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
Hi Sally! Love all your recipes. Any suggestions for an egg sub for making this vegan?
Thanks!
Katie
Hello Sally! How are you? I hope all is well. I really love your recipes. I’ve tried this recipe and it taste sooooo good, I just have one question. Do you know why the confectioners sugar turned into yellow instead of white? That is the only problem that I am encountering. Thank you so much in advance.
Hi Krung, Did you follow the tip about rolling the cookies in granulated sugar before confectioners’ sugar? 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.
Hi Sally, thank you for all your delicious recipes! Question: may I add peppermint extract instead of vanilla to the chocolate crinkle cookies? I just love a “thin mint” flovor cookie!
Hi Jaye, We love adding peppermint! I recommend adding 1 teaspoon peppermint extract (not mint extract) in addition to the vanilla. You might also enjoy the recipe for Peppermint Mocha cookies.
Made these last weekend for the first time and they are delicious! The bite of the soft chocolate in the middle is everything. I took them over to my son and daughter in law and they loved them as well. I’m sure I’ll be making them again. Today I made the peanut butter fudge, so easy. They are in the fridge, haven’t tried them yet. Love your recipes Sally! You are always my go to!
I can’t believe how easy and delicious these were! I’ve spent the pandemic teaching myself to bake and I love baking big batches and sharing. We even used them for ice cream sandwiches, and they were amazing!
I’m a new baker and these were really great! Just wish I made them a bit bigger lol
Hi! What temp would I bake them at in a convection oven?
Hi Alex! If you use a convection oven to bake, lower your temperature by 25 degrees F and keep in mind that things may still take less time to bake.
Hi Sally! Is it ok if I lessen the sugar in the recipe? Will the cookies come out the same? thanks so much!
Btw, I super love your blog and recipes they were all consistent and I trust all your recipes!
Hi Christine! Reducing the sugar will impact the taste, texture, and structure of the cookies. Without testing ourselves, we can’t guarantee results. You are welcome to try reducing it, but know that the results may be a bit different than if you made it as written. Let us know what you try!
Hi Hilary! The recipe with less sugar was great. However, after its baked. the confectioner sugar coating outside turned yellowish instead of white… do you know why?
Hello there!!!
Can I substitute granulated monk fruit for the white sugar?
It’s not a keto thing, at least not yet, I am completely out of granulated white sugar.
Hi Anna! We’d love to help but we are not trained in baking with sugar substitutes. For best taste and texture (and so you don’t waste your time trying to adapt this recipe since it may not work properly), it may be more useful to find a recipe that is specifically formulated for monk fruit if you’re out of white sugar. Thank you!
Hi, what substitute can I use for the eggs?
Hi Jamie, we haven’t tested any egg substitutes with this recipe. Let us know if you do!
Made a batch of these and they didn’t last a week! I highly recommend making a double batch.
Can I substitute the butter with butter flavored Crisco? If so, would it still be 1/2 cup?
Hi Kate, we haven’t tested it to be certain but I can’t see why a 1:1 swap wouldn’t work. Let us know if you try it.
Yes the butter flavored crisco worked!! The dough was pretty crumbly though. I might add a splash of milk next time.
Just wanted to say these cookies are AMAZING!!! I HIGHLY recommend! I warn you however it may get messy. ( or am I just the messy one ) Great choice for the Holidays!!! Thanks SALLY!!!
Hello,
I’m in Europe and the cocoa powder that I can find is the Dutch-pressed kind. Would I be able to still use this recipe with that?
Thanks!
Hi Nina! 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.
Question: do you slightly flatten the cookie before baking? I’m getting ready to make tomorrow. There’s a bakery that sells these for $12.00 for a dozen!!! Can’t wait to taste.
Hi Doris! No, there’s no need to slightly flatten before baking. Hope you love them!
Making my 3rd batch of these tasty and moist cookies tonight. They are easy to make and so delicious that my family hasn’t grown tired of this cookie recipe. Definitely a keeper in my cookie recipe file. This time I will add a handful of mini chocolate chips to my batter and make my own powdered sugar for the recipe.
I made them using wooden spoon to mix all the ingredients. For rolling – only icing sugar, but I baked cookies on 150⁰ for about 15 min, so sugar didn’t turn yellow. For me-perfect! Thank you for the recipe.
