This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.
This classic Chocolate Crinkle Cookies recipe is fun to make, super delicious, and perfect for the holidays!
Of course, our week of classic holiday cookie recipes here on the blog would not be complete without these famous crinkles.
Who wants some Chocolate Crinkle Cookies??
Whether you’re baking up a batch for a cookie exchange, pulling them warm outta the oven for a holiday party, or leave them out with a note for Santa, I promise that these chocolate crinkle cookies are always a hit! And this specific recipe has served me well for years. The cookie batter itself is very straightforward, and quick and easy to whip up. Then once you’ve rolled the dough balls in powdered sugar, channel those Great British Baking Show vibes and plant yourself in front of the oven to watch the cookies rise and crinkle. So fun! (Especially with kiddos!)
Here’s how to make them!
Chocolate Crinkle Cookies | 1-Minute Video
Chocolate Crinkle Cookie Ingredients:
There’s a good chance you may already have these ingredients in your pantry! You will need:
Flour: I typically use all-purpose, but white whole wheat flour would work too.
Oil: I grew up making these with vegetable oil, but any mild-flavored oil will do.
Powdered sugar: For rolling the cookie dough.
How To Make Chocolate Crinkle Cookies:
To make crinkle cookies, simply…
Whisk together your dry ingredients. Flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt.
Prep your dough. In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the sugar and oil. Followed by adding in the eggs and vanilla, followed by the dry ingredients.
Chill the dough. Sorry, you really can’t skip this step with chocolate crinkle cookies! Wrap the dough tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or until completely chilled.
Prep your dough balls. Form the dough into 1-inch balls, and roll them in powdered sugar until completely coated. Place them on a parchment-covered baking sheet.
Bake. Then bake then at 350°F for about 10 minutes. Let the cookies cool for a bit afterwards. Then…
Enjoy! I highly recommend eating these warm out of the oven. But they also store well for up to 5 days, or freeze well for up to 3 months.
Possible Variations:
Looking to mix things up? Feel free to:
Add chocolate chips. I really love mixing 1 cup of semisweet chocolate chips into this batter for that extra-gooey chocolate touch.
Place a Hershey’s kiss on top. Just poke the kisses right into the tops of the cookies immediately after they come out of the oven.
Hide a caramel inside the cookie. Once your dough ball is ready to go, poke half of a soft caramel inside the dough, and wrap/roll the dough around the caramel so that it is completely enclosed. The caramel will melt while baking, making for an extra delicious surprise inside.
Add ground cinnamon and cayenne. For a Mexican chocolate twist, try adding 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon and a pinch of cayenne pepper to the dough. (Just whisk them into the dry ingredient mixture.)
More Favorite Cookie Recipes:
Looking for more delicious cookie inspiration? Feel free to check out our full collection of cookie recipes, or any of these other favorite classic cookies:
This classic Chocolate Crinkle Cookies recipe is fun to make, super delicious, and perfect for the holidays!
Ingredients
Scale
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup mild-flavored oil (such as vegetable oil, coconut oil, olive oil, etc.)
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup powdered sugar, for coating the cookies
Instructions
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt until combined. Set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, add the granulated sugar and oil. Beat on medium-high speed for 2 minutes, or until the mixture is light and fluffy. Add in the eggs and vanilla, beating on medium-low speed until combined. Then gradually fold in the flour mixture, and beat on medium-low speed until combined.
Form the dough into a large ball, and place it on a large sheet of plastic wrap. Wrap the plastic around it so that it is sealed tightly. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours (or up to 24 hours) until the dough is chilled completely through.
Once you’re ready to bake the cookies, preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper. Fill a small bowl with the powdered sugar.
Remove and unwrap the dough. Then form the dough into 1-inch round balls. Dip each dough ball in the powdered sugar until it is completely covered on all sides, and then place them least 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheet.
Bake for 10 minutes. Then remove the baking sheet from the oven, and let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 3 minutes. Transfer the cookies to a wire rack, and let them cool until they reach room temperature.
