Let’s make chocolate crinkle cookies. These traditional Christmas cookies are a cut above the rest because they’re as rich and fudgy as homemade brownies. They’re thick and soft-baked in the centers with a little extra chocolate for good measure!
Today I’m showing off sparkly new photos and success tips for my classic double chocolate crinkle cookies! Originally published a few years ago, these classic Christmas cookies have become a staple in many of your kitchens. Readers have said they’re the “best cookies I’ve ever tasted” and “make a double batch right away.” These cookies disappear.
Why You’ll Love These Chocolate Crinkle Cookies:
- Double the chocolate—chocolate chips included!
- Taste like brownies
- Soft centers, crisp crackly edges
- Extra thick
- Warm from the oven, they melt in your mouth
As classic as Christmas sugar cookies, as sugar-dusted as snowball cookies, and as irresistible as peanut butter blossoms and pinwheel cookies, these chocolate crinkles will outshine every other cookie on your Christmas cookie platter. And that’s a guarantee.
Behind the Recipe
These chocolate cookies aren’t anything new or groundbreaking, but that’s why they’re perfect. You might actually recognize the base dough because it’s my go-to chocolate cookie! It’s the chocolate cookie recipe I’ve been using for years in recipes like double chocolate chip cookies, inside out chocolate chip cookies, chocolate frosted cookies, peppermint mocha cookies, and Andes mint chocolate cookies. I even turned it into chocolate raspberry crinkles and let’s not forget about the epicness that is salted caramel dark chocolate cookies.
Some of you were having trouble with these cookies over-spreading as a result of the sugar coating on top, so I leave out the milk in this dough.
How are these different from Chocolate Crinkle Cookies in Sally’s Cookie Addiction? Glad you asked! The recipes are a little different. The cookbook version uses melted butter in the dough, so the cookies are a little chewier. Both super moist cookies with excellent chocolate flavor. The cookies in the book are a little thicker in the centers and crumblier on the edges. Today’s cookies—again—taste like moist brownies!
How to Make Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
- Mix dry ingredients together. You need all-purpose flour, natural unsweetened cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt.
- Beat wet ingredients together. You need butter, white sugar, brown sugar, egg, and vanilla extract. Room temperature butter and egg will mix more evenly into each other, creating a uniform texture among all the cookies. Additionally, both whip into a greater volume when at room temperature, producing a softer-crumbed cookie.
- Combine all ingredients. And don’t forget to add the chocolate chips! I like to use mini size so there’s more in every bite.
- Chill the cookie dough in the refrigerator. The cookie dough is sticky and unmanageable, so chilling is necessary. Sometimes I chill it overnight, but 3 hours is perfect. Chilled cookie dough is not only easy to handle and roll into balls, it also bakes thicker cookies.
- Roll cookie dough into balls. After chilling, roll the cookie dough into balls, about 1.5 Tablespoons of dough per cookie.
- Coat in confectioners’ sugar. Roll the cookie dough balls into granulated sugar, then a hefty dunk in confectioners’ sugar. Why granulated sugar first? That’s a new trick I discovered! See below. 🙂
- Bake. Bake the cookies for 11-12 minutes. If the cookies aren’t really spreading by minute 9, remove them from the oven and lightly bang the baking sheet on the counter 2-3x. This helps initiate that spread. Return to the oven for a couple more minutes.
They’ll be extra thick, extra crackly, and extra fudgy inside.
Recommendation from a reader: substitute the chocolate chips for peanut butter chips. I honestly can’t preheat my oven fast enough to try these that way!
How to Prevent the Powdered Sugar from Melting
Before today, I only rolled these chocolate crinkle cookies in confectioners’ sugar. This works great for lemon crinkle cookies, however these particular crinkle cookies are extra moist so the confectioners’ sugar always ends up melting a bit and/or turns yellow-ish as a result from melting. Not a problem, but if you want stark white confectioners’ sugar on top, coat the cookie dough balls in a little granulated sugar first. Just a light layer, then go heavy on that confectioners’ sugar topping. I learned this tip from the wonderful chefs at America’s Test Kitchen and it’s the same process we use to coat Nutella crinkle cookies.
It’s also helpful to bake these cookies on dry days. Any humidity in the air will soak into the confectioners’ sugar, slightly melting it. Sometimes you can’t avoid humidity, but if you’re wondering why the sugar melts, it could be the weather. Again, go heavy on that confectioners’ sugar layer.
As the cookies bake, the confectioners’ sugar coating crinkles and cracks as the cookies take their shape. Hence, the cute crinkle name. I love these.
How to Freeze Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
You can freeze chocolate crinkle cookies before or after baking. To freeze the baked cookies, let them cool completely first. Freeze in single layers between sheets of parchment paper for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator or on the counter.
