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. 
Yum! These were delicious and so easy to make. Great instructions.
These cookies are amazing and were a bit hit ! A+++++
I’m so happy you loved them, Susan!
Followed EXACTLY and they were delicious. Everyone loved them and asked for the recipe which I happily shared. Thank you so much for providing me with my new, annual Christmas cookie!
You’re so weclome, Kiki! I’m happy you loved them!
Instead of oil can you use butter? If so how much? Thank you
Hi Patrick, I honestly haven’t tried using butter to advise. I’ve tried vegetable oil (or canola, or light olive oil) successfully.
I love this recipe. I make these at Christmas and add a peppermint Hershey kiss to the middle while still warm out of the oven. They are a holiday favorite of friends and family. 🙂 I love your recipes Natasha!
Yum! I’m so happy to hear you loved them, Katie!
I love this recipe!!! I’ve used this same recipe for a couple years now. For Christmas I always make cookies and these cookies in particular are always the star of the show!
I’m so glad to hear that, Dominique!
Hi Natasha!
I followed all the instructions and cookies turned out amazing. My two year old daughter loved it. My only concerns is sugar I feel like she is too young to have this much sugar. Is there any chance I could bake them with minimum sugar? Thank you for the recipes and also I have tried pizza and carrots cake too and my little one love it.
That’s wonderful to hear! I haven’t tried less sugar so I’m not sure if any adjustments are needed to the recipe.
Hello, if I make the dough then freeze, do I first need to let them sit in the fridge and then move to freezer? Thank you!
Hi Jaylin! To be able to roll them, you should refrigerate the dough first. Once they are rolled/shaped, you can freeze them.
AMAZING!!!!!!! Simple de Dimple and YUMMY. Used as a gift for church friends. Thanks!
These make the perfect gifts, especially around the holidays. I’m so glad you loved it, Mimi!
I cant wait to make these! What size cookie scoop do you use? I have several different sizes. Thank you!
It’s a small cookie scoop, it holds 1 tablespoon of dough. I hope you love the recipe!
This recipe is completely wrong. Not enough flour and cocoa powder. It becomes a batter not a dough. I had to really make a lot of adjustments to get the dough balanced. Folks, check out the other recipes on the internet for this cookie. They all call for 2 cups of flour, not one. I’m really surprised this recipe had so many good reviews. I do love most of your recipes but unfortunately, this one doesn’t work.
Hi Patty, this recipe is accurate and the proportions are correct. I found the recipe you are referring to – probably preppy kitchen – and he has the recipe doubled which is why he has double the flour and cocoa powder. This dough is different than traditional cookies because it MUST be refrigerated before using, otherwise, yes the batter is more loose than a traditional cookie dough but that is expected with Chocolate Crinkle Cookies. I hope your results are better after refrigeration, but make sure to refrigerate.
Well I followed your recipe to the “T” and it was very runny and I waited two days in the frig. Consistency did not change. I am a professional baker so I definitely checked the ingredients.
Hi Patti,
I also made these and they turned out perfect. I used King Arthur flour, Nielsen and Massey, vanilla, Valhrona cocoa powder,large eggs, Wesson oil, Morton salt, and BP. (I always have to double check that I use baking powder since it’s in a container that’s identical to the soda. ;). ). I’m also high altitude and they still were fine with no adjustments.
I just made these cookies using the same measurements listed, and they turned out great! I wonder why yours was different than everyone else’s result.
Hello
Could i use coconut oil melted instead of canola oil ?
Hi Nathalie! I think that will work ok. I hope you love the cookies!
I used to make these cookies every Christmas until I was diagnosed with celiac disease, and my family loved them. But I haven’t ever tried to make them gluten free. I’d like to make them gf, but I’m wondering if there are any special tips to tricks so that they’ll turn out as delicious as I remember them. Any suggestions to make them gluten free?
I have not tested that yet but feel free to experiment using gluten free ingredients! One of our readers also shared this in the comments “PERFECT!! I used gluten free flour and they are amazing. My gluten intolerant granddaughter is thrilled!”
Hi Natasha, getting ready to make these. How would Avocado oil work?
I love your recipes.
Hello Linda! One of our readers shared this in the comments “Cookies came out exceptionally well! I did substitute avocado oil instead of olive oil and it was lighter and just perfect. Otherwise I followed the recipe exactly- next time I will double the recipe because they disappeared quick” Hope that helps.
I have made many of ..these tn the pasta would deliver latters or basktrs of them ro my favorite doctor’s offices post office and businesses including a Chinese restaurant that we loved. I’d start baking in late October and deep freeze until distribution in Dec.Covid shutdown and then iĺness put an end to this tradition. At 89 years I might haul out my baking sheets and make a few. Homemade cookies taste far better than store-bought. Thanks for the inspiration. BTW I am also a Natasha.
Thank you for sharing that with me, that’s so thoughtful of you to deliver to those offices.
Love your recipes!! I have used another almost identical recipe but will try this one this season. A tip I found useful on the other recipe was to roll the balls in granulated sugar before rolling in powdered sugar. Doing so made the powdered sugar adhere better.
Thank you so much for sharing that with me, Linda!
Easy, chocolatey deliciousness!!! These were the easiest of the 3 Christmas cookies I choose to bake for our church event!!! Thank you!
That’s so great, Susie! Thank you for your wonderful review. These are the perfect cookies for a church Christmas event! I’m glad they were a hit.
Excellent recipe! Delicious cookies! A big hit at Christmas
Thank you! I’m happy to hear that this recipe was a huge hit!
Hi Natasha, could I freeze these after baking? Thank you!
Hi Mary Ann! Yes, they freeze great- see the storage instructions above.
Hi there, why oil instead of butter? I bake many Italian cookies and they use olio di semi, love working with these doughs.
Hi Carm, we believe we found a perfect balance with the oil. I’ve tried vegetable oil (or canola, or light olive oil) successfully.