Rich and fudgy chocolate crinkle cookies are perfect for the holidays! They taste like soft brownies and are oh so pretty with their powdered sugar coating. Recipe includes a how-to video!
Chocolate Snowcap Cookies
Chocolate crinkle cookies (also called snowcap cookies) are one of my all-time favorite holiday cookies. My version has a rich, fudgy texture that reminds me of brownies, only softer and slightly less dense. And covered in powdered sugar, of course!
These cookies aren’t difficult to make, but they do take some patience. The dough needs to chill for several hours before it can be baked (sorry, I know!). This is crucial for the proper spread and makes the dough easier to roll, too!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Amazingly fudgy texture, thanks to a few key ingredients and slightly underbaking the cookies in the oven (don’t worry, they will finish baking outside the oven on their baking sheets!).
- Dough can be made ahead of time, which is one of my favorite things to do during the busy holiday baking season. I provide instructions for this below!
- Perfect for Christmas, but seasonally appropriate all winter long! With their cozy, snow-capped look. My blizzard cookies and chocolate chip snowball cookies are also fantastic winter cookies!
- Easy and straightforward to make; we’ll make the dough, chill it, roll it, and bake it. This is a fun one to make with kids!
Ingredients
Before we get started, I’ll highlight a few of the key ingredients we’ll be using today. Feel free to keep scrolling if you’re eager to get to the recipe!
- Cocoa powder. I stick with natural cocoa for these crinkle cookies. Note that this is not the same thing as Dutch process cocoa (save that one for making chocolate sugar cookies or chocolate shortbread)!
- Eggs. You will need four large eggs for this recipe. This is a lot for cookie dough, but this isn’t a classic dough (it won’t feel like a classic chocolate chip cookie dough, for example). The eggs give the cookies their perfect, fudgy texture.
- Sugar. To make these crinkle cookies as chewy, fudgy, and richly flavored as possible, I substitute some of the white sugar for brown sugar. Either light or dark brown will work, though dark brown sugar tends to be sweeter. And don’t forget the powdered sugar for that snow-like coating!
- Baking powder. Yes, we are using a full tablespoon. That’s not a typo! 😉 The baking powder gives the cookies a nice little lift and helps with those pretty crinkles on top.
- Mini chocolate chips. These are optional but highly recommended. I love the little pop of flavor they add to the cookies!
SAM’S TIP: While natural cocoa is my preference and what I recommend, technically Dutch process cocoa will work in this recipe. The end result will just be different since it has a richer flavor and a darker color.
This is just an overview of the ingredients I used and why. For the full recipe please scroll down to the bottom of the post!
How to Make Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
Make the dough
Cream the butter and sugars until light and fluffy, then add the eggs one at a time. This recipe uses quite a few eggs (4!) so you don’t want to add them all at once or you could end up overwhelming the batter, causing it to curdle and making it difficult for everything to evenly incorporate.
When adding the dry ingredients to the wet, do this gradually, again to avoid overwhelming the dough and to make sure everything incorporates nicely. I usually do this in 3 or 4 parts with my mixer on low speed.
The dough will need to chill, as it’s thin and sticky once it’s first all mixed together. I’ll be honest, I’m not the most patient person and I’ve tried scooping and rolling the dough early on many occasions with mixed results. Sometimes the dough is rollable and bakes nicely after 2 hours, but to be safe I recommend at least a 4 hour chill (or better yet, make the day one day and chill it overnight or longer — it’ll keep in the fridge for up to 4 days).
Roll the dough
Scoop and roll 1 ½ tablespoon balls between your palms before rolling in powdered sugar.
Note: don’t be shy with the powdered sugar! Just like when making gooey butter cookies or snowball cookies, we’ll use as much as needed to evenly coat the cookies. I actually like to roll them in sugar, then wash and dry my hands (to get rid of all of the chocolate from the dough!) and then roll the sugared dough in my hands, pressing it into the dough and then re-rolling in sugar if needed. This helps my crinkle cookies stay well-coated in sugar after baking.
Bake and cool
Bake for 10 minutes or until the edges look set and the crackles don’t appear wet, but the centers might still be a bit underdone. It is critically important to not over-bake these cookies so they stay soft and fudgy. If your cookie seems dry the next day, they were baked too long in your oven. And, since all ovens run a bit differently and some hotter than others, your cookies may take slightly more or less time than the 10 minutes indicated.
