Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
For all of the Christmas cookies, candy and goodies that my family has always made for the holidays, somehow crinkle cookies have never been something to show up on cookie trays. I guess we’re always a little too occupied with peanut butter blossoms, snowballs, buckeyes, pizzelle, biscotti and peppermint bark. Those beautiful powdered sugar-covered chocolate crinkle cookies have always been something that I wanted to try and I finally put them on my baking list for this year. If I had known how easy they were to make (no electric mixer required!) and how absolutely phenomenal they tasted, I would have started making them years ago.
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While I love my KitchenAid mixer, I am a huge fan of any recipe that can be made with a couple of bowls, a whisk and a spatula. These cookies fit the bill and the resulting flavor is outstanding. The cookies themselves taste like dense, fudge-like brownies, and the dusting of powdered sugar looks like a fresh snowfall (which I am still impatiently waiting for!).
Are you a crinkle cookie newbie or have you been making them for years? If they’re not part of your holiday repertoire yet, add them to your baking list immediately. Do as I say, not as I do!
One year ago: Classic Thumbprint Cookies
Five years ago: Date Nut Spice Bread
Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup (125 g) all-purpose flour
- ½ cup (43 g) unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon (0.25 teaspoon) baking soda
- ½ teaspoon (0.5 teaspoon) salt
- 1½ cups (330 g) light brown sugar
- 3 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 4 ounces (113.4 g) unsweetened chocolate, chopped
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar
- ½ cup (60 g) powdered sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl.
- Whisk together the brown sugar, eggs and vanilla in a large bowl. Combine the unsweetened chocolate and butter in a small bowl and microwave at 50 percent power, stirring occasionally, until melted, 2 to 3 minutes.
- Whisk the chocolate mixture into the egg mixture until combined. Fold in the flour mixture until no dry streaks remain. Let the dough sit at room temperature for 10 minutes.
- Place the granulated sugar and powdered sugar in separate shallow bowls. Working with 2 tablespoons dough (or a medium cookie scoop) at a time, roll into balls. Drop dough balls directly into granulated sugar and roll to coat. Transfer dough balls to powdered sugar and roll to coat evenly. Evenly space the dough balls on the prepared baking sheets.
- Bake the cookies, 1 sheet at a time, until puffed and cracked and edges have begun to set but centers are still soft (cookies will look raw between cracks and seem underdone), about 12 minutes, rotating sheet halfway through baking. Let cool completely on sheet before serving. The cookies can be stored at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
Notes
Did you make this recipe?
Leave a review below, then snap a picture and tag @thebrowneyedbaker on Instagram so I can see it!
I did a test run at the beginning of last week and these turned out perfectly!! Should refrigerate/ freeze and then bake them the day of or bake and then freeze?
OK…so I made these on Friday and I got a serious feeling of deja vu…they came out flat as a pancake and stuck to the parchment paper! I then remembered I tried making them a couple of years ago and the same thing happened :( So frustrating! I even tried chilling the batter and still flat and super sticky. I texted a friend who makes a similar cookie and told her about my woes and asked for her recipe. Guess what? Exact same recipe and hers turn out perfect every time! OK…I am going to give it one more try…this time I weighed all the ingredients and sifted the flour & cocoa powder and increased the baking temp to 350. Voila! They came out beautifully!!! A very nice addition to any holiday cookie platter, for sure :) I’m a happy girl! (four stars cuz of the two previous failures by this experienced baker)
Had a recipe similar to this.LOVE CHOCOLATE CRINKLE COOKIES.
Great Recipe! First time making them. Definitely will make again
I’ve made these multiple times now and they’re always a favourite around Christmas!
I tried this recipe but mine did not spread out thin like the pictures above. They stayed in the thick ball and I had to smash them down a bit. They still taste great but I was wondering what I may have done wrong.
I did exactly like the recipe said and the dough was thin and hard to maneuver with
I love this recipe! Thank you!
The first time around they came out flat and very crunchy.. the taste was great though.
I decided to give it a second shot and they were just amazingly fluffy and fudgy.
Made these last night, and I have already been asked for a copy of the recipe. I followed the recipe exactly. The cookies came out perfectly! These will be a great addition to my holiday treat boxes.
I have been baking these for the last few Holuday Seasons and we love them. I follow the recipe as written and have never had any trouble with it.
Excellent, chocolatey cookie!
Just finished baking our favorite chocolate crinkles!!!
It’s perfect 👌 👌👌 my kids loves this cookies so much. Love this recipe but I had to change a little. ♥️♥️♥️
Favorite crinkle cookie recipe by far! I prefer to melt my chocolate over a double boiler and I add a pinch of espresso powder. I have never had issues with the dough running to thin or being unmanageable, even without chilling. I think the majority of negative reviews are due to user error. Making them again this year for cookie boxes :) Excellent cookies!
really? Couldn’t just post a review without slamming everyone else in effort to make you feel better about yourself?
Wish I read the reviews
Hi. Does the chocolate crinkle dough freeze well?
Hi Marilyn, It does! You can freeze it for up to 3 months.
These biscuits just run into flat, thin biscuits when baking. I tried to chill the dough and rolling the balls smaller, but they still run all over the baking sheet. Tastes good, but the consistency is all wrong. The end result looks nothing like the picture.
I found the dough didn’t setup. I added more flour and could have even added more but just slopped teaspoonfuls in the sugar then powdered sugar. They weren’t pretty but tasted good. My six year old granddaughter had fun helping me.
