Chocolate Crinkle Cookies have a rich, fudgy center with a crisp powdered-sugar coating. They taste like hot chocolate in cookie form and disappear faster than I can plate them. These cookies are perfect any time of the year, but look especially festive served on a holiday cookie platter.
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Helpful Reader Review
“I tried these cookies 5 years ago, and they’re still one of my favorites! Thank you, Natasha, for such masterpiece recipes! I love your blog! 😍😘” – Dina ★★★★★
Easy Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
You know I love easy desserts with simple ingredients. This Chocolate Crinkle Cookies recipe is no exception, since there aren’t any fancy ingredients or techniques here. Mix, refrigerate, and scoop–done!
Chocolate Crinkle Cookies are like a cross between fudgy Brownies and Chocolate Chip Cookies that are rolled in powdered sugar to form “crinkles” as they expand in the oven. Crinkle cookies are perfect for gifting, since they get better the next day, and they are so good, you’ll want to make a double batch!
Did You Know?
Chocolate Crinkle Cookies first premiered in Betty Crocker’s famous cookie cookbook, “Cooky Carnival”. Crocker recounts being served the cookies by home chef Helen Fredell and begging her for the recipe.
Chocolate Crinkle Cookie Ingredients
Check your pantry and fridge for all you need to make my delicious chocolate crinkle cookies. Be sure to measure correctly so the cookies expand and rise correctly.
- Unsweetened Cocoa Powder – fluff the powder with a fork, then spoon it into the measuring cup to be sure you have the right amount of cocoa.
- Wet Ingredients – sugar, vegetable oil, eggs, and Vanilla Extract
- Dry ingredients – Flour, baking powder, and salt
- Confectioner’s sugar – for rolling the dough and creating crinkles. For a more festive look, try swapping with holiday sprinkles (Halloween-themed sprinkles look great, too!) or colored sugar.
How to Make Crinkle Cookies
Chocolate Crinkle Cookies are a blast to make because rolling the chocolatey dough and coating it in powdered sugar is good, messy fun, similar to making Russian Tea Cakes.
- Whisk the sugar, cocoa powder, oil, vanilla extract, and eggs together in a bowl.
- Whisk the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, and salt) in a separate mixing bowl. Add the dry mixture to the wet mixture and mix well.
- Cover the dough and refrigerate for 3 hours or up to overnight. This is essential for making a rollable and rising dough.
- Roll – Preheat the oven to 350°F. Shape cookie dough into balls (a cookie scoop makes it easy to portion) and roll in powdered sugar (wet hands make it easier to handle).
- Bake – Space the cookies on a lined baking sheet, and then bake for 10-12 minutes. Remove from the oven to cool on the sheet. Once cookies are slightly cooled, move them to a wire rack to fully cool down.
Pro Tip:
Chocolate crinkle cookies come out of the oven soft, but the outside hardens as they cool. In fact, they continue to get crispy as they sit, but the inside stays fudgey.
Chocolate Crinkle Cookies are just as important as Sugar Cookies and Gingerbread Cookies on your holiday cookie tray, so place them next to my Christmas Snowball Cookies and Homemade Baklava for a decadent, well-rounded dessert table!
Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil, (or canola, or light olive oil)
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup confectioner's sugar
Instructions
- Whisk – In a mixing bowl, combine granulated sugar, cocoa powder, oil, vanilla extract, and eggs. Whisk until the mixture is smooth.
- Mix – In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. Add the flour mixture to the cocoa mixture and stir to combine.
- Cover the dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 3 hours and up to overnight.*
- Roll – Preheat the oven to 350°F. Scoop dough with a cookie scoop for even portioning into 20 cookies, then roll cookie dough into even-sized balls (it's easier to roll with wet hands) and generously roll each into powdered sugar.
- Bake – Place cookies on a parchment-lined baking sheet, being sure to leave space between each of the cookies. Bake for 10-12 minutes, depending on the size of the cookies. Cookies will come out soft but will harden on the outside as they cool down. Cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to fully cool.
Notes
- Room Temperature: Keep your Chocolate Crinkle Cookies stored in an airtight container on the counter. They should stay fresh for up to a week.
- Freezing: Freeze your dough balls for up to 2 months in an airtight container. When you are ready to bake, remove them from the freezer and allow them to thaw overnight in the fridge before rolling them in powdered sugar, or bake from frozen, adding 1-2 minutes to the bake time.
Nutrition Per Serving
Filed Under
More Cookies Recipes You’ll Love
Cookie recipes, like my chocolate crinkle cookies, are so fun to make and share, so once you try this recipe, check out these other sweet treats:
- Peanut Butter Cookies
- Meringue Cookies
- Madeleine Cookies
- Macaroon Cookies
- Toffee Recipe
- Cranberry Cookies
- Snickerdoodles
- Palmiers Cookies
- Rugelach
- Biscotti
Hi! I’m Natasha Kravchuk, a New York Times bestselling cookbook author, recipe developer, food photographer, and writer. Here you’ll find delicious, reliable recipes made with simple ingredients, plus easy step-by-step photos and videos to help you cook confidently at home. 
Made this recipe…came out perfect! Not too sweet, and the perfect texture!
Fantastic, I just made 4 double batches for a holiday cookie exchange i have been invited to. I cannot wait for the girls to taste my delicious, crispy, fudgy cookies.
These are the best during the holidays!
The batter seems quite wet. Recipe calls for one cup flour. Perhaps it meant to be two cups? Waiting for response
Hi Teri, it should not be wet. We used one cup of flour. I would recommend ensuring no other ingredients were doubled up or altered.