SAM’S TIP: These cookies will be very fragile when warm, so make sure to let them stay on the baking sheet to cool completely before moving. If you try to move them to a cooling rack they may break.
Frequently Asked Questions
I recommend freezing after chilling but before rolling in sugar. I provide detailed instructions for this in my post on how to freeze cookie dough. Sometimes the cookies don’t spread quite as much after chilling, if you’re worried about this I would thaw the dough balls (make sure they’re in an airtight container) in the refrigerator overnight before baking. If the first tray doesn’t spread as much as you’d like, gently flatten the rest of the dough before baking.
Sure! You can add come finely chopped nuts in with the chocolate chips (either in addition to or in place of). Toasted pecans or walnuts would be tasty here!
This can happen if you were a bit too sparse with your rolling. I actually like to double roll my crinkle cookies in powdered sugar for the best results (I describe how I do this in detail in the how-to section above!).
Very humid days can also cause the powdered sugar to melt on the cookie
These are always one of the first cookies to disappear on my Christmas cookie trays. If you’re looking for some good accompanying cookie options, check out my sugar cookies, Italian cookies, Russian tea cakes, and oatmeal cookies, too!
Enjoy!
Let’s bake together! Subscribe to my newsletter to be notified of all the newest recipes, and find my free recipe tutorials on YouTube 💜
Crinkle Cookies
Ingredients
- 12 Tablespoons (170 g) unsalted butter softened
- 1 ½ cups (300 g) sugar
- ½ cup (100 g) light or dark brown sugar tightly packed
- 4 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 ½ cups (313 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 cup (100 g) natural cocoa powder
- 1 Tablespoon baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup mini chocolate chips
- 1 cup (125 g) powdered sugar for rolling
Recommended Equipment
Instructions
- Combine butter and sugar in a large bowl and use an electric mixer to beat until light and fluffy.12 Tablespoons (170 g) unsalted butter, 1 ½ cups (300 g) sugar, ½ cup (100 g) light or dark brown sugar
- Add eggs, one at a time, stirring until completely incorporated after each addition.4 large eggs
- Stir in vanilla extract.2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- In a separate, medium-sized bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt.2 ½ cups (313 g) all-purpose flour, 1 cup (100 g) natural cocoa powder, 1 Tablespoon baking powder, ¾ teaspoon salt
- Gradually add dry ingredients to wet until completely combined.
- Stir in mini chocolate chips.1 cup mini chocolate chips
- Cover bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight.
- After chilling, preheat oven to 350F (175C).
- Roll dough into 1 ½ Tablespoon-sized balls (about 38g) with your hands and roll thoroughly in powdered sugar.1 cup (125 g) powdered sugar
- Transfer to baking sheet and bake on 350F (175C) for 10 minutes.
- Allow cookies to cool completely on baking sheet before enjoying.
Notes
Storing
Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.A note about humidity
Sometimes during the summer/due to high humidity the powdered sugar will melt on the cookies.Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more.
I originally shared these chocolate crinkle cookies over on my friend Holly’s website, Spend with Pennies, back in 2017. It’s stood the test of time and remains one of my favorites!
Lynda
Sam,
I cannot wait to make this cookies. One question though, do you use Dutch processed cocoa, unsweetened cocoa like Hershey brand?
Sam
Hi Lynda! I use natural cocoa powder, which is unsweetened. Hershey’s brand is a good option 🙂
Manveen
Hi Sam, made these once before and love this recipe. This time I am thinking can I freeze half of them. At what stage can I freeze it. Can I chill it, make balls of the dough and wrap it in individual cling wrap and freeze in a zip lock and may be roll in sugar at the time of baking and bake for extra 3 minutes ? Should that be ok ?
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Hi Manveen! We actually have a new post on how to freeze cookie dough that discusses this. Just scroll down to the sugar coated cookies section 😊
Barbra
These could convert a non chocolate lover in one bite – I swear! Tooo good!
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We totally agree, Barbra! Thanks for trying our recipe ❤️
Michelle
Should the chocolate chips be milk chocolate or semi sweet? Also is it okay to use regular size instead of mini?
