If you’re looking for scrumptious holiday season cookies to exchange at parties or serve to guests, you can’t go wrong with these beautiful double Chocolate crinkle cookies!
They’re soft and buttery with a rich chocolate flavor while cracked on the exterior for a crinkled effect!
Our family loves easy desserts and baking, besides these Double Chocolate Crinkle Cookies, our favorites lately have been Oreo Brownies, Peach Cobbler Cake, Chocolate M&M Cookie Recipe, and Old-Fashioned Oatmeal Cookies.
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Ingredients
- Butter and eggs – these types of ingredients should be at room temperature as this will help to incorporate them into the cookie dough mixture better. While I’ve used unsalted butter, you could use salted butter instead, but then you’ll need to omit the salt in the ingredients.
- Flour – All-purpose flour is a sturdy option for soft and buttery cookies but you could also use gluten-free flour instead, such as Bob’s Red Mill. I prefer to sift the flour for an extra smooth cookie batter.
- Cocoa powder – You can use unsweetened or sweetened cocoa powder although I find these crinkle cookies sweet enough from the sugar and chocolate. The Dutch variety is a good choice.
- Vanilla extract – I always use high-quality pure vanilla extract for maximum flavor in baked goods.
- Baking powder and soda – Check the expiry date on your baking powder and soda as this will impact the rise of the cookies. Like the flour, I’ve also opted to sift the baking powder and soda for an extra smooth cookie batter.
- Sugar – The combination of white granulated sugar and brown sugar creates a crispy outer edge and a soft and buttery center.
- Dark chocolate – Melting the butter and chopped dark chocolate together over a double boiler or in the microwave will result in a smooth consistency, free of lumps and risk of seizing.
- Powdered sugar – Make sure to sift the powdered sugar so that it’s free of any lumps when dipping the cookie balls into.
- Cream cheese – This must be at room temperature for ease of incorporation into the other ingredients. The cream cheese provides a tangy taste which offsets the sweetness from the sugar and chocolate.
- For the full list of ingredients, please scroll down where you’ll find the recipe card.
Instructions
Melt butter and chocolate using a double boiler method or in the microwave.
Let the melted butter and chocolate cool slightly while you move to the next step.
In a large bowl beat the eggs and sugars exactly for 4 minutes (set timer, it is important for crackly top). Gradually add to the melted chocolate bowl, add vanilla.
In a separate bowl, combine dry ingredients. Whisk to combine the flour mixture and add to wet ingredients gradually.
Mix until ingredients are almost combined, the batter will be smooth and sticky, like brownie batter.
If it’s difficult to form balls yet, cover dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate for an hour (once balls are shaped, allow to come to room temperature before baking).
Overall once the melted chocolate starts to cool and sets, the batter texture should change to ‘’playdough’’ texture and hence be easier to handle.
Preheat the oven to 325 F.
Scoop 2 tablespoons of dough, and roll balls of dough about 2 inch in size. Dip in confectioners’ sugar (generously).
Arrange the cookie balls on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper at least 3 inches apart. Don’t press down.
Bake for 10-12 minutes or until you get the crackly top.
The cookies will have a very soft and moist center inside. Just like fudgy brownies!
Let the cookies stand in the pan for 5-10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack. Cool cookies before serving.
Tips
- While you could use only white sugar when making these chocolate cookies, I don’t recommend substituting the sugars. Using both brown and white sugar will create a buttery and soft cookie.
- 325F seems to be a better temperature for baking these chocolate crackle cookies instead of 350F which so many cookie recipes call for. This lower temperature allows the cookies time to spread and form a crackly top without drying out.
- Make sure that the eggs and butter are both at room temperature, as this helps them to mix much better into the cookie batter.
- You can easily double the ingredients to make an extra batch of chocolate crinkle cookies and store them away in the freezer to enjoy whenever you like. Alternatively, freeze the unbaked cookie balls on the cookie sheet for easy storage.
- Always check the expiry date on the label of your baking soda and powder, as old or expired ingredients can affect how these cookies rise while baking.
- Consider using a cookie scoop to create uniform-sized cookie dough balls.
- A small amount of espresso powder or instant coffee powder can be added to the cookie dough which will highlight the chocolate flavor in the baked cookies.
- Craving even more chocolate? These chewy Oatmeal Bars are bursting with gooey chocolatey flavor.
- These cookies are soft but not as soft as my favorite Ricotta Cookies.
Freezing and Storing Instructions
Cool the double chocolate crinkle cookies before storing them completely.
