Fudgy and rich vegan chocolate crinkle cookies are so pretty and a serious crowd pleaser! A classic holiday cookie, and for good reason.
It’s the season for cookies! Christmas is a month away, and I hope this is a time of cookie baking, hot chocolate sipping, snuggling with a kitten on the couch (wait, is that just my life?), fuzzy socks and quality time with friends and family.
These Vegan Chocolate Crinkle Cookies are sure to get you in the spirit of Christmas! Its almost like they’re trying to be a brownie that’s rolled in powdered sugar. They are super fudgy inside with a wonderful powdered sugar outside, and they get the most beautiful cracks after baking. It’s quite magical!
My oldest son says these are his favorite cookies. Then again, whenever I make Vegan Snickerdoodles, he claims those are his favorite cookie ever, so I don’t know…. But I’ve never come across a person that didn’t LOVE these vegan chocolate crinkle cookies!
How do you make vegan chocolate crinkle cookies?
These fancy looking cookies are surprisingly easy to make. If you’ve been with me awhile, you might know that I like to make my dessert recipes as easy and delicious as possible. If I can, I use 1 bowl, which is what I did here.
First, you make the cookie dough (all in 1 bowl). A sifter is helpful because cocoa powder can be quite chunky, and you want it to be very fine. Same with the flour. If you don’t have a sifter, you can use a fine mesh strainer.
Then, shape in balls, roll in powdered sugar (GENEROUSLY) and bake! That’s it.
What kind of cocoa powder?
Natural cocoa powder works here, as well as dark cocoa powder, dutch processed or even cacao powder. Use you what have. Dark cocoa powder makes them extra dark in contrast with the powdered sugar.
For more vegan cookie recipes, check these out:
Perfect Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies
Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
Vegan Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/3 cup canola oil OR melted coconut oil
- 1 tablespoon ground flax seeds
- 1/3 cup non-dairy milk
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
- 1/2 cup cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup powdered sugar, for rolling
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, add the sugar and canola oil. Stir with a wooden spoon until well combined and smooth. Add the ground flax seeds, non-dairy milk and vanilla, and mix well to combine.
- Sift in the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt using either a sifter or fine mesh strainer. Stir until combined with the wet ingredients and a soft dough is formed.
- Place the powdered sugar in a small mixing bowl. Scoop out a heaping tablespoon of dough at a time, and shape into a ball. Roll the ball in the powdered sugar very generously, covering all sides. The more powdered sugar, the prettier the cookies will be.
- Place the balls onto the prepared baking sheet, about 2 inches apart so they have room to spread.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes until set. They will appear slightly undercooked and soft, but will firm up as they cool.
- Cool on the baking sheet for at least 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack. Store any extra cookies in an airtight container for 4-5 days. Enjoy!
Video
Notes
- May use canola oil, melted coconut oil or melted vegan butter.
- Use any kind of non-dairy milk you like, such as soy, almond, cashew, or coconut milk.
- If the dough is hard to work with, stick it in the fridge for 30 minutes or so, then try again. You can also wet your hands a little bit so the dough sticks less.
fantastic cookies; super rich and fudgy!! 10/10 no notes 🙂
Hi Maria. Thanks for sharing your glowing 5 star review! I’m thrilled you loved the cookies!
Just made these tonight and they are deeeelicious!!! I recently discovered your website and look forward to making lots of tasty vegan food following your recipes! Thank you so much! ☺️
Welcome to my site, Xenia! I’m thrilled you’ve discovered my recipes, and hope you enjoy your journey through them all! Please reach out with any questions you may have along the way! Thank you for taking time to share your glowing review! I’m so glad you loved the cookies! Wishing you happy cooking!
Thanks for your thoughtful response and being open to answering questions I may have! 😊
😊
Hi, I made these and they didn’t spread out at all, stayed in the ball shape, they taste wonderful though🤤😅 Any thoughts on why this may have happened? I used grape seed oil and followed the recipe for everything else. I usually weigh the dry ingredients and this time I used measuring cups, maybe they was too much flour/cocoa powder?
