These rich, fudgy chocolate crinkle cookies taste just as good as they look!
The chocolate cookie dough is dipped in powdered sugar before baking which gives these cookies eye-catching crinkles!
Ingredients in Crinkle Cookies
For the Cookies
- Canola oil: provides moisture and richness to the cookies. Use any flavourless oil (vegetable etc.) but avoid strongly flavoured oils (olive, avocado etc.).
- Caster sugar / superfine sugar: this fine sugar dissolves easily into the batter and helps create a chewy yet light texture. Use white sugar if necessary.
- Brown sugar: adds moisture and chewiness to the cookies. In a pinch, you can substitute brown sugar for an equal amount of caster /superfine sugar. Note that this may make the cookies crisper.
- Eggs: provide structure and help to bind the ingredients together.
- Vanilla extract: adds flavour to the cookies. Use high quality vanilla (preferably not imitation).
- Plain flour / all-purpose flour: provides structure and volume to the cookies.
- Unsweetened cocoa powder: I use Hershey's (US) or Nestle (AUS/UK) brand. Do NOT use hot cocoa powder or raw 'cacao powder.'
- Baking powder: NOT baking soda. Make sure it's not expired and it is crucial to help the cookies rise.
For the Coating
- Icing sugar / powdered sugar: creates a sweet, white coating on the cookies.
- Corn starch / cornflour: helps to stick the coating on the cookie and create the distinctive crinkle effect. Omit if necessary.
How to Make Crinkle Cookies
These impressive cookies are surprisingly easy to make! Just follow a few simple steps:
- Whisk together the wet ingredients.
- Sift over the dry ingredients and stir to form a dough.
- Roll into balls and coat with coating mixture.
- Bake until cracked and cooked through.
Storage
You can keep the cookies stored in an airtight container for up to 7 days. Gently stack the cookies to make sure the coating stays intact.
Can I freeze the cookie dough?
To freeze the cookie dough, wrap tightly in clingwrap and keep frozen for up to six months. Thaw overnight then roll and bake as normal.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use self-raising flour?
Yes. You can omit the baking powder and substitute 2 cups of plain flour with 2 cups of self-raising flour.
Why are my crinkle cookies hard and/or too crunchy?
You may have overbaked the cookies. If you know that your oven runs hot, make sure to reduce the temperature. Rotate the cookies if your oven has hot spots. It is also possible that you have added too much flour to the dough. Make sure to follow the measurements carefully in the recipe, particularly the dry ingredients.
Why doesn't my coating stick?
Make sure you coat the dough balls as soon as you've rolled them. Don't let them dry out on the bench before coating them. You may need to roll the balls in the coating a few times to get a good layer. Don't knock the dough balls after coating them or they will lose their coating.
Why didn't my cookies crinkle?
If your oven temperature is too low, the cookies may bake too slowly and not rise quickly enough to form crinkles. This may also occur if your baking powder is expired. Also make sure that you are generously coating the cookies or you won't have lovely contrasting crinkles.
Variations
For a delicious variation, try my red velvet crinkle cookies. You can also try the following:
- Jaffa crinkle cookies: add ½ teaspoon of orange essence and the zest of 1 orange to the dough with the wet ingredients.
- Chilli crinkle cookies: add ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper to the dough with the rest of the dry ingredients.
- Hershey's kiss cookies: as soon as you take the cookies out of the oven, place an unwrapped Hershey's Kiss (or similar) upright directly in the centre of each cookie.
Easy Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
These chocolate crinkle cookies are rich and chocolatey with an eye-catching crinkle topping. They are super easy to make and don't need an electric mixer. A fresh batch of these cookies makes the perfect gift for the festive season.
Ingredients
For the Cookies
- ½ cup (125 mL) canola oil
- 1 cup (240 g) caster / superfine sugar
- ½ cup (110 g) brown sugar, packed
- 3 large eggs
- 2 teaspoon (10 g) vanilla extract
- 2 cups (300 g) plain flour / all purpose flour
- ¾ cup (75 g) unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 teaspoon (8 g) baking powder
For the Coating
- ½ cup (70 g) icing sugar / powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon (12 g) corn starch / cornflour
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 170°C / 340°F (fan/convection) or 180°C / 355°F (standard). Grease and line two large cookie trays with baking paper.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the oil, sugars, eggs and vanilla until well combined. Sift over the flour, cocoa powder and baking powder. Stir together until well combined and a soft dough forms.
- In a separate medium bowl, sift together the icing sugar and corn starch to make the coating. Whisk gently with a fork to combine.
- Roll a small tablespoon of dough into a ball and flatten slightly. Drop into the coating and gently turn over to coat both sides. Don't dust off the excess coating - you want a reasonably thick layer on the biscuit to get a nice crinkle effect.
- Place the coated cookies onto the prepared trays, leaving at least 3 cm (1 inch) between the cookies to allow for spreading. Bake for 9-11 minutes or until well risen with distinct crinkles. Allow to cool on the tray for 10 minutes before carefully transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
Measurement
- Please note that my recipes are measured in metric cups and spoons which are larger than US cups and spoons. Most recipes will be fine if measured in US cups and spoons, but please use the weight (grams) measurement for the most accurate result.
Storage
- You can keep the cookies stored in an airtight container for up to 7 days. Gently stack the cookies to make sure the coating stays intact.
Substitutions & Tips
- Oil: you can use any type of vegetable or cooking oil. Don't use olive oil or other strongly flavoured oils, or it will give the cookies an odd flavour.
- Caster sugar: you can substitute caster sugar with any white sugar.
- Can I use self-raising flour? Yes. You can omit the baking powder and substitute 2 cups of plain flour with 2 cups of self-raising flour.
- Corn starch / cornflour: corn starch helps the coating stay thick and white, creating better-looking crinkles. You can omit the corn starch if necessary.
Nutrition Information:
Serving Size: 1 CookieAmount Per Serving: Calories: 124Total Fat: 4.6gSaturated Fat: 0.6gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 0.1gCholesterol: 18.5mgSodium: 41.3mgCarbohydrates: 20.1gFiber: 1gSugar: 12.4gProtein: 1.9g
nicole says
Hiii! I'm gonna try your recipe today my mom will come home from a different city ? I would like to ask, what did you put to your tray together with baking sheet? is that oil or butter? is it necessary I don't have butter with me rn. thanks!
Chloe says
Hi Nicole! I use non-stick baking spray (either canola oil spray or any other cooking spray) to stick my baking paper down onto my baking sheet. That stops the baking paper from lifting up during baking in the oven 🙂
Andrea says
Saw you make these on Tiktok and they looked easy. They were! Also very tasty! I needed to add a bit more flour to the batter to get it to a consistency that we could roll into balls, but not much. Thanks for the recipe!
Chloe says
Thank you so much for your lovely comment Andrea! 🙂 I'm so glad you enjoyed!
Ash says
Hi. How do you take the flour for the recipe? Straight from the jar or spoon-and-level? Thanks.
Chloe says
Hi Ash, I use the spoon-and-level method 🙂 Hope that helps!
M says
Hi! Can I refrigerate the dough and bake it the next day?
Chloe says
Hi M! You sure can 🙂
Nina Estacio says
Can I use cake flour in this recipe? Thanks!
Chloe says
Hi Nina, substituting plain flour for an cake flour will work fine. Note that the final texture of the cookies may be spongier and fluffier rather than soft and chewy. Enjoy.