Transfer to airtight containers and keep at room temperature for 3-5 days or freeze for 2-3 months.
Frequently Asked Questions
Cookies can flatten while baking if the dough hasn’t been chilled first or if the dough sits in a warm environment before being baked. If you are concerned that your chocolate crinkle cookies may spread too much while baking, add the dough balls to the refrigerator for about 30 minutes and then dip them in powdered sugar to bake.
Crinkle cookies have a soft and buttery center with a hard outer shell that cracks as the cookie expands while baking. This cracking results in a beautiful crinkly, cracked exterior.
These classic Christmas cookies are dipped in powdered sugar before baked and it’s the powdered sugar which dries out the outer exterior of the cookies, causing the cookies to crack while expanding in the heat of the oven.
It’s recorded in Betty Crocker’s book “Cooky Carnival” that crinkle cookies were first invented by Helen Fredell in St. Paul, Minnesota, in the early half of the 20th Century. Apparently, Betty Crocker visited Mrs Fredell’s home and was served these delicious cookies for the first time. She recalls begging Mrs Fredell for the recipe!
The crinkle cookie dough is a mixture of ingredients much like a typical fudgy brownie which makes it more of a sticky dough than other types of cookie dough. If your cookie dough is too sticky to roll into balls, pop it into the fridge so that it hardens somewhat before attempting to roll the dough balls for baking.
Cornstarch can be added to powdered sugar to keep the icing sugar from melting. About 1 teaspoon of cornstarch can be added for every ¼ cup of powdered sugar used. I haven’t added cornstarch to the powdered sugar coating and the chocolate crinkles still turned out great.
Thank you so much for reading about these double chocolate crinkle cookies Please feel free to comment with any questions you may have! I love reading your feedback.
Rita
Easy Cookie Recipes
ALL BAKING and COOKIES recipes.
If you’re looking for more scrumptious baking recipes you have to try our cream cheese Spritz Cookies, the best Whipped Shortbread Cookies and moist Pumpkin Muffins, and Cranberry Bread next!
Did you make this recipe? Please be sure to leave a rating and a comment below. Thank you!
Recipe
Double Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
If you’re looking for scrumptious holiday season cookies to exchange at parties or serve to guests, you can’t go wrong with these beautiful double chocolate crinkle cookies! They’re soft and buttery with a rich chocolate flavor while cracked on the exterior for a crinkled effect!
Ingredients
- ¼ cup butter room temperature
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup white sugar
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup cocoa powder such as Dutch variety
- 8 oz dark chocolate chopped
- 2 eggs room temperature
- ¾ cup + 2 tablespoon flour sifted
- ½ teaspoon baking soda sifted
- ½ teaspoon baking powder sifted
- 1 cup powdered sugar for dipping sifted
- ½ cup cream cheese room temperature
- ½ teaspoon salt
Instructions
-
Melt butter and chocolate using a double boiler method or in the microwave.
-
Let the melted butter and chocolate cool slightly while you move to the next step.
-
In a large bowl beat the eggs and sugars exactly for 4 minutes (set timer, it is important for crackly top). Gradually add to the melted chocolate bowl, add vanilla.
-
In a separate bowl, combine dry ingredients. Whisk to combine the flour mixture and add to wet ingredients gradually.
-
Mix until ingredients are almost combined, the batter will be smooth and sticky, like brownie batter.
-
If it’s difficult to form balls yet, cover dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate for an hour (once balls are shaped, allow to come to room temperature before baking). Overall once the melted chocolate starts to cool and sets, the batter texture should change to ‘’playdough’’ texture and hence be easier to handle.
-
Preheat the oven to 325 F.
-
Scoop 2 tablespoons of dough, and roll balls of dough about 2 inch in size. Dip in confectioners’ sugar (generously).
-
Arrange the cookie balls on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper at least 3 inches apart. Don’t press down.
-
Bake for 10-12 minutes or until you get the crackly top.
-
The cookies will have a very soft and moist center inside. Just like fudgy brownies!
-
Let the cookies stand in the pan for 5-10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack. Cool cookies before serving.
Notes
- While you could use only white sugar when making these chocolate cookies, I don’t recommend substituting the sugars. Using both brown and white sugar will create a buttery and soft cookie.
- 325F seems to be a better temperature for baking these chocolate crackle cookies instead of 350F that so many cookie recipes call for. This lower temperature allows the cookies time to spread and form a crackly top without drying out.
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