These homemade chocolate crinkle cookies are rich, dark, fudgy, and impossible to resist! The recipe is perfect for any Christmas or holiday cookie tray.
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Cookies that taste like brownies
If you’ve never tried chocolate crinkle cookies, you are in for a treat.
These classic holiday cookies taste like fudge brownies in the shape of a cookie, with a delightfully soft texture and rich chocolate flavor.
Roll the unbaked cookie dough balls in powdered sugar, then bake in the oven and watch as a beautiful crinkled pattern magically appears.
This is the best chocolate crinkle cookie recipe you will find. Hot from the oven, they are equally fancy and delicious!
Also make these Healthy Chocolate Chip Cookies
Chocolate crinkle cookie flavors
Peppermint: Add a fourth teaspoon of pure peppermint extract along with the vanilla extract. Top the finished cookies with crushed peppermint candies or candy canes.
Cinnamon Sugar: Instead of coating the crinkle cookies in powdered sugar, roll them in half a cup of sugar mixed with two tablespoons of ground cinnamon.
Red Velvet: For red velvet crinkle cookies, add half a teaspoon red food coloring with the liquid ingredients. Use only a fourth teaspoon for pink velvet. Or for a healthy alternative to food coloring, add freeze dried strawberry powder or swap out the milk with an equal amount of beet juice.
Mocha: Add half a teaspoon of instant coffee granules with the dry ingredients. Or substitute four tablespoons of brewed espresso for the milk.
Vanilla Bean: Omit the vanilla extract in the recipe below. Instead, add the seeds from one vanilla bean or a teaspoon of vanilla bean paste.
Double Chocolate Chip: Stir half a cup of mini chocolate chips (dark, semi sweet, white, or milk chocolate) in with the dry ingredients.
Chocolate Orange: Add the zest of one orange and a tablespoon of orange juice. Use a small egg or decrease the milk of choice to three tablespoons.
Caramel: After rolling the crinkle cookie dough into balls, press a caramel or a piece of chopped date into the center of each cookie.
Rainbow: Add a fourth teaspoon of pure almond extract to the liquid ingredients. After baking, roll each cookie in rainbow sprinkles.
Here is a lemon version: Lemon Pixie Cookies
Easy chocolate crinkle cookie ingredients
The recipe calls for flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking soda, salt, salted butter or a plant based alternative, milk of choice, optional egg, pure vanilla extract, and powdered sugar for coating.
Look for regular unsweetened cocoa powder, not Dutch cocoa. If possible, go for a high quality cocoa powder for the best tasting cookies.
Spelt flour, oat flour, and all purpose white flour are all great options. There is also a flourless keto crinkle cookie option included in the recipe box below.
I do not recommend substituting whole wheat flour, almond flour, or coconut flour.
The cookies can be sweetened with either traditional granulated sugar or unrefined coconut sugar for a healthy option.
The recipe has not been tested with pure maple syrup or honey swapped for sugar.
To make dairy free and vegan chocolate crinkle cookies, use a salted vegan butter and the option for extra milk of choice instead of eggs. Any plant based milk should work.
Unlike many other crinkle cookie recipes, this one requires no cake mix, and the results are so much better. Homemade is always better.
Holiday cookie recipe video
Above, watch the step by step crinkle cookie recipe video
Chocolate crinkles, also often called chocolate pixie cookies, are one of my all time favorite Christmas cookies.
The recipe below is adapted from my grandmother’s traditional recipe. I hope your family loves them as much as we do!
How to make chocolate crinkle cookies
Gather all of your cookie ingredients, as well as a baking sheet.
In a large mixing bowl or a stand mixer, combine the flour, cocoa, baking soda, salt, and sugar. Stir very well, making sure to break up any large clumps.
Add the liquid ingredients to the bowl or stand mixer. Use the beaters or a spoon to mix and form a cookie dough.
For baked cookies with the softest fluffy, chewy, and fudgy texture, it is recommended to cover the bowl tightly and freeze until chilled or refrigerate overnight. If you are in a hurry, you can technically skip this step.
Once cold, roll the dough into balls with a cookie scoop or clean hands.
Preheat the oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit, and add the powdered sugar to a bowl.
Cover the crinkle cookie dough balls generously in the powdered sugar, then place the balls on the cookie baking tray.
Bake on the oven’s center rack for twelve minutes.
The cookies should look underdone when you remove them from the oven. This is what you want, because they will firm up considerably as they cool.
Let them cool on the baking sheet for at least ten minutes before handling.
Storing chocolate crinkle cookies
Once firm, move the crinkle cookies to a cooling rack or serving tray.
Or eat them straight from the baking sheet!
Store leftovers in an airtight container for up to five days on the counter. Alternatively, freeze cookies in a covered container for about two or three months.
For soft chocolate crinkle cookies, store in a plastic container. For chewy cookies with more of a crispy texture, store leftovers in a glass container.
Baking tips and tricks for best results
When making the chocolate cookies for the first time, be sure to follow the ingredients and instructions without any substitutions or cutting back on any ingredients.
This way, you will know how the recipe is supposed to turn out. Then you can have fun experimenting to see how swapping out a different flour or sugar, or making other modifications, may change the results.
To achieve the classic crinkle look, it is important to roll the cookie dough balls in powdered sugar before baking, not after.
Do not open the oven even a crack while the cookies are baking. And allow cookies to cool on the tray before handling, because they firm up as they cool.
These festive holiday chocolate crinkle cookies need no refrigeration and are perfect for Christmas cookie exchanges or packaging up as gifts to friends and family.