Serve immediately, or store in a sealed container for up to 5 days, or freeze for up to 3 months.
OMG they are the most delicious and best biscuits ever I have made, now twice and they are a biscuit that if you eat one you just don’t stop at that a chocolate delight thank you
Hayley @ Gimme Some Oven —
Thank you so much, Hellen, we’re thrilled you enjoyed them! :)
My 10 year old granddaughter and I made these today … absolutely awesome. The cookies have a brownie consistency. For lack of having canola oil available, we substituted 1/4 cup “I Can’t Believe Its Not Butter” plus a heaping tablespoon! Perfectly fabulous!!!!
Hayley @ Gimme Some Oven —
Thanks for sharing, DeeDee, we’re so happy you both enjoyed these!
Hii!!I tried your Crinkle Cookies recipe…..No doubt… cookies came out really good…. I noticed two things.First,as you mentioned that once you mix all the ingredients you should get a dough like consistency and should form a large ball and then refrigerate but when I combined the ingredients as per instructions in the recipe my mixture didn’t turned out as a dough as it was supposed to be,infact I almost got a thick batter like consistency.I was wondering why that happened….but I still pursued refrigerating overnight and baking them.Even though my dough consistency was not right still the cookies came out really nice and pretty.Second,as mentioned in the recipe I also baked my cookies for 10mins.I saw my cookies getting darker at the bottom once they are baked.I tried changing the baking time but still I got the same result.Is it because I may have coated the cookie ball too much in the powdered sugar???Or there can be some other reason as well?
This is the first time I have ever baked these cookies in forty some-odd years of baking! They seem to be the perfect cookie: easy, look wonderful and tasty (really tasty!). I was planning to add some to a Christmas cookie package to send out west but am not sure they will keep thei lovely cracked appearance. Oh well, my husband will have to struggle along eating them up! Thanks for a great recipe.
I am guilty of not reading the recipe fully through prior to starting it BUT 20 min prep time when it then says to chill for 2-24 hours seems misleading :( I guess the positive is that I get to eat them all on my own after the party they won’t be ready for?!
Brittany Whitener —
I froze them for about 30 min instead since I didn’t have time to chill them for 2 he.
Haven’t made this yet but will!! Been looking through recipes online and so many of them call for 2 cups of sugar!! and some 2 sticks of butter!! So happy to find your recipe. One suggestion to readers – I would use the best cocoa powder you can find – not Hershey’s. Makes a huge difference.
Gave 5 stars since familiar with Gimme Some Oven and all recipes I have made are great.
I am so happy that I’ve made these and to top that my 8-year old and 2-year old sons loved ‘em.Thank you so much for sharing the recipe. It was easy for someone who’s just starting to bake and delicious. Now, I’ll be making another batch for my son’s birthday.
Hi , i would like to know if we can use durch processed cocoa powder in this recipe ….
Thank you for all these wonderful recipes, my family enjoys them all …
Nathalie
I have never made Chocolate Crinkle cookies before and these are delicious. Moist and chewy. They are sticky to roll out so I followed a previous recommendation and sprayed my hands lightly with cooking spray. Worked great. I also upgraded to a more pricey Dutch processed baking cocoa.
I tried these tonight and subbed eggs for silken tofu to make them vegan and they were INCREDIBLE!! Cooked a little longer to give them more time to flatten but otherwise followed the recipe to a t and they were perfect!
O.M.G. These cookies were amazing. We’re making cookie boxes for our children’s teachers and I wanted to give them something more than sugar cookies. I wasn’t sure about the addition of the chips fearing the chocolate taste would be too strong but I am glad i threw them in! They add the perfect melted texture, it’s like biting into a frosted brownie. I packaged them before realizing we hadn’t even tasted them and I panicked because I’ve tried a previous recipe that failed. I am so glad we packaged them first because we would have likely eaten them all. Thank you for sharing your wonderful recipe!
Every time i make these I get nothing but compliments. My boyfriend LOVES them and the last time he left them unattended at work, they disappeared!! This is my go to cookie!
