This classic Chocolate Crinkle Cookies recipe is fun to make, super delicious, and perfect for the holidays!
Of course, our week of classic holiday cookie recipes here on the blog would not be complete without these famous crinkles.
Who wants some Chocolate Crinkle Cookies??
Whether you’re baking up a batch for a cookie exchange, pulling them warm outta the oven for a holiday party, or leave them out with a note for Santa, I promise that these chocolate crinkle cookies are always a hit! And this specific recipe has served me well for years. The cookie batter itself is very straightforward, and quick and easy to whip up. Then once you’ve rolled the dough balls in powdered sugar, channel those Great British Baking Show vibes and plant yourself in front of the oven to watch the cookies rise and crinkle. So fun! (Especially with kiddos!)
Here’s how to make them!
Chocolate Crinkle Cookies | 1-Minute Video
Chocolate Crinkle Cookie Ingredients:
There’s a good chance you may already have these ingredients in your pantry! You will need:
- Flour: I typically use all-purpose, but white whole wheat flour would work too.
- Unsweetened cocoa powder: Because…chocolate.
- Baking powder, salt, sugar, eggs, vanilla extract: Because…cookies.
- Oil: I grew up making these with vegetable oil, but any mild-flavored oil will do.
- Powdered sugar: For rolling the cookie dough.
How To Make Chocolate Crinkle Cookies:
To make crinkle cookies, simply…
- Whisk together your dry ingredients. Flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt.
- Prep your dough. In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the sugar and oil. Followed by adding in the eggs and vanilla, followed by the dry ingredients.
- Chill the dough. Sorry, you really can’t skip this step with chocolate crinkle cookies! Wrap the dough tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or until completely chilled.
- Prep your dough balls. Form the dough into 1-inch balls, and roll them in powdered sugar until completely coated. Place them on a parchment-covered baking sheet.
- Bake. Then bake then at 350°F for about 10 minutes. Let the cookies cool for a bit afterwards. Then…
- Enjoy! I highly recommend eating these warm out of the oven. But they also store well for up to 5 days, or freeze well for up to 3 months.
Possible Variations:
Looking to mix things up? Feel free to:
- Add chocolate chips. I really love mixing 1 cup of semisweet chocolate chips into this batter for that extra-gooey chocolate touch.
- Place a Hershey’s kiss on top. Just poke the kisses right into the tops of the cookies immediately after they come out of the oven.
- Hide a caramel inside the cookie. Once your dough ball is ready to go, poke half of a soft caramel inside the dough, and wrap/roll the dough around the caramel so that it is completely enclosed. The caramel will melt while baking, making for an extra delicious surprise inside.
- Add ground cinnamon and cayenne. For a Mexican chocolate twist, try adding 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon and a pinch of cayenne pepper to the dough. (Just whisk them into the dry ingredient mixture.)
More Favorite Cookie Recipes:
Looking for more delicious cookie inspiration? Feel free to check out our full collection of cookie recipes, or any of these other favorite classic cookies:
- Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Peanut Butter Cookies
- Gingerbread Cookies
- No-Bake Cookies
- Brown Sugar Cookies
- Chewy Ginger Molasses Cookies
Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup mild-flavored oil (such as vegetable oil, coconut oil, olive oil, etc.)
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup powdered sugar, for coating the cookies
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt until combined. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, add the granulated sugar and oil. Beat on medium-high speed for 2 minutes, or until the mixture is light and fluffy. Add in the eggs and vanilla, beating on medium-low speed until combined. Then gradually fold in the flour mixture, and beat on medium-low speed until combined.
- Form the dough into a large ball, and place it on a large sheet of plastic wrap. Wrap the plastic around it so that it is sealed tightly. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours (or up to 24 hours) until the dough is chilled completely through.
- Once you’re ready to bake the cookies, preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper. Fill a small bowl with the powdered sugar.
- Remove and unwrap the dough. Then form the dough into 1-inch round balls. Dip each dough ball in the powdered sugar until it is completely covered on all sides, and then place them least 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheet.
- Bake for 10 minutes. Then remove the baking sheet from the oven, and let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 3 minutes. Transfer the cookies to a wire rack, and let them cool until they reach room temperature.
- Serve immediately, or store in a sealed container for up to 5 days, or freeze for up to 3 months.
Notes
Did you make this?Let me know how it turned out in the comments below!
Haven’t made this yet but will!! Been looking through recipes online and so many of them call for 2 cups of sugar!! and some 2 sticks of butter!! So happy to find your recipe. One suggestion to readers – I would use the best cocoa powder you can find – not Hershey’s. Makes a huge difference.
Gave 5 stars since familiar with Gimme Some Oven and all recipes I have made are great.
I am guilty of not reading the recipe fully through prior to starting it BUT 20 min prep time when it then says to chill for 2-24 hours seems misleading :( I guess the positive is that I get to eat them all on my own after the party they won’t be ready for?!
I froze them for about 30 min instead since I didn’t have time to chill them for 2 he.
This is the first time I have ever baked these cookies in forty some-odd years of baking! They seem to be the perfect cookie: easy, look wonderful and tasty (really tasty!). I was planning to add some to a Christmas cookie package to send out west but am not sure they will keep thei lovely cracked appearance. Oh well, my husband will have to struggle along eating them up! Thanks for a great recipe.
Hii!!I tried your Crinkle Cookies recipe…..No doubt… cookies came out really good…. I noticed two things.First,as you mentioned that once you mix all the ingredients you should get a dough like consistency and should form a large ball and then refrigerate but when I combined the ingredients as per instructions in the recipe my mixture didn’t turned out as a dough as it was supposed to be,infact I almost got a thick batter like consistency.I was wondering why that happened….but I still pursued refrigerating overnight and baking them.Even though my dough consistency was not right still the cookies came out really nice and pretty.Second,as mentioned in the recipe I also baked my cookies for 10mins.I saw my cookies getting darker at the bottom once they are baked.I tried changing the baking time but still I got the same result.Is it because I may have coated the cookie ball too much in the powdered sugar???Or there can be some other reason as well?
Just made these this evening. Turned out perfect. Thankyou.
Wonderful!! :)
What’s the best way to freeze these? CAn I stack in a container or must they be in a single layer- not in top of eachother? They are heaven!!!!!!
I just put them loosely in a plastic bag and they freeze perfectly they don’t stick to each other
Very easy to make and tasted great!!
Awesome, so glad to hear it!!
My 10 year old granddaughter and I made these today … absolutely awesome. The cookies have a brownie consistency. For lack of having canola oil available, we substituted 1/4 cup “I Can’t Believe Its Not Butter” plus a heaping tablespoon! Perfectly fabulous!!!!
Thanks for sharing, DeeDee, we’re so happy you both enjoyed these!
OMG they are the most delicious and best biscuits ever I have made, now twice and they are a biscuit that if you eat one you just don’t stop at that a chocolate delight thank you
Thank you so much, Hellen, we’re thrilled you enjoyed them! :)
I almost forgot the reason for posting these tonight…I spray cooking spray on my hands and makes these easier to roll and not quite so messy