Prepared crinkle cookies can be frozen for up to 3 months. See instructions for freezing raw cookie dough.
Nutrition
The nutritional information provided is an estimate based on an online nutrition calculator and it will vary based on the ingredients that you use.
Sarah says
I've never had crinkle cookies but they look delicious. This looks like a great recipe to try and mix up my usual holiday baking. I like how easy the recipe is and I'm pretty sure I have all of the ingredients on hand. Can't wait to give them a try.
Jessica says
Awesome! They really are delicious, hope you enjoy!
allison says
These are fantastic. Just made then and couldn't wait till they cooled off so, burnt my tongue but it was worth it. YUMMY!!
Thanks for all these great recipes
Allison
Jessica says
🤣 They are definantly worth the burnt tongue! So happy that you love them!
Allison says
Okay now I need to know how to stop eating them. Isolation isn’t helping.
Ed says
What is not to love about these, amazing cookies!
Jessica says
These cookies have been a staple in our house every Christmas since I first made them! We love them so much, and they are such a unique tasting cookie!