Brownie crinkle cookies are rich, fudgy, brownie-like cookies with a thick bite, soft centers, and crinkly sugar coated tops. With melt-in-your-mouth texture, these cookies are hard to resist. We’ll be baking them all winter long.
When I think of Christmas cookies, I imagine the age-old classic sugar cookies, cut into snowflakes, Christmas tree, Santa, and star shapes and laced with royal icing. And I think of chocolate crinkle cookies, with their snowy, crackly tops and deeply chocolaty flavor.
Now, we love a good crinkle cookie. But sometimes you want something with all the markings of a crinkle cookie, but also with the rich, thick texture and taste of a brownie. Am I right? Well look no further than these brownie crinkle cookies. They are basically a brownie in cookie form with a nice thick layer of granulated and powdered sugar. These babies will have you in the Christmas spirit in no time!🎄💕🎅
Ingredients
- Butter – we use plant butter or olive oil butter to cut down on the saturated fat content. You can also use regular unsalted butter. Set butter out at room temperature about 20 minutes before making you cookies to allow it to slightly soften.
- Granulated sugar – to sweeten and aid in the coveted crinkle top.
- Cocoa powder – for that super fudgy, rich chocolate flavor, use Dutch process cocoa (think Hershey’s special dark cocoa) instead of regular cocoa powder.
- Eggs – binding agent.
- Espresso powder – to intensify the chocolate flavor of these crinkle cookies.
- All purpose flour – for that thick, chewy structure.
- Vanilla extract – enhances the other flavors of the cookies.
- Baking powder – leavening agent to help these cookies stay plump.
- Salt – to bring out all the other flavors.
- Powdered (confectioner’s) sugar – to create that deliciously crinkly cookie top.
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Tips for Making Brownie Crinkle Cookies
- Chill the dough – this dough is stickier than our usual cookie dough, so chilling is necessary. As an added bonus, chilling helps to reduce overspreading and lets the flavors deepen. Don’t skip this step!
- Use a baking mat – we swear by baking mats when making cookies. They help cookies bake evenly and prevent overspreading and overcooking (no more dark bottoms!). Plus they eliminate the greasy residue cooking spray or butter leaves behind.
- Use Dutch process cocoa – Dutch process cocoa yields darker and smoother baked goods than natural cocoa. It is neutralized during the roasting process and therefore won’t react with baking soda (base) and is often paired with (neutral) baking powder. Conversely, natural cocoa is acidic and is often paired with baking soda (base) to neutralize in a chemical reaction that affects the leavening and texture of the baked good. You shouldn’t swap one for the other since they won’t behave the same way with the leavening agents used in the recipe. And the texture, taste, lift, and spreading of your cookies will be negatively impacted. Check out the in-depth look at the difference between Dutch process and natural cocoa by Sally’s Baking Addiction.
- Include the espresso powder – espresso powder enhances the chocolate flavor in these cookies. It is such a game changer when it comes to chocolate desserts and we highly recommend adding it in!
- Coat with granulated AND powdered sugar – we learned this trick from America’s test kitchen. Granulated sugar is coarse and does a better job of drawing moisture away from the tops of the cookies, which is what causes them to crack while they bake. It also helps to keep the powdered sugar from melting (which it tends to do when you roll your cookies in just powdered sugar), resulting in the loveliest crinkly, powder sugar coated cookies.
How to Make Brownie Crinkle Cookies
In a stand mixer, cream together butter and 1 cup of granulated sugar at medium high speed until smooth and creamy and butter is lighter in color, about 2-3 minutes. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, and vanilla extract.
In a medium bowl, combine flour, cocoa, baking powder, espresso powder, and salt. Reduce the mixer speed to low. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Be careful to not over-mix the batter.
Refrigerate the dough 2 hours, as the dough will be a little sticky. Remove the dough from the fridge about 20 minutes before shaping and preheat the oven to 350℉.
Place â…“ cup of granulated sugar in a small bowl and â…“ cup powdered sugar in a second small bowl. Scoop and roll about 1-1/2 tablespoons of dough into a ball. First roll the balls in granulated sugar, then roll them in powdered sugar until generously coated (don’t skimp!). Transfer to a baking sheet, spacing cookies about 2 inches apart. Repeat until the cookie sheet is full.
