‘Tis the season for baking cookies! After 20+ years of holiday baking traditions, I’m excited to share our ultra fudgy, double chocolate crinkle cookies that are sure to be a standout on your holiday cookie tray!
As someone with decades of hands-on cookie baking experience, I’ve spent years perfecting holiday treats alongside my mom during our annual post-Thanksgiving baking marathons. Together we’ve mastered family favorites (like snappy turtle cookies, snickerdoodle cookies, and white chocolate cranberry oat cookies) while continuously experimenting with new recipes that have become beloved traditions (like our triple ginger cookies, chocolate peppermint kiss cookies, and our popular cherry chocolate crinkle cookies).
This recipe is the result of multiple test batches and careful refinements. I wanted to create an even more chocolatey and ultra-chewy version of a classic crinkle cookie, inspired by what makes our cherry chocolate version so requested. I’ve documented every step with photos and included all the tips you’ll need for perfect results on your first try.
What Are Crinkle Cookies?
Crinkle cookies are known by their “cracked” or “crinkled” appearance. This type of cookie has a crispy edge and chewy center, and are made by dipping the cookie dough balls into a mixture of granulated sugar and powdered sugar (or just powdered sugar) before baking. This draws out the moisture from the surface of the cookies during the baking process, promoting the the surface to dry out and “crack”.
The original chocolate crinkle cookie recipe is attributed to Helen Fredell of St. Paul, Minnesota, and the recipe was published in the Betty Crocker cookbook in the 1950s.
Why You’ll Love Our Chocolate Crinkle Cookie Recipe
Super chocolatey! We take your basic chocolate crinkles to the next level by adding chocolate chips to our dough. The result is an ultra fudgy, almost brownie-like crinkle cookie that is just divine.
Adorable, cracked appearance. As you’ll see in the “Expert Tips” section below, we’ve done the work to find out what the perfect amount of chill time is and show why we recommend using both granulated sugar and powdered sugar for rolling.
Easy to make. This is a relatively simple cookie recipe, making it a great option for newer bakers or for kids to help with!
Uses standard pantry ingredients. We’re not using anything fancy for this recipe, and all ingredients are shelf-stable. And all ingredients are easy to find in the baking aisle of your local grocery store, Target, or Walmart.
Easy to mix by hand or with the use of a mixer. This recipe is just as easy to mix up by hand in a large mixing bowl with a wooden spoon or with a hand mixer as it is to make with a stand mixer using a paddle attachment.
Double Chocolate Crinkle Cookies Ingredients
- Granulated Sugar. Used to sweeten our cookies, and balance out the bitterness of the unsweetened baking chocolate.
- Neutral Oil (like Canola Oil or Vegetable Oil). This is used as the fat in our crinkles, also allowing this recipe to be dairy-free!
- Vanilla Extract. Adds depth of flavor and enhances the other flavors in the cookies.
- Melted, Unsweetened Baking Chocolate. We’re talking the 99% or 100% chocolate baking bar that’s often used when making brownies! This adds rich, chocolatey flavor to our cookies.
- Large Egg. Eggs add structure and richness to our cookies, and also assists with the cookie’s rise and texture.
- Salt. Enhances the flavor of our cookies, and helps balance the sweetness.
- Baking Powder. Used as our leavening agent, helping our cookies rise and creating a lovely texture.
- All-Purpose Flour. All-purpose flour is great for making cookies! Not only because it’s mostly likely the kind your have in your pantry, but it’s moderate protein content is just right for cookie baking.
- Mini Chocolate Chips. This is where we add that one-two punch of chocolatey goodness to our crinkles! The chocolate chips add a lovely pop of chocolate in each bite and contributes to the fudgy, brownie-like feel of this recipe.
- Granulated Sugar AND Powdered Sugar for Rolling: Rolling your dough in granulated sugar and then in powdered sugar creates THE BEST crinkle cookies. We explain more below in the ‘Expert Tips’ section as to why!
All ingredient measurements and the full recipe are outlined in the recipe card at the bottom of the post.
How to Make Double Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
Add your sugar, oil, vanilla extract, and melted (and slightly cooled) chocolate to a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer.
