Rich chocolate fudge brownie-like chewy chocolate cookies with a soft center that crumbles in your mouth. This iconic bakery-style Chocolate Crinkle Cookies recipe features a secret flavor in the dough that you’ll love for the holiday season. A classic Christmas cookie recipe that’s a tradition to make every year!
Christmas baking is a tradition in our family. Every year, we bake up a storm of delicious confections like cookies, candy, and pastries. These Chocolate Crinkle Cookies are the chewiest, fudgiest, moistest, chocolate cookies that make it to the cookie platter every year just like these other holiday cookie recipes.
I’ve had the biggest chocolate craving for the past week and I knew I wanted to make something extra fudgy with a rich chocolate flavor like these chocolate pixie cookies. These cookies are the perfect combination of chewy chocolate with a hint of maple. Crackle cookies have been around for a long time. At one point, they were called chocolate pixie cookies and today they go by the name chocolate crinkle cookies.
HOW TO MAKE CRINKLE COOKIES
- Mix together dry ingredients.
- Melt chocolate.
- Whisk in eggs.
- Combine wet and dry ingredients.
- Chill in refrigerator; about 2 hours.
- Roll ½ tablespoon cookie dough balls.
- Roll crinkle cookies in powdered sugar.
- Bake in 350°F oven for 11-13 minutes.
A Christmas Tradition
These old-fashioned crinkles were such a hit for Thanksgiving week that I ended up making 2 batches of about 100 cookies! The first batch didn’t last long and they were quickly packed up for friends to enjoy over the weekend. What I love about these Chocolate Crinkle Cookies is that they taste like brownies with a crunchy sugar exterior and soft center.
CRINKLE COOKIES INGREDIENTS
■ CHOCOLATE: Using a combination of unsweetened chocolate and cocoa powder gives these cookies a rich fudge like taste and texture.
■ SUGAR: Both powdered sugar and granulated sugar give this cookie just the right amount of sweetness.
■ BUTTER: Using a good quality butter is important, especially during the holiday baking season. I like to stock up on top shelf butter while it’s on sale during this time of year.
■ COFFEE: Instant coffee enhances the chocolate flavor and brings it front and center. Find this ingredient in a jar near traditional coffee.
■ FLAVORING: Vanilla extract and maple extract give these cookies the BEST flavoring. Not only does the maple extract smell amazing while baking in the oven, but it works well in combination with chocolate.
■ FLOUR: The dough will mix up very sticky. It’s important to chill it in the refrigerator until it hardens. Still, if it’s still too sticky to work with, try dusting your cookie scoop, hands, and work surface with powdered sugar or a little flour.
Flavorful Additions & Variations
- caramel candy: stuff caramel candy inside each dough ball.
- pretzels: crush pretzels and add to the batter for texture.
- peppermint candy: add a peppermint patty to each cookie ball.
- M&M’s: stir mini candies into the dough.
- kiss cookies: top each cookie with a chocolate kiss.
- marshmallows: stir in mini marshmallows or top each cookie with them.
- sprinkles: add a pop of color and holiday spirit with sprinkles or jimmies.
- extracts: flavor the dough with baking extracts such as coconut, peppermint, mint, almond, Mexican vanilla extract, mocha, or caramel flavoring.
- chocolate chips: more chocolate layers inside of cookie.
Known for its iconic cracked top, and snowflake-like appearance, this ooey gooey powdered sugar covered cookie is not overly sugary tasting. The unsweetened chocolate bar adds a level of chocolate flavor that reminds me of a boxed chocolate brownie mix, only homemade and so much better!
Made from scratch, the dough is full of chocolate with a whole baking bar and cocoa powder added to the batter. Finally, I’ve added instant coffee powder and maple extract to give it a taste you’ll really love.
If you’re looking to take a classic Christmas cookie recipe to a holiday party this season, then try these brownie crackles. Everyone raves how delicious homemade chocolate cookies like these are!
The outside of the cookie has a thin crispy shell like a brownie before biting into a soft center that will melt in your mouth.
If you plan on making cookies for the Christmas holiday season, you cannot go wrong making this tasty dessert. They are decadent, rich in flavor, and are incredibly delicious.
For more holiday desserts to make for the season, you’ll want to try a few of these classics that include Mint Brownies, Turtle Thumbprint Cookies, Gingerbread Thumbprint Cookies, and of course, classic Maraschino Cherry Shortbread Cookies.
Can I freeze the dough? Yes. I like to freeze the dough then bake them closer to the holidays.
