Chocolate Crinkle Cookies have a rich and fudgy center with a crisp powdered sugar outer layer. Crinkle Cookies are just as important as Sugar Cookies on your holiday cookie tray.
This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy.
You know I love easy desserts with simple ingredients. These Chocolate Crinkle Cookies are no exception.
Why these are the Best Crinkle Cookies:
- Simple Ingredients: Made with just a handful of kitchen staples you probably already have on hand.
- Fast: these cookies can be whipped up quickly and you can chill them ahead.
- Fudgy & Crisp: The centers are soft and gooey with crisp edges.
- Keep Well: most cookies are best eaten fresh but these seem to get better with time.
These cookies are perfect for gifting and they are so good, you’ll want to make a double batch!
What is a Chocolate Crinkle Cookie?
Chocolate Crinkle Cookies are like a cross between gooey Fudgy Brownies and crisp Chocolate Chip Cookies. They are rolled in powdered sugar before baking so they form “crinkles” as they expand in the oven.
The best part? Just like a good homemade Baklava, these cookies get better as they get a little stale. The outer layer just gets crunchier, while the center stays so gooey. Let’s just say you’ll find yourself hanging around your cookie jar for several days.
How to Make Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
Chocolate Crinkle Cookies are a blast to make. If you have kids around, they can help make these cookies. They will love rolling the chocolatey dough into bite-sized balls and coating them with a generous amount of powdered sugar, similar to Russian Tea Cakes.
- Whisk together sugar, cocoa powder, oil, vanilla extract, and eggs.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.
- Slowly add flour mixture to the cocoa mixture. Mix well.
- Cover the dough and refrigerate for 3 hours and up to overnight.
To Finish and Bake the Cookies
- Preheat the oven to 350F. Shape cookie dough into balls (a cookie scoop makes it easy to portion) and roll into powdered sugar.
- Place cookies on a baking sheet, leaving space between each cookie. Bake for 10-12 minutes, depending on the size of the cookies. Cookies will come out soft but will harden as they cool down.
- Once cookies are slightly cooled, move them to a wire rack to fully cool down.
Common Questions
There are two reasons why your Chocolate Crinkle Cookies came out flat. Either the dough wasn’t chilled or you didn’t use enough flour. Make sure to properly measure flour by scooping it into your measuring cup and leveling off the top.
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. Fast forward to today and these cookies are gracing just about every holiday tray each year.
You’ll know when Chocolate Crinkle Cookies are done when they start to develop those signature cracks on top. Typically, this takes anywhere from 10-12 minutes depending on their size.
The dough for crinkle cookies should be very moist. Be sure to measure flour correctly, and it helps to roll the moist dough with wet hands.
Storing Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
- 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 for 30 minutes in the fridge before rolling them in powdered sugar. Bake according to instructions.
Make-Ahead Tip: You can make the dough a day or two in advance. Keep it refrigerated and only bake right before serving.
Cookies Recipes You’ll Love
- Peanut Butter Cookies – These nutty cookies always hit the spot
- Snowball Cookies – Melt-in-your-mouth delicious
- Meringue Cookies – easy and so festive dusted in powdered sugar
- Madeleine Cookies – Just as good as Starbucks Madeleine cookies
- Macaroon Cookies – The mother of all coconut cookies
Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, (unsweetened)
- 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 confectioners sugar
Instructions
- In a mixing bowl, combine granulated sugar, cocoa powder, oil, vanilla extract and eggs. Whisk until the mixture is smooth.
- In a separate bowl, combine flour together, 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.
- Preheat the oven to 350F. Scoop dough with a mini ice cream 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.
- 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 as they cool down.
- Allow cookies to slightly cool. Then, move them to a wire rack to fully cool down.
Nutrition Per Serving
Filed Under
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. 
Can you freeze baked cookies? Thank you for responding. I don’t need them for another 5 days.
You can store the cookies at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 5 days. You can freeze them but the powdered sugar coating will not be as visible and they won’t be as crunchy on the outside.
It’s best to freeze the dough and then bake them.
OMG,,,These are so easy to make and so little ingredients,,,wonder how they would be with pieces of walnuts,,,will for sure make again.
Just thought I had to leave a review here as I’ve made these so many times and people that try it, loved it. I live in the UK and most people here don’t know what “crinkles” is and they love it so much 😊😊. Thanks to your recipe; the only crinkles recipe I follow and will keep making it til every Brit here tried it 😅😅. Thanks very much, Natasha. Love your videos and your recipes.
Oh wow! Thank you so much for sharing that with me, Haydee! I’m so glad these are a hit!
This is the perfect crinkle cookie recipe! I tried a couple different ones before finding this one, but they all turned out too rich. This recipe has the perfect flavor and texture.