Mix until combined and then add in the eggs, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed with a rubber scrapper.
Mix until the eggs are incorporated. Add in your salt and baking powder.
Slowly mix in your flour until a dough is formed.
Gently stir in your mini chocolate chips until well incorporated throughout the dough. Chill for at least 1 hour.
When ready to bake, Preheat your oven to 350°. Lightly grease your cookie sheets and set aside. Scoop dough balls (I highly recommend using a small cookie scoop as shown for easy portioning).
Dip each dough ball into granulated sugar first.
Then dip the coated dough ball in powdered sugar.
Place dipped dough balls onto your baking sheet at least 2″-3″ apart.
Bake at 350°F for 9-11 minutes, until the cookies have a “cracked” top and set edges.
Move the baked cookies onto a wire cooling rack as soon as possible after pulling them out of the oven.
Chocolate Crinkles Recipe Variations
Make them into chocolate peppermint crinkle cookies! Especially for the holidays, chocolate and peppermint are a popular flavor combination. To make chocolate crinkle cookies with peppermint simply add ½ teaspoon of peppermint extract into your cookie dough along with the vanilla extract. If desired, you can also add crushed up candy canes into your dough. To do so, crush 1-2 large peppermint candy canes and mix them into the dough with the chocolate chips.
Use different chocolate chips, mix-ins. Don’t have mini chocolate chips on hand? No worries! Try regular semi-sweet chocolate chips, milk chocolate chips, or a chopped up chocolate bar instead. Or grab some of the fun holiday baking chips you might find at the store like the Andes baking chips or peppermint bark chunks or other seasonal flavors you think would pair well with your chocolate cookies.
Possible Dietary Restrictions?
Our chocolate crinkle cookies recipe are vegetarian and dairy-free as written.
To make these into a gluten free chocolate crinkle cookies, simply replace the all-purpose flour with your favorite one-to-one gluten free flour alternative. Note: I have not done this myself in this specific recipe but have used the Bob’s Red Mill one-to-one gluten free flour alternative successfully in a wide variety of other bakes.
If you’re serving someone with a dietary restriction, it’s always a good idea to ensure your ingredients meet their needs. I’ve found the Enjoy Life Chocolate Chips to be a great choice for vegan and gluten free baking.
Top Tips for Making Our Chewy Chocolate Crinkle Cookies Recipe
Chilling for at least 1 hour and dipping in both granulated sugar and powdered sugar lead to the best crinkle cookies! I’ve taken the steps to verify what chill time works best for this recipe, and if rolling your dough in both sugars or just powdered sugar really makes a difference (check out the image below!).
While some cookie doughs work well with a 30-minute chill time, chocolate crinkle dough remains a bit sticky at 30-minutes, making it a harder to work with when rolling in your sugar. This also results in a cookie that spreads a bit more. If you’re in a pinch, 30-minutes will be ok but hold out the extra half hour if you can!
More Expert Tips for the Best Crinkles
Do not over bake your crinkles. Chocolate crinkles are best when they are JUST baked (this is what gives them that wonderful chewy, brownie vibe). If your cookies have a “cracked” top, the edges are set, and the centers looks dry (not super shiny or wet), they are likely ready to come out of the oven. You can check this by giving a cookie a gentle poke. If the cookie kind of bounce back (doesn’t stay sunken in), they’re ready to come out of the oven.
Use a cookie scoop to portion out your dough. While not a necessity, using a cookie scoop helps make uniform cookies and is a tool that I use a lot in my kitchen. A small cookie scoop is the perfect size for crinkle cookies.
Good chocolate makes good chocolate cookies! I personally love using Scharffen Berger Baking Chocolate when I can find it, but Ghirardelli Baking Bars and Baker’s Baking Bars are also great choice. The same goes for the chocolate chips you mix in. Grab a bag of the good stuff for the very best cookies.
How to Store Double Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
Store cooled crinkles in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days. You can also make chocolate crinkle cookies ahead of time by freezing either the dough or the fully baked cookies!