POPULAR CHRISTMAS COOKIE RECIPES
- Strawberry thumbprint cookies
- 15 classic Christmas cookie recipes
- Peanut butter cookie blossoms
- Gingerbread thumbprint cookies
- Spritz cookies
- Italian Christmas cookies
- Gingerbread Cookies
- Classic Russian Tea Cake (snowball cookies)
- Christmas pretzel hugs
- Classic sugar cookie cutouts
- Raspberry Bow Tie Cookies
- Peanut butter cup cookies
- Hershey’s kiss snowballs
Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
Ingredients
- 4 oz unsweetened chocolate, chopped
- 4 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- 1½ cups packed light brown sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 4 tsp instant coffee powder (optional to taste)
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1 tsp maple extract (other options: coconut, mint, or peppermint extract)
- 3 tbsp all-purpose flour
Topping
- 1 tbsp granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup powdered confectioners’ sugar
Instructions
- In a small saucepan, melt butter over low-medium heat. Turn off heat. Stir in coarsely chopped unsweetened chocolate. Allow mixture to melt, stirring occasionally while preparing the cookie dough.
- In a small bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt; set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk eggs, brown sugar, vanilla extract, maple extract, and instant coffee powder just until mixed.
- Pour chocolate-butter mixture into egg mixture. Stir to combine.
- Slowly pour dry ingredients into chocolate and egg mixture, stirring after each addition.
- Stir in 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour just until mixed.
- Cover dough with plastic wrap. Chill dough in refrigerator at least 2 hours or overnight.
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Place ½ cup powdered sugar and 1 tbsp granulated sugar into a small dish.
- Using a small cookie scoop, scoop dough and roll into balls. I used a cookie scoop that used about 1/2 tablespoon dough (small ball). TIP: If dough is sticky between scoops, dip it in a bowl of powdered sugar between scoops. Or try refrigerating it longer.
- Roll dough into sugar mixture then place cookies 1 inch apart on a cookie sheet.
- Bake in oven 11-13 minutes. The cookies will be soft and chewy.
- Allow cookies to cool then place in an air-tight container.
Nutrition
updated 6/2021
18 Comments
Eva Rogers
12/02/2017 at 4:40 pmEveryone love the cookies, will make them again.
Amanda
12/21/2017 at 7:09 amI love Chocolate Crinkle Cookies! They’re always so well enjoyed on holiday cookie trays. I always love how pretty the tops look. Happy Holidays!
Jessica Robinson
12/22/2017 at 9:28 amThese cookies look so gooey and chocolatey. Cannot wait to try your recipe!
Emily Leary
12/22/2017 at 5:10 pmI love how unique each one is, like little delicious snowflakes.
Veena Azmanov
12/22/2017 at 6:02 pmI love chocolate crinkle cookies this time of the year.!! They do make awesome Christmas Gift ideas too. Your pictures are so pretty. YUM!
Betty
12/23/2017 at 9:35 amThese things are really divine, BUT trying to deal with the dough, before refrigerating, took 2 adults – was that stiff! Then I found the dough very sticky to work with when forming the balls. Having followed all the directions exactly, do you have any ideas on fixes for these 2 probs? I’ve looked at other similar recipes, but these were too good to leave and yielded way more than I expected! thanks.
Jessica Knott
12/23/2017 at 2:05 pmHi Betty, I did scoop the dough with the scooper, then dusted it with powdered sugar. I also dusted my hands with them, too. Any added powdered sugar used to prevent stickiness is not a bad thing. Once you get into the grove of dusting, scooping and rolling balls, it shouldn’t be too bad. You can also let the dough sit for 10 minutes before working with it, but again, prep the area with powdered sugar on hands, cookie scoop and cutting board/knife if using.
Helene
12/23/2017 at 10:31 amI find it interesting that you add maple extract too with the chocolate. So much flavors in your crinkle cookies, they would be a favorite here. Especially my nephew and niece would go crazy for them. 🙂
Christine
12/23/2017 at 10:37 amThese look so delicious! Perfect for the holidays. I could eat a million of these right about now!
Leslie Haasch
12/23/2017 at 12:58 pmI love crinkle cookies – these are perfect for Christmas!
Cathleen @ A Taste of Madness
12/24/2017 at 11:00 amOkay, these are like the quintessential Christmas cookies. I’ll take the whole batch please 😉
prasanna hede
12/25/2017 at 11:55 amThese cookies are perfect for Holidays when everyone is around can enjoy them!
Elena
12/26/2017 at 12:52 pmThese cookies look perfect! They would make great homemade gifts too!
Lois. O
12/28/2017 at 9:30 pmI love chocolate cookies, so this is definitely a must try.
Paula
12/15/2019 at 10:31 amCan these be frozen
Jessica Knott
12/27/2019 at 1:25 pmYes. However, I prefer to freeze the dough then bake as needed but if you have extras that are baked, go ahead and wrap them in plastic wrap and a tightly sealed bag and freeze them.
Patsy
11/24/2021 at 6:42 amI am not a coffee drinker so wondering by adding the coffee powered does it give them that coffee taste? Or does it blend with the other ingredients as to not be noticeable.
Your recipe looks so chocolaty and delicious thanks for sharing.
Swankyrecipes
11/24/2021 at 7:36 amNot at all. Just enhances the chocolate flavor therefore, it can be skipped if you desire.