How to freeze chocolate crinkle cookie dough: Chill the cookie dough as directed in the recipe below. After that, roll into balls, and chill the cookie dough balls in the refrigerator for 1 hour. Then place the solid and cold cookie dough balls into a large zipped-top bag. Freeze cookie dough for up to 3 months. When it’s time to bake the cookies, remove them from the freezer and thaw on the counter for at least 30 minutes. Roll into granulated sugar and confectioners’ sugar as instructed in the recipe. Bake as directed.
See more in my How to Freeze Cookie Dough post.
Try these right out of the oven—they’re pure fudge. They will melt in your mouth! Have you tried these before? Let me know!
Double Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
- Prep Time: 3 hours, 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 12 minutes
- Total Time: 3 hours, 35 minutes
- Yield: 20-22 cookies
- Category: Cookies
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
These traditional Christmas cookies are a cut above the rest because they’re as rich and fudgy as brownies. Chilling the cookie dough is important because it helps the flavors to develop, prevents spreading, and makes the otherwise sticky cookie dough easy to handle.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup (8 Tbsp; 113g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup (100g) packed light or dark brown sugar
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup (125g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1/2 cup + 2 Tablespoons (51g) unsweetened natural cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup (180g) mini or regular size semi-sweet chocolate chips
Rolling
- 3 Tablespoons (35g) granulated sugar
- 1 cup (120g) confectioners’ sugar, for rolling
Instructions
- In a large bowl using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar together on medium high speed until fluffy and light in color, about 2-3 minutes. Add the egg and vanilla extract, and then beat on high speed until combined. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed.
- In a separate bowl, whisk the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt together until combined. With the mixer running on low speed, slowly pour into the wet ingredients. Beat on low until combined and then beat in the chocolate chips. The cookie dough will be thick and very sticky. Cover dough tightly and chill in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours and up to 3 days. Chilling is mandatory for this sticky cookie dough.
- Remove cookie dough from the refrigerator and allow to sit at room temperature for 10 minutes. If the cookie dough chilled longer than 3 hours, let it sit at room temperature for about 20 minutes. This makes the chilled cookie dough easier to scoop and roll.
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Line large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. (Always recommended for cookies.) Set aside.
- Scoop and roll dough into balls, about 1.5 Tablespoons of dough each. A medium cookie scoop is helpful here. Roll each ball very lightly in granulated sugar, then generously in the confectioners’ sugar. Place 3 inches apart on the baking sheets.
- Bake the cookies for 11-12 minutes or until the edges appear set and the centers still look soft. Tip: If they aren’t really spreading by minute 9, remove them from the oven and lightly bang the baking sheet on the counter 2-3x. This helps initiate that spread. Return to the oven to continue baking.
- Cool cookies for 5 minutes on the baking sheet, and then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely. The cookies will slightly deflate as they cool.
- Cookies stay fresh covered at room temperature for up to 1 week.
Notes
- Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: Baked cookies freeze well up to 3 months. Unbaked cookie dough balls (that are not coated in confectioners’ sugar) freeze well up to 3 months. See this post on how to freeze cookie dough for more information and a video tutorial.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | Glass Mixing Bowls | Whisk | Baking Sheets | Silicone Baking Mats or Parchment Paper | Medium Cookie Scoop | Cooling Rack
- Can I add peppermint extract? Yes, absolutely! If you want a chocolate peppermint crinkle cookie, I recommend adding 3/4 or 1 teaspoon of peppermint extract when you add the vanilla.
- Larger Batch: The recipe is easy to double in 1 mixing bowl without overwhelming your mixer. Simply double all of the ingredients. Dough chill time remains the same.
- Be sure to check out my top 5 cookie baking tips AND these are my 10 must-have cookie baking tools.
Reader Comments and Reviews
I just made these gluten free..added some capaccino power into the eggs blenedd.. didn’t have enough chocolate chips add half cream cheese chips. Absolutely delicious!
Hi! Can I opt to just use 200 grams of granulated white sugar instead of using 100g of granulated and 100g of brown sugar?
Hi Ely, by doing so, the cookies will spread more and may taste a little dry. Cookies made with some brown sugar don’t spread quite as much. So, I do not recommend it.
I’m not really good at baking, but these cookies are really easy! I just made those and I had to stop myself from eating them out of th oven. 5/5
Hi ! is it still good if you use vegan butter? thanks
We haven’t tested vegan butter in these cookies but let us know if you do!
They’re very delicious, thank you. I prefer to skip powdered sugar on baked goods, but I get that they create the cute crinkle design. They taste exactly like a chewy, chocolaty brownie.
Kids say dark chocolate is too strong. Can I use a diff chocolate for dough
Hi Rose! We usually use semi-sweet chocolate chip in cookies (including these) but you can certainly use milk chocolate.