They are also a delightful Thanksgiving or Valentine’s Day dessert.
Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup flour (For low carb, try these Keto Chocolate Cookies)
- 6 tbsp cocoa powder
- 1/2 cup sugar or coconut sugar
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup salted butter or vegan butter, melted
- 1 egg or 4 tbsp milk of choice
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup chocolate chips (optional)
- powdered sugar or sugar free alternative
Instructions
- *If preferred, the dough can be made in advance, rolled into balls, and frozen for any time you need a quick dessert.To make chocolate crinkle cookies, combine dry ingredients except powdered sugar in a mixing bowl or stand mixer. Stir in wet ingredients to form a dough. Cover and freeze the dough until chilled, or refrigerate overnight. Preheat the oven to 300 F. Roll the chilled dough into balls, then cover in powdered sugar. Place on a baking sheet and bake 12 minutes. The chocolate cookies should look underdone when you take them out of the oven. Allow to cool fully before handling. They firm up during this time. Store leftovers in a covered container for up to five days.View Nutrition Facts
Video
Notes
More Holiday Cookie Ideas
I love the apron! And the cookies look great too.
Dreams? I hardly EVER remember them. And when I do they’re always weird.
I just made these and they are soooo good! This will definitely be my go-to chocolate cookie recipe from now on. I love that they take so little time/effort to make! I can’t wait to try a batch with a little bit of peppermint extract, another batch with some chopped nuts, maybe even peanut butter!
Yummy! Can’t wait to try these- I am so glad to have found you and your delish desserts- your pumpkin pizookie was a HUGE hit at Thanksgiving!
Also, for curls- try foam rollers… $10 at any store, you can put them in at night and in the morning- voila! My hair NEVER holds curl and I did this last weekend for a Christmas party- the curl lasted 3 days!
I think several people have mentioned curl options- if you try any of them, please post pics of your adorable self!
Dear Katie, this recipe sounds awesome, definitely going to try it. However, I am interested in your general opinion on coconut oil. I am somewhat critical about it for several reasons and the supposed health benefits. Coconut oil is extremely high in calories and consists of highly saturated fats. The amount of medium chain fatty acids (which seem to be healthier that longer ones) is quite low. Also, coconut oil has some environmental disadvantages, like long transport and rain forest plantation.
I am not an expert, so I am curious about your thoughts.
Thanks for the recipe and your great blog 🙂
Hi Lisa,
I am by no means an expert either ;).
But I do know that the saturated fat in coconut acts differently from the saturated fat found in animal products. If you’re interested, there’s a TON of research online if you google “health coconut” or another search term like that.
No, I don’t think it’s a wonder food or anything… like anything else, I just think it’s fine in moderation.
thanks for your fast and sweet reply. i totally agree on anything is fine in moderation 🙂 fyi: I subbed the coconut oil with vegan butter and the cookied turned out great. I think subbing them with a solid fat works better than with a liquid one…
Thank you so much for writing this blog!! You save my life constantly. I tried making these cookies..they were very delicious but mega crumbly..like grainy.
Any suggestions? I used GF all-purpose and some oat flour.
Sorry, I’ve never tried these with a gf blend. I don’t know much about gf baking, but I know that unless you use something like xantham gum, it can often be crumbly.
These look awesome! I was looking for a hot chocolate cookie recipe and I think this is the winner! I’d love to make this for my potluck this week – about how many cookies does this recipe yield?
Hmmm… I guess it depends on how big you roll them. I actually forgot to count how many I got… and I also ate some of the raw dough. I’ll have to make them again and count this time!
I just made a batch! It didn’t yield much – about 16 balls (that I dropped into a mini-muffin tin, so approximately that size). They were so very easy to make! I was intimidated by the dates – I had never tried one before tonight and thought it would be a huge hassle, but now I LOVE THEM! I’m so glad I found your blog. 🙂
Hi Katie!
Just got back from a trip to Whole Foods and I cannot WAIT to start making some of these recipes!
I actually stumbled onto your blog while (not) studying for finals and for the last TWO WEEKS nearly every minute of my very limited free time has been spent looking through your posts! I absolutely admire your ingenuity!! ^_^
Btw, as for the perm, have you ever considered getting it done at an Asian hair salon? I usually get all my hair treatments done in Asia (since it’s way cheaper) but most Taiwanese or Korean salons here use similar solutions that yield pretty awesome results!
And I usually don’t get enough sleep to remember any of my dreams the next morning…. 🙁 Lucid dreams don’t count lol
I hadn’t thought about that! Thanks for the tip!
I used to love getting haircuts when I lived in China… they always massaged your head for like ten minutes. 🙂
Just made these and they were delicious. Next time (there will be a next time) I make them, I will add 4T instead of 3 of the oil as mine were a tad dry. Or perhaps an extra date or two will do the trick.
I had this same result! I’m thinking one more date is the solution. I used organic medjool dates which are pretty big, but using only 2 felt weird to me.
Hope you mastered the recipe!
Hi Sarah and anon!
I’m so sorry the cookies were too dry for your tastes… maybe it has to do with the dates you use? I use Sunmaid, which are SUPER-sticky and moist, unlike some of the harder varieties you find in health food stores. But now that you’ve pointed it out, I’m afraid a lot of readers will probably be using the drier dates. I’m editing my recipe to hopefully fix this problem! Thanks for the feedback!
How many cookies does this make?
Hi Katie,
What else can you use besides coconut oil and almond milk? I just found out I am allergic.