Chocolate Crinkle Cookies

December 23, 2019

Chocolate Crinkle Cookies are classic chocolate cookies that kids of all ages will love. This particular recipe is enhanced with brown butter to give it a more complex flavor that takes these cookies from good to great!

Chocolate is definitely my flavor of choice. If you love chocolate as I do, start your day with these Homemade Chocolate Crepes for breakfast, with a mug of delicious Cookies and Cream Hot Chocolate on the side, and end your day with a sweet little something like these Chocolate Snowball Cookies.

Chocolate Crinkle Cookies

I just love the contrast of the dark chocolate cookies and the snowy white crust of powdered sugar on these chocolate crinkle cookies. The signature crinkles make these cookies look like snow-capped mountains, a perfect scene of a white winter holiday.

What you need to make chocolate crinkle cookies

The wet ingredients:

Butter – you may see some chocolate crinkles recipes calling for oil but I prefer butter for taste. In fact, this recipe uses brown butter to enhance the cookie flavor ever further.
Sugar – both granulated sugar and brown sugar are used in this recipe.
Egg – just one egg to bind the ingredients together.
Vanilla Extract – always use vanilla extract to enhance the flavor of any cookies no matter what.

The dry ingredients:

Flour – all-purpose flour.
Cocoa powder – you can use either natural or dutch-processed cocoa.
Salt – just a little bit of salt goes a long way to enhance the flavor of all cookies.
Baking soda and baking powder – for leavening.

How to make chocolate crinkle cookies

The brown butter

Brown butter is truly the secret ingredient that makes these cookies shine. It brings a toffee note that compliments the chocolate flavor and adds complexity to the final product. Making the brown butter only adds another 10 minutes to the prep time and is totally worth it.

Use a light color saucepan to make brown butter so you can see the color change.
Don’t try to speed up the process by raising the heat level, cook over medium heat or even lower if necessary to avoid scorching the butter.
When you can see the butter turning a caramel color and smell nutty, it is done.

The cookie dough

This chocolate cookie dough does not need to be refrigerated, but it can be refrigerated or frozen if you are making it a day or even weeks ahead to prepare for the holiday.

Beat egg with butter until creamy, then add cooled brown butter and vanilla extract and continue beating until light and fluffy.
Sift the dry ingredients together to break up and clumps in the flour and cocoa powder. Add flour mixture to the wet ingredients, stir to form the cookie dough.
Divide the cookie dough with a medium cookie scoop and shape into balls. Roll in granulated sugar and then powdered sugar before baking.

Other tips for making chocolate crinkle cookies

Make sure to allow the brown butter to cool before making the cookie dough, you don’t want to scramble the egg by mixing in hot butter.
For this recipe, I like to portion the cookie dough all together and shaping them into dough balls before rolling each one in sugar. This way your hands are not covered in powdered sugar while trying to shape the next dough ball.
Pack the powdered sugar quite generously if you want a good layer of white crust after the cookies are baked. If you roll it too thin, the powdered sugar crust won’t be as prominent.

Storing chocolate crinkles

Store these cookies in an airtight container on your countertop for up to a week. They do not need to be refrigerated. In fact, refrigeration is not recommended since it can make the sugar coating watery.

More cookie recipes you’ll love!

Chocolate Crinkle Cookies

Chocolate Crinkle Cookies are classic chocolate cookies that kids of all ages will love. This particular recipe is enhanced with brown butter to give it a more complex flavor that takes these cookies from good to great!

Cookies

4 oz unsalted butter
¼ cup granulated sugar
½ cup lightly packed brown sugar
1 large egg (room temperature)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup flour
½ cup cocoa powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon kosher salt

Sugar for rolling

2 tablespoon granulated sugar
⅓ cup powdered sugar (sifted)

To make brown butter, heat unsalted butter in a light color saucepan over medium heat. Once the butter melts, it will start getting foamy. Once the foam subsides, you’ll see clear bubbles. Continue cooking and stirring constantly to keep the butter from burning. Once the butter smells nutty and turns a caramel color, turn off the heat. This process will take about 7 – 9 minutes. Allow brown butter to cool to room temperature before using.
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Add egg and sugar to a large mixing bowl or a stand mixer bowl and beat until light in color and creamy, about 2 minutes. Add cooled brown butter and vanilla extract, and continue beating until light and fluffy, another 2 minutes.
In another mixing bowl, sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and baking powder, then stir in the salt. Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients and stir until incorporated.
Use a medium cookie scoop to scoop the cookie dough from the bowl, take a spatula and level off any excess cookie dough. Roll the dough into a ball with your hands. Place dough ball on a parchment-lined small baking sheet. This should yield 17 dough balls. The dough does not need to be refrigerated.
Add granulated sugar and powdered sugar in two separate bowls. When ready to bake, roll the cookie dough in granulated sugar first, then in powdered sugar. Place them on another parchment-lined baking sheets about 2 inches apart. Bake for 11 – 12 minutes. Bake one tray at a time in the middle of the oven.
Remove the baking sheet from the oven and place it on a wire rack to cool 5 -10 minutes before removing and placing the cookies on the wire rack themselves to cool completely.

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Chocolate Crinkle Cookies

Chocolate Crinkle Cookies