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.
If you make 18 cookies as suggested in the recipe they are humungous. I made the second batch smaller – for guests. We will keep the big ones for ourselves! Delicious and yummy. Maybe a touch too sweet but I will keep experimenting. Thumbs up!
I make these every Christmas the family loves them they taste just like brownies. This year I added a tsp of white rum to see how that works and I alway add a tsp of espresso powder with any chocolate dessert like Ina Garten says to do I put the dough in the fridge to make them easier to roll out mmmm
Thanks so much for your wonderful feedback and review, Lorie! I’m so happy that these cookies are one of your holiday staples 🙂
I’ve been making these for Christmas for the past 4 years! My daughter has allergies to dairy and eggs and we use so many of your recipes for our Christmas platters!
These are so, so good! I’ve tried a few iterations of this cookie over the years, and nothing comes anywhere close to this recipe. I did roll them in white sugar and then powdered sugar, like in the red velvet cookie recipe, for the little extra bit of crunch. A definite keeper. Even the skeptics were quite impressed. Thank you!
You are welcome! Thanks for sharing your idea of rolling in both sugars! I appreciate your awesome review!
These cookies turned out really good!
I put some extra cardamom and instant coffee powder into the batter because I usually make a non-vegan version that includes cardamom and coffee. I also put the batter outside for half an hour to chill it and then rolled tiny balls. They were really soft when I took them out of the oven but became more solid when they cooled. Pro tip: Take them out of the oven when they look like loaves of perfect dark bread 🙂
This recipe is definitely a keeper and a lot better than the version with eggs I usually make (I especially liked how soft they were inside while being super cruncy on the outside) I’ll try putting some orange zest into the next batch!
Greetings from Austria,
N
Thanks so much for your kind words and feedback! I’m thrilled you loved the cookies 🙂
I tried a modified version last year not knowing this was the original.. I’d like to try this one but was curious about adding mint extract. Have you tried it? If not, could you recommend a good measurement/ratio?
I actually have a mint version of these, check it out!
Those look great, except I’m not trying to put any additional chips or candy cane. I love the crinkle texture and dusting of sugar so much! I’d like to keep it just like they are but add a little something minty in there. Would you not recommend adding mint extract? I do have fresh mint as well..
I’d add a little bit of peppermint extract to the dough, perhaps 1/2 teaspoon or up to a full teaspoon.
Needed a quick and easy dessert for a holiday event… and knew my baking Shero Nora would come through. These are fantastic!
I am thrilled you loved the cookies! Thanks for your encouraging words and review! Happy cooking!
Can these be frozen? and for how long?
Thankss
They freeze well for months, but the powdered sugar won’t stay pretty and white after freezing.
Super easy, super quick The yummiest cookies you can ever tasted 💗💗💗 thank you so much I made them twice both a success. My question can we make the opposite way? Vanilla cookies and cocoa powder probably mixed with powded sugar for the coverage? It might be a stupid idea and maybe not!!! 😂😂 I make lots of your recipes because I’m sure it will always be delicious, without you, I’m only a simple woman trying to bake, but with your recipes, I get to be ask why don’t I open a bakery 😂😂😂 and I say it would be work, instead this is fun and they are not my recipes ( Nora Cooks is the Pro)
Aw thank you so much! Hmm I’ve never tried it but that would be a fun experiment!
These cookies are amazing! Super easy to make, so tasty and soft. Mine didn’t spread out so I had to flatten them a bit with a spatula during baking 😅 But in the end they turned out just like in your pictures. Thanks for the recipe Nora 😘
This recipe was very easy and they came out great! Super fudgy, like a brownie! I’ll be including these in the holiday treat boxes i plan on making this year for christmas, along with your sugar cookies 😊
Hi Brittany. Thanks for your great review and feedback on the cookie recipe! It’s a great one for holiday treats! Wishing you happy baking!
I just made these and they were super yum. Though mine came out flatter. Do you think it was too much liquid? Or is my baking powder too old?
Yes, it sounds like too much liquid in the dough.
I just made it..my husband and my 2 daughter’s first bite is this “oh my gosh this is sooo good!” 😉
I’m glad I found this recipe. Thank you!