To make the peppermint variation of this cookies, have you ever tried fresh mint leaves rather than peppermint extract? I’ve seen where some bakers melt the butter and steep mint leaves in it.
We haven’t tested that but would love to hear how it goes if you do!
Question, after watching your video I saw two sticks of butter go in (1 cup) but only 1 egg. So is it 1/2 cup of butter (1 stick) or 1 cup (2 sticks) of butter?
Hi! In the video, the stick of butter is cut in half. You need 1/2 cup of butter for this dough.
These cookies are totally amazing! No need to wait till Christmas. Will be making them again soon.
I made this recipe exactly as written. My cookies are so flat though and the powdered sugar has spread so much too. Is it the temperature? I am using a fan oven and put it on approx 177 Celsius as I can’t really tell with the dial. Tastes very good though. I will try again.
Hi Nix, there are quite a few different factors that can go into flat cookies. For troubleshooting flat cookies you can take a look at 10 Guaranteed Tips to Prevent Cookies from Spreading. Hope this helps!
I made these and my whole family loved them, and I make them a lot and i’m only 12
I made these cookies for Christmas years ago, and ever since, it’s all anyone wants. This recipe has become a family staple all year round. My actual favorite cookie recipe MAKE THEM MAKE THEM
I loved this recipe so much!!! It’s delicious and always works! DELICIOUS.
This was a simple recipe that helped me through many party’s. I love this recipe and so do my guests.
Thanks Sally this chocolate crinkle cookie was great delicious chewy and following recepie came out perfect comparison to lemon ones I baked only two portions following recepie.This time I dipped in both granulated and icing sugars was exactly like your pictures!
These cookies are so great. I make them for my meeting and I made dozens!
they ate them all! I did not use chocolate chips and they were lovely without.
I shall bake these and keep on hand
Thanks Sally
Great cookie! I used a small scoop got 3 dozen and they were a nice size. I added the granulated sugar to confection by mistake and cookies still turned out perfect. I did chill dough overnight and let stand at room temp for 20 minutes.
Made these exactly as written & they came out beautifully! 🙂
I am really excited that you can make these cookies,
I did NOT AT ALL know were to look for these
Thanks! But After baking, the sugar powder of my cookies fell on the baking tray and it is not like your picture.. What should I do??
Hi Meli, is it particularly humid where you live? Humidity can often cause the powdered sugar to get a bit sticking and have a hard time sticking to the cookie. After rolling them in granulated sugar, be sure to go heavy on the powdered sugar to ensure it stays nicely on top. Hope you still enjoyed the cookies!
Hi Sally! Can I use dutch processed cocoa powder?
Im having a hard time finding unsweetened cocoa in our area
Thanks sally!
Hi Jan, since this recipe uses baking soda you want a natural cocoa powder. Switching between the two would take some recipe testing for us to be confident in the amount of baking powder you would need, and the flavor of dutch/alkalized cocoa is different from natural. If you’re interested in more about the differences between the two, you might find this post helpful: Dutch-process Vs Natural Cocoa Powder.
Hi Jan, I actually made my cookies with Dutch processed cocoa powder (I didn’t read these comments before baking). They turned out awesome anyway!
What cocoa powder do you use?
Hi Anna! We love Ghirardelli and Hershey’s brands, but any natural unsweetened cocoa powder will work here.
Loved the recipe, it’s moist and soft, with a bit of crunch outside. Only used 150 g of sugar and it was still way too sweet. Will try with 100g the next time.
My 8 year old was looking for a dessert he can take to his friends superbowl party. He told me to make these. They were amazing! So good I wanted to keep half for us, so I made a batch of chocolate chip cookies for him also…haha. I followed the recipe exactly! Definitely making again!
The recipe calls for one stick of butter but in the video she puts in two sticks of butter?
Hi Sabrina! Those are short sticks (4 Tbs each) – you need 1/2 cup butter for this recipe 🙂
Love the recipe ♥️
Been making them for three years now.. a guaranteed hit every time!
These are amazing! My new favourite cookie – I can’t wait to make them for friends and family.
We made these cookies for Santa this year. It was a new recipe and I was hesitant I could pull it off on Christmas Eve. But my six year old and I nailed it. These cookies have everything I love, double chocolate, double sugar, and they’re soft and chewy… just delicious!! This weekend, we have the bonus kids for Christmas round 2 so we’re making them again! Thank you for this recipe!!
I wanted to share a variation my 10-year-old came up with that turned out to be quite delicious. She pulverized freeze dried strawberries in the food processor until they were a powder. She mixed that with the powdered sugar. She calls them strawberry covered chocolates 😉
Love that idea! Good thinking, junior baker!
Made these for the first time this holiday season and they were a huge hit! This is a new holiday go to.
Five stars!