Cookies were great. My batter also came out looser but after refrigerated for 3 hours it was just fine for forming into balls. I found 10 minutes cooking was a lot, so my second batch cooked for 7 minutes and were much better. I also replaced the vanilla extract for coffee extract in second batch and had a very mild coffee taste. I’ll definitely make them again. Thanks for the recipe.
Ali, two or three years ago when I discovered you somehow I came upon your original story of how you met your husband and eventually move to Barcelona etc. being computer illiterate I’ve never been able to find it again is it possible that you could instruct me how to go win and find it I love your blog in all your recipes but I’d love to know the background story hope to hear from you
We always make these with the holiday peppermint Hershey kisses and it makes them so much better (not that they aren’t good by themselves but the peppermint kisses turn it up to 11!)
I’ve been baking (and am known for my baking) for over 30 years. I thought to add to my holiday repertoire this year and try these out. When it came time to wrap in plastic and refrigerate I “knew” the dough was too soft (as someone else mentioned) and in baking, they would spread too much. I did chill it (this type of dough certainly ALWAYS needs chilling so as the author states, DON’T skip this step!) and when I took it out it confirmed my suspicions. I gently kneaded in another 1/3 cup of flour, re-chilled and voila! They turned out exactly as they should and because I had added about 3/4 cup of mini dark chocolate chips, they were gooey yet firm.
These were so easy to make! Although the oil and sugar did not become fluffy, it remained gritty and I just continued with the recipe as is because I couldn’t get it to be creamy. The dough was also very soft and brownie batter-like but after chilling I was able to scoop it. They look very cute and like the ones in your pictures, so yay! Just one question, they have a slight bitter aftertaste, is that the cocoa or did I do something wrong?
I just took one off the tray. They are delish! I made the dough last night, and left it in the fridge over night. My taste of dough certainly cured my chocolate craving! Managed to get 17, roughly timbit (Canadian donut holes!) sized cookies.
I never heard of these before I saw this recipe. OH MY WORD! Fantabulous!!!! I made a few different kinds – a batch with Heath Toffee crunch bits (you couldn’t really taste it though), chocolate chips (THE ABSOLUTE BEST), plain and then I made some with Candy Cane Kisses and dark chocolate mint truffle kisses (unlike solid milk chocolate kisses, these melted and ended up looking like nipples… LOL).
Dipping my fingers in vegetable oil like someone else suggested was very helpful!
OMG these are amazing!!! Thank you so much, they came out perfect. They are so nice and light and they they just melt in your mouth. Planning to give these away to friends for Christmas ❤️
These are fantastic! Just to echo some of the other comments, “form the dough into a large ball” is misleading because there is no putting the cookie dough/batter into a ball. It’s the consistency of brownie batter. It firms up when chilling and the final product is outstanding. I wish I had made a double batch.
There really needs to be a better description in how the “batter” for this recipe will turn out. Mine was thin and I thought there was something wrong with the recipe. Thankfully before I threw it out it began to set up.
I am always looking for a ‘not too sweet” christmas cookie and these were great with the cayenne and cinnamon oil. I pushed dark chocolate non-pareils in them and melted an ounce of unsweetened chocolate in the oil, sugar, egg mixure. This recipe also worked for me because my mixer is on the fritz and I had to use my grandmas food processor and, late at night, i realized I didn’t have any butter. Perfect recipe! Thank you.
I just made these and they are absolutely incredible!! I read another comment regarding the addition of peppermint extract. I doubled the recipe, added 1 tsp of peppermint extract and 2 tsp of espresso powder to enhance the chocolate flavoring. I use double dutch dark cocoa powder from King Arthur Flour, and it’s never let me down. I ended up refrigerating the dough overnight due to so many comments regarding the dough more of a brownie consistency and hard to deal with. Overnight was a perfect amount of time and had no issues with forming the dough into balls. I used a small cookie scoop and the size turned out perfect. I baked them for only 8 minutes instead of the recommended 10. This is definitely a new staple cookie for me to make every holiday season. Love it!!!