I made these for my son’s Halloween party at school and thank goodness I made a double batch so we could keep some too. They’re SO DELICIOUS. Melt in your mouth, chocolatey goodness. I used melted vegan butter in place of the oil and mixed in Halloween sprinkles with the powdered sugar when rolling. They came out great. I’ll absolutely be making again.
I love your sprinkles idea in the powdered sugar! How fun! I appreciate your awesome review and feedback! I’m thrilled you loved the cookies! Happy cooking!
Any tips mine didn’t flatten enough? Still delicious but they kind of stayed in a ball shape
The cookies do tend to be more round but you could press them down with a fork before baking if you want them to be more flat.
Great cookies, as written. My go to cookies to bring to cookouts
So glad you are loving them! Thanks for your wonderful review!
Could you use avacado oil instead of canola oil?
Yes you can.
Can I use the Dutch process cocoa powder from other recipes or does it have to be the Hersheys? Thanks.
Sure!
Delicious cookies! Rise well. Though I think I might prefer the cookie dough to the baked cookies- it’s just SO good! 😋
Can chickpea water be used instead of the ground flaxseed and oil?
Hi Lisa. I haven’t tried making cookies with aquafaba. I’m not sure how it would change the texture, but it may work! Happy baking!
I’ve made these a lot of times now and today I tried them with GF flour. White wings for any Aussies. They were as good if not better than regular.
How great that these turned out great for you with GF flour! Thanks you for sharing this information, and for your wonderful feedback!
would almond flour work as a sub for the AP?
I don’t think it will work well at all, sorry. Almond flour is quite different to work with. You could use a gluten free all purpose flour though.
I’ve already made these cookies several times since Christmas due to popular demand! However, my husband isn’t a huge fan of powdered sugar, so instead of rolling the dough balls in that, I used powdered peanut butter!!! SO GOOD! Highly recommend.
Hi Shannon! How fabulous the cookies are a hit! They sound so delicious rolled in powdered peanut butter! Thank you for your wonderful feedback and idea!
Loved this recipe! Super easy to whip up if you want cookies last minute. Bakes well. I love that you don’t have to chill the doifh
Hi Carrie. Glad you enjoyed the recipe – both in taste and ease of making! Thanks for your fantastic feedback!
Can raw sugar be used as a sub for the granulated sugar?
As long as it’s fairly fine, it should work. I don’t think coarse sugar will work very well though.
My son was diagnosed with egg, milk, and soy allergies the week before Christmas! He was so disappointed that chocolate crinkles were off his menu….until I found your vegan option!! You made one little boy very happy. Thank you.
Hi Christina. Awww, your feedback makes my heart so happy! I’m so thrilled your son was able to enjoy the cookies! Thank you for sharing your wonderful story and terrific feedback!
This is THE BEST recipe for crinkle cookies! My non-vegan family couldn’t believe how delicious they were – I made them exactly as directed. Thank you so much!
Thank you for the wonderful review, Erica!
Chocolatey, chewy, and a little cakey in the best way! These are so tasty!
Thank you for your terrific feedback! Thank you for using my recipes!
Can I use oat milk for this recipe? Thank you.
Yes, you can!
The flavor of these cookies was excellent, especially with the modifications we made. We reduced sugar by half and added 1 tsp of instant espresso dissolved in a tiny bit of water, which was still amply sweet and created a deliciously intense dark chocolate flavor. The only reason I give this 4 stars instead of 5 is because the cookies didn’t spread. They were a delicious cakey, two-bite brownie, which is certainly not a bad thing to encounter in life. That said, part of what I love about chocolate crinkles is their chewiness, and these were not chewy. Perhaps it’s because we reduced the sugar. But even the photo shows a domed cookie which hasn’t spread much and doesn’t look particularly chewy. Even though it pains me to say it, I think just a little corn syrup might be needed to get the chewiness I’m looking for. So I think I’ll make these again and try adding a little corn syrup. Even if they weren’t fudgy and delicious (which they are), these cookies/brownie bites are definitely worth making for their ease (3 cheers for no mixer!) and use of basic pantry ingredients.
My non vegan family requests these cookies! So delicious. Tastes like a brownie.
I’m so glad your family loves the cookies! Thank you for sharing your fantastic feedback!