Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
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Satisfy your cravings with chocolate crinkle cookies—the love child of rich, fudgy brownies and chewy cookies.
With their rich chocolate flavor and chewy center, chocolate crinkles are a cross between brownies and cookies. The secret to their crinkled appearance? A simple trick: rolling the dough balls in confectioners’ sugar before baking. As the cookies puff up in the oven, the powdered sugar coating cracks and reveals the dark chocolate center. For best results, be sure to make the dough a few hours ahead of time and chill it in the refrigerator before baking. This will allow the dough to firm up, making it easier to roll and ensuring that the cookies have a perfect crinkled texture when they come out of the oven.
Often baked as classic Christmas cookies, chocolate crinkles are ideal for holiday gatherings or cookie exchanges. And if you have a chocolate feen or (feens!) in the house, be sure to also check out my blobbs and double chocolate chip cookies—they’re sure to make any chocolate fan swoon!
“Fantastic, fudgy, chocolate cookie! Super easy to make and the kids always help.”
What You’ll Need To Make Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
- All-Purpose Flour: Provides the main structure for the cookie dough, ensuring proper texture and consistency.
- Baking Powder: Acts as a leavening agent, helping the cookies to rise.
- Unsweetened Chocolate: Adds intense chocolate flavor to the cookies, contributing to their rich taste.
- Butter: Provides moisture and richness to the cookies, resulting in a tender crumb.
- Instant Coffee or Espresso Powder: Enhances the chocolate flavor, adding depth and complexity. Optional but a wonderful addition.
- Large Eggs: Bind the ingredients together, providing structure and texture to the cookies.
- Granulated and Dark Brown Sugar: Sweeten the dough and add moisture. The brown sugar adds a very subtle hint of caramel flavor to the cookies.
- Vanilla Extract: Two teaspoons vanilla extract enhances the overall flavor profile, adding warmth and aroma.
- Confectioners’ Sugar: The confectioners’/powdered sugar coats the cookies before baking, creating a crackly surface and adding a touch more sweetness.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
Step-By-Step Instructions
Note: When planning to make these cookies, keep in mind the total time required, which includes prep and cook time plus two hours for the dough to chill in the fridge.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
Combine the chocolate and butter in a small, microwave-safe bowl. Microwave in 20-second intervals, stirring between each bout of heat, until almost melted. The chocolate will continue to melt as it sits. (This technique ensures the chocolate mixture will not get too hot and scorch.) Add the espresso powder and stir until completely melted and smooth.
In a large bowl, combine the eggs with the granulated sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla extract.
Whisk well to combine.
Add the melted chocolate mixture.
Whisk until evenly combined.
Add the flour mixture.
Whisk until evenly combined. (Note that the mixture will be very wet, more like cake batter than cookie dough.) Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill until firm enough to roll — at least 2 hours or longer if necessary.
Position two racks in the center of the oven and preheat to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and place the Confectioners’ sugar in a small bowl. Roll the chilled dough into 1½-inch balls, then roll the cookie dough balls in confectioners sugar. (There’s no need for a cookie scoop here; If the dough gets sticky, wash your hands and then dust them with confectioners’ sugar before proceeding.) Arrange 12 balls evenly on each baking sheet, then place remaining dough back in the refrigerator.
Bake the cookies for 9 to 12 minutes, rotating the pans from top to bottom and front to back midway through, or until puffy and almost dry between the cracks.
Cool the cookies on the pans for a few minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat with the remaining cookie dough.
Make Ahead, Freezing & Storage Instructions
The cookies will keep nicely in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days. Additionally, the cookie dough can be frozen for up to 3 months. Scoop the dough into balls, roll in confectioners’ sugar, let set on a baking sheet in the freezer, then place in a sealable freezer bag and press out as much air as possible. Bake as needed directly from the freezer. (Allow 1 to 2 minutes longer in the oven.) To freeze after baking, let the cookies cool completely and then store in an airtight container, separating layers with parchment paper or aluminum foil. Before serving, remove the cookies from the container and let them come to room temperature. If you like to get ahead when baking, check out some helpful tips on how to freeze cookie dough.
Frequently Asked Questions
Baking at a high altitude requires adjustments for the best results. This baking tips post has some guidelines for tweaks you’ll need to make (in addition to a variety of other general tips to help you avoid baking mistakes).
To get picture perfect cookies, I strongly recommend chilling the dough for at least 2 hours before baking them. This allows the dough to firm up, making it easier to roll, and ensures the cookies have a wonderful crinkled texture when they come out of the oven.
