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!
This recipe made 36 cookies for me! I may have made them too small? They are the perfect little bite. They taste great and were a wonderful addition to the usual Christmas Cookie Plate!
I’ve struggled to find a really good chocolate crinkle cookie recipe, and my search is over! These bake up soft and light, not dense and gummy, and they are wonderfully chocolate-y without the chalkiness of some recipes I’ve tried. These are just the perfect chocolate crinkle cookie! ?
I have literally tried 3 different recipes for cookie crinkles. I can honestly say that this is the best tasting recipe! Thank you for sharing! It’s the perfect treat for the holidays ?
I just made these and they are absolutely incredible!! I read another comment regarding the addition of peppermint extract. I doubled the recipe, added 1 tsp of peppermint extract and 2 tsp of espresso powder to enhance the chocolate flavoring. I use double dutch dark cocoa powder from King Arthur Flour, and it’s never let me down. I ended up refrigerating the dough overnight due to so many comments regarding the dough more of a brownie consistency and hard to deal with. Overnight was a perfect amount of time and had no issues with forming the dough into balls. I used a small cookie scoop and the size turned out perfect. I baked them for only 8 minutes instead of the recommended 10. This is definitely a new staple cookie for me to make every holiday season. Love it!!!
I am always looking for a ‘not too sweet” christmas cookie and these were great with the cayenne and cinnamon oil. I pushed dark chocolate non-pareils in them and melted an ounce of unsweetened chocolate in the oil, sugar, egg mixure. This recipe also worked for me because my mixer is on the fritz and I had to use my grandmas food processor and, late at night, i realized I didn’t have any butter. Perfect recipe! Thank you.
There really needs to be a better description in how the “batter” for this recipe will turn out. Mine was thin and I thought there was something wrong with the recipe. Thankfully before I threw it out it began to set up.
Amazing! Best chocolate crinkle recipe EVER! I added milk chocolate and semi chocolate chips—- ridiculously good!
These were great!!
These are fantastic! Just to echo some of the other comments, “form the dough into a large ball” is misleading because there is no putting the cookie dough/batter into a ball. It’s the consistency of brownie batter. It firms up when chilling and the final product is outstanding. I wish I had made a double batch.
OMG these are amazing!!! Thank you so much, they came out perfect. They are so nice and light and they they just melt in your mouth. Planning to give these away to friends for Christmas ❤️