Hey guys! Today we’re back at it with another cookie recipe, and this is one that I feel like I don’t make enough. These are soft, chewy, Chocolate Crinkle Cookies and they are definitely a cookie box classic!
For very little effort here, we’re going to end up with these really beautiful, crackled, dark chocolate cookies and they taste incredible. This is one of the easiest holiday cookie recipes you can make, so let’s get to it!
How to Make High-Altitude Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
This a super simple cookie recipe, and it results in a pretty soft dough, don’t worry though, this is how it should be! So we’re starting out with our melted butter, eggs, white and brown sugars, vanilla extract, and hot coffee. The coffee just brings out the chocolate flavor even more.
Then we’re just adding in our dry ingredients- I’m using flour, dark cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt to bring everything together. You want to mix everything until it’s well combined and you’ve got a soft dough without any dry pockets remaining. It should look something like this:
Then we’re scooping the cookies into about 2 tbs balls, and rolling each one in powdered sugar. Because the dough is nice and soft, you don’t have to worry about perfectly shaping them, and they will grab onto plenty of powdered sugar!
Now we’re just baking these babies until they puff up and crack all over. These cookies are going to stay gooey while they are warm, but don’t worry, as they cool completely, they’re going to firm up slightly, and you’ll end up with a super soft, chewy texture once the cookies have cooled.
And that’s it- you’re going to end up with these super pretty, almost brownie-like cookies that taste seriously incredible! Hope you guys love this one!
Tips & Tricks for Making Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
These cookies are super simple to make with big results, and I have some tips & tricks to help you along the way!
- Do I have to cream the butter and sugar together? No, when you’re working with melted butter, you don’t need to cream the butter and sugar together. In this recipe, we’re mixing together the melted butter along with the sugars and all the wet ingredients until just combined.
- Can I mix these cookies by hand? Yes, you definitely can, but it will take a little bit of elbow grease! The dough will be soft but still very thick and dense, so it may take a little time to work in all the flour by hand. I like to use an electric hand mixer instead here!
- What kind of cocoa powder should I use? I’m using a dutch processed cocoa powder here because it gives the cookies a really deep chocolate flavor that I love! I usually find that dark cocoa powder works best at high-altitude.
- Will the cookies taste like coffee? Not at all- the added coffee just helps the cookies come together, and it helps bring out the chocolate flavor so I definitely recommend it.
- Can I use something else in place of the coffee? Yes, if you want to omit the coffee, you can instead add in some hot milk in place of it.
- Don’t over bake the cookies! When they come out of the oven they should be puffy, cracked all over, and still very soft. These cookies might seem too gooey while they are still warm, but I promise they will cool to the softest, most amazing texture!
- The dough should be soft when it’s fully mixed. The dough will be thick, but slightly soft because we’re using melted butter. Don’t worry, this is the correct texture, and it helps the dough grab onto lots of powdered sugar.
- I’m at about 5,000 ft. above sea level, and I usually find that people who live between about 3,000-7,000 ft above sea level do not need to make any adjustments to my recipes.
Enjoy!
High-Altitude Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 1/4 cups flour
- 2/3 cup dark cocoa powder
- 1 1/4 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1/2 cup melted butter
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 2 1/2 tbs. hot coffee
- 2/3 cup powdered sugar for rolling
Instructions
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Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and line two baking sheets with parchment paper. In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt, and set aside.
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In a large bowl, stir together the melted butter, eggs, granulated sugar, brown sugar, hot coffee, and vanilla extract until combined. Slowly add in the flour mixture and stir together until no dry pockets of flour remain.
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Scoop your cookies into small balls, about 2-tablespoonfuls, and roll each ball in powdered sugar to completely coat it. Place on your prepared baking sheets about 2 inches apart to account for spreading. Gently press each cookie down with the bottom of a glass.
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Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until the cookies are puffy and cracked all over, and then let the cookies cool for about 5 minutes on the pan before transferring to a cooling rack to finish cooling. The cookies will be very soft while they are cooling, and should be soft and chewy once cooled!
Hello and welcome! My name is Nicole, and Dough-eyed is a food blog for people who want to bake for their family and friends in high-altitude areas. Think of me as a friendly voice there with you in the kitchen, here to give you confidence when you’re baking, and to help you with the struggles of baking at high-altitude. Come back every week for new recipes, tips, and advice on high-altitude baking!
Rita says
I’m in below sea level altitude will this affect your recipe
Dough-Eyed says
Hi there- I am unable to test recipes at sea level, so I can't say for sure. I would recommend that you decrease the flour by about 3 tbs in this recipe, and increase the baking powder to 1 1/2 tsp. to start out. I hope that helps!
Randi says
Can I leave out the coffee (not a fan of coffee)? What would be a good replacement?
Rebecca says
Making these around 6,000 ft out in Colorado and these turned out perfectly! These were the perfect addition to the collection of Christmas cookies 🙂
Paula says
I live at 5000 ft. and these turned out perfectly! I even made a mistake in combining the ingredients and it didn't seem to affect the outcome. Bravo!
Terri says
Can I leave out the coffee?
Deb Beveridge says
Used Cooks Illustrated techniques +1/4 t. Baking soda, baked one tray at a time in upper third of oven and roll in white sugar then powdered sugar. Google their recipe. Taste wise these were bland and missing the melted bakers chocolate from other recipes. With all the flour in this recipe, I think it can handle the extra liquid and sugar and will try adding it next time.
Yehudis says
I was so excited when I saw a high altitude recipe for cookies!
I live at 5,000 ft.
Sadly my cookies spread too much in the oven and they're pretty flat. They are absolutely scrumptious, but I'd love to know why they spread so much when the recipe was designed for high altitude baking.
The same thing has happened with my other cookies but those weren't recipes designed for my altitude..
Nicole, do you have any thoughts? I'd love to learn more about this and improve my game
Dough-Eyed says
Hey there! So sorry this one didn't work out right for you- This is one of my go-tos and I've made it many times! I'm wondering if maybe we are measuring flour differently? I do a simple scoop measure, which typically results in a little bit more flour than a spoon-and-level method.