Chocolate Crinkle Cookies

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These soft and fudgy chocolate crinkle cookies are made with whole wheat flour, applesauce, maple syrup and coated in confectioners’ sugar. They’re the perfect addition to your holiday cookie tray!

Today I’m sharing a holiday classic with an EBF spin: chocolate crinkle cookies!

If you’ve never had a chocolate crinkle cookie before, they’re basically a mix between a soft cookie and a fudgy brownie. They’re coated in powdered sugar before baking, which when baked creates “crinkles” in the cookie.

Apparently the original chocolate crinkle cookie recipe was created by Helen Fredell and first made an appearance in Betty Crocker’s 1957 cookie cookbook, “Cooky Carnival” and they’ve been a holiday favorite ever since!

A tray of chocolate crinkle cookies.

Why You’ll Love These Cookies

  • Soft and chewy texture on the inside with a crackly, sugar-coated exterior.
  • They’re fudgy and taste like a brownie, but in cookie form.
  • A classic holiday cookie recipe made healthier with a few ingredient swaps!
  • You only need 10 simple ingredients!
Three cookies stacked on top of each other.

Chocolate Crinkle Cookies Made Healthier

The classic chocolate crinkle cookie recipe is made with butter, white flour and white sugar, but in true EBF fashion I swapped a few ingredients to make a healthier version.

I used whole wheat pastry flour instead of all-purpose flour, a combination of coconut oil and applesauce instead of butter and maple syrup instead of white sugar. Even though these cookies are a tad healthier, they’re still just as delicious. You won’t even be able to tell the difference, trust me!

Ingredients measured out for Chocolate Crinkle Cookies: whole wheat flour, coconut oil, cocoa powder, vanilla, salt, baking soda, egg, powdered sugar, maple syrup and applesauce.

Ingredients Needed

  • whole wheat pastry flour – a whole grain, nutrient-dense flour that results in tender and chewy cookies. My go-to brand is Bob’s Red Mill whole wheat pastry flour. If you can’t find whole wheat pastry flour you can also use white whole wheat flour, a blend of all-purpose and regular whole wheat flour or just regular all-purpose flour.
  • cocoa powder – adds the chocolate flavor to these cookies! Make sure to use unsweetened cocoa powder or cacao powder.
  • baking soda – helps these cookies rise.
  • salt – brings all the flavors together.
  • egg – helps bind the wet and dry ingredients together.
  • coconut oil – a great alternative to butter that helps to keep the cookies moist. You want the oil to be in a liquid state so warm it a bit if necessary before measuring.
  • applesauce – provides moisture and a subtle sweetness to the cookies.
  • maple syrup – the perfect natural sweetener for these cookies, in my opinion.
  • vanilla extract – for a flavor enhancer.
  • confectioners’ sugar – also known as powdered sugar. It’s what we’re rolling the dough in before baking. As they bake and expand in the oven the cookies will form “crinkles.”
A chocolate crinkle cookie with a bite taken out of it rests on top of additional cookies.

Substitutions & Notes

  • Oil: You could swap the coconut oil for vegan butter, regular butter or another neutral oil like avocado or olive oil.
  • Sweetener: If you don’t have maple syrup on hand you could always use a different liquid sweetener like honey, agave syrup or date syrup. I haven’t tried these cookies with dry sugar like coconut sugar so I’m not sure how they’d turn out.
  • Flour: I like using whole wheat pastry flour for these cookies, but you could use all-purpose flour instead. If you need to make these cookies gluten-free, I bet a 1:1 gluten-free all-purpose flour substitute will work just fine. Let me know in the comments if you try a gluten-free version!
  • Egg: I haven’t tried swapping the egg for a vegan substitute like a flax egg so I’m not sure how the cookies will turn out, but let me know if you try it in the comments below!
  • Applesauce: I haven’t tried a replacement for the applesauce, but I bet mashed banana or even Greek yogurt would work well!
  • Want to add more chocolatey goodness? Mix in chocolate chips to the batter before chilling the dough!
Collage of 8 photos showing how to make chocolate crinkle cookies.

How to Make

Mix dry ingredients: Mix the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl.

Mix wet ingredients: In a separate large mixing bowl whisk together the egg, coconut oil, applesauce, maple syrup and vanilla extract.

Combine: Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix well until just combined.

Chill: Cover dough with plastic wrap and chill the dough for about 1 hour covered in the fridge.

Roll dough: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a baking tray with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat and add the powdered sugar to a shallow bowl. Once ready, scoop the dough into balls using a cookie scoop or Tablespoon. You want about 1 1/2 Tablespoon of dough per cookie. Then roll each cookie dough ball into the powdered sugar. Place dough balls onto the baking sheet, but don’t press them down!

Bake: Bake cookies for 12-13 minutes. The cookies should spread and crinkle and the edges should appear to set. Remove from the oven and let cool slightly on cookie sheet. Then move cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.

Cookies on parchment paper.

