Chocolate Crinkle Cookies are a holiday staple! Rich, fudgy cookies are coated in powdered sugar and just melt in your mouth!
I adore holiday baking, don't you? Especially the classics like snickerdoodles, gingersnaps, peanut butter blossoms, and today's recipe for chocolate crinkles.
These Chocolate Crinkle Cookies (also called crackle cookies) are like rich chocolate brownie-like cookies peeking out from a powdered sugar covered exterior. They are a Christmas cookie classic!
These cookies look amazing and fancy enough for gifting but are very easy to make. Just be sure to leave time for the dough to chill overnight as that's not an optional step!
Why I love this recipe
- the thick fudgy texture of the inside reminds me of a brownie
- crisp edges
- melt-in-your-mouth powdered sugar coating
Just like cream cheese cookies and snowball cookies, these are a must-make every year!
Ingredients
- cocoa powder
- vegetable oil
- granulated white sugar
- eggs
- vanilla extract
- all-purpose flour
- baking powder
- salt
- powdered sugar
Step by step
- Blend cocoa powder, vegetable oil, and sugar until it forms a black dough, then add eggs one at a time, continuing to mix between. Add vanilla and mix thoroughly.
- Whisk together flour, salt, and baking powder in a separate bowl. Add flour mixture to dough on low speed until just blended. Do not over mix.
- Cover dough with plastic wrap and chill overnight or at least four hours.
- Roll chilled dough into balls.
- Dunk cookie dough balls in powdered sugar.
- Bake and enjoy!
My boys adored helping me roll the dough into balls...
...and then dunking them in the powdered sugar.
The fun thing about these is that they "grow" and crackle when you cook them...so you put them in like this:
...and they come out like this:
The cracks in the powdered coating make such a lovely contrast, don't you think?
Be sure to try at least one warm out of the oven, they are absolutely indulgent!
FAQs
These freeze well both before and after cooking.
To freeze the dough, chill it as above then roll it into balls. Chill the balls for at least one hour in the fridge before transferring them to a freezer bag. Freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before rolling in sugar and baking.
To freeze the crinkle cookies after baking, allow them to cool completely then freeze them in a single layer with parchment paper in between. Keep in a freezer-safe container for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight on the counter.
Keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to one week.
This recipe doubles and triples well. I recommend dividing the dough during the chilling step to ensure it isn't too thick to thoroughly chill.
These cookies are delicious with mini chocolate chips added in. You can also make a mint chocolate crinkle cookie by adding in peppermint extract.
If you did not chill the dough thoroughly your cookies will spread and come out flat.
If you try this recipe, please comment and rate it below, I love hearing from you!
Print
Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 4 hours 25 minutes 1x
- Category: dessert
- Method: baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
Chocolate Crinkle Cookies are a holiday staple! Rich, fudgy cookies are coated in powdered sugar and just melt in your mouth!
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 1 ½ cup granulated sugar
- 4 eggs
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 cups flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- pinch of salt
- 1 cup powdered sugar
Instructions
- Fit a paddle attachment on a stand mixer (affiliate link) and blend cocoa powder, vegetable oil, and sugar until it forms a black dough.
- Add eggs one at a time, continuing to mix between.
- Add vanilla and mix thoroughly.
- Whisk together flour, salt, and baking powder in a separate bowl. Add flour mixture to dough on low speed until just blended. Do not over mix.
- Cover dough with plastic wrap and chill overnight or at least four hours.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray baking sheet with nonstick spray or line with parchment paper.
- Use hands to roll 1" balls from dough.
- Put powdered sugar in a bowl and dip dough balls into sugar to coat. Place on baking sheet at least 2" apart.
- Bake 10-12 minutes. Cool 2 minutes on baking sheet before removing to wire rack.
Notes
- do not skip the overnight chilling step, this is very important to get the "crackled" top
Keywords: chocolate crinkle cookie
Ann says
Perfect crinkle cookies!!
★★★★★