Gluten Free Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
Gluten Free Chocolate Crinkle Cookies are the perfect classic holiday dessert that everyone will love including friends and family that are gluten free and dairy free and made with King Arthur Gluten Free Flour!
💭What is a crinkle cookie?
A crinkle cookie is a cookie where the dough is rolled into a ball and then rolled in confectioners sugar. Once it starts baking, the white sugar on the cookie will “crack” exposing the cookie inside and a crinkly white outside.
Why Crinkle Cookies Are My Favorite Cookie
- They are a beautiful mix between a fudgy brownie and soft cookie.
- The crinkle topping looks gourmet like you spent a lot of time on it when in reality, you just rolled it in powdered sugar.
- It’s a perfect addition to your holiday cookie round up that stands out in taste and aesthetic.
- They pair great with a cup of coffee or a glass of red wine.
- They can be decorated for Christmas with red and green sprinkles, crushed up peppermint candy cane, mini andes candies or left plain.
🍪Gluten Free Chocolate Crinkle Cookie Ingredients
- Unsweetened cocoa powder. This is a must have in your pantry for baking and to make fancy hot chocolate.
- Gluten Free Flour Blend: this is a gluten free cookie recipe as written, however you could substitute the gluten free flour for regular all purpose flour cup for cup. Make sure you are purchasing a gluten free flour blend that already has xanthan gum so you don’t have to add it yourself. I prefer using King Arthur Gluten Free Flour Blend.
- Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips. Most recipes for crinkle cookies are missing the mark by not adding chocolate chips!
- Coconut Oil. I use coconut oil for all my baking because I love the health benefits and the texture. This recipe will have a very slight coconut taste. If this is something you don’t enjoy, use refined coconut oil or swap with vegetable oil.
- Powdered Sugar or Confectioners Sugar: You can use either or for this recipe, see below for why!
🍬Difference Between Powdered Sugar and Confectioners Sugar
Powdered sugar and confectioners sugar are the same and are called different things because of regional differences. Both of them are very finely ground sugar that is cut with a tiny bit of cornstarch to prevent caking. It can also be called icing sugar.
📖How to Make Gluten Free Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
1️⃣ Whisk together melted (not hot) coconut oil with eggs in a small bowl along with vanilla extract.
2️⃣ In a separate bowl, whisk or sift together unsweetened cocoa powder, granulated white sugar, gluten free flour, baking powder and salt. Fold in chocolate chips.
3️⃣ Mix together wet and dry ingredients until fully combined. This can be done using the paddle attachment of a stand mixer.
4️⃣ Dough should resemble a thick brownie batter. Using your hands, roll dough into 2 inch balls or one inch balls depending on what size cookie you would like. Place them in fridge to firm up for 1-2 hours. This step will help keep the cookies from spreading too much while they are baking.
5️⃣ Once the cookie dough balls are chilled, remove from fridge, preheat the oven to 350 and roll in additional granulated sugar and again in powdered sugar. (see notes on why to roll in granulated sugar first)
6️⃣ Place on parchment lined baking sheet 2-3 inches apart and bake for 15 minutes at 350. If cookies have not flattened, use the bottom of a cup or mason jar to gently push down the cookie balls into flat cookies. Gluten free flour acts different than regular flour and so this step may be needed!
7️⃣ Let the cookies cool completely before serving. They will be very soft at first but will harden as they cool.
🔁Cookie Flavor Variations
- Add 1 tsp of dark espresso grounds for a deep flavored mocha crinkle cookie.
- Add a pinch of ground cayenne pepper to the mix for a slight spicy Mexican chocolate kick.
- Add a pinch of cinnamon for a warming flavor
- Change up the chocolate chips and use peanut butter chips, white chocolate chips or even butterscotch chips.
👩🏻🍳Chef’s Tips & FAQ
The cookie dough is supposed to be thick and will resemble thick brownie batter. This is why it is important to roll dough into balls before they are chilled in fridge.
Once the cookies are baked, they will be very soft but they won’t stay soft! These cookies will harden to a dense brownie type texture as they cool.
They can be frozen in an airtight container and will stay fresh for up to 3 months. When you’re ready to use, put the dough in the fridge to thaw overnight and they are ready to bake the next day. You can also freeze them AFTER baking if they are sealed in an airtight container.
Although I think these cookies taste best from scratch, they can be made using boxed brownie mix or boxed chocolate cake mix.
More Gluten Free Chocolate Desserts
- Flourless Chocolate Cake
- 3 Ingredient Nutella Brownies
- Peanut Butter Nutella Cookies
- Vegan Chocolate Pudding Cups
Gluten Free Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
Ingredients
DRY INGREDIENTS
- ½ cup Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
- 1 cup White Granulated Sugar
- 1.5 cup Gluten Free Flour Blend
- 1 tsp Baking Powder
- ¼ tsp Sea Salt
- ½ Cup Chocolate Chips
WET INGREDIENTS
- 2 eggs
- ½ cup Coconut Oil melted
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
CRINKLE TOPPING
- ⅓ cup White Granulated Sugar
- ⅓ cup Powdered or Confectioners Sugar
Instructions
- Whisk together melted (not hot) coconut oil with eggs in a small bowl along with vanilla extract.
- In a separate bowl, whisk or sift together unsweetened cocoa powder, granulated white sugar, gluten free flour, baking powder and salt. Fold in chocolate chips.
- Mix together wet and dry ingredients until fully combined. This can be done using the paddle attachment of a stand mixer.
- Dough should resemble a thick brownie batter. Using your hands, roll dough into 2 inch balls or one inch balls depending on what size cookie you would like. Place them in the fridge to firm up for 1-2 hours. This step will help keep the cookies from spreading too much while they are baking.
- Once the cookie dough balls are chilled, remove from fridge, preheat the oven to 350 and roll in additional granulated sugar and again in powdered sugar. (see notes on why to roll in granulated sugar first)
- Place on parchment lined baking sheet 2-3 inches apart and bake for 15 minutes at 350. If cookies have not flattened, use the bottom of a cup or mason jar to gently push down the cookie balls into flat cookies. Gluten free flour acts different than regular flour and so this step may be needed!
- Let the cookies cool completely before serving. They will be very soft at first but will harden as they cool.
Notes
Cookie Flavor Variations:
- Add 1 tsp of dark espresso grounds for deep flavored mocha crinkle cookies.
- Add a pinch of ground cayenne pepper to the mix for a slight spicy Mexican chocolate kick.
- Add a pinch of cinnamon for a warming flavor
- Change up the chocolate chips and use peanut butter chips, white chocolate chips or even butterscotch chips.