Sam
Hi Michelle! You can use either, but mini chips are normally semi-sweet. You will still use the same 1 cup you will just have less chips in each cookie. 🙂
Deb
Sam, is it suppose to be 1 T. baking powder or 1 t. baking powder? Just making sure before I make the cookies, which I am sure will be delicious.
Sam
Hi Deb! It’s one tablespoon. 🙂
Christina B
OMGGG!! These are the most decadent & fabulous cookie especially for any chocoholic!! Sam never disappoints & definitely out did herself on this one! I’m in the middle of baking for a cookie exchange & I picked a few new recipes to try. I let the batter sit overnight, prepped all the balls in sugar & kept them in the fridge in between baking. Most delicious!!
Emma
Hi Sam! I love your blog and all the recipes you post are perfection, and this recipe is no exception! We made them as gifts and we couldn’t stop eating them. They are so soft and moist! Thank you so much and merry Christmas ❤️
Sam
Thank you Emma! I’m so glad you have enjoyed everything so much. 🙂
Tiffany
Hello Sam, my family and I love your recipes. Are these freezer friendly and can I use m&ms instead of powder sugar? I would like to make crinkle and m&m cookies without making 2 different types of doughs. Thank you.
Sam
Hi Tiffany! I’m so sorry I missed this! If you want to use M & Ms here I would probably just nestle them gently on to the cookies within a minute or two of them coming out of the oven. You should be able to freeze these without any issues. 🙂
Lyn
Hi Sam…this looks so yummy. When you say chill it, does it need to be in a freezer or in the fridge ? Sorry not a baker, trying to though 😂 Thanks
Sam
Hi Lyn! In the refrigerator! Sorry for not being more clear about that, I will update the recipe to be more clear 🙂
Nayy
Hello Sam, I’ll be making these cookies for Christmas Eve & was wondering how many days in advance can I make them & how long will they last? Also I bought the “Hershey’s Cocoa Special Dark” can I use that or is there a specific one?
Sam
These cookies should last about a week at room temperature in an air tight container. The special dark cocoa powder should work, it will just change the flavor a little bit. 🙂
Nayy
Like in a bitter way or sweeter way? It’ll be my first time making these I really want them to come out perfect thanks for the response Sam 😊.
Sam
They’ll be more bitter, much the way dark chocolate is. Personally I think that’s a good thing, but I love dark chocolate 😉
Becky
These are delicious and are by far the best chocolate crinkle cookies we have made! Thank you for sharing!
Sugar Spun Run
I am so glad that you enjoyed the cookies, Becky! Thank you for trying my recipe and for commenting. 🙂
Rebeca
Hello Sam!
I love your recipes, they are the only ones that I can follow without fear that the quantities are bad, I prepare them as is, which is a surprise for me since I love to change the proportions.
I made these cookies as part of the ones I prepared for Christmas and they were a success, they are incredibly delicious, so I will prepare them for the new year because I could only eat two before they were finished.
As advice, if one makes the dough balls with wet hands, it will barely stick in the hands, that my mother discovered when she came to help me make them.
Thank you for sharing your recipes.
Sam
Hi Rebecca! Thank you so much for your kind words about my recipes, I really appreciate that! So glad to hear that you enjoyed the crinkle cookies! Thank you for the advice about rolling out the dough, I will definitely be trying that next time! Thank you for commenting, it means a lot to me <3
Melody
Again I love all your recipes! I feel like I must of not followed it fully bc they taste great but they’re not fudgy or rich enough in the middle, I’m not sure but will definitely make again and again 😍
Sam
Hi Melody! Try baking them a minute or two less and letting them cool completely on the baking pan, that should help! They may look underdone when they come out of the oven but they should finish baking on the sheet as they cool and stay nice and fudgy in the center. I hope that helps 🙂
Deb
I made these cookies today and they are absolutely delicious! A little crisp on outside and very soft and fudgy on inside! Perfect! I’m hoping to stop eating them because it was my intention to add them to cookie trays and give as gifts! Thanks for the recipe, Sam!
Sam
I am so happy you enjoyed them so much, Deb! Thank you for letting me know!! 🙂
Paula
How should these be stored if made ahead of time?
Sam
Store in an airtight container at room temperature once they have cooled completely. I hope you love them!