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.
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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.
Perfection! I made them exactly as instructions, but a froze a couple, as a test, and they thawed (frozen for two days) perfectly.
SUPER FUDGY cookies with an amazing slightly crispy edge.
Another banger, Nora!
Hi Dara. I’m thrilled the cookies turned out wonderful for you! I appreciate you sharing your recipe experience! Thank you for sharing your awesome review as well! Happy cooking!
Just made these for workmates and will be proud to offer them. I like a slightly flatter cookie, so after rolling them, I just ever so gently pushed down on the top to help them spread out a bit. Perfectly yummy, crispy on the edges and soft on the inside, with the appropriate crinkle still in place. Easy too! Thanks again for another great recipe!
Mine turned out flat. In the UK and followed metric measurements with my kitchen scale. Seems to be too much liquid to solids between the non dairy milk and oil. Was like a brownie batter consistency. I chilled them overnight and was hopeful, but they came out like pancakes. I’d prob cut the milk and oil in half or double the flour.
Do you think they’ll turn out the same if I roll into balls on cookie sheet, then freeze at that point?
Take it out when ready to bake, let it thaw in the fridge and then continue with rolling in icing and baking?
Hi Mollie. They should turn out great if you freeze the cookie dough balls without powdered sugar, then let them thaw a bit before rolling in powdered sugar and baking. You could freeze the cookies after baking, but the powdered sugar won’t hold up very well. They would still taste great though! I hope this helps!
Hi Nora! I made these last year and they’re delicious. I know you have a chocolate peppermint cookie, but I thought I might try adding some peppermint extract to these. Wondering how much I should add. I know peppermint can be over powering if too much is used. Thanks!
Hi Molly. Yes, a little peppermint added to these cookies is fabulous! I would say about 1/2 – 1 teaspoon. I hope you enjoy!
Made these for a picnic and they were amazing! such a great and easy to follow recipe, will definitely be making these again 🙂
These were so easy to make and turned out fantastic. I added some peppermint extract for a chocolate mint flavour. They have a nice crispy exterior with brownie-like interior. Thanks for the recipe!
You bet, Allison! I’m glad the cookies turned out great for you! Your mint additional sounds delicious! Thanks for sharing your awesome review and idea!
Do you think nuts could work in these?
Yes! About 3/4 to 1 cup walnuts or pecans would be great! Enjoy!
Love this recipe. My wife recently left me so I decided to try my hand at baking. She took a lot of the ingredients (The measuring tools as well – had to guess), so substituted baking soda for the baking powder, olive oil for the coconut oil, and had to make do without vanilla or sugar. It came out great!
Hi Josh. I’m glad the cookies turned out great for you! Thanks for sharing your positive review and baking experience!
The flavor is so good but the last two times I’ve made these, the dough is not easy to roll and they turn out flat. I put it in the fridge for 30 minutes as instructed but it’s not easy to work with. Should I make the “flax egg” ahead of time instead of adding the flax to the mixture? Is there a different result from using oil vs. butter? I miss the nice little balls I used to have.
Have you done something different the last two times you’ve made them? It sounds like they have worked well for you in the past, so think about anything you’ve been doing differently. When you say not easy to work with, do you mean the dough is too thick and dry or is it too wet? I’ve always only added the flaxseeds to the batter as directed; I do not make a separate flax egg here. The recipe also calls for oil, not vegan butter here which is what I always use. It might make a difference if you use butter. Are you using a different flour or something?
These were my favorite cookies growing up! I substituted a few ingredients because it was all I had on hand. Instead of ground flax seeds, I substituted those for a tbsp of peanut butter. I also added in cacao powder paired with baking soda instead of baking powder and oat milk butter instead of canola or coconut oil. I also made these in the air fryer I just brought the temperature down to 335 degree Fahrenheit for 8-9 minutes. They were devoured shortly after being made- thank you for this recipe!!
Thanks for sharing your wonderful review and baking experience! You are welcome, and I appreciate you using my recipes!
These are my go to cookies, so easy and good. I usually use avocado oil but used melted coconut oil this time. I had to do some quick thinking as when I put the milk in, my oil seized! I just put the bowl in another with some hot water under it! Worked like a charm. Have made with oat flour and came out good, peppermint extract and this time half with Walnuts! Just love this recipe
Super delicious and just as easy to make -similar to a brownie.
I have made these a few times, I always halve the sugar and they turn out great – very fudgy and still very sweet!
I am so glad you are loving the cookies! Thanks for your fabulous review!
These are so so good and so easy to make. I used the Bob’s red mill 1 to 1 flour (blue bag) and they turned our great. Would definitely recommend trying these out if you want crunchy on the outside, chewy on the inside, chocolatey goodness!
Thanks for sharing your fabulous feedback, Abbie! I’m glad you loved the cookies!
I think I made close to 150 of these this week as gifts for friends, neighbors, coworkers, and family. Every person that tried them (mostly people who are not vegan) LOVED THEM. They were really a hit with everyone. And they’re so easy to make. They do come out fluffier and don’t spread nearly as much if the dough has been refrigerated for a while before baking. These will definitely continue to be a staple in my cookie arsenal.
Can I make the dough on one day and bake them the next day?? Or should the dough be made/cooked at the same time?
You can make the dough and keep it in the refrigerator until the next day. But let the dough sit at room temperature for 30 minutes or so, until it’s not so hard and cold, or it will be impossible to work with.
Can you freeze these cookies?
Yes, they freeze very well. The powdered sugar coating won’t be very white and pretty after freezing, but they will still taste great.
These were delicious, both as written, and made with gluten free 1-1 flour. I took them to a potluck and had to protect them from the non-vegans, so there would be enough for the vegans….
It takes a while to do the rolling in powdered sugar, but the result is definitely worth it.
Haha, what a wonderful problem to have! Thank you so much for the fantastic review, Ann 🙂
we love your recipes!! Do you think I could leave out the flaxseed for allergy reasons?
Yes, I have accidentally left them out and the recipe still worked fine! Thanks for loving my recipes!
Just made them & they seem much larger than the picture shown. They are flat. Was my mixture too moist? Followed the recipe exactly.
Cookies can be flat for a couple reasons. With this particular recipe, it’s likely that you accidentally added too little flour when you measured. For the most accurate results, I spoon flour into the measuring cup, then level it off with a knife. Don’t shake it down. This will give you consistent results. Either that or somewhere else the measurements were just slightly off, causing the cookies to become flat. And perhaps you just rolled the cookies larger than I did, as far as size goes. If you want them smaller, just roll smaller balls and cook for a few minutes less. They are rather large cookies as I make them.
I just made these for the first time. Followed the recipe exactly. Very easy, super tasty, and they look so cool. I am planning to make another batch for the holidays. 😁 Thank you for another great recipe 😀