I have literally tried 3 different recipes for cookie crinkles. I can honestly say that this is the best tasting recipe! Thank you for sharing! It’s the perfect treat for the holidays ?
I’ve struggled to find a really good chocolate crinkle cookie recipe, and my search is over! These bake up soft and light, not dense and gummy, and they are wonderfully chocolate-y without the chalkiness of some recipes I’ve tried. These are just the perfect chocolate crinkle cookie! ?
This recipe made 36 cookies for me! I may have made them too small? They are the perfect little bite. They taste great and were a wonderful addition to the usual Christmas Cookie Plate!
Perfect! Just came out of the oven and once again, they’re fantastic! This is my 2nd year making these so they’ve officially become an annual tradition! Thanks so much for a wonderfully easy (and even better tasting) cookie!
I baked these for the coming festive season and added the chocolate chips to the dough. The outcome was fabulous and everyone enjoyed the cookies. The problem is they didn’t last long and I have to bake more! I was wondering whether some brandy or other alcohol could be added as a variation.
Thanks for the recipe
Herb
YUM! I made these adding 2 tsp. espresso powder, Trader Joe’s semi sweet chocolate chunks, and topped with maldon sea salt when they got out of the oven. Absolutely delicious!
I almost forgot the reason for posting these tonight…I spray cooking spray on my hands and makes these easier to roll and not quite so messy
OMG they are the most delicious and best biscuits ever I have made, now twice and they are a biscuit that if you eat one you just don’t stop at that a chocolate delight thank you
Thank you so much, Hellen, we’re thrilled you enjoyed them! :)
My 10 year old granddaughter and I made these today … absolutely awesome. The cookies have a brownie consistency. For lack of having canola oil available, we substituted 1/4 cup “I Can’t Believe Its Not Butter” plus a heaping tablespoon! Perfectly fabulous!!!!
Thanks for sharing, DeeDee, we’re so happy you both enjoyed these!
Very easy to make and tasted great!!
Awesome, so glad to hear it!!
What’s the best way to freeze these? CAn I stack in a container or must they be in a single layer- not in top of eachother? They are heaven!!!!!!
I just put them loosely in a plastic bag and they freeze perfectly they don’t stick to each other
Just made these this evening. Turned out perfect. Thankyou.
Wonderful!! :)
Hii!!I tried your Crinkle Cookies recipe…..No doubt… cookies came out really good…. I noticed two things.First,as you mentioned that once you mix all the ingredients you should get a dough like consistency and should form a large ball and then refrigerate but when I combined the ingredients as per instructions in the recipe my mixture didn’t turned out as a dough as it was supposed to be,infact I almost got a thick batter like consistency.I was wondering why that happened….but I still pursued refrigerating overnight and baking them.Even though my dough consistency was not right still the cookies came out really nice and pretty.Second,as mentioned in the recipe I also baked my cookies for 10mins.I saw my cookies getting darker at the bottom once they are baked.I tried changing the baking time but still I got the same result.Is it because I may have coated the cookie ball too much in the powdered sugar???Or there can be some other reason as well?
This is the first time I have ever baked these cookies in forty some-odd years of baking! They seem to be the perfect cookie: easy, look wonderful and tasty (really tasty!). I was planning to add some to a Christmas cookie package to send out west but am not sure they will keep thei lovely cracked appearance. Oh well, my husband will have to struggle along eating them up! Thanks for a great recipe.
I am guilty of not reading the recipe fully through prior to starting it BUT 20 min prep time when it then says to chill for 2-24 hours seems misleading :( I guess the positive is that I get to eat them all on my own after the party they won’t be ready for?!
I froze them for about 30 min instead since I didn’t have time to chill them for 2 he.
Haven’t made this yet but will!! Been looking through recipes online and so many of them call for 2 cups of sugar!! and some 2 sticks of butter!! So happy to find your recipe. One suggestion to readers – I would use the best cocoa powder you can find – not Hershey’s. Makes a huge difference.
Gave 5 stars since familiar with Gimme Some Oven and all recipes I have made are great.
