Chocolate Crinkle Cookies Recipe (2024)

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These classic cookies are soft and fudgy, with a deep chocolaty richness and a bitter espresso backbone that stands up to the powdered-sugar coating.

By

Carrie Vasios Mullins

Chocolate Crinkle Cookies Recipe (1)

Carrie Vasios Mullins

Carrie Vasios Mullins is the former national editor at Serious Eats, with a focus on all things sweet.

Learn about Serious Eats'Editorial Process

and

Daniel Gritzer

Chocolate Crinkle Cookies Recipe (2)

Daniel Gritzer

Senior Culinary Director

Daniel joined the Serious Eats culinary team in 2014 and writes recipes, equipment reviews, articles on cooking techniques. Prior to that he was a food editor at Food & Wine magazine, and the staff writer for Time Out New York's restaurant and bars section.

Updated February 03, 2023

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Chocolate Crinkle Cookies Recipe (3)

Why It Works

  • A heavy coating of powdered sugar gives these cookies a distinct cracked, black-and-white appearance.
  • Adding espresso powder to the dough balances the sweetness of the powdered sugar coating.
  • Resting the dough for an hour allows the flour to fully hydrate, improving texture.

The list of foods I hate is incredibly short. Despite how few items are on it, though, my disdain for them is nearly endless. Right at the top of that list: fudge. I will never understand what the appeal is. It masquerades as chocolate, but any true chocolate lover knows it for what it really is—a soulless, treacly pablum that offers nothing but unchecked sweetness. Fudge is the Muzak of sweets.

"Fudgy," though, as an adjective, is something else entirely. Ilovefudgy things. They're soft, verging on gooey; indulgent and, yes, chocolaty. These classic crinkle cookies, contributed by Carrie Vasios Mullins, are a prime example. Made with unsweetened cocoa powder and instant espresso powder, they have a deep chocolaty richness with a slightly bitter backbone that stands up to the powdered-sugar coating. As Carrie notes:

Most recipes for crinkle cookies rely on a 1:1 ratio between flour and sugar, yet the cookies aren't overly sweet. Unsweetened cocoa powder adds a deep chocolate flavor which I enhance with instant espresso powder.

Chocolate Crinkle Cookies Recipe (4)

Inside, they're moist and chewy, delivering that perfect fudgy consistency, while the exteriors are crisp and covered in those telltale crackles, signaling the textural shift between brittle crust and tender core. It's like the geology of Earth itself, rendered in miniature, chocolate-cookie form.

Chocolate Crinkle Cookies Recipe (5)

Perhaps you feel the same as I do about how terrible fudge is, or perhaps you don't. No matter. Regarding how good these fudgy cookies are, I'm confident we'll be in agreement.

This recipe was written and developed by Carrie Vasios Mullins, while the headnote was written by Daniel Gritzer.

March 2012

Recipe Details

Chocolate Crinkle Cookies Recipe

Active30 mins

Total105 mins

Serves36 servings

Ingredients

  • 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (11 1/4 ounces; 320g)

  • 2 1/4 teaspoons (9g)baking powder

  • 3/4 teaspoon (4g) instant espresso powder

  • 3/4 teaspoon (3g)kosher salt

  • 2 1/4 cups granulated sugar(15 1/2 ounces; 425g)

  • 1 1/2 cups unsweetened cocoa powder (6 ounces; 150g)

  • 1 stick plus 1 tablespoon unsalted butter (4 1/2 ounces; 130g), melted and cooled slightly

  • 4 large eggs

  • 1 teaspoon (5ml)vanilla extract

  • About 1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar (6 ounces; 170g)

Directions

  1. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, instant espresso powder, and salt.

    Chocolate Crinkle Cookies Recipe (6)

  2. In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle, beat together granulated sugar, cocoa powder, and melted butter, starting at low speed and increasing to medium speed, until crumbly.

    Chocolate Crinkle Cookies Recipe (7)

    Chocolate Crinkle Cookies Recipe (8)

  3. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well between additions. Add vanilla. Reduce mixer speed to low and add dry ingredients. Beat until combined, scraping bottom and sides of bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. Dough will be crumbly. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.

    Chocolate Crinkle Cookies Recipe (9)

    Chocolate Crinkle Cookies Recipe (10)

  4. Adjust oven racks to upper- and lower-middle positions and preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Pour confectioners' sugar into a shallow bowl. Scoop dough into 1-tablespoon balls and roll in confectioners' sugar to coat. Make sure dough balls are heavily coated. Transfer dough balls to the prepared baking sheets, leaving at least 2 inches of space between each ball. You should be able to fit about 18 balls on each sheet.

    Chocolate Crinkle Cookies Recipe (11)

    Chocolate Crinkle Cookies Recipe (12)

  5. Bake cookies until cracked on top but still slightly soft in the middle, 13 to 15 minutes, rotating baking sheets top to bottom and front to back halfway through baking. Let cool on baking sheets for 5 minutes, then transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool completely. Be careful when handling to avoid ruining the sugar coating.

    Chocolate Crinkle Cookies Recipe (13)

Special Equipment

Baking sheets, hand mixer or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, 1-tablespoon cookie scoop (optional), wire rack

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Nutrition Facts (per serving)
148Calories
4g Fat
26g Carbs
2g Protein

×

Nutrition Facts
Servings: 36
Amount per serving
Calories148
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 4g5%
Saturated Fat 2g10%
Cholesterol 28mg9%
Sodium 71mg3%
Total Carbohydrate 26g9%
Dietary Fiber 1g4%
Total Sugars 16g
Protein 2g
Vitamin C 0mg0%
Calcium 22mg2%
Iron 2mg11%
Potassium 19mg0%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.

