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Chocolate Crinkle Cookies Recipe

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By Betty Crocker Kitchens
Updated Dec 19, 2024
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Chewy chocolate crinkle cookies are the ideal addition to your holiday repertoire. They’re so good—and so easy to make—that you might just find yourself baking a batch any time of year.

The “crinkle” in the recipe’s name comes from the distinctive crackled top. As the cookies bake, the powdered sugar coating spreads and cracks into little nooks and crannies, with a delicate dusting of sugar creating a delicious network of sweet flakes, making them not just delicious, but beautiful too.

These cookies are from our collection of the perfect Christmas cookie recipes. You can make them even more festive with a simple twist like chocolate peppermint crinkle cookies. Their almost snowy surface makes them a delightful decoration all on their own. But since they have such a chewy brownie-like interior, these easy chocolate crinkle cookies are a welcome guest anywhere sweet sides are served.

How to Make Chocolate Crinkle Cookies

There’s a reason this is one of our favorite Christmas cookie recipes. Each and every cookie looks like a beautiful icy snowscape, and every bite has a burst of decadent, chewy chocolate. But these easy chocolate crinkle cookies give you that gorgeous presentation without a lot of effort. Let’s get started.

Mix the Wet Ingredients

Stir in the sugar until it’s evenly dissolved. Stir in each egg fully before adding the next.

Add the Dry Ingredients

Stir in the flour, baking powder and salt until it takes on a thickened consistency of cookie dough. And that’s all it takes! That’s why we call this our “Easy Chocolate Crinkle Cookies” recipe. Now just refrigerate until the dough is set.

Shape the Dough into Balls

Use a cookie scoop to gather a tablespoonful of dough at a time, and roll in the powdered sugar until fully coated. This is one of the most important steps since this is where that crackle really starts. Shoot for an even, round sphere, fully covered with powdered sugar, and don’t let it flatten as you put it on your greased cookie sheet.

Bake at 350°F for 9-11 minutes

As they bake, they’ll expand then settle down, forming those distinctive cracked surfaces.

How to Make Crinkle Cookies Crack

The best part of chocolate crinkle cookies? The crinkle. So let’s talk about how to ensure those crinkle cookies crack.

The first key is the ingredients. The dough has a little more baking powder than usual, which will help the cookies rise and expand as they bake. Meanwhile, the powdered sugar will form a firm shell as it heats in the oven. As the expanding dough presses against the outer surface, the result is that perfectly crackled texture.

Because the dough expands, you’ll want to roll the dough into balls and then coat in powdered sugar before placing them on the baking sheet. Flattened dough won’t expand and crinkle. Also, be sure to give each cookie plenty of space on the cookie sheet! Place them a full 2 inches apart from each other for the right results.

Having trouble getting your dough to stay in the right shape? Try chilling your dough in the refrigerator for 20-30 minutes before you roll them into balls. That’ll make them a lot easier to work with.

How to Store Chocolate Crinkle Cookies

How Long Do Chocolate Crinkle Cookies Last in the Fridge?

Good luck holding on to these once you put them out! The unique combination of flavors and textures means that they’re likely to be snatched up before you can worry about storing them. But if you do, these cookies have a moist interior, meaning you shouldn’t store them in the fridge for more than about a week.

Can I Freeze Chocolate Crinkle Cookies?

To store them for longer, place the baked cookies between layers of waxed paper and seal tightly in a freezer-safe container. Once frozen, they’ll last for up to 3 months.

When it’s time to bring them out, let the cookies thaw in the container at room temperature for 1-2 hours. If you like, sprinkle some fresh powdered sugar on top when it’s time to serve, to get that same dusting of sweetness as when they were first baked.

Other Crinkle Cookie Recipes We Love

What’s our favorite thing about chocolate crinkle cookies? The chocolate. Obviously. But there’s more to crinkle cookies than that. There are so many flavors to try! The Betty Crocker Kitchen loves to experiment with crinkle cookies, and here are just a few of our faves:

Want an even easier Chocolate Crinkle Cookies recipe? Try these Fudge Crinkle Cookies. Cut down on ingredients—and save a few steps—when you start with Betty Crocker™Cake Mix.

For our gluten-free friends, there’s no reason you should miss out on the goodness. Our Gluten-Free Chocolate Crinkles cut out the gluten, without skimping on flavor.

And of course, there’s that classic cousin of the crinkle, the Molasses Cookie, topped with sugar and filled with flavor.

Frequently Asked Questions

How Do I Tell If My Chocolate Crinkle Cookies Are Done?

It’s always a good idea to preheat your oven fully in order for your cookies to bake consistently at the correct temperature. After 9-11 minutes in a 350°F oven, you should notice that the balls of dough will spread out into a classic cookie disc shape. Watch for the powdered sugar tops to crackle, and when the outside edges are set, they’re done.

What Is the Origin of Crinkle Cookies?

The first chocolate crinkle cookie recipe can be traced to a woman named Helen Fredell in St. Paul, Minnesota in the early 1950s. The recipe was originally published in a Betty Crocker cookbook, which explains that it was a cookie Mrs. Fredell served in her home, and guests couldn’t resist taking the recipe home and trying it for themselves.

And it’s no wonder! The crispy exterior and the tender, almost brownie-like interior are instantly striking and undeniably unique.

Chocolate Crinkle Cookies Recipe

  • Prep Time 20 min
  • Total 3 hr 40 min
  • Servings 50
  • Ingredients 9
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Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup vegetable oil
  • 4 oz unsweetened baking chocolate, melted, cooled
  • 2 cups granulated sugar
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla
  • 4 eggs
  • 2 cups Gold Medal™ All Purpose Flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 3/4 cup powdered sugar
Make With
Gold Medal Flour

Instructions

  • Step 
    1
    In large bowl, mix oil, chocolate, granulated sugar and vanilla. Stir in eggs, one at a time. Stir in flour, baking powder and salt. Cover; refrigerate at least 3 hours.
  • Step 
    2
    Heat oven to 350°F. Grease cookie sheet with shortening or cooking spray.
  • Step 
    3
    Drop dough by teaspoonfuls into powdered sugar; roll around to coat and shape into balls. Place about 2 inches apart on cookie sheets.
  • Step 
    4
    Bake 9 to 11 minutes or until edges are set. Immediately remove from cookie sheets to cooling racks.

Nutrition

70 Calories
2 1/2g Total Fat
1g Protein
10g Total Carbohydrate
7g Sugars

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size: 1 Cookie
Calories
70
Calories from Fat
25
Total Fat
2 1/2g
4%
Saturated Fat
1g
4%
Trans Fat
0g
Cholesterol
10mg
3%
Sodium
35mg
1%
Potassium
20mg
1%
Total Carbohydrate
10g
3%
Dietary Fiber
0g
0%
Sugars
7g
Protein
1g
% Daily Value*:
Vitamin A
0%
0%
Vitamin C
0%
0%
Calcium
0%
0%
Iron
2%
2%
Exchanges:
1/2 Starch; 0 Fruit; 0 Other Carbohydrate; 0 Skim Milk; 0 Low-Fat Milk; 0 Milk; 0 Vegetable; 0 Very Lean Meat; 0 Lean Meat; 0 High-Fat Meat; 1/2 Fat;
Carbohydrate Choice
1/2
*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.

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