
On the second day of Christmas, there was an unbelievably fudgy, deep-dark chocolatey, ooey-gooey cookie. Deep Dark Chocolate Crinkle Cookies are pretty much the exact opposite of yesterday’s Pecan Snowballs. Where those are hard and crumbly, these are soft and chewy. But hey—it’s #12DaysofChristmas and who says we have to choose? Make both and enjoy the compliments.
Like the snowballs, these Chocolate Crinkle Cookies need to chill. I actually made the dough in the evening, stashed it still in the mixing bowl in the fridge overnight, and shaped, rolled, and baked them in the morning. The balls of dough can even be frozen for up to three months, so keep a bag in the freezer to bake up for impromptu gifts. If you’re a chocoholic, it really doesn’t get any better than these cookies. They’re reminiscent of a brownie in the center, with a slightly crispier and lovely snow-dusted exterior.
To make these Chocolate Crinkle Christmas Cookies, you make a simple chocolate cookie dough with sugar, eggs, flour, oil and cocoa powder. I like to use Hershey’s Special Dark cocoa powder in this recipe, but you can use any cocoa powder you like.

A staunch proponent of ooey-gooey, these cookies are among my favorites. As a variation, you can always sub peppermint extract in the dough instead of vanilla to make peppermint chocolate crinkles. Wouldn’t that be divine?

Deep, Dark Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
Fudgy and impossibly chocolatey, these chocolate crinkle cookies will please the pickiest of palates.
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 4 eggs at room temp
- 3 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- powdered sugar for rolling
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
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Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
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Combine flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl.
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In a stand mixer or medium bowl, combine the cocoa, sugar and vegetable oil. Mix with stand or hand mixer for 3 minutes. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix until evenly combined.
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Add the flour, baking powder and salt and incorporate all the ingredients. Cover the dough and refrigerate for at least 3 hours.
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With a cookie scoop or teaspoon, measure out 1-inch balls of dough.
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Roll each ball in powdered sugar before placing onto prepared baking sheets.
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Bake for 8-10 minutes. Middles will still look wet when done.
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Let cool for two minutes before transferring the cookies to a cooling rack to finish cooling.