Chocolate Crinkle Cookies are always a favorite, but make them even more special by either stuffing them with chocolate or adding a bit of spice to them.
Now that Thanksgiving has officially come and gone, my Pinterest feed is no longer filled with anything and everything pumpkin related. It's now filled with all kinds of Christmas goodies.
I have seen chocolate crinkle cookies appear throughout this feed several times. I fell in love with these cookies several years ago when my Mom recruited my friend Kate and I to cater her office Christmas party.
It was a cocktail party and I was in charge of hors d'oeuvres (of which I made way too many) and she was in charge of sweets. Kate is a baker extraordinaire and her chocolate crinkles were no exception. Since then, I have made them many, many times, and have done some experimenting. What I have come up with, I have called Chocolate Crinkle Cookies Three Ways.
Three different types of Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
The first way is the regular way. No special flavors or anything added to these ones. They're just the regular fudgy cookies with the powdered sugar white crackled look that everyone knows and loves.
The second way is what I call Spiced Hot Chocolate Crinkle Cookies. They've got a bit of cinnamon and just a tiny hint of cayenne for a bit of a kick. Trust me, they won't be too spicy, just enough to make them extra special.
These ones are Mr. Dreamboat's favorite. In fact, they are what he requested for his birthday treat to bring to his office.
The third version of chocolate crinkles I make are Caramel Stuffed Chocolate Crinkle Cookies. If you like ooey gooey caramel mixed with your fudgy cookies, then this will be the recipe for you. A little extra work to get that caramel inside, but probably worth it.
If you've never made these cookies before, you will soon realize that the dough (or batter more like it, since it's quite wet) is super easy to make. Every time I make it I'm like "Wow! That was easy. Why don't I make these more often?". You will put the dough in the fridge and after a while form the cookies.
Then I remember why I don't make them more often. Okay, it's not exactly hard to shape the dough into tiny balls and roll them in powdered sugar, but it is messy. You will likely end up with chocolate cookie dough-coated hands and a fine coat of powdered sugar over your kitchen. Totally worth it for these though.
Like with most cookies, it's super important that you don't overcook these. You will take them out when the cracks appear wet, and well, still quite raw. You want them to be soft for that fudgy quality.
Also, take them off the cookie sheet right away to prevent them from continuing to cook. You will wind up with
- Super fudgy and pretty cookies
- Fudgy cookies with a bit of a kick OR
- Fudgy cookies with gooey caramel inside. Which ones are your favorite?
Chocolate Crinkle Cookies Nutrition Notes:
Nutrition information is for the regular Chocolate Crinkles. For the Caramel Stuffed version, add 32kcal/cookie for the extra caramel. Also, these cookies will also be larger, so the nutrition information would be roughly doubled per cookie.
The regular and Spiced Hot Chocolate versions of these Chocolate Crinkle Cookies are both dairy-free, but the Caramel Stuffed version likely contains dairy unless you specifically look for dairy-free caramels.
More recipes for Chocolate Lovers
Chocolate Crinkle Cookies Three Ways
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 cups sugar
- ½ cup canola oil
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 4 ounces unsweetened baking chocolate melted and cooled slightly (us dai dairy-free chocolate to make these cookies dairy-free)
- 4 large eggs
- 1 ½ cups all purpose flour
- ½ cup whole wheat flour (optional - you can just add ½ cup additional all purpose flour)
- ½ cup cocoa powder
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon (optional for Spiced version)
- ⅛ teaspoon cayenne powder (optional for Spiced version)
- 24 caramels unwrapped (optional, for Caramel Stuffed version)
- powdered sugar
Instructions
- Mix 2 cups sugar, ½ cup canola oil, 2 teaspoons vanilla, and 4 ounces unsweetened baking chocolate in a large bowl. Stir in 4 large eggs, one at a time. Add 1 ½ cups all purpose flour, ½ cup cocoa powder, ½ cup whole wheat flour, 2 teaspoons baking powder, ½ teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon cinnamon, and ⅛ teaspoon cayenne powder, if using. Mix well. Cover, or wrap with plastic and refrigerate for at least 3 hours.
- Heat oven to 350°F. Line baking sheets with parchment or a silicone baking mat (NOTE: Cookies baked on silicone mats will spread more than those baked on parchment).
- For regular or Spiced version: Using about 1-2 teaspoon of batter at a time, roll dough into small balls. Roll each ball in powdered sugar to completely coat.
- For caramel stuffed version: If making the caramel stuffed version, use about 1 tablespoon batter for each cookie. Flatten the dough into a dish in the palm of your hand and place a caramel in the center. Fold the dough around the caramel to completely enclose it. Roll into a ball and coat completely with powdered sugar.
- Place balls about 2" apart on the baking sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes, until cookies have cracked but the cracks still appear wet. Do not overbake. Remove from baking sheet and cool completely on wire rack.
Nutrition
Karly says
These cookies look amazing! Excited to try these with the kick from the cayenne and the caramel!
Carissa says
They really are great! Hope you love them!
Shailaja desai says
Wow!! These look so good.. book marking your recipe to try our soon
Carissa says
Thanks! I hope you love them as much as my family does!