Chocolate Crinkles Recipe (Fudgy Christmas Cookies)
These Chocolate Crinkles are fudgy, cakey cookies coated generously in powdered sugar, creating that signature crinkled chocolate-and-white finish. These are sweet treats I grew up eating all year round in the Philippines and are perfect for holiday baking!
Ingredients
- 2/3 cup granulated sugar (150 g)
- 3/4 cup brown sugar (140 g)
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 3 pcs eggs room temp
- 1 pc egg yolk
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 tsp instant coffee powder
- 1 cup cocoa powder (dutch processed) (88 g)
- 1 ½ cup all-purpose flour (210 g)
- 2 tsp baking powder (10 g)
- 1 tsp salt (5 g)
Coating
- 2 cups powdered sugar
Instructions
- In your mixing bowl, combine your oil with the coffee powder, granulated sugar, and brown sugar.
- Add your eggs and egg yolks, then pour in your vanilla extract. Mix everything until the mixture becomes shiny.
- Mix in your Dutch-process cocoa powder and make sure it is well combined with your sugar mixture.
- Time to add your dry ingredients! Pour in your all-purpose flour, baking powder, and salt. Make sure to mix ONLY until you can no longer see any traces of flour.
- You’ll notice that your mixture is very fudgy, unlike your usual cookie dough, which is more like clay. To make it easier to work with, refrigerate the dough for at least 8 hours.
- Before baking, preheat your oven to 350°F and line your pans with parchment paper.
- Scoop your mixture into small balls, about 1 tbsp each, and coat them generously with powdered sugar. Don’t be shy with it!
- Place your coated chocolate balls on your pan, leaving at least 1 inch of space between each one. Bake for 12-14 minutes.
- Let them rest for 10 minutes, then enjoy your slightly crispy-on-the-outside, fudgy chocolate crinkles all year round!
You’ll have a clumpy, sandy texture. You just want to make sure everything is well coated with the oil.
Why coffee powder? This helps intensify the chocolate flavour of your crinkles. I love doing this with any baked goods that have chocolate in them. A little goes a long way, and it won’t make your cookies taste like coffee!
NOTE: If you’re planning to use regular unsweetened cocoa powder, add ½ tsp baking soda and use only 1 tsp baking powder. The baking soda helps balance the acidity of the cocoa powder, while the baking powder helps the cookies rise. However, if you’re using Dutch-process cocoa powder, you must follow the recipe to a tee.
Don’t overmix! This is key to avoiding dense and overly cakey chocolate crinkles, so make sure to mix only until the flour is fully incorporated.
I like using a spatula because it gives me more control when folding the flour into the mixture.
Please do not skip this step! This will help prevent your cookies from spreading too much while baking.
Parchment paper is a must to keep the bottoms from getting too toasted! It creates a barrier between the hot metal pan and your dough.
The key to perfectly coated crinkles is to coat them really well with powdered sugar. You want them to be covered so thoroughly that you can’t even see the colour of the dough anymore. Lol.