Christmas Chocolate Crackle Cookies

We always make these Chocolate Crackle Cookies for the holidays!  They are a wonderful, traditional Christmas cookie favorite for many families.  If you haven’t ever tried these, you need to add this to your holiday cookie list.  (Like yesterday, really.  You’ll understand after you have a bite or two.)

While these chocolate cookies bake in the oven, they puff up and the powdered sugar tops crackle up, forming a candy sugar shell around these traditional Christmas brownie cookies. Oh Yes!

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Crisp on the outside and chewy on the inside, they’re satisfying, but not extremely chocolatey.  I did use Hershey’s Special Dark Chocolate Baking Powder, because I like more chocolate flavor. 🙂  (But that’s just me, being obsessed with dark chocolate!)

You can use your own favorite unsweetened baking chocolate powder. You can also flavor them with some peppermint extract if you love chocolate and mint together, which is very Christmas-y!

I found this recipe on Williams Sonoma, made it and definitely recommend it. I especially liked it because I didn’t have to chill the dough.  Usually, this recipe has a chill time of an hour or so.

Hey!!! Can you ever have enough chocolate cookies? 🙂 Here’s more!

Intense Dark Chocolate Mocha Latte Cookies

OMG! Thick & Chewy Mega ‘Chocolate Fix’ Cookies

‘Hubba-Hubba’ Brownie Chocolate Chip Marshmallow Cookies!

ChocolaTess Trivia:  Want to know how to keep most of that powdered sugar on your cookies when they bake?  

Sprinkle and roll the cookie balls in the powdered sugar very generously and place on a cookie sheet, then repeat very generously sprinkling and rolling your cookie balls again.  Place them on a cookie sheet to bake and soon you’ll get that *crackle*!

You get beautiful crackles or crinkles (as some call it) on the top and the powdered sugar bakes into the chocolate fudge cookies.  That’s how the magic is done! Chocolate Crackle Cookies no wonder we love you!!

Print Recipe

4 from 8 votes

Chocolate Crackle Cookies

Prep Time25 mins

Cook Time10 mins

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: brown sugar cookies, chocolate, christmas cookies

Author: Kim Lange

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
• 1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter 1 stick, room temperature
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract or 1/4 teaspoon peppermint or mint extract

Instructions

• Preheat an oven to 350°F. Grease 2 baking sheets with butter or use parchment paper.
• Put the confectioners' sugar into a bowl and set aside.
• In another bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
• In a large bowl, using a mixer, beat the butter and sugar on medium speed until creamy, about 3 minutes.
• Add 1 egg and beat on medium speed until blended. Add the other egg and vanilla and beat until blended.
• Add in the flour mixture gradually and beat on low speed just until combined. 
• Roll the dough into balls (1 tablespoon), then sprinkle and roll the balls in the confectioners' sugar until covered and place them all on one baking sheet.
• Roll the balls in the confectioners' sugar until covered a second time to give them an extra coat.
• Place the balls on the prepared baking sheet about 2 inches apart.
• Bake the cookies until they are crackled and puffed, 10 to 12 minutes.
• Remove the baking sheet from the oven and set it on a wire rack for 15 minutes.
• Using a metal spatula, move the cookies onto the rack and let cool completely.
• Repeat with the rest of the cookies. Makes about 24 cookies.

Notes

Chill dough for 15-20 minutes if dough is too sticky for rolling into balls.