Home Recipes Dessert Cookies Chocolate Crinkle Cookies

Chocolate Crinkle Cookies

by Jennifer Debth November 20, 2024

4.81 from 98 votes

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Chocolate Crinkle Cookies are a double chocolate, fudge-y, brownie-like cookie. Chewy on the inside and crispy around the edges, these are a classic holiday treat.

General
Why you'll love these
What are crinkle cookies?
Ingredient notes
How to make
Get the recipe
Frequently Asked Questions
Chill the dough?
Why are they flat?
How to prevent powdered sugar from melting
Do I need chocolate chips?
Variations
How to make in advance
How to store
Nutrition information
Ingredients

Why you’ll love these

Decadent. They’re just as rich, gooey, and chewy as a brownie, but made into individual, irresistible cookies!
Quick and Easy. These extra chocolatey cookies require no chilling, making them a great last minute addition to your holiday cookie tray.

What are chocolate crinkle cookies?

Chocolate crinkle cookies are double chocolate cookies that are rolled in powdered sugar before baking. As they bake, the cookie spreads so the powered sugar separates to create a “crinkled” look on the cookie.

They’re fudge-y and chewy in the middle with slightly crisp edges like a brownie, but in cookie form.

Ingredient notes

My secret to making the best crinkle cookies? A double dose of chocolate: cocoa powder AND chocolate chips.

Brown Sugar – dark or light brown sugar will be fine. I don’t recommend replacing the brown sugar with granulated sugar. Brown sugar contains more moisture and keeps the cookies from spreading too much while baking!
Unsalted Butter – salted butter will also work. If using salted, reduce the additional salt in half. A plant-based butter should also be fine.
Vanilla Extract – can be omitted, if necessary.
Egg – make sure to use 1 large egg (eggs come in all different sizes). I haven’t tried an egg replacement, but I don’t see why a chia “egg” or a flax “egg” wouldn’t work. You’ll need 1 tablespoon chia or ground flaxseed meal with 2 1/2 tablespoons water, then let “gel” for 15 minutes in the fridge before proceeding with the recipe.
Flour – use all-purpose for the best results. Cake flour makes for a more tender cookie and bread flour creates a denser, chewier cookie. Feel free to use half all-purpose and half cake or bread flour if you want to play around with different textures.
Cocoa Powder – you need to use use natural unsweetened cocoa (not dutch processed), because we’re using baking soda as our leavening agent.
Baking Soda – not baking powder! Baking soda helps makes these cookies chewy, not light and airy.
Salt – any table salt or sea salt is fine! It can be omitted if absolutely necessary, but using salt in baked good cuts the sweetness and brings out other flavors.
Chocolate Chips – I like using mini chocolate chips for extra chocolate in every bite, but regular is fine too. Semi-sweet, dark, milk, etc. will all work.
Powdered Sugar – there isn’t a substitute for this, because this gives the classic crinkled look! If you don’t care about that, rolling in granulated sugar adds a great crunch.

How to make

The best part of today’s recipe? No chilling necessary!

Use a hand-mixer to cream together butter and sugar, add in vanilla and egg, stir in flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt, then fold in chocolate chips.
Use a cookie scoop to form the dough into balls then dunk each one in powdered sugar until fully coated.
Bake on a baking sheet lined with a silicone baking mat.
Let cool, then serve and devour!

Pro tip

Don’t be shy with the powdered sugar! If you want super white sugary looking cookies like in the photos, you really need to go heavy on the powdered sugar!

Do i need to chill the dough?

You do not need to chill the dough before baking. Chilling dough before baking cookies helps prevent the spread of cookies, but I’ve never had trouble with these cookies spreading too much.

Why are my crinkle cookies flat?

These cookies aren’t necessarily fluffy, they are intended to be chewy, but if your cookies are paper thin, here’s what may have happened:

Your butter was too warm. If you used melted butter or warmed your butter in the microwave to “room temperature”, it’s likely too warm, which causes the cookies to spread. Let your butter come to room temperature naturally by setting it out in the kitchen a few hours before baking.
You under measured the dry ingredients. If you don’t use enough flour/cocoa powder, the cookies don’t have enough bulk to keep them from spreading.
You didn’t use a cookie scoop. I always recommend packing a cookie scoop firmly with dough for best results.

Pro tip

Although not necessary, if YOUR cookies are spreading or you want a thicker cookie, you can trying throwing the cookie dough balls in the fridge for an hour to see if that helps.

How to prevent the powdered sugar from melting

If the powered sugar is soaking into the cookie, then you’re likely not using enough powdered sugar.

Scoop the cookie dough into a bowl of powered sugar using a cookie scoop.
Use a spoon or your hands to generously coat the cookie dough ball in powdered sugar. Really roll it around to get the powered sugar to stick. DO NOT BE SHY WITH THE POWDERED SUGAR and don’t shake off the excess.
Place the fully coated cookie dough ball onto the prepared baking sheet.

Pro tip

Try not to touch the sugar coated cookie ball too much. The warmth from your hand may melt the powdered sugar.

Do i need to use chocolate chips?

You don’t have to use the chocolate chips, but they do help to create an ultra rich texture and intense chocolate flavor.

I highly recommend using mini chocolate chips for the best texture (melty chocolate in every bite!), but regular sized chocolate chips are fine too.

I enjoy semi-sweet chocolate chips for a sweet, but not too sweet flavor. Feel free to play around with YOUR favorite flavor of chocolate chips.

Variations

Chocolate Peanut Butter: use peanut butter chips instead of chocolate chips.
Hershey’s Kiss: poke a Hershey’s kiss into the center of the cooke right after they come out of the oven for an ultra rich and melty treat.
Chocolate and Caramel: roll the dough around a rolo before rolling in powdered sugar and baking.
Mocha: add in a tablespoon of instant coffee to your dry ingredients. For a peppermint mocha, try a splash of peppermint extract.
Mexican Chocolate: add just a touch of cinnamon and cayenne to the dough!

Can you make chocolate crinkle cookies ahead of time?

These chocolate crinkle cookies are great made in advance.

Follow the recipe right up before baking, then freeze the dough balls on the prepared baking sheet in the freezer until solid. This initial freezing prevents the cookie dough from sticking together.
Place the frozen cookie dough balls into a gallon sized ziplock baggie or airtight container. Keep in the fridge for up to 2 days or for up to 3 months in the freezer before baking!
To bake from frozen, simply place the cookie dough onto a prepared baking sheet while the oven is preheating. Then bake as directed, although, you may need to add additional bake time.

How to store

Store cooked and cooled cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for 3 days, in the fridge for up to 2 weeks, or in the freezer for 3 months.

To enjoy again, thaw in the fridge or room temperature and enjoy chilled, room temperature, or warmed in the microwave.

– Jennifer

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