Bake cookies for 11 to 13 minutes. Allow cookies to cool partially on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack or wax paper to finish cooling.
How to Store
- Room temperature – store these cookies in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
- Freezer – form cookies into dough balls and flash freeze for 1 hour on a cookie sheet. Transfer the dough balls to a large freezer safe Ziploc baggie for up to 3 months. Bring to room temperature 30 minutes before baking. Roll thawed dough in powdered sugar and bake according to directions.
Frequently Asked Questions
The secret is to first roll your dough in a thin layer of granulated sugar, then coat it generously in powdered sugar. The granulated sugar will draw the moisture from the top of the cookies while they bake, creating lovely cracks and allowing the powdered sugar to stay in its powdered, unmelted form.
Oven temperature is usually to blame for your cookies not cracking. Be sure to fully preheat your oven to 350F before baking. You may also need to add more sugar to the coating, as the sugar is what helps create the cracks by drawing out the moisture. And lastly, check that your baking powder is fresh, as expired leavening agents won’t do their job properly.
Just to note, our crinkle cookies are designed to be thicker than typical crinkle cookies. This is due to the dough being chilled for longer and baking at a slightly higher temperature than is usual for crinkle cookies (350F instead of 325F). Both allow the edges to set more quickly and reduces spreading. If you covet thin crinkle cookies, you can skip the chilling time, bake at 325F, or try a different recipe.
Espresso powder helps deepen the rich chocolate flavor of these brownie crinkle cookies.
Check out our other cookie recipes
- Dark chocolate cranberry walnut cookies
- Pumpkin pecan cookies
- White chocolate peppermint cookies
- Cookies and cream cookies
- Maple pecan cookies
- Coffee chocolate chip cookies
Brownie Crinkle Cookies
Equipment
Ingredients
- ½ c plant or reduced fat butter, slightly softened
- 1â…“ c granulated sugar, divided
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1â…“ c all-purpose or white whole wheat flour
- â…” c Dutch processed cocoa powder (like Hershey's special dark)
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp espresso powder
- ½ tsp salt
- â…“ c powdered sugar (for rolling)
Instructions
- In a stand mixer, cream together butter and 1 cup granulated sugar at medium high speed until smooth and creamy and butter is lighter in color, about 2-3 minutes. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, and vanilla extract.
- In a medium bowl, combine flour, cocoa, baking powder, espresso powder, and salt. Reduce the mixer speed to low. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Be careful to not over-mix the batter.
- Refrigerate the dough 2 hours, as the dough will be a little sticky. Remove the dough from the fridge about 20 minutes before shaping and preheat the oven to 350℉.
- Place ⅓ cup of granulated sugar in a small bowl and ⅓ cup powdered sugar in a second small bowl. Scoop and roll about 1½ tablespoons of dough into a ball. First roll the balls in granulated sugar, then roll them in powdered sugar until generously coated (don't skimp!). Transfer to a baking sheet, spacing cookies about 2 inches apart. Repeat until the cookie sheet is full.
- Bake cookies for 11 to 13 minutes. Allow cookies to cool partially on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack or wax paper to finish cooling.
Notes
FAQs:
- How do I prevent powdered sugar from melting? The secret is to first roll your dough in a thin layer of granulated sugar, then coat it generously in powdered sugar. The granulated sugar will draw the moisture from the top of the cookies while they bake, creating lovely cracks and allowing the powdered sugar to stay in its powdered, unmelted form.
- Why are my crinkle cookies not cracking? Oven temperature is usually to blame for your cookies not cracking. Be sure to fully preheat your oven to 350F before baking. You may also need to add more sugar to the coating, as the sugar is what helps create the cracks by drawing out the moisture. And lastly, check that your baking powder is fresh, as expired leavening agents won’t do their job properly.
- Why didn’t my crinkle cookies spread? Just to note, our crinkle cookies are designed to be thicker than typical crinkle cookies. This is due to the dough being chilled for longer and baking at a slightly higher temperature than is usual for crinkle cookies (350F instead of 325F). Both allow the edges to set more quickly and reduces spreading. If you covet thin crinkle cookies, you can skip the chilling time, bake at 325F, or try a different recipe.
- What does espresso do to cookies? Espresso powder helps deepen the rich chocolate flavor of these brownie crinkle cookies.
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