How to Freeze Chocolate Crinkles Before Baking
Chill the cookie dough as directed in the recipe card. Scoop the chilled dough and roll into balls, placing them on a lined baking sheet without dipping them in sugar. “Flash freeze” them by placing the dough balls into the freezer for at least 1 hour. Then transfer the solid dough balls into a large freezer bag and freeze the dough balls for up to 3 months.
When you’re ready to bake the cookies, remove the dough balls from the freezer and thaw on the counter for at least 30 minutes. Then roll the dough balls in the granulated sugar and powdered sugar and bake as noted in the recipe card.
How to Freeze Chocolate Crinkles After Baking
Ensure your cookies are completely cooled to room temperature prior to freezing. Place into a large freezer bags or an airtight container in the freezer and freeze baked cookies for up to 3 months. If desired, separate layers of cookies with parchment paper or wax paper to help prevent the cookies from sticking together. When ready to enjoy, thaw the cookies in the fridge or on the counter at room temperature.
Double Chocolate Crinkles Recipe FAQs
Why are my chocolate crinkle cookies not crinkling?
Chilling the dough in the refrigerator prior to baking is key to a good crinkle. The cookie’s signature “cracked” look happens as the dough warms and collapses as it bakes. If you’re not getting crinkles as you bake, try chilling your dough longer.
How do you prevent confectioners’ sugar from melting on crinkle cookies?
This is why our recipe recommends rolling your dough balls in granulated sugar before the powdered (confectioners’ sugar). The layer of granulated sugar helps to absorb excess moisture from the dough, which in turn creates a better surface for the powdered sugar to stick to.
Why are my crinkles flat?
There are a couple of reasons your crinkles may be coming out flat. First, if your baking powder is old it won’t add the desired rise to your cookies that you’re expecting. Second, your dough wasn’t chilled long enough (so the fat in the dough was too warm) which can result in cookies that spread and flatten as they bake.
Why are my crinkles hard? Why are my crinkles not moist?
Overbaking your crinkle cookies is the primary reason you will end up with hard, dry cookies. Be sure to watch your baking time, even begin to check your cookies a few minutes early to ensure they’re pulled when just set and crinkling.
Love this Recipe? Try One of These Cookie Recipes Next!
Or check out all of our cookie recipes for more baking fun!
Double Chocolate Crinkle Cookie Recipe
Ingredients
For the Cookie Dough
- 1 Cup granulated sugar
- ¼ Cup neutral oil (canola or vegetable oil)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 ounces unsweetened baking chocolate, melted and cooled slightly
- 2 large eggs
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 Cup all-purpose flour
- 1 Cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
For Dipping
- ⅓ Cup granulated sugar
- ⅓ Cup powdered sugar
Instructions
- Add the granulated sugar, oil, vanilla extract, and melted chocolate to a large mixing bowl (or the basin of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment), and mix to combine.
- Stir in the eggs until well incorporated.
- Slowly add in the salt, baking powder, and all-purpose flour, mixing until a dough is created.
- Gently stir in the chocolate chips to incorporate throughout the dough.
- Chill for at least 1 hour (up to overnight).
- When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350°F and lightly grease your baking sheets.
- Portion out dough balls with a small cookie scoop (or 1 Tablespoon measuring, rolling between your hands to create a ball).
- Dip each dough ball into granulated sugar first, then into powdered sugar.
- Place dipped cookie dough balls 2"-3" apart on the greased cookie sheets.
- Bake for 9-11 minutes, until the cookie tops are dry and "cracking" and the edges look set. You can check them by giving a cookie a gentle poke. If the cookie kind of bounce back (doesn't stay sunken in), they're ready to come out of the oven.
- Transfer to a wire rack once removed from the oven to cool completely.
David K says
Next level chocolatey goodness right here.
Meredith says
happy to hear you enjoyed them David!
Kendra says
YUMMMY!!!!!! The chocolate chips definitely took these cookies to the top level! Will be my go to recipe for cookie exchanges this Christmas season.
Meredith says
I’m so happy to hear you loved this recipe, and that you’ll be sharing these with friends this holiday season. Thanks for trying our crinkles recipe!
Marge says
Awesome chocolate crinkle cookie recipe! Highly recommend.