There is a lot of excess powder sugar. Should I dust off cookies
HI Jodi, you can if you want to, but it does have a better look to it if you don’t dust off the crinkle cookies.
Absolutely delicious!! Such a crowd pleaser. Was wondering if I used a melon scooper instead would the cook time be the same? I like the thought of a bite sized cookie. Also, if I add Peppermint Extract how much would I use?
I recommend using Pepper extract sparingly as it could easily overpower the chocolate. It should be fine to use a melon scooper just check them out at about 10 minutes.
Although I’ve baked these cookies for years, I wanted a better recipe. This exceeded my expectations for a better moist chocolate cookie. Thank you!
That’s wonderful to hear, thank you for the feedback.
Hi Natasha, this is one of my favorite cookie recipes. I’m making it today for a friend’s birthday. It’s also on my Christmas cookie list
Hi Sarah! I’m so glad you love this recipe.
What would you recommend as the best substitute for eggs to make this vegan? Thanks!
Hi Allison, I have not tried a substitute to advise. If you experiment, let me know how you liked the recipe.
Hi Allison. If you soak 1 table spoon of chia seeds in 1/3 cups of water for 15 min, that is equivalent to 1 egg. This recipe calls for twice that so I used 2 tablespoons of chia seeds and 2/3 cups water. I made one batch with eggs and one batch with chia seeds as a substitute, both were amazing and practically identical in taste and texture:) Hope this helps!
Thank you SO much for this reply and tip!!!!
Do you bake them cold or let them come to room temp before putting in the oven?
Hello! It’s a good idea to chill the dough in the fridge before baking, as stated in the recipe for good results.
I have made these several times. Follow the recipe exactly. I do make them a bit smaller and usually wind up with about 36 cookies. I think making only 20 would be too large. Anyway, they are delicious and decadent. I also make them ahead and put them in the freezer until I am ready to make my Christmas cookie trays. They freeze beautifully.
Do you freeze the dough balls or the finished cookie
Hi Natasha, could I use raw cacao powder vs the cocoa powder? If so do I need to adjust for flavour?
Hi Dina! Without testing that, I can’t provide instructions. I am not sure how it would alter the taste or affect the recipe.
Hi Natasha, My husband asked if I could bake the Chocolate Crinckle cookies that his grandmother used to bake. He’s grandmother was from Lithuania and he grow up cooking and baking with her. I’ve tried several different recipes that I could get my hands on and I finally came across your recipe and my darling Natasha, this is it!! Thank you so much for your gift! From your devoted follower, Happy Holidays!
Hi Silvana! Thank you so much. I’m so glad they were enjoyed.
Do you suggest dutch processed or natural cocoa for this recipe?
Hi there! I think it would work best with natural cocoa powder. Hope you enjoy!
Very good. Followed directions exactly with great results. Just like a dense chocolate brownie. They better be good. Part of an auction to raise money for a dogs surgery!
Can I use butter instead of oil? If yes, how much?
Hi Rula! Oil helps with the moisture and it’s important for the cookies spreading and cracking. I have not tested butter in this recipe but I did see a comment from one of my
viewers who had good results with butter.
They turned out beautifully and very delicious 😋.
PERFECT!! I used gluten free flour and they are amazing. My gluten intolerant granddaughter is thrilled!
I have a friend who has issues with gluten. I know there are different gluten free flours. Which one did you use?
Hi Brenda- there area lot of good gluten free baking flours in the market today. Pamela’s and Bob’s Red Mill jump to mind. I believe king Arthur’s is another brand that is readily available. Look for flours that a have rice in them. Try to avoid garbanzo beans based ones.
Most delicious cookies! Always so good!! Thanks
You’re welcome! I’m so happy you enjoyed it!
Best Crinkle Cookie I ever made!!!
Great recipe! Perfect!
That’s so great! It sounds like you have a new favorite, Pat!
Hey Natasha,
Love the recipe though every time the sugar melts and they don’t look very attractive how to prevent it? Any tips or tricks?
Hi Joana! It’s best to roll them through some fresh powder sugar before serving. Due to the moisture in the cookie, the sugar will dissolve. There really isn’t a way to prevent it completely.
You can also try rolling them through granulated sugar first, this may help.
If you roll your cookies in a regular, granulated sugar first and the into the powder sugar, it coats them perfectly and the icing sugar doesn’t melt away at all.
Followed instructions step by step and the cookies expanded waaaay too much and weren’t as solid when I was trying to ball them up
HI Kassidy, that could be due to not refrigerating the cookie dough for the full amount of time. That step is critical for the cookies to keep their shape.
Hey Kassidy, I also had the same issue! Mine were not chewy and fudgy, but airy and crispy. They expanded a lot as well, and I even left the dough in the fridge overnight. It was a bit of a mess trying to roll them in the powdered sugar too.
HI Maria, that is definitely not an expected result. Did you swap any of the ingredients or possibly use the wrong leavening? Baking soda is 4x stronger than baking powder. Also, make sure your leavening is not expired. Also, make sure the dough is covered when refrigerating overnight so it doesn’t dry out. I hope something in there helps to troubleshoot.
Can I add baking powder after the recipe has Ben in fridge? I used soda by mistake 😔
Oops! I’m sorry, Lori! I think it will work. If the dough is too cold to work with, I would let it soften at room temperature so that it becomes easier to evenly distribute the baking powder. You may want to mix it with a tiny bit of flour to help it incorporate better. I am not sure what the end result will be, but I hope that helps. The baking soda may change the taste and texture. Good luck.