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Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
Satisfy your cravings with chocolate crinkle cookies—the love child of rich, fudgy brownies and chewy cookies.
Ingredients
- 2½ cups all-purpose flour, spooned into measuring cup and leveled off with knife
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 5 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped (best quality, such as Ghirardelli)
- 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch pieces
- 1 teaspoon instant coffee or espresso powder (optional)
- 4 large eggs
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup Confectioners' sugar
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- Combine the chocolate and butter in a small, microwave-safe bowl. Microwave in 20-second intervals, stirring between each bout of heat, until almost melted. The chocolate will continue to melt as it sits. (This technique ensures the chocolate mixture will not get too hot and scorch.) Add the espresso powder and stir until completely melted and smooth.
- In a large bowl, whisk the eggs with the granulated sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla extract. Use a whisk to smash any lumps of brown sugar. Whisk in chocolate mixture.
- Add the flour mixture and whisk until evenly combined. (Note that the mixture will be very wet, more like cake batter than cookie dough.) Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill until firm enough to roll -- at least 2 hours or longer if necessary.
- Position two racks in the center of the oven and preheat to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and place the Confectioners' sugar in a small bowl. Roll the chilled dough into 1½-inch balls, then roll each ball in confectioners sugar. (If the dough gets sticky, wash your hands and then dust them with confectioners sugar before proceeding.) Arrange 12 balls evenly on each baking sheet, then place remaining dough back in the refrigerator. Bake the cookies for 9 to 12 minutes, rotating the pans from top to bottom and front to back midway through, or until puffy and almost dry between the cracks. Cool the cookies on the pans for a few minutes, then transfer to a rack to cool completely. Repeat with the remaining cookie dough. Store the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature.
- Freezer-Friendly Instructions:The cookie dough can be frozen for up to 3 months. Scoop the dough into balls, roll in confectioners' sugar, let set on a baking sheet in the freezer, then place in a sealable bag and press out as much air as possible. Bake as needed directly from the freezer. (Allow 1 to 2 minutes longer in the oven.) To freeze after baking, let the cookies cool completely and then store in an airtight container, separating layers with parchment paper or aluminum foil. Before serving, remove the cookies from the container and let them come to room temperature.
Nutrition Information
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- Serving size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 100
- Fat: 4g
- Saturated fat: 2g
- Carbohydrates: 16g
- Sugar: 11g
- Fiber: 1g
- Protein: 1g
- Sodium: 30mg
- Cholesterol: 21mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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I made these for a party and they turned out great and my kids devoured the extras!
this cookie has become a traditon at Christmas at our house. I might not wait until Christmas this year to have them again!
Well here’s to Jennifer yet again. I wanted to make crackle cookies this year (never tried before). After reading a few recipes in this years magazines, I decided to move on !! All of them called for powdered cocoa and I knew the cookies would be dry. But then it dawned on me……. try the archives of MY GO TO GIRL !!!
and there it was. I always know that Jennifer has done the work, so without question I was off in a flash to the store. I made them this morning and they are just beyond outrageous. Now I hate when people play with other peoples recipes, but in the spirit of Christmas, I stuck one of the candy cane hershey kisses in the center of the cookie the second they came out of the oven. (I then stuck the cookies, sheet and all, in the fridge to keep the kiss from melting).
Well might I say that these are hands down the best holiday cookie I have ever had.
THANK YOU SO MUCH JENNIFER, YOU NEVER LET ME DOWN !!!!! you should post this one again ever year.
happy baking ladies ~
Hi Jennifer, Don’t panic…as long as you measured the ingredients properly, the dough will firm up. Your butter may have been very soft or your chocolate very hot, which could slow things down. You could always put the dough in the freezer for a bit (but not too long!) to speed things up. Hope that helps!
Help! I have had the dough in the ref. for a few hours and when I tried to make the dough into balls, all it did was stick to my hands! What do I do?
Jennifer, If it sticks, wash your hands, then dust them with Confectioners sugar before proceeding.
These look great and so full of flavor!
I was hoping to pop some in to the oven now, unfortunatly, ran out of chocolate bar :-p aaahh
Do you think I could substitute the bar for unsweetened cocoa?
Thanks for sharing!! 😀
Catherine — Unfortunately, the recipe won’t work with cocoa powder…the real chocolate is what makes them fudgy. Wait to make them til you have a bar 🙂
Oh my, 4 batches! They must have turned out wonderfully. My mouth started watering as I read this because I love brownies and chocolate, so next time I get some really fantastic chocolate, I will try these.
wooops! I meant ARE. 🙂
These our one of our family favorites. We make them every christmas!