Tips For Success

  • Chill the dough: Chilling the dough helps to prevent them from spreading too much while baking. It also helps to give them a more defined shape. Chilling the dough also helps prevent the powdered sugar from melting into the dough before baking.
  • Use room temp ingredients: Cookies are best when the ingredients are at room temperature because the dough will spread evenly and the cookies will be more uniform in shape. Room temperature ingredients also mix together more easily, so you’ll end up with a more consistent dough.
  • Rolling in the powdered sugar: When applying the powdered sugar, be sure to tap the cookies lightly after rolling them in the sugar. This will help remove any excess sugar and give the cookies a more consistent coating. If you are baking in a hot or humid location you may end up with the powdered sugar melting into the dough. A tip to help with this is by coating the dough in granulated sugar first, then heavily coating in powdered sugar.
Three cookies stacked on top of each other. The top cookie is missing a bite.

How to Store Chocolate Crinkle Cookies

Store these cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for 4-5 days or in the fridge for about a week. For longer storage, you can store these cookies in the freezer.

Freezing baked cookies: Let the cookies cool completely then store in a freezer-safe container with parchment paper in between each layer.

Freezing unbaked cookies: Roll your dough into balls, then place in an airtight container and freeze for up to 3 months. When you’re ready to bake, let the dough balls thaw in the fridge, roll in powdered sugar and bake!

Chocolate crinkle cookies on a wire tray.

More Holiday Cookies to Try

Be sure to check out all of the healthy Christmas cookies as well as the full collection of cookie recipes here on EBF.

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4.92 from 12 votes

Chocolate Crinkle Cookies

These soft and fudgy chocolate crinkle cookies are made with whole wheat flour, applesauce, maple syrup and coated in confectioners' sugar. They're the perfect addition to your holiday cookie tray!
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 12 minutes
Chill Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 1 hour 22 minutes
Servings: 15

Ingredients  

Instructions 

  • Combine flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt in a medium mixing bowl.
    Flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt combined in a medium mixing bowl
  • In a separate large mixing bowl whisk together egg, coconut oil, applesauce, maple syrup and vanilla extract.
    Egg, coconut oil, applesauce, maple syrup and vanilla extract in a bowl.
  • Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix until just combined.
    Wet and dry ingredients mixed together.
  • Cover dough with plastic wrap and chill for at least 1 hour in the fridge.
  • Preheat oven to 350ºF and line a baking tray with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
  • Add powdered sugar to a shallow bowl and using a cookie scoop or Tablespoon, scoop dough and roll into balls (you want about 1 ½ Tablespoon dough per cookie). Then roll each ball into the powdered sugar.
    Cookie dough balls rolled in powdered sugar.
  • Place dough balls onto the prepared baking sheet. Do not press down!
    Fifteen cookie balls placed evenly across a baking sheet lined with a silpat mat.
  • Bake for 12-13 minutes. Cookies should spread and crinkle and the edges should appear set.
    Fifteen baked chocolate crinkle cookies on a baking sheet lined with a silpat mat.
  • Remove from the oven and let cool slightly on cookie sheet then move to a cooling rack to cool completely.

Video

Nutrition

Serving: 1 cookie | Calories: 111kcal | Carbohydrates: 19g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 4g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 12mg | Sodium: 169mg | Potassium: 77mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 14g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Additional Info

Course: Cookies, Dessert
Cuisine: American
Keyword: chocolate crinkle cookies
Did you make this recipe?Mention @eatingbirdfood and tag #eatingbirdfood!

About Brittany

Hey there, I’m Brittany, the creator of Eating Bird Food, cookbook author, health coach and mama of two littles. Here you’ll find quick and easy recipes that make healthy fun and enjoyable for you and your family!

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Recipe Rating




10 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    Yum!!! We made these with Bob’s Red Mill GF 1:1 blend and they turned out great! They were moist and fudgey as advertised, and not super sweet which was nice. Might add a splash of peppermint extract next time?

    1. YES! That would be delicious, peppermint + chocolate = the BEST! Let me know how they turn out if you give that a try. Thanks so much for coming back and sharing your review & star rating, Sara, I really appreciate it.

  2. 5 stars
    Absolutely loved this recipe! I made it with all purpose gluten free flour (same measurements) and they are delicious! Definitely a soft cake like texture, with slight brownie taste. Will be making these again!!

    1. Excellent! I am so glad you are loving this recipe and the GF version came out great, Lauren! Thank you so much for coming back and sharing your review & star rating, I truly appreciate it!

    1. Hi Kathy – I haven’t tried swapping the egg in this recipe so I am not sure how they will turn out, but if you give them a try, let me know how it works for you! Enjoy!

    1. Hey Caylin – I note some substitution ideas in the post, but mashed/pureed ripe bananas or Greek yogurt might work well. I haven’t tried either substitute, so I’m not sure how the cookies would turn out, but definitely let me know if you end up trying either option and how the cookies turn out!

  3. 4 stars
    Very good! I had to do some subs: for the the flour, I did half whole wheat flour and half all purpose flour. For the maple syrup, I did honey. For the applesauce, I did a smash ripe banana. First batch turned out well, but I wanted them sweeter, so I added dark chocolate chunks to the next batch & they were great!!! A definite success for being a healthier version of the regular chocolate crinkle cookies I make (:

    1. WOO! This sounds delicious, I am so glad you are enjoying these cookies and they turned out great for you. Thank you for sharing your review + star rating, I really appreciate it!