I’ll be honest, I typically love me some chewy chocolate chip cookies as my go-to cookie but I have to say these moist chocolate crinkle cookies are BEYOND delicious.

I made them for the family over the holidays and they were a hit. They’re extra thick, super soft, and taste like rich, fudge brownies. As the cookies bake and spread, the powdered sugar coating gives these cookies their iconic crackly, crinkle look!

I promise these cookies will be a family favorite for years to come.

Let me show you how to make them.

Ingredients You’ll Need

Make sure all the ingredients are at room temperature so they incorporate more evenly into the batter.

• Unsalted butter. Using butter instead of oil makes these cookies tender and flavorful.
• Light brown sugar. The molasses in brown sugar as the perfect sweetener to balance the richess of the cocoa.
• Egg. Our binder.
• Vanilla extract. Our flavor enhancer. You can also sub for peppermint extract!
• All-purpose flour. I like this flour the best for these cookies.
• Unsweetened natural cocoa powder. I don’t recommend Dutch process for these cookies.
• Baking soda. Our leavener.
• Salt. Brings out the intense chocolate flavor of these cookies!
• Granulated sugar and confectioners’ sugar. Both of these are used for rolling the cookies.

Recommended For This Recipe

How To Make Chocolate Crinkle Cookies

• Mix the wet ingredients. In a bowl, cream the butter and sugar together until combined. Mix in the egg until the mixture is smooth. Stir in the vanilla.
• Add in the dry ingredients. Whisk in the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt until combined.
• Chill the dough. The dough will be sticky so you need to chill the dough so they’re easier to form into the dough balls and so they can bake more evenly without spreading too thin. Don’t skip this step! Cover the bowl in plastic wrap and chill for 1 hour or up to overnight in the fridge.
• Form the cookie dough balls. Using a cookie scoop, form the dough into balls (approx. 1.5 tablespoons of dough) and roll each one into a ball with your hands.
• Coat the dough balls. Place the granulated sugar in one bowl and the confectioner’s sugar in another bowl. Remove the cookies from the fridge. Coat in the granulated sugar then roll generously in the confectioner’s sugar. The more powdered sugar, the better.
• Transfer the dough balls to a baking sheet. Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and spray with cooking spray. Place the cookies on the baking sheet about 2 inches apart.
• Bake the cookies! Bake for 10-11 minutes until the edges are set. The cookies should be soft, thick and fudgy in the middle. Let them cool for 5 minutes before serving.

Do I have to chill these cookies?

YES! Chilling the dough will make forming the balls a less messy experience plus they will bake evenly in the oven.

If you’re pressed for time and can’t chill for 1 hour in the fridge, you can pop them in the freezer for 20-30 minutes until they are less sticky and more manageable. For best results, do not skip this step!

How do I prevent the powdered sugar from melting in the oven?

I have two tips for you. First, chill the dough. This will help the dough not be so warm and sticky so it will be much more manageable when rolling in the sugar.

Number 2, roll the cookies in granulated sugar before rolling them generously in the powdered sugar. This will help the sugar melt away in the oven not get that yellow-ish color as a result of the melting powdered sugar.

How do I store chocolate crinkle cookies?

These cookies will last 5 days at room temperature in an airtight container. After that, you can transfer them to the fridge. You may also freeze them for up to 3 months.