I am so happy that I’ve made these and to top that my 8-year old and 2-year old sons loved ‘em.Thank you so much for sharing the recipe. It was easy for someone who’s just starting to bake and delicious. Now, I’ll be making another batch for my son’s birthday.
Hi , i would like to know if we can use durch processed cocoa powder in this recipe ….
Thank you for all these wonderful recipes, my family enjoys them all …
Nathalie
I have never made Chocolate Crinkle cookies before and these are delicious. Moist and chewy. They are sticky to roll out so I followed a previous recommendation and sprayed my hands lightly with cooking spray. Worked great. I also upgraded to a more pricey Dutch processed baking cocoa.
I tried these tonight and subbed eggs for silken tofu to make them vegan and they were INCREDIBLE!! Cooked a little longer to give them more time to flatten but otherwise followed the recipe to a t and they were perfect!
O.M.G. These cookies were amazing. We’re making cookie boxes for our children’s teachers and I wanted to give them something more than sugar cookies. I wasn’t sure about the addition of the chips fearing the chocolate taste would be too strong but I am glad i threw them in! They add the perfect melted texture, it’s like biting into a frosted brownie. I packaged them before realizing we hadn’t even tasted them and I panicked because I’ve tried a previous recipe that failed. I am so glad we packaged them first because we would have likely eaten them all. Thank you for sharing your wonderful recipe!
This is my second year in a row making them for Christmas, and they’re delicious (and a new family favorite)!
Every time i make these I get nothing but compliments. My boyfriend LOVES them and the last time he left them unattended at work, they disappeared!! This is my go to cookie!
Cookies were great. My batter also came out looser but after refrigerated for 3 hours it was just fine for forming into balls. I found 10 minutes cooking was a lot, so my second batch cooked for 7 minutes and were much better. I also replaced the vanilla extract for coffee extract in second batch and had a very mild coffee taste. I’ll definitely make them again. Thanks for the recipe.
I just made these. This is the BEST CRINKLE COOKIES RECIPE EVERRRRR!!!!!❤
Ali, two or three years ago when I discovered you somehow I came upon your original story of how you met your husband and eventually move to Barcelona etc. being computer illiterate I’ve never been able to find it again is it possible that you could instruct me how to go win and find it I love your blog in all your recipes but I’d love to know the background story hope to hear from you
We always make these with the holiday peppermint Hershey kisses and it makes them so much better (not that they aren’t good by themselves but the peppermint kisses turn it up to 11!)
These cookies remind me of brownies, which are my all-time favorite dessert! :)
These cane out amazing and tasted just like how my mom’s used to! I think I made a couple slightly too big. I only got 18 cookies.
I’ve been baking (and am known for my baking) for over 30 years. I thought to add to my holiday repertoire this year and try these out. When it came time to wrap in plastic and refrigerate I “knew” the dough was too soft (as someone else mentioned) and in baking, they would spread too much. I did chill it (this type of dough certainly ALWAYS needs chilling so as the author states, DON’T skip this step!) and when I took it out it confirmed my suspicions. I gently kneaded in another 1/3 cup of flour, re-chilled and voila! They turned out exactly as they should and because I had added about 3/4 cup of mini dark chocolate chips, they were gooey yet firm.
These bring back great memories of baking with my mom. Always a favorite to make at the holidays.
I made these 2 days ago and they were so delicious! And easy! My kids convinced me to make a triple batch today ?
These were so easy to make! Although the oil and sugar did not become fluffy, it remained gritty and I just continued with the recipe as is because I couldn’t get it to be creamy. The dough was also very soft and brownie batter-like but after chilling I was able to scoop it. They look very cute and like the ones in your pictures, so yay! Just one question, they have a slight bitter aftertaste, is that the cocoa or did I do something wrong?
So awesome! I’ve made these several times for my family and as gifts – they never disappoint!
I just took one off the tray. They are delish! I made the dough last night, and left it in the fridge over night. My taste of dough certainly cured my chocolate craving! Managed to get 17, roughly timbit (Canadian donut holes!) sized cookies.
