Chocolate Crinkle Cookies

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Try and eat just one of these soft, thick, and fudgy Chocolate Crinkle Cookies filled with milk chocolate chips and coated in powdered sugar.

Add some other favorite cookies to your holiday cookie platter such as these Oatmeal CookiesMexican Wedding Cookies, and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies.

Overhead image of baked Chocolate Crinkle Cookies.

Chocolate Crinkle Cookies

As much as I love Thanksgiving (and that’s a lot), Christmas baking is always my favorite. I bake cookies with the boys all December long and it’s one of our most enjoyable ways to spend time together.

I am so excited for the lineup of cookies and Christmas treats coming your way over the next couple of weeks; there’s a lot I’ll be sharing!  Today we’re starting with one of our favorites — Chocolate Crinkle Cookies are soft, chewy, fudgy, and they practically melt in your mouth. 

Process shots of Chocolate Crinkle Cookies being made: combining the butter with the sugars; mixing in the egg and sour cream; adding chocolate chips and cocoa; mixing dry ingredients; combining everything; scooping dough; forming dough into balls; rolling dough balls in powdered sugar.

How to make Chocolate Crinkle Cookies

The descriptions below correlate with the photo collage above.

  1. Cream together room temperature butter and sugars until light and creamy.
  2. Beat in the sour cream (I know, sounds weird, but it’s the secret ingredient to make these cookies ultra fudgy!), eggs, and vanilla extract.
  3. Add dry ingredients and chocolate chips in another bowl. 
  4. Stir to combine.
  5. Add dry to wet and mix until just combined. It will be extremely thick and quite wet — these cookies have to chill before rolling into balls.
  6. Use a tablespoon measuring spoon to measure out perfect cookie dough balls.
  7. Roll the ball in powdered sugar.
  8. Place on a baking sheet and bake.

Tips for better cookies

  • Spoon and level the flour or weigh it to get a more accurate measurement of flour. Too much flour makes these cookies overly cakey.
  • Chill the dough to help solidify the butter and concentrate the flavors. It also makes rolling these into balls easier — it will be practically impossible to roll balls of dough without chilling.
  • Use a tablespoon measuring spoon to measure cookie dough balls — this will assure even-sized cookies, which is important for even baking.
  • Bake on a silicone liner or parchment paper: This helps with quick cleanup, helps ensure the bottoms don’t burn and helps the baking to be even throughout. I’ve tested Chocolate Crinkle Cookies on both parchment paper and a Silpat liner; we preferred cookies baked on the liner.
  • Use Dutch-process cocoa powder (more on this below).

QUICK TIP

The most important measurement is the flour. If you press a measuring cup into a bag of flour, you will pack in way too much flour, which will yield cakey and less-flavorful cookies. Spoon the flour into a measuring cup and level the top with the back of a table knife.

Up-close image of three stacked Chocolate Crinkle Cookies.

Chocolate Crinkle Cookie ingredients: 

  • Butter: Use unsalted, real butter. We like to use unsalted and then add salt so we can perfectly control the amount in the cookies.
  • Sugar: White and light brown sugar go into these cookies.
  • Egg
  • Sour cream: This is the secret to soft and fudgy cookies!
  • Extracts: Vanilla extract is essential; the almond extract is optional, but it does add a nice hint of flavor.
  • Cocoa powder: This is arguably the most important ingredient in this recipe.  You want to make sure to use Dutch-process cocoa powder for these cookies. Regular cocoa powder will make these cookies dry and less flavorful. Here’s the exact cocoa powder I use (and highly recommend).
  • Flour, baking powder, and salt: You can test to make sure your baking powder is fresh!
  • Chocolate chips: We love milk chocolate chips in these cookies, but use your favorite — semi-sweet, dark, or white would all work great.

Overhead image of the Chocolate Crinkle Cookies, ready to be eaten.

More cookie recipes:

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Chocolate Crinkle Cookies

5 from 5 votes
Bet you can't eat just one of these soft, thick, and fudgy Chocolate Crinkle Cookies, filled with milk chocolate chips and coated in powdered sugar.
Print Recipe

Chocolate Crinkle Cookies

5 from 5 votes
Bet you can't eat just one of these soft, thick, and fudgy Chocolate Crinkle Cookies, filled with milk chocolate chips and coated in powdered sugar.
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Keyword chocolate crinkle cookies
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 9 minutes
Chilling Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 29 minutes
Servings 45 cookies
Calories 79kcal
Author Chelsea Lords
Cost $4.13

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter softened to room temperature
  • 3/4 cup white sugar
  • 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1 large egg, at room temperature
  • 1/2 cup full-fat sour cream, at room temperature
  • 1 small drop almond extract, optional
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder Note 1
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup milk chocolate chips (or use semi-sweet or dark -- whichever you prefer)
  • 1 cup powdered sugar

Instructions

  • WET INGREDIENTS: In a large bowl, cream butter, white sugar, and brown sugar until light and fluffy (the mixture should resemble peanut butter). Beat in egg, sour cream, almond extract, and vanilla extract.
  • DRY INGREDIENTS: In a separate bowl, combine the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt. Add in chocolate chips. Stir to combine.
  • COMBINE: Combine wet and dry and mix until just combined being careful to not overmix. Cover the dough and chill for at least 30 minutes and preferably 1 hour.
  • ROLL BALLS: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line a large tray with parchment paper or a silicone liner. Use a tablespoon measuring spoon to measure equal cookie dough balls. Roll in powdered sugar and place on the prepared sheet pan with no more than 9 cookies per pan. Chill for another 10 minutes.
  • BAKE: Bake at 350 degrees F for 7-10 minutes or until set (just until the top is no longer glossy). Be careful to not overbake. A soft, very slightly underbaked cookie is the best for a delicious fudgy texture. Once the cookies come out of the oven, let them stand on the cookie sheet for 5-7 minutes. Then dip again in a bowl of powdered sugar. Transfer to a cooling rack to finish cooling.
  • STORAGE: Keep leftover cookies in an airtight container at room temperature. Cookies are best enjoyed with 2 days.

Video

Recipe Notes

Note 1: Cocoa powder: Make sure to use Dutch-process cocoa powder in these cookies. Regular cocoa powder will make these cookies dry and less flavorful. Here's the exact cocoa powder I use.

Nutrition Facts

Serving: 45cookies | Calories: 79kcal | Carbohydrates: 10.8g | Protein: 1.1g | Fat: 3.8g | Cholesterol: 11.3mg | Sodium: 7.6mg | Fiber: 0.5g | Sugar: 7.7g

We do our best to provide accurate nutritional analysis for our recipes. Our nutritional data is calculated using a third-party algorithm and may vary, based on individual cooking styles, measurements, and ingredient sizes. Please use this information for comparison purposes and consult a health professional for nutrition guidance as needed.

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