Made these today, April 7, for my grandsons 26th birthday. He is going to love these cookies as much as I do. Soft and crunchy and so chocolatley. I doubled the recipe and made 64 cookies. Rolling in granulated sugar before confectionery sugar sure did the trick. I made the dough up yesterday afternoon and kept in fridge until ready to use. You really do need to let it sit out at room temp for at least 15 minutes before rolling. Baked for 14 minutes, as at 12 they were still too soft. Thanks for sharing. This will be placed in my go to cookie file.
Hi sally. I’m a big fan of your recipes. You think I can reduce the amount of sugar? I really want to give these to my boys but with a little less sugar. Thank you.
Hi Kittin! The brown sugar keeps the cookies moist and soft in the centers. Granulated sugar encourages cookies to spread. For best results, we recommend following the recipe as written.
This was such an easy recipe to make, thank you for sharing. They were delicious and special! Adults and kids enjoyed them so much I been asked to make again and I definitely will!
Dear Sally,
I can’t wait to make these ones. I keep running into a problem, the dough gets so stuck to my hand mixer that it just clumps around it and ends up not fully mixing well. Even when I try to cream butter and sugar with it. Is it just my hand mixer? I’ve made several of your recipes and I always get so close but run into a problem. I’ll get it perfect one of these times.
Hi Roxanne! Sounds like a mixer issue, does mixing for longer help? Do the cookies turn out ok? Cookie doughs can be especially tough on hand mixers because they’re so thick.
Once it starts to stick to the beaters it only gets more stuck the more they spin, so I’ll just scrape it off and mix it by hand with a spatula and try to work it together. The cookies seem to come out okay most of the time. Sometimes they take 5 minutes longer than the max time but I’m sure that typical. Thank you for responding!
I so love how it turned out! Chewy and moist!
Hi! Your recipes are my Go-To recipes 🙂 they’re just the right amount of sweetness. For this recipe, it was DELICIOUS although I burnt the bottom part. I cooked it for around 25 min I guess coz after the 12 min time, it looked uncooked. But that was on me 🙂 It still turned out yummy and my family actually loved the burnt part (it was not charcoal burnt LOL). I did try with 2 tbsp milk coz the batter was a bit stiff and so it was hard to mix the flour. I also used salted butter and just omitted the salt in the batter. Oh, and I added Oreo Cookies but they ended up getting mixed into the dough so you couldn’t really tell where the cookies have gone hahah. I’m going to try and add the Oreo cookies before rolling them onto the powdered sugar. But THIS RECIPE IS AMAZING <3 I love crinkles and this is so chocolatey and yummy. Thank you for this!
Thank you so much for this recipe! My old school had these before I moved away and I missed them so much. But after making these it felt like I was in 7th grade again :’)
I tried making these but they turned out a bit bitter, could it be too much baking soda? Should I try use less or do you have any tips to prevent this? Also what is the acidic ingredient that the baking soda reacts with? Given all the amazing comments, I am definitely keen to try them again
Hi Sonja, are you using natural cocoa powder? That is the acidic ingredient. If you are using dutched cocoa, the baking soda will leave a bitter taste since it’s not activating properly.
Thank you so much. We don’t differentiate between dutched and natural cocoa powder in the UK, but I just googled and checked the ingredients and it seems mine is treated with an alkaline, so it would be considered dutched! That makes so much sense! Always great to learn something new .
Excellent recipe… thanks for the recipe
These are really good! They’re still great a few days after too!
I made these cookies 4 times in the last four weeks! I am obsessed. I did not roll them in sugar, just enjoyed them as double chocolate cookies and holy cow, they’re the best cookies I’ve ever had. Thank you Sally!
Can I add red food colouring and substitute white chocolate chips for Valentine’s Day red velvet crinkle cookies?
Hi Liam, you can tint these cookies red if desired but we recommend you use our Red Velvet Kiss Cookies and roll them in powdered sugar instead of granulated (you can leave off the kiss). Would love to hear how they go!
Exceptional recipe. They were devoured and I have two requests for porch drop offs. I used 300g of semi-sweet chocolate chips and dairy-free butter and they turned out beautifully! Thank you so much!