I never heard of these before I saw this recipe. OH MY WORD! Fantabulous!!!! I made a few different kinds – a batch with Heath Toffee crunch bits (you couldn’t really taste it though), chocolate chips (THE ABSOLUTE BEST), plain and then I made some with Candy Cane Kisses and dark chocolate mint truffle kisses (unlike solid milk chocolate kisses, these melted and ended up looking like nipples… LOL).
Dipping my fingers in vegetable oil like someone else suggested was very helpful!
These are definitely a winner!!!
OMG these are amazing!!! Thank you so much, they came out perfect. They are so nice and light and they they just melt in your mouth. Planning to give these away to friends for Christmas ❤️
These are fantastic! Just to echo some of the other comments, “form the dough into a large ball” is misleading because there is no putting the cookie dough/batter into a ball. It’s the consistency of brownie batter. It firms up when chilling and the final product is outstanding. I wish I had made a double batch.
These were great!!
Amazing! Best chocolate crinkle recipe EVER! I added milk chocolate and semi chocolate chips—- ridiculously good!
There really needs to be a better description in how the “batter” for this recipe will turn out. Mine was thin and I thought there was something wrong with the recipe. Thankfully before I threw it out it began to set up.
I am always looking for a ‘not too sweet” christmas cookie and these were great with the cayenne and cinnamon oil. I pushed dark chocolate non-pareils in them and melted an ounce of unsweetened chocolate in the oil, sugar, egg mixure. This recipe also worked for me because my mixer is on the fritz and I had to use my grandmas food processor and, late at night, i realized I didn’t have any butter. Perfect recipe! Thank you.
I just made these and they are absolutely incredible!! I read another comment regarding the addition of peppermint extract. I doubled the recipe, added 1 tsp of peppermint extract and 2 tsp of espresso powder to enhance the chocolate flavoring. I use double dutch dark cocoa powder from King Arthur Flour, and it’s never let me down. I ended up refrigerating the dough overnight due to so many comments regarding the dough more of a brownie consistency and hard to deal with. Overnight was a perfect amount of time and had no issues with forming the dough into balls. I used a small cookie scoop and the size turned out perfect. I baked them for only 8 minutes instead of the recommended 10. This is definitely a new staple cookie for me to make every holiday season. Love it!!!
I have literally tried 3 different recipes for cookie crinkles. I can honestly say that this is the best tasting recipe! Thank you for sharing! It’s the perfect treat for the holidays ?
I’ve struggled to find a really good chocolate crinkle cookie recipe, and my search is over! These bake up soft and light, not dense and gummy, and they are wonderfully chocolate-y without the chalkiness of some recipes I’ve tried. These are just the perfect chocolate crinkle cookie! ?
This recipe made 36 cookies for me! I may have made them too small? They are the perfect little bite. They taste great and were a wonderful addition to the usual Christmas Cookie Plate!
Perfect! Just came out of the oven and once again, they’re fantastic! This is my 2nd year making these so they’ve officially become an annual tradition! Thanks so much for a wonderfully easy (and even better tasting) cookie!
I baked these for the coming festive season and added the chocolate chips to the dough. The outcome was fabulous and everyone enjoyed the cookies. The problem is they didn’t last long and I have to bake more! I was wondering whether some brandy or other alcohol could be added as a variation.
Thanks for the recipe
Herb
I just made these. So good! Thank you for the amazing recipe.
Easy and delicious! Fun to watch as they bake!
perhaps the tastiest cookies i have ever made! love them! fun and easy to make too.
Great recipe. I even made it gluten free. They came out great.
Awesome! can i prepare it with wheat flour?
beautiful and delicious. crispy crust gives way to a chocolate brownie interior. sooooo goooood.
YUM! I made these adding 2 tsp. espresso powder, Trader Joe’s semi sweet chocolate chunks, and topped with maldon sea salt when they got out of the oven. Absolutely delicious!
They were so good I immediately made a batch for the freezer to have on hand.