Hi there! It sounds like just a bit too much flour or cocoa powder, making them too dry and unable to spread.
These are fantastic- followed the recipe exactly as is and cannot recommend enough.
Hi Taylor. I’m thrilled you loved the cookies! Thanks for your stellar review and feedback!
These are absolutely delicious and very easy to make! They are chewy and rich like a brownie. We will definitely be making these again!
Thank you for your glowing 5 star review! I’m so glad you loved the cookies! Wishing you happy cooking!
These turned out great! I love your recipes but find I can usually decrease the sugar, so I reduced the granulated sugar to 3/4 cup. I used vegetable (soybean) oil instead of coconut and baked the 18 cookies for 12 minutes. I didn’t make any adjustments for elevation (I’m at 4200 ft). Thanks!
I cut the sugar in half and it was still fantastic!! I made two batches with one cup! Also, I cooked my first batch at 12 min, and the second at 10 min, and the second turned out a bit less dry! This recipe is so good! Now to try to replace flour for my gluten-free friend… Hmm…
Can I use applesauce for oil and Just Egg for the flax egg?
I’m not sure if that will work honestly. The JUST Egg should work fine but applesauce for oil will greatly change the outcome.
These cookies are delicious, I won a contest at work with this recipe! However, I’ve had a hard time getting consistent appearance. Once there was too much oil and the powdered sugar dissolved into the cookies. In a few batches the cookies did not spread. A few times they’ve come out as shown in the pictures but it’s hard to get that result consistently. I make them the same every time so I’m not sure what could be causing it. Doesn’t affect the taste though!
I’ve been making these the past few years. Simple and oh so delicious! They are always devoured by all
Can I substitute Applesauce for the flax seeds?
Yes you can.
May I exchange the flax seed for applesauce?
I’m sure you could, perhaps just a tablespoon.
I’ve made these a few times and they are always super fudgy on the inside with a nice crispy outside. Definitely recommend!
Thanks for your glowing review, Jacob! I’m so glad you are loving then cookies! Wishing you happy baking!
Can I use Bob red mill egg replacer instead of flax egg?
Hi Christy. The flaxseeds could probably be replaced with 1 Bob’s Red Mill Egg Replacer, though I haven’t tested it. Enjoy!
Hi. Can the dough be made ahead and frozen before cooking?
Hi Angelica. Yes, you can freeze the cookie dough balls without powdered sugar, then let them thaw a bit before rolling in powdered sugar and baking. I hope this helps! Enjoy!
You definitely can!! Thank you Nora! Your recipes are fantastic!
Made these and many more of Nora’s cookies to a christmas party at work and my coworkers couldn’t stay away! One of the easiest recipes I’ve tried! Made these along with her snowball cookies and peanut butter cookies! All were a HUGE hit! <3 Thank you Nora!
You are welcome, Jennifer! Thank you for using my recipes, and for sharing your wonderful review and feedback! That sounds like a fun cookie tray! Wishing you lots of happy cooking!
Hi Nora!
We love all your recipes I have tired! I don’t see a note about making these gluten free. Do you think King Arthur 1:1 would work well in these?
Hi Jordan. Thanks for using my recipes! I’m so glad you are loving them! Using a gluten free mix should work pretty well with these cookies. I have used King Arthur Gluten Free Mix for other cookies, and the cookies came out nicely! I hope this helps! Happy baking!
Double recipe does not spread while baking.
And 2 cups of powdered sugar is at least half cup too much.
Thank you for doing what you can to correct this
Made these for the first time and everything was perfect. Flavour and texture we’re all good but mine seem like it’s sweating? The powdered sugar is melting. Doesn’t affect the flavour or crunchiness of the outside. Just the appearance.
Anybody know why?
My kitchen is not warm.
Were you using organic powdered sugar? I like go use organic products whenever possible, but I’ve found that organic powdered sugar doesn’t behave the same way as regular old powdered sugar.