This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, read my disclosure policy.
Chocolate Crinkle Cookies are one of those classic recipes that I remember from my childhood. They’re rich and chocolatey, fudgy, soft, and are so pretty with the crackled powdered sugar tops. These are a must on any holiday cookie tray!
I remember making easy Chocolate Crinkle Cookies as a kid during our Christmas cookie baking sessions – I always loved how much chocolate flavor they had! They’re almost like the center of brownies – which I love so much. I’ve perfected the recipe so that they’re perfectly soft. Plus they’re so pretty – and I’ve tested them several times so they’re guaranteed to become your favorite Christmas cookies.
Ingredients Needed
- All-purpose flour – be sure to measure it correctly.
- Cocoa powder – Use unsweetened cocoa powder
- Baking powder – makes them nice and soft – normally cookies use baking soda, but we want a soft cake-like cookie for these.
- Vegetable oil – makes these mix up easy.
- Brown sugar- I love the softness that brown sugar brings to the cookies.
- Powdered sugar – For coating; the confectioners’ sugar gives tehm that crinkley look.
How to make Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
- Combine dry ingredients: Whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl, then set aside.
- Combine wet ingredients: Using a hand mixer on medium speed, mix oil, brown sugar, eggs, and vanilla extract together in a large bowl. Slowly mix in the previous dry ingredients until you have a dough.
- Mix wet ingredients and flour mixture. Chill your dough for at least 30 minutes.
- Place the powdered sugar in a small bowl. Scoop cookie dough into 1-inch balls and roll them in the powdered sugar until they are coated. Place cookie dough balls on a cookie sheet covered with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
- Bake the cookies until the powered sugar coating is cracked and no longer glossy on top.
Expert Tips
- Don’t over bake these – they’ll get dry if they cook too long.
- Normally I chill cookie dough after scooping but these are too soft to roll right away. Chill the dough at least 30 minutes before scooping.
- I recommend using a 1 tablespoon cookie scoop for these. They’ll spread a little bit and 2-tablespoon size cookies might get too big.
- You can freeze these cookies for up to a month.
Storing Crinkle Cookies
Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for a few days. You can also freeze them – place layers of cookies between paper towels in freezer bags and they’ll store for at least a month.
FAQs
There are generally two reasons why cookies go flat, one is that the butter you used was too soft or downright melted even. The other is that not enough flour was used.
Chances are they need a few more minutes in the oven. they’re done once they lose their glossy sheen and look dull and cracked on top.
Chocolate Crinkle Cookies Recipe
Recipe Video
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups (186g) all purpose flour
- ¾ cup (60g) unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup (118ml) vegetable oil
- 1 cup (200g) packed brown sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup (57g) powdered sugar for coating
Instructions
- Whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl. Set aside.
- Using a hand mixer, mix oil, brown sugar, eggs and vanilla. Slowly mix in dry ingredients. The dough is very wet.
- Chill the bowl of cookie dough at least 30-45 minutes, or until you're able to scoop and roll the dough without it falling apart.
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
- Place powdered sugar in a small bowl. Scoop 1 or 2 tablespoon balls of dough. Roll the cookies in the powdered sugar then evenly space them cookie sheets lined with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
- Bake for about 7-10 minutes depending on size, rotating pans halfway through baking.
Recipe Notes
- Normally I scoop cookie dough before chilling but for this recipe it’s important to chill it first, otherwise the dough is too wet to roll in powdered sugar.
- I recommend making 1 tablespoon size cookies – these will spread just a bit and they’re rich, so 2 tablespoon cookies might be a bit large.
these are so good! i didn’t have eggs so i substituted flax seed and it was still amazing. i highly recommend adding some sort of peppermint for a holiday twist!
You need to put measurments in grams plz
Made these today & they were delicious. I made sure to use a generous amount of powdered sugar!
I am in the middle of prepping these cookies. I have followed directions and used ingredients as listed. My dough is like brownie batter. Help please!
It is a thick dough – but how did you measure your flour? There is a chance you used too much?
Mine is like brownie batter too! Almost pourable. I’m going to try adding a bit more flour, then chilling the whole bowl full, rather than spooning it out prior to chilling. I’d just end up with one big mass of batter/dough if I tried to spoon it out now. 🙁
I’m making these and my dough is like brownie mix I followed the directions to the T …..please answer me quickly I need to get these done.
Made these today for the first time So easy!!! I’m gonna be the best Grandma tomorrow! My grandson’s are going to love them!
I’m excited to try some of these ideas 🙂 I love food and I love to try new recipes. Lately I did a Naples food tour and discovered new tastes. It is the most beautiful thing 😀 So I thank you for the sharing.
I made them today and it was success! It was delicious and everyone enjoyed it. 😉
Featured In
Rate This Recipe
Recipe Ratings without Comment