Richly fudgy chocolate crinkle cookies, studded with mini chocolate chips (for extra chocolate flavor), and rolled in powdered sugar! These are a classic holiday (or anytime) favorite!
A Holiday Staple
My absolute favorite thing about the upcoming holiday season is all of the cookie baking that’s coming up in the very near future. While I definitely like to experiment with new and different flavors each year, my heart really belongs to the classics.
Chocolate chip cookies, oatmeal cookies, sugar cookies… my favorites are the tried and true. Each year these familiar, well-loved cookies make their way through my oven and out of my kitchen, as does a batch or two (or three…) of chocolate crinkle cookies.
Chocolate crinkle cookies are a holiday staple (though they are wonderful any time of year, of course), with their snowy powdered sugar surfaces and their decadent interiors. They’re indulgent little treats that are actually really simple to make. The hardest part is waiting for the dough to chill (and the dough does need to chill for at least 4 hours, so that is a little painful!).
Tips For Perfect Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
Because I’m something of a chocolate addict (I could eat a slice of chocolate cake every day, twice a day, and never get tired of it), I made a few small changes to this classic chocolate crinkle cookie recipe in order to get the best possible flavor and maximum dose of chocolate.
First, I added a heaping portion of miniature chocolate chips into the batter. While the extra chocolate is optional, it adds an extra dose of richness to these chocolate crinkle cookies.
Then, I used a combination of white sugar and brown sugar instead of solely white sugar. Adding the brown sugar (light brown or dark brown will work) adds a little more moisture to the dough and gives our chocolate crinkle cookies a nice chewy interior. They nearly melt in your mouth with each bite.
Chill, Roll, Bake
As I mentioned above, the cookie dough will need to chill for several hours before it can be baked. This keeps the cookies from spreading and allows the dough to firm up so that it doesn’t stick to your hands (it will still be a bit sticky when you go to roll it, but should be easily manageable).
Don’t be shy when it comes to rolling them in the powdered sugar, either. Make sure each cookie is well coated before baking (there’s no such thing as too much sugar, right?).
More Cookies You’ll Love
- Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies – The BEST Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Mexican Wedding Cookies
- Peanut Butter Cornflake Cookies (no bake) – Easy!
- Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Oatmeal Raisin Cookies – Classic Cookie Recipe
Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
Equipment
Ingredients
- 12 tablespoons unsalted butter softened
- 1 ½ cups sugar
- ½ cup brown sugar light or dark, tightly packed
- 4 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup natural cocoa powder
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup mini chocolate chips
- 2 cups powdered sugar for rolling
Instructions
- Combine butter and sugar in a large bowl and use an electric mixer to beat until light and fluffy.
- Add eggs, one at a time, stirring until completely combined.
- Stir in vanilla extract.
- In a separate, medium-sized bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt.
- Gradually add dry ingredients to wet until completely combined.
- Stir in mini chocolate chips.
- Cover bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight.
- After chilling, preheat oven to 350°F.
- Roll dough into 1 ½ tablespoon-sized balls with your hands and roll thoroughly in powdered sugar.
- Transfer to baking sheet and bake on 350°F for 12 minutes.
- Allow cookies to cool completely on baking sheet before enjoying.
Notes
- Be sure not to use expired baking powder.
- For easy cleanup, use parchment paper. It can be used up to 5 times before discarding.
- The dough must be chilled for several hours. This prevents it from sticking to your hands and will keep cookies from spreading too much.
- For the best rise, chill the baking sheet as well as the dough.
- The serving size is 1 cookie.
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Cookies, Dessert
Cuisine American© SpendWithPennies.com. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited. Please view my photo use policy here.
Like our recipes?
Follow us on Pinterest!
More Recipes You’ll Love:
Chocolate Hazelnut Thumbprint Cookies
I’m not the best baker but when I make these people will eat it like it’s the best sweet they ever had. They’re the best after it’s fully cooled down and the chocolate hardens a little bit so it’s more fudgey than it is runny. Then if you want, microwave it for like 15sec and serve with a dollop of vanilla ice cream and fudge drizzle.
A few pointers. I add the ingredients differently than how they say to do it. But honestly I think as long as you mix the baking powder in before its wet and doughy it’ll have an easier time of cooking evenly. Also it says chill for 4 hours but go ahead and make that overnight. I feel like the dough is more firm and fudgier when it cooks.
Let it cool in the pan a couple minutes and if you have a cooling rack go ahead and transfer it.
Thank you for the tips Stephen! I am so glad you enjoyed these cookies!
When do you add the brown sugar ???
The brown sugar gets added in step 1!
Omg so chocolatey and amazing! I put in the whole bag of mini choc chips
So happy you loved this recipe, Laura!