Thank you so much, Maria. We’re so glad that you loved our recipe a lot!
These are delicious. I make them all the time and everyone loves them
I’m so happy you enjoyed that. Thank you for sharing that with us, Linda!
The recipe is very easy to follow and I enjoyed making the cookies. They are delicious although a bit too sweet for me. Next time I’m making them, I will add slightly less sugar. Thank you for the recipe!
Hi Diana! You’re welcome. So glad you enjoy the recipe!
hey natasha is it okay if I add Nesquik chocolate powder and i add less sugar instead of coco powder
Hi Anna, I haven’t tested that to advise on the outcome. If you experiment, let me know how you liked the recipe.
Would the dough be okay if i did not keep it in the fridge for as long as three hours?
Hi Paiton! The dough needs to be chilled and cold enough or the cookies will go flat.
Can you freeze the cookie
They look and taste great! Ty for recipe
Hi Anita! See my recipe notes above for freezing the dough. I’m glad you love the recipe.
There’s something off with the metric conversions. It calls for 112 g of oil, but that seems to be way too much. The dough was so oily that the powdered sugar got dissolved by the oil when the cookies were in the oven. It also results in a bit of an oily aftertaste.
The cookies are fine. Crispy on the outside, chewy on the inside. If I were to bake them again, I’d add a bit more salt to up the flavour of the cocoa and cut the oil in half.
Oh my goodness you are right! The metric conversion was off. I’m so sorry about that. I fixed it. It was displaying 112 g of oil when it should have been about 55 grams of oil. A while back we corrected the oil measurement on this recipe and the correction didn’t carry over to the metric measurements. I sincerely apologize for that. I hope you give the cookies another try and thank you so much for letting me know so I can make the correction.
i love your recipe so much. its just that they have to sit in the fridge for 3 hours. thankyou
The dough needs to be chilled and cold enough or the cookies will go flat but it will be worth the wait.
Have just made these cookies for the first time. And I have to say I am super pleased with them. They are firm on the outside with a nicely moist brownie middle. Better to make them small than medium sized. And, happy to find a recipe for them with oil instead of butter. Thanks for a great recipe Natasha! ✨
You’re welcome! I’m so happy you enjoyed it, Beverly!
I’ve tried this recipe many times and my family and I have always enjoyed it! I plan on making it today and would like to try and add a few chocolate chips to the batter, would that affect the way they bake at all?
Hi Lainey, I bet it will be delicious with chocolate chips too. We’d love to know how it goes if you try it!
Some of my favorite cookies ever!! I got a lot of compliments when I made them!
Hi Moriah! That’s wonderful to hear. So glad you enjoyed the recipe.
The cookies were excellent.
Easy to follow recipe.
I’m saving this recipe for another time.
Great to hear that you enjoyed the cookies!
Hi!
I’m anxious to make these. Should I sift the flour first?
Hi Marsha! Here is my tutorial on how I measure my flour. Sifting is not necessary, but you could if you’d like to.
Hi Natasha, the only bad thing about these cookies were that my husband ate most of them before the sun rose. I made 21 last night and this morning there were only 7 left. Need i say more. I have enjoyed all of your recipes so far, you are my go to when i want to prepare a different meal. Keep the spoons banging!!!
Hi Linda! That’s hilarious! I’m glad they were such a hit!
These cookies looked pretty but they did not have nearly enough chocolate flavor.
I’ve since seen other recipes that all called for adding chocolate chips, which probably would have saved these.
Hi Pam, I bet this could be delicious with chocolate chips! Thank you so much for sharing that with me.
Made these for Christmas and they turned out delicious!! Super chocolaty and puffy, sugar didn’t burn at all!! My only question would be is how long does the dough last in the fridge?? Thanks!
Hi TCM, This recipe is very simple and the dough can be made 1-2 days in advance and then baked before serving.
I used made two batches and used olive oil and premium dutch chocolate. I made a mistake on the first batch and added soda AND powder by accident. They were flat but delicious! The second batch was made without mistake and they were puffy and delicious but tasted more like a brownie than a cookie. Honestly I like the first batch better! I think the key is light oil and quality cocoa powder. It’s expensive but worth it! Chill overnight and no issues with rolling into balls with your hands. Very simple recipe especially when you read it correctly. lol
I’m so glad you tried it again and it worked out so well! Thank you so much for sharing that review with me, CA!
Made exactly as written; came out delicious!! Slightly crispy on the outside and brownie soft on the inside. YUM! And, they’re so pretty! 🙂 Thanks for the new cookie recipe. Definitely making them again and again!
I’m so glad you loved the recipe! Thank you for sharing.