(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

Chocolate Crinkle Cookies Recipe (2024)

FAQs

Why didn't my crinkle cookies crack? ›

Why didn't my chocolate crinkle cookies crack? The most common reason for cookies that don't crack is either that the oven was not hot enough or the baking powder was expired. Be sure to allow plenty of time for your oven to heat, and use a fresh container of baking powder! Why are my chocolate crinkle cookies flat?

Why is my chocolate crinkles hard? ›

Baking chocolate crinkle cookies is a process that requires precision. Over-baking will result in dry and hard biscuits, under-baking will result in biscuits that are too sticky. Use a timer and bake them for exactly the time the recipe says.

Why aren't my crinkle cookies crinkling? ›

The signature crinkle effect happens when the cookies spread and crack as they bake. If your cookies aren't crinkling, it might be because the dough is too warm (try chilling it for longer before baking), or the oven temperature might be too low (ensure your oven is correctly preheated).

How do I make my cookies chewy instead of crunchy? ›

How To Make Cookies Chewy Without Cornstarch
  1. Go heavy on brown sugar. It has more moisture than its granulated counterpart, which means the cookie comes out less crispy. ...
  2. Choose margarine or shortening instead of butter. ...
  3. Use baking powder instead of baking soda. ...
  4. Rest your dough. ...
  5. Shorten baking time.
May 14, 2023

How do I get my cookies to crack? ›

The means that as the cookie expands, it starts to crack the dry surface. For this to happen, you need to dry the surface of the cookie by coating them in sugar, use sufficient leavening for the cookie to rise, and bake in a hot oven.

Why are my crinkles not spreading? ›

Why are crinkle cookies not flat? This is down to the ratio of ingredients in the dough, mainly. There is a high proportion of dry ingredients (i.e. flour, cocoa powder, ground almonds) to liquid ingredients (eggs, butter). This results in a drier dough which stops the cookies from spreading when baked.

Why are my cookies crunchy instead of soft? ›

Adding too little flour can cause cookies to be flat, greasy, and crispy. Most recipes assume you'll use all-purpose, but if you want a lighter, crumblier cookie texture, choose one with a lower protein content such as cake-and-pastry flour. Baking soda helps cookies spread outward and upward while cooking.

How do you soften crinkle cookies? ›

You see, the only thing that you need to soften up a batch of day-old cookies is a slice of bread. This is a trick I learned from my mom after she saw me turn up my nose one too many times at a slightly crispy chocolate chipper (self-proclaimed gooey, chewy cookie fiend here!).

Why is my crinkle cookie dough dry? ›

Dry – “Dry” or “Crumbly” dough is a product of over-mixing or using too much of any ingredient during the mixing process. This can be reversed by adding one to two tablespoons of liquid (water, milk or softened butter) to your mix.

What makes cookies crinkle? ›

As the cookies continue to bake, the moisture evaporates, and the sugar begins to recrystallize, a process that is accelerated by the undissolved sugar crystals, which act as “seed” crystals. When enough new crystals form, they begin drawing out moisture once again.

Can I bake crinkles without parchment paper? ›

Can you bake crinkles without parchment? Yes, you can bake Chocolate Crinkle Cookies without parchment paper. Grease the baking sheet with cooking spray, oil, or butter. Don't overdo it because it can cause the cookies to spread out too much.

Why did my cookies come out flat and crunchy? ›

OVEN IS TOO HOT

Oven temperatures are a crucial factor in baking. If your cookies consistently come out flat, you may have selected the wrong baking temperature. If you bake cookies using too much heat, the fats in the dough begin to melt before the other ingredients can cook together and form your cookie's rise.

What is the secret ingredient to keep cookies soft? ›

For soft cookies, use: Brown sugar, as it has a high moisture content and retains moisture better than white sugar. Also, when combined with eggs, brown sugar can prevent spreading (taller cookies tend to be softer and fluffier). Shortening instead of butter or in addition to butter.

What does adding egg yolk to cookies do? ›

A cookie made with extra egg yolk (or, in this case, only egg yolk), will be lighter and chewier than a cookie made with whole eggs. The cookies will also have a richer flavor thanks to the added fat in egg yolk.

What ingredient makes a cookie soft and chewy? ›

Cornstarch gives the cookies that ultra soft consistency we all love. Plus, it helps keep the cookies beautifully thick. We use the same trick when making shortbread cookies. Egg yolk: Another way to promise a super chewy chocolate chip cookie is to use an extra egg yolk.

What makes a cookie crackle? ›

Coating the cookies with either type of sugar draws out moisture from their surface, promoting cracks by drying out their tops before the interiors set. But granulated sugar does so more efficiently because of its coarse, crystalline structure. As the crystals absorb moisture, some—but not all—dissolve into a syrup.

Why didn't my Snickerdoodles crack? ›

Cracking occurs from several chemical reactions during the baking process. If some of your cookies aren't cracking, it could be because those dough balls were less round than others, the dough became too warm, your oven isn't heating evenly, or (most likely) the cinnamon sugar coating wasn't applied as thoroughly.

Why didn't my molasses cookies crackle? ›

Why didn't my molasses crinkle cookies crack? You likely need to have more sugar on the tops of the cookies before baking. The sugar helps dry out the top layer before the rest of the cookie bakes, which is what causes those deep crinkles.

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