This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my privacy policy.
Chocolate Crinkle Cookies - sweet, easy and the BEST chocolate crinkle cookie recipe with butter, cocoa and powdered sugar. These cookies are great for Christmas and holidays!
Chocolate Crinkle Cookie Recipe
Chocolate crinkle cookies is one of the most popular Christmas cookies, other than butter cookies and melting moments cookies.
This is an easy recipe that yields the best chocolate crinkle cookies ever! The recipe is 100% fail-proof and novice baker friendly.
I love the cracked look and the contrast of the powdery white against the dark cocoa. These cookies have a brownie-like texture, moist, soft and a bit chewy.
They look absolutely festive and make the best Christmas and holiday gifts to neighbors, friends and family.
How To Make Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
This is an easy recipe that calls for a simple 3-step process:
- Make the cookie dough using a stand mixer. Chill the dough in the refrigerator for 4 hours.
- Roll the dough into balls, flattened with your hand and then coat with powdered sugar.
- Bake in the oven for 10 minutes.
Just follow the step-by-step method and instructions in the recipe card and watch my video above to make homemade chocolate crinkle cookies.
Baking Tips
- To get the cookies extra white with powdered sugar, coat each cookie with a ton of powdered sugar before baking.
This ensures the cookies don’t absorb the powdered sugar during bake time. - To make the cookies extra festive, substitute the vanilla extract with peppermint extract to make chocolate peppermint crinkle cookies.
Frequently Asked Questions
You can certainly make the cookies with a store-bought cake mix and brownie mix, but this recipe is so easy that you don’t really have to buy packaged cake mix.
Yes, you can use unsweetened chocolate to replace cocoa powder in the recipe. If you use real chocolate, just melt the chocolate in a microwave, for about 1 minute. Stir the melted chocolate after 1 minute. If the chocolate hasn’t melted smoothly, heat in the microwave for another 10 seconds.
I don’t recommend freezing these cookies, especially after they are dusted with powdered sugar. If you have to freeze them, do not dust powdered sugar before baking in the oven. To serve frozen cookies, heat them up in a toaster oven and then dust with powdered sugar. I recommend storing the cookies in an air-tight container, at room temperature for up to a week.
This recipe is only 48 calories per cookie.
What To Serve With This Recipe
Serve the cookies with other festive desserts and cookies. I recommend the following recipes.
I hope you enjoy this post as much as I do. If you try my recipe, please leave a comment and consider giving it a 5-star rating. For more easy and delicious recipes, explore my Recipe Index, and stay updated by subscribing to my newsletter and following me on Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram for new updates.
Other Cookie Recipes You Might Like
Chocolate Crinkle Cookies Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter , preferred or oil
- 4 eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
Instructions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the cocoa, granulated sugar, and butter (or oil) on medium speed. Reduce the speed to low and add the eggs one at a time, mixing until combined.
- Mix in the remaining ingredients in the order listed, except for the powdered sugar. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for 4 hours.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (176°C). Line cookie sheets with parchment paper. Roll the dough into 1-inch balls and coat them with powdered sugar. Place the cookies on the prepared baking sheets, at least 2 inches apart.
- Bake for 10 minutes. Allow the cookies to rest on the hot cookie sheet for 1 minute before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I made these a couple years ago but lost the recipe. If you think all recipes will end up with the same result, think again! There is something about starting with the gritty paste at the beginning that make these cookies superior to all others, These are by far my favorite, so much that I found a way to cut the wait time in half. Split your dough into two bowls and refrigerate them for about an hour and 45 minutes. You should be able to scoop and roll the dough by that time. I call it “Playing in the mud because it ain’t pretty and you will get messy. Once you have them in ball form roll them in granulated sugar and put them on parchment paper in the freezer for about 15-20 minutes. Reshape as needed and roll them in powdered sugar and bake as normal.
Also… I saw a couple of posts asking why your cookies ended up being flat….Most cookies are made with baking SODA but these bad boys are make with baking POWDER. The two are not interchangeable and if you think they are…Try making pancakes with baking soda some day when you’re not that hungry. Happy baking everyone and thank you Rasa for the recipe.
Hi Rick, thanks for the tips. :)
Just made them. They turned out beautifully. For those who were concerned with size and timing, they are rolled a little smaller than I normally roll cookies, but make the size indicated and they bake perfectly. I cut the sugar by 1/4 but otherwise followed as directed. Also, as Rasa says, you do roll in a liberal amount of icing sugar and they come out very pretty. Thank you Rasa!
can we use normal cocoa powder instead of the unsweetened cocoa powder ???
Yes you can!
Hi. I haven’t tried this recipe yet but I was thinking 6 dozen is a lot. I only need two at the most. Could I free the rest of the dough? With out coating them in sugar and glaze.
I think so or you cut down the quantity into half.
Do you if know if swapping the vegetable oil to ‘Bali Virgin Coconut Oil’ would effect it the cookies in anyway? (Got into an argument with my dad on what oil to use, he ‘insists’ on the coconut oil but I’m not to sure how it’ll effect the recipe, so…)
Hi there! Those cookies look so good! I can’t wait to try this recipe! If I were to use unsalted butter, do I have to melt it?
Yes.
Do you have to chill for 4 hours?
With these kinds of cookies, if you chill for any less than four hours, they will not hold a shape. The dough should be very firm and moldable. The colder the better. Not frozen, of course. But yes, at least four hours is key
I was to gift these to a friend cs she love crinkle cookies. Also what could be the reason for it to become flat. These were yummy only thing I wish it didn’t flatten so much and looked good to the eye.. plz help..
Are you using Baking Powder or Soda? This recipe calls for powder which will give it the lift. If you’re using baking soda your cookie would be flat like a normal cookie
Urgent help I made these and they went flat I followed the recipe as per given but it was all flat when I baked it
Hi Mariam, I am so sorry but I can’t troubleshoot not knowing that you did during the process. This recipe works and the results should be like the pictures.
If using butter, do you melt it or just use softened?
Melt.