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Chocolate Crinkle Cookies

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Chocolate crinkle cookie feature a crisp cookie exterior with a fudgy chocolate interior. They are a classic Christmas cookie, but they are great throughout the year.

Stack of chocolate crinkles cookies with bits of the chocolate interior showing through the crackled powdered sugar exterior.

If you are looking for a fun chocolate cookie that makes an impression, you are in the right place. This crinkle cookie gives you looks, texture, and flavor all at once.

Chocolate crinkle cookies have a real presence to them. The crackled powdered sugar exterior gives way to a dark chocolaty interior. 

It gives them a certain drama without a lot of effort.  They are a quick way to satisfy your sweet tooth!

Hand holding chocolate crinkle cookie showing the top of the cookie with the cracked surface.

 If you know me at all you know I don’t have a sweet tooth, I have a whole mouth full of them! I have always been drawn to cakes, cookies, and of course FROSTING!

 As much as I like to sample sweets, I also like to bake and give. Food is definitely my love language. It is how I show I care and a great stress reliever for me.

Cookies are a great bake and give item. They travel well, store well and they are delicious too.

These crinkle cookies are no exception to that rule. They are perfect for Christmas cookie trays and the office breakroom alike.

Making Crinkle Cookies

Crinkle cookies do have a couple more steps than you traditional drop cookie. But the pretty exterior and texture is worth the effort.

The dough itself is super easy to mix up. It is made with half softened butter and half oil, so it is nice and soft.

It is almost like a thick brownie batter. Which makes the cookies delicious and it means Little Dude is happy to help lick the beaters.

Of course, I shouldn’t promote that to you because of the raw eggs and flour. But if you are into that sort of thing, you can sneak a taste if you want!

You can go ahead and bake the cookies right away if you would like. The cookies will bake up great without chilling the dough.

However, the soft dough is a tiny bit more of a challenge to work with. So if you are struggling, pop the bowl in the fridge for a half hour or so and try again.

The key to getting the crunchy exterior and soft interior is rolling them in both granulated sugar and powdered sugar. The granulated sugar dries the very exterior layer of the cookie a bit giving it that crunch as you bite through it.

It is very similar to how it works with classic peanut butter cookies. Then of course, you roll them in powdered sugar to get the striking crinkle effect.

You can skip the granulated sugar step if you want. It will result in a softer cookie, but it will still have a great cracked surface.

The first time we made these cookies, Little Dude was so surprised to see that crackled exterior. It is kind of like a little bit of baking magic.

Freshly baked chocolate crinkle cookies cooling on wire rack.

For fun flavor twists, you can easily change up the extracts you use in these cookies. Use a teaspoon of orange extract for fun chocolate orange cookies.

Peppermint chocolate crinkles would be delicious as well. Start with about a half teaspoon of peppermint extract and taste the dough to see if you want more.

stack of chocolate crinkle cookies tied up with bakers twine.

Tips and Tricks for Storing Cookies

To keep your cookies soft, place a piece of white bread in the container with them. The cookies will absorb some of the moisture from the bread and it will take them longer to get hard.

These cookies can be frozen in an airtight container for up to three months.  Just bring them to room temperature and serve when you are ready.

Chocolate crinkle cookie broken in half showing soft interior and crackled exterior in front of stack of cookies.

Alternatively, you can freeze balls of dough to bake later.  Roll them into balls and coat them in sugar. Place on a cookie sheet and freeze for several hours, then transfer them to a freezer bag.

When you are ready, you can pull the balls of dough from the freezer and bake them on a cookie sheet. They may take an extra minute to bake, but otherwise the baking instructions remain the same. 

We are big fans of all kinds of cookies at our house.   Monster cookies have always been a favorite along with chocolate chip cookies, sour cream cookies, kolacky, and most recently chewy maple cinnamon cookies.  But now I am curious, what are your favorite kinds of cookies?

Love this recipe? Give it a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ review in the recipe card below!

Stack of chocolate crinkles cookies with bits of the chocolate interior showing through the crackled powdered sugar exterior.

Chocolate Crinkle Cookies

Carlee
Chocolate crinkles have a crisp chocolate cookie exterior with a fudgy brownie-like center. The crackled powdered sugar look makes them look great too. They are perfect for Christmas, or any day.
5 from 9 ratings
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 39 minutes
Total Time 54 minutes
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Servings 36 Cookies
Calories 119 kcal

Ingredients
 

  • 2 cups all purpose flour
  • ¾ cup cocoa powder
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ¼ cup unsalted butter softened
  • ¼ cup vegetable oil
  • cups granulated sugar
  • ½ cup light brown sugar packed
  • 3 large eggs
  • 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • powdered sugar and additional granulated sugar for rolling

Instructions
 

  • Preheat your oven to 350°F and line cookie sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats.
  • In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
    2 cups all purpose flour, ¾ cup cocoa powder, 2 teaspoons baking powder, ½ teaspoon salt
  • In your mixer (or a large mixing bowl) beat butter until smooth. Add oil, sugar and brown sugar and cream until light and fluffy.
    ¼ cup unsalted butter, ¼ cup vegetable oil, 1½ cups granulated sugar, ½ cup light brown sugar
  • Beat in eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla.
    3 large eggs, 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • Add the flour mixture and stir until just combined.
  • Roll a Tablespoon of dough at a time into a ball. Then roll in granulated sugar and powdered sugar.*
  • Place cookie dough balls about 2 inches apart on prepared cookie sheets and bake for 12-13 minutes or until crackled.
  • Cool for 5 minutes on the cookie sheet and then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.
  • Store extras in an airtight container at room temperature or freeze for longer storage.

Notes

*If you find the dough hard to work with, you can put it in the refrigerator for a 20 minutes or so to firm it up a bit.
Feel free to experiment with the extracts. A mix of almond and vanilla extracts would be great. Or try using orange or peppermint for an even bolder flavor.
This recipe is adapted from The Easy Homemade Cookie Cookbook

Nutrition

Serving: 1ServingCalories: 119kcalCarbohydrates: 21gProtein: 2gFat: 3gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 19mgSodium: 76mgFiber: 1gSugar: 14g
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Recipe Rating




Amy

Tuesday 26th of November 2019

These chocolate crinkle cookies look so fun!!! And I'm sure that they are delicious.

Andrea Nine

Friday 22nd of November 2019

You are exactly right, they do have a real presence about them and I think we look so beautiful on the Christmas trays.. Have a wonderful weekend!

Carlee

Saturday 23rd of November 2019

Thank you!