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Chocolate Crinkle Cookies are soft brownie-like cookies, chewy, moist, and fudgy; delicious! This recipe makes about 4 dozen cookies. Perfect for sharing on a holiday cookie tray.
Chocolate Crinkle Cookie dough is so easy to throw together. You just combine the ingredients and refrigerate the dough until it can be handled. They can be a bit of a pain to roll into balls because the dough is quite sticky. Here are a few hints to make it a little easier.
Sticky Dough
This is definitely a sticky dough. Here are some tips that may make it a little easier:
– Chill the dough for a minimum of 4 hours, overnight is best. The dough can be refrigerated for up to 2 days before baking. Or place in the freezer for 45 minutes to 1 hour if you are in a hurry. The more chilled/cold the dough is, the easier it is to roll in balls.
– Use a small cookie scoop to make uniform-sized balls.
– If the dough is too sticky you can drop the scoops of dough directly into the powdered sugar and then roll them into balls. Fully coat the dough ball in powdered sugar.
– Re-cover and place the dough back into the refrigerator between batches.
– Do a test run with a small number of cookies on the sheet, to begin with. This will help you get the time accurate and if the Crinkle Cookies spread too much during baking put the next tray of uncooked balls in the freezer for 10 minutes before baking them. The cold will help keep them from spreading.
Recipe Variations
I almost always make these cookies double chocolate by adding chocolate chips. Here are some other fun additions that you may enjoy:
– Add a cup of chocolate or white chips to the dough. Or add a Hershey’s kiss immediately upon removing them from the oven.
– Make these extra dark and chocolaty by using Dutch dark cocoa powder instead of regular cocoa powder.
– Add a cup of chopped fruit or nuts. Dried cherries, cranberries, walnuts, pecans, etc.
– Swap 1 teaspoon of the vanilla for peppermint extract, and add some crushed candy canes to the powdered sugar.
– Swap 1/2 teaspoon of the vanilla for orange extract.
– Add 2 Tablespoons of instant espresso for a hint of coffee flavor.
For best results line the cookie sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. A greased cookie sheet will work but can cause the cookies to spread. Allow cookies to cool on the pan for one to two minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to continue cooling. Don’t let them cool on a plate because they will stick to it.
Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to one week. To freeze, wrap cookies airtight and freeze for up to 3 months.
Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 cups white sugar
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 4 large eggs
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ cup confectioners sugar (powdered) or more as needed for rolling
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, mix together cocoa, white sugar, and vegetable oil. Beat in eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla. Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt; stir into the cocoa mixture. Cover dough, and chill for at least 4 hours.
- Preheat oven to 350°. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper or use a Silpat mat. Roll dough into one-inch balls. Roll each ball in confectioners' sugar and place them on prepared cookie sheets.
- Bake in preheated oven for 10 to 12 minutes. Allow cookies to cool on the cookie sheet for about one minute before transferring them to wire racks to finish cooling.