So very yummy!! I think these are like brownies in cookie form. I tripled this recipe as I needed to take some to three different places. I thought 24 apiece would be a great amount each…except that I ended up with 136 cookies!? They were all very good sized cookies, too! For some reason I always end up with more cookies than the recipe says…not a bad problem to have! For those who haven’t made this before, the dough is more like brownie batter, pretty impossible to roll into balls, even though the recipe says to roll it into a ball and then roll in sugar. I just plopped the blob of dough into the bowl of granulated sugar, coated it and then it would roll. Then I rolled it again in sugar, then in powdered sugar, and they were perfect!
I love your recipe and appreciate that I don’t have to use vegetables oil like the other recipes out there. I refrigerated over night and they came out so fudgey and delicious.
Followed recipe exactly and these cookies turned out perfect! So glad to add this recipe to my cookie collection.
I have made other recipes by the brown-eyed baker, and I have never been disappointed.
Respectfully,
From another brown-eyed baker, but much older.😉
It needs to sit over night or for four hours
This is the closest recipe to what my mother made for over 50 years. I use semi-sweet chocolate and chill the batter overnight before using it. 13 minutes in my oven @ 325 and they come out perfect every time. A little crunch on the exterior with a pillowy smooth interior full of chocolaty goodness. They bring down the house wherever I take them…
My mother made chocolate crinkles when I was a kid, I made them when my daughter was growing up too. They are still my most favorite cookie, Christmas or not! I’m 69 so they’ve been in our family for a lot of years!!!
Sorry to say I had the same problem as many bakers. The dough, even after sitting for 30 minutes, is very sticky, and very difficult to roll in the sugars. I made smaller cookies, using a heaping teaspoon, then trying to dislodge it from the spoon with a spatula. Now the first batch is out of the oven. The powdered sugar has completely disappeared; they just look like chocolate cookies. I may try the recipe again, though I will probably refrigerate it, add more flour and perhaps less sugar. It may be my fault; I used Belgian bittersweet chocolate instead of unsweetened. Another mistake was counting on these for a cookie party tonight; in the future I’ll use a reliable recipe when it’s important.
The second batch looks better, but when I tried to remove the first batch from the cookie sheet they stick badly. Because of that I slid a spatula under the ones just taken from the oven;; they are still on the baking sheet cooling,, but I think this will give a better outcome. The remainder of the batter is in the refrigerator; I’ll try another batch after it cools.
The hassle of trying to unstick a teaspoonful of dough, rolling it around in granulated, and then powdered sugar takes way too much time. The third batch is even worse; the cookies spread out and the powdered sugar disappeared into the murk. Lots of mess and waste.
Worst cookie recipe ever. I ended up with no dessert for a lunch because of this. They do not cook like the recipe. The dough is unmanageable. They do not cook into chewy cookies. They puff up and spread into one giant cookie causing all of the powder sugar to dissolve. I am a very experienced baker. I knew before I put them into the over they were not going to turn out right.
It I s NOT POSSIBLE to work this dough into balls after letting it sit for 10 minutes. It is GLOP! It had to be refrigeratered for 3 hours before it was manageable to roll, coat and bake. Let’s be real.
Not going to use your recipes again.
That’s why it literally says right in the recipe to “drop directly into granulated sugar”. If you do that, then the sugar makes the dough very easy to handle. I love it when people blame user errors on the recipe.
Haley is 100% right-
It is soft but will roll fine once coated in sugar!
Everyone… and I mean EVERYONE …. LOVES these! Success at holiday parties, success at the office, success at church… I consider myself to be someone who feels “blah” about what I’m bringing to a social event (a last-minute cheese and cracker girl), and thanks to this recipe, I can take serious PRIDE in what I’m bringing!!! This is definitely going to be a staple when I volunteer to bring dessert!
My only thought was that I use the 2 tablespoon scoop and I get a total yield of 18 cookies, not 24. No big deal…
How long can you store the batter for Double Chocolate Crinkle Cookies in the refrigerator?
I like to make a large batch and keep on hand, but am not sure how long before the batter goes bad-haven’t had the batter long enough in the past; but wanted to ask the question.
Thank you for your response.
I’ve stored mine for a couple of days….
I stumbled upon this recipe after my husband commented how much he liked the crinkle cookies I made from the Betty Crocker just-add-water mix bag. I thought I would take a stab at making them from scratch. I made just one batch and split them between two Christmas parties – THEY. WERE. A. HIT. These cookies are fluffy, flavorful and seriously something I was SO proud to present to family and friends.
I followed this recipe EXACT, except for the fact that I didn’t have a cookie scoop and had to use a measuring spoon (what a sticky paaaaaain). Save yourself and buy the freaking scoop because you WILL make these again and again aaaaaaand AGAAAAAAAIN! :)
Delicious but definitely need to refrigerate for awhile and chill to handle dough and keep hands piled! Otherwise fantastic cookies.
Turned out delicious. Wish I knew how to send a picture. They were beautiful. Thank you for sharing your recipe.
Hi! I love your site and use it frequently much to my husband’s delight! I would like to make this crinkle cookie as a chocolate gingersnap with bittersweet chocolate chips. What is your advice regarding ratios of cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, clove, etc.??? The Pagosa Springs bakery in Colorado makes this cookie and it was divine!!!!! Thanks so in advance.
Sher
Tucson, AZ