🍫🍪😍 These Chocolate Crinkle Cookies are slightly chewy around the edges with a very fudgy interior and perfectly crinkly seams!
Classic Chocolate Crinkle Cookie Recipe
A holiday staple, chocolate crinkle cookies are usually associated with Christmas and Christmas cookies. But my chocolate cravings don’t pay attention to seasons. These chocolate crinkles are perfect any time of year, and they’re so easy to make. It’s a one-bowl, no-mixer recipe, and you don’t even need a stick of butter. That’s right, cookies without butter!
One-quarter cup of oil for the entire batch keeps the cookies super soft and moist. They’re slightly chewy around the edges with a very fudgy interior, and you just want to break them apart at the crinkly seams and start nibbling.
I find that chocolate cookies dry out easily, and often that’s because of the drying effects of cocoa powder, but these cookies rely solely on melted chocolate. Plan ahead, chill your dough, and you’ll be so glad you made ‘Christmas cookies’ this time of year. My family went nuts over these brownie-like cookies.
Looking for more Christmas cookies?
Add my soft frosted holiday sprinkles cookies, soft and chewy M&M chocolate chip cookies, and peanut butter blossoms to your baking list, too!
Ingredients in Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
To make these chocolate crinkles, you’ll need:
- Unsweetened chocolate – Use any kind you like best. Just make sure it’s actual chocolate and not cocoa powder
- Granulated sugar (white sugar)
- Vegetable oil
- Vanilla extract
- Eggs
- Instant espresso granules – You can omit these, but I recommend adding them in if you have some on hand. The instant espresso just enhances the chocolate flavor; it doesn’t make these chocolate crinkles taste at all like coffee
- All-purpose flour
- Baking powder
- Salt
- Confectioners’ sugar (powdered sugar)
Note: Scroll down to the recipe card section of the post for the ingredients with amounts included and for more complete directions.
How to Make the Best Chocolate Crinkle Cookies Recipe
This is a quick and easy recipe for cocoa crinkle cookies that anyone can follow. Just be sure to allow time for the dough to chill (you can NOT skip this step!).
- In a medium bowl, stir the wet ingredients. You can do this by hand without the need to dirty a hand mixer!
- Then, whisk in the eggs and espresso granules. Stir in the dry ingredients.
- Cover with plastic wrap and chill for at least 4 hours.
- Once the dough has chilled, use a small cookie scoop to portion the dough into roughly 1-inch balls. Dredge the cookie dough balls in confectioners’ sugar, then place on a baking tray in a single layer.
- Bake the chocolate crinkles until the edges have set and the tops are just set, even if slightly undercooked and soft-looking in the center. Cool on the sheet pan, no need to use a wire rack!
Recipe FAQs
Between the softening effects of the oil and the melted chocolate, this is a seriously moist dough. You must, no exceptions, chill the dough for at least 4 hours before baking but overnight is better. The dough is more like brownie batter than cookie dough and baking with unchilled dough absolutely will not work.
Note that these chocolate crinkles will keep fresh in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week or in the freezer for up to 6 months.
Alternatively, unbaked cookie dough can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days, or in the freezer for up to 4 months, so consider baking only as many cookies as desired and save the remaining dough to be baked in the future when desired. Bake frozen cookies as usual, adding a few minutes to the baking time as needed. No need to thaw first!
No. For many of my cookie recipes, you can add extra mix-ins like chocolate chips or chopped nuts. However, I don’t recommend adding anything to these chocolate crinkle cookies, as I can’t guarantee you’ll get the same crinkle effect if you add mix-ins.
I find that many chocolate crinkle recipes turn out too dry for my liking because they use cocoa powder to achieve the rich chocolate flavor. My recipe uses melted unsweetened chocolate to infuse the cookie dough with chocolate flavor without drying it out.
If your cookies are dry, you likely measured out too much flour or baked them for too long. (And if you’re sure it was neither of those things, but a thermometer for your oven to make sure it’s running at the correct temperature!)
Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
Equipment
- 1 Large, Microwave-Safe Bowl
- 1 2 Tablespoon Cookie Scoop
Ingredients
- 2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup vegetable or canola oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs
- ½ teaspoon instant espresso granules, optional
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- about 1 cup confectioners’ sugar, for dredging
Instructions
- To a large microwave-safe bowl, add the chocolate and heat on high power to melt, about 1 minute. Stop to check and stir. Heat in 10-second increments until chocolate can be stirred smooth. Set aside to cool, about 10 to 15 minutes.
- Add the granulated sugar, oil, vanilla, and whisk to combine.
- Add the eggs, optional espresso granules (enhances the chocolate flavor), and whisk to combine.
- Add the flour, baking powder, salt, and stir until just combined; don’t overmix.
- Cover bowl with plasticwrap and place in the fridge to chill for at least 4 hours, overnight is better. The dough is more like brownie batter than cookie dough and baking with unchilled dough absolutely will not work.
- After dough has chilled, preheat oven to 350F, line a baking sheet with a Silpat or spray with cooking spray.
- Using a 2-tablespoon cookie scoop or your hands, form approximately 15 equal-sized mounds of dough; don’t flatten.
- Add confectioners’ sugar to a small bowl and dredge mounds very well thorough sugar before placing on baking sheet, spaced at least 2 inches apart (I bake 8 cookies per sheet).
- Bake for about 10 minutes (for very soft cookies, longer for more well-done cookies), or until edges have set and tops are just set, even if slightly undercooked and soft-looking in the center; don’t overbake. Cookies firm up as they cool.
- Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for about 10 minutes before serving. I let them cool on the baking sheet and don’t use a rack.
Notes
- Cookies will keep airtight at room temperature for up to 1 week or in the freezer for up to 6 months.
- Alternatively, unbaked cookie dough can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days, or in the freezer for up to 4 months, so consider baking only as many cookies as desired and save the remaining dough to be baked in the future when desired.
- Recipe adapted from Betty Crocker.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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great
great
I would def welcome these year round! Love that these are so chewy and fudgy!
Those look lovely. Remind me of the end of winter when you can see the earth around the snow. I will try this recipe!
Wait, chocolate crinkles have a season?? Really???? I’m not supposed to eat them any time of the year? Man, I’ve been breaking the rules my whole life… But my tummy and my chocoholic taste buds are totally okay with that. ;)
I’m not sure why these are associated with Christmas. We all need chocolate year round. And if your are like me, in large quantities. Love that you posted them in May. I think it’s just perfect! Pinned!
Thanks for pinning and understanding they’re not just a Christmas cookie :)