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My mom LOVED these Chocolate Cream Cheese Crinkle cookies so much that she asked me to hurry up and publish this recipe!
I made these cookies because I couldn’t find the original recipe I loved from 12 years ago. I adapted this recipe from Preppy Kitchen’s Cream Cheese Cookie recipe.
I distinctly remembered that the cookies had CREAM CHEESE in it, and I was intrigued enough to bake it. The cream cheese turned these cookies into the most moist, fudgy, chewy cookies I’ve ever had.
In my recipe, I gave these cookies an EVEN DEEPER chocolate flavor to balance out the sweetness from the powdered sugar coating.
What Does it Mean to “Cream”?
When a recipe instructs you to “cream” ingredients, it usually means to combine the butter and sugar into a cream!
Beating the cream cheese, butter, and sugar until light and fluffy really helps in making these cookies. Take your time and allow these to beat in a stand mixer for about 8-10 minutes on medium-high speed if you have the time.
Frequently scrape the sides of the bowl while beating and creaming, so all the ingredients are being evenly incorporated in the dough.
Hey Dough, Chill Out!
Allow the dough to rest in the fridge for at least 30 minutes before scooping out with a cookie scooper. Refrigerating them will let the flavors blend together and for the dough to easily release from the scoopers (the dough is VERY sticky).
The Crinkle Coating
You can roll the cookies in granulated sugar BEFORE rolling them in powdered sugar (optional). This will help the powdered sugar stay on top of the cookies instead of melting into them after baking, for a more vibrant white crinkle effect.
Personally I prefer my cookies without the granulated sugar because I don’t like the added crunch and sweetness. To each their own!
You can see an example of crinkle cookies coated in granulated sugar first in my Ube Cream Cheese Cookies recipe.
Tips When Making These Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
- Beating the cream cheese, butter, and sugar until light and fluffy really helps in making these cookies. Take your time and allow these to beat in a stand mixer for about 8-10 minutes on medium-high speed if you have the time.
- Frequently scrape the sides of the bowl while beating and creaming, so all the ingredients are being evenly incorporated in the dough.
- Allow the dough to rest in the fridge for at least 30 minutes before scooping out with a cookie scooper. Refrigerating them will let the flavors blend together and for the dough to easily release from the scoopers (the dough is VERY sticky).
Weigh The Ingredients
You’ve probably heard this on every baking recipe ever but it is better to measure your ingredients by weight instead of volume.
Measuring cups can vary in accuracy and ingredients can vary in shape. Weighing ingredients is the best way to ensure you’re getting the right amount of ingredients.
On my website, as many others do, I try to give weight measurements as often as possible. For the most important ingredients (flour, sugar, etc.) I definitely provide the weight but for ingredients where the accuracy is less important (salt, baking powder), I’ll give volume.
If a recipe gives weight, I highly recommend measuring it with a scale. If you need a scale, I’ve been using my dependable Ozeri food scale for a long time and I love it.
How to make Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
For full list of ingredients and detailed steps, check out the bottom of this page.
Cream the butter, sugar, and cream cheese.
Add the dry ingredients
Chill the dough in the fridge for at least 30 minutes. When you remove them, roll them (optionally first in granulated sugar then) in powdered sugar. Bake in the oven and when they’re done, let them cool and enjoy!
Tools
KitchenAid Stand Mixer
I absolutely LOVE my tilt head stand mixer. I can’t imagine baking without it.
Ozeri Food Scale
Especially with baking, a food scale is extremely helpful as it measures weight, not volume, which is more accurate. You should use weight measurements if a recipe provides them.
Dutch Processed Cocoa Powder
You can use any brand (King Arthur, Guittard, etc.) of pure, unsweetened, cocoa powder but the one I have on hand is Rodelle brand.
Cookie Scooper
The purple Vollrath #40 scooper is the one that has 3/4 ounce capacity. Its perfect for cookies and I have three other sizes as well. It has never failed me.
VIDEO: Making chocolate crinkle cookies with cream cheese.
Recipe
Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Fit the paddle attachment to your stand mixer and lock in the bowl. Using a medium-high speed, mix the butter, and sugar until it is one consistency. Then add the cream cheese. Cream this until the mixture is light and fluffy. This will take about 5 to 8 minutes. Make sure to scrape the bowl about halfway through.
- Add the vanilla extract and egg and mix until uniform throughout. Again, make sure to scrape the bowl partway through.
- Mix in the dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, cocoa powder, and salt. You can choose to whisk these together in a separate bowl if you wish but its not necessary especially with a stand mixer. Again, scrape the bottom at least once partway through to ensure everything is mixed.
- Cover and chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.
- When the chilling is done, preheat oven to 350℉. In one bowl measure out 1 cup of powdered sugar. In another bowl, measure out 1 cup of granulated sugar (optional). Rolling in granulated sugar before rolling in powdered sugar will make the "crinkle" part of the cookie more vibrant but it does add a little bit of the granulated sugar crunch to each bite.
- Using a baking sheet(s) lined with parchment paper, portion out the cookie dough using the cookie scooper or estimate about 2 tablespoons size. Roll each dough ball in granulated sugar (optional) and then powdered sugar before placing on the baking sheet(s) with enough room to spread.
- Bake in the oven at 350℉ for 10 to 12 minutes until the edges set.
- Remove from the oven, let cool, and enjoy!
Notes
- Cookie Scooper: I use the Vollrath #40 cookie scooper which is the 3/4 ounce volume we are looking for.
- Dutch Processed Cocoa Powder: You can use any brand (King Arthur, Guittard, etc.) of pure, unsweetened, cocoa powder but the one I have on hand is Rodelle brand.