Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
These Chocolate Crinkle Cookies are fudgy and soft in the middle, with a brownie-like texture, and a crackled exterior. They’re one of my favorite Christmas cookies, and they stay wonderfully moist for several days after baking. They’re great for gifting!
Calling any Christmas cookie your “favorite” is always kind of silly, because clearly there is no one favorite. But this is one of the cookies I make every year, along with Snowball Cookies, Shortbread Cookies, and Snickerdoodles, to name a few. They always satisfy for the chocolate lovers, and are very much a fudgy cookie.
Crinkle cookies are gorgeous to look at, but they truly deliver in taste and texture. I love the chewy in the middle, crisp on the edges texture that it has, and you can even have the same type of experience in other flavors, like Lemon Crinkle Cookies! However, chocolate is definitely the most classic and popular flavor.
Some people call these Chocolate Crinkle Cookies “snowcaps,” because of how they look with the confectioner’s sugar coating outside cracking. I think it’s really pretty! I will share how to really exaggerate this look for best results.
Tips for Best Results
Use good cocoa powder – If you can, try to get something better than Hershey’s here. Guittard is my favorite, but Scharffen Berger, Valrhona, and Ghirardelli are also good choices to ensure rich chocolate flavor.
Coat very thoroughly in confectioner’s sugar – In order to get that snow capped, cracked look at the end, you need to roll the cookie dough balls very generously in the confectioner’s sugar. It will look like an obscene amount, but a lot of it gets absorbed into the cookie.
Don’t overmix – One of the biggest secrets for great baked goods is to make sure you don’t overmix the dry and wet ingredients together. You want to stir until you no longer see bits of dry flour, but it’s okay if there are a few lumps here and there.
Step by Step Overview:
For the dry ingredients, combine all-purpose flour, unsweetened cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl:
Whisk to combine:
For the wet ingredients, combine eggs, granulated sugar, oil, and vanilla extract:
If you wish to use unsalted butter instead, you can swap that in and increase the amount slightly (instructions are in the recipe box). But pretty much any oil you’d like can be used here! I usually do olive oil, avocado oil, or coconut oil, though vegetable oil also works.
Whisk vigorously for one minute until the mixture is light yellow and quite frothy:
Add the wet ingredients to the dry:
Stir it all together until you get a thick and shiny dough, making sure that you don’t overmix:
Now, refrigerate the dough for at least 3-4 hours, covering the bowl tightly with plastic wrap. I know, waiting for cookies to chill is no fun. But, the chilling is important!
First, it develops the flavor of the cookie (I’ve tested this, and it doesn’t taste as good or chocolate-y without the chill period), and it also firms the dough so it’s more scoopable.
Once the dough is chilled, use a cookie scoop to portion out scoops onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone mat:
Roll the scoops into 1-inch balls with the palms of your hands, then coat the cookie balls generously in confectioner’s sugar:
You can see that it looks like a lot of confectioner’s sugar, but this thick powdered sugar coating is essential for that crackly surface look, as some of the sugar will be absorbed into the cookie during baking.
Bake for 9-10 minutes on the middle oven rack, until they have cracked and puffed up.
It’s fine if the cookies glisten a bit in the cracks, because you don’t want to overbake these cookies, and they continue to cook after you take them out of the oven.
I always pull them when it looks like they could use an extra minute in the oven, because that means it’ll be perfect by the time the carryover cooking is done.
How to Serve
Chocolate Crinkle Cookies are best enjoyed warm, but they will stay deliciously moist for a couple days. I like to serve them on a platter with other kinds of cookies, like Candy Cane Cookies, Thumbprint Cookies, and Espresso Swirl Cookies. They are great to bring to a holiday party or holiday cookie exchange!
Other times, I’ll pair them with non-cookie sweets, like Pecan Praline Candy, Peanut Butter Bon Bons, and Millionaire’s Shortbread.
Get the full recipe below, and watch the full video below that if you’d like more guidance.
Recipe Tips and FAQ
Keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Yes, in an airtight container for up to 3 months. I tend to freeze them after they’ve already been baked and cooled, but you could also freeze the raw dough balls, then roll into confectioner’s sugar right before baking. Add a few extra minutes to baking time if you bake straight from frozen. To thaw fully baked cookies, let sit at room temperature for 2 hours.
Yes, you can make the dough up to 1 day ahead of time.
Did you enjoy the recipe? Please leave a 5-star rating in the recipe card below and/or a review in the comments section further down the page. Or, follow me on Facebook, Instagram or Pinterest!
Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup all-purpose flour (5 ounces by weight)
- 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/3 cup oil*
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup confectioner’s sugar for rolling
Instructions
- In a bowl, whisk to combine the flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt.
- In another bowl, whisk to combine the sugar, oil, eggs, and vanilla.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet, and mix until no flour streaks remain. Chill the dough for at least 4 hours and up to overnight.
- Use a medium (1.5 tbsp) cookie scoop to portion out the dough, then roll into balls. They should be about 1” in diameter.
- Preheat oven to 350F. Line a baking sheet with a silicone mat or parchment paper.
- Roll the balls in confectioner’s sugar until generously and completely coated, then place 12 on a sheet pan.
- Bake for 9-10 minutes, until the cookies are crinkled and puffed up into a mound shape. You want to underbake this type of cookie, so it’s fine if it looks a little raw in the cracks, as it will continue cooking slightly out of the oven.
- Let cool slightly to set, then enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition is estimated using a food database and is only intended to be used as a guideline for informational purposes.
Post updated in October 2018. Originally published December 2016. This post contains an affiliate link.
30 Comments on “Chocolate Crinkle Cookies”
Super good cookie!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!