Black Cocoa Crinkle Cookies
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These Black Cocoa Crinkle Cookies soft, rich and flavored with black cocoa powder! They use zero food coloring and are perfect for Halloween!
These Black Cocoa Crinkle Cookies are flavored with black cocoa powder to naturally turn them black without the need for any food coloring. They’re soft, rich and so easy to make with no stand mixer required! The black cocoa powder also gives them a unique chocolate taste similar to Oreos. They’re super fudgy and perfect for Halloween!
For more spooky Halloween treats try my Halloween Ghost Sandwich Cookies, Black Cat Cookies or Halloween Sprinkle Cookies!
Ingredient Breakdown
All-purpose flour – this gives the cookies structure.
Baking powder – makes the cookies rise. Do not use baking soda!
Granulated sugar – sweetens cookies.
Vegetable oil – makes the cookies so moist and fudgy.
Black cocoa powder – flavors cookies and turns them black without the need for any food coloring. My go to black cocoa powder is made by Wincrest but any brand should work fine!
Eggs – helps bind the ingredients and make the cookies chewy.
Vanilla extract and salt – enhances flavor. Always use pure vanilla extract instead of imitation for best flavor.
How To Make Black Cocoa Crinkle Cookies
1. In a small bowl whisk all- purpose flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl whisk granulated sugar, vegetable oil and black cocoa powder until well combined.
3. Mix in eggs one at a time then add the vanilla extract.
4. Fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until just combined. The dough will be very sticky. Cover the bowl with plastic and chill for at least 2 hours or overnight.
5. Using a 3 tablespoon cookie scoop, scoop chilled dough then generously roll in confectioners’ sugar and place on a lined baking sheet (be sure to adjust the baking time if your cookies are smaller/larger).
6. Bake cookies at 350°F for 11-12 minutes. They will look a little gooey but will continue to bake as they cool. Store Black Cocoa Crinkle Cookies in an airtight container for up to a week at room temperature.
Pro Tips For Black Cocoa Crinkle Cookies
- Weigh your ingredients using a kitchen scale! Measuring ingredients by volume is not accurate.
- Don’t over mix the dough! Over mixing = more gluten development which means tough cookies. We don’t want any tough cookies here!
- Bake one tray at a time on the middle oven rack. This ensures that there is even heat circulation.
- Don’t over bake them otherwise they won’t be fudgy in the middle!
- Roll the cookies in granulated sugar before rolling them in the confectioners’ sugar to make the outside a little extra crunchy.
- Drop the scooped dough directly into the bowl of confectioners’ sugar for rolling.
- Keep the dough chilled in between scooping batches of cookies! This will make it easier to work with and prevent flat cookies.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Is Black Cocoa Powder?
Black cocoa powder is cocoa powder that has been super Dutch processed which just means that it has been treated with an alkaline solution to reduce its acidity. This results in a mellower flavor and darker color. It’s actually the ingredient in Oreos that give them their unique flavor and color!
Thanks to the magic of black cocoa powder, these cookies use zero food coloring but if by some chance your dough doesn’t turn out dark enough then I recommend using a few drops of black gel food coloring. Gel food coloring is the best because it yields a deeper color without using a ton of dye and throwing off the consistency and taste of the cookies the way liquid food coloring does.
My go to black cocoa powder is made by Wincrest but any brand should work fine!
What Are Crinkle Cookies?
Crinkle Cookies are fudgy chocolate cookies that are rolled in confectioners’ sugar before baking. The outside of the cookies set first so as the rest of the cookie spreads, the dough pulls apart and creates the signature crinkle look!
Do You Have To Chill Black Cocoa Crinkle Cookie Dough?
Yes! Crinkle Cookie dough is extremely sticky (thanks to all the eggs and oil) so it’s absolutely necessary to chill the dough! If you don’t it will be very hard to scoop and roll in the confectioners’ sugar and you’ll also end up with sad flat cookies.
My Favorite Cookie Tools
- Kitchen scale I love this scale, I’ve been using it for years!
- Baking sheets
- Parchment Paper
- Cookie Scoop
- Black cocoa powder
If you try this recipe then please leave a rating/comment below to let me know how you liked it and feel free to ask any recipe questions you may have! 🙂
Black Cocoa Crinkle Cookies
Equipment
- Cookie scoop (I use a 3 tablespoon scoop)
- Baking sheets
Ingredients
- 270 g (2 1/4 cups) all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 300 g (1 1/2 cups) granulated sugar
- 160 g (2/3 cup) vegetable oil
- 80 g (1 cup) black cocoa powder
- 4 eggs
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 120 g (1 cup) confectioners' sugar for rolling
Instructions
- In a small bowl whisk all- purpose flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
- In a large bowl whisk granulated sugar, vegetable oil and black cocoa powder until well combined.
- Mix in eggs one at a time then add the vanilla extract.
- Fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until just combined. The dough will be very sticky. Cover the bowl with plastic and chill for at least 2 hours or overnight.
- Preheat oven to 350°F and line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
- Using a 3 tablespoon cookie scoop, scoop chilled dough then generously roll in confectioners' sugar and place on a lined baking sheet (be sure to adjust the baking time if your cookies are smaller/larger).
- Bake cookies for 11-12 minutes. They will look a little gooey but will continue to bake as they cool.
Notes
- Weigh your ingredients using a kitchen scale! Measuring ingredients by volume is not accurate.
- Store Black Cocoa Crinkle Cookies in an airtight container for up to a week at room temperature.
