These Chocolate Crinkles Are a Timeless Easy Cookie Recipe (2024)

FAQs

Why didn't my crinkle cookies crack? ›

Why didn't my chocolate crinkle cookies crack? The most common reason for cookies that don't crack is either that the oven was not hot enough or the baking powder was expired.

There are several possible reasons: if your dough is too cold, the cookies won't spread as much in the oven. If you chilled dough overnight, try setting it out at room temperature 20-30 minutes before rolling your dough.

The part that makes this a 'crinkle' cookie is the generous coating of powdered sugar that the cookie dough ball gets before going into the oven. As it bakes and spreads on the baking sheet, cracks develop and are exposed, giving the perfect crackle cookie.

If the ratio of flour and sugar is off, the cookies won't spread correctly. Another culprit could be the temperature. While the majority of cookies bake well directly from the freezer, some cookie recipes won't spread enough if they're baked frozen.

The ingredients you use and how you shape your cookies both play an important role in whether your cookies turn out crispy or chewy. The type of flour and sugar you use, if your cookie dough contains eggs, and whether you use melted or softened butter all factor into the crispy-chewy equation, too.

The Secret to a Good Sugar Top

The tip that sent me into the kitchen was to give the chilled dough a double coating of sugar. First roll the cookies in granulated sugar and then roll them in powdered (confectioners') sugar.

Chilling cookie dough helps prevent spreading. The colder the dough, the less the cookies will over-spread into greasy puddles. You'll have thicker, sturdier, and more solid cookies. Whenever I make cookies, I plan ahead and chill the cookie dough overnight.

The easiest way to soften cookies with bread is to place the cookies in an airtight container with a slice of bread and leave them for a few hours. The bread will release moisture and help to rehydrate the cookies, making them soft and chewy once again.

How do you tell if Crinkle Cookies is bad? If your crinkle cookies have gone bad, they will typically feel overly hard and dry, not soft as they should be. When bitten into, they will lack flavor and the texture will be off. If you see visible signs of mold growth, discard them immediately.

If crinkle cookies are baked at 350°F, the outside bakes and hardens more quickly, which doesn't give the dough enough time to spread. As mentioned earlier, the spreading of the dough is essential to a good crack.

What keeps cookies crisp? ›

Summer, though welcomed for the sun and fun, also brings humidity that makes your cookies limp -- not so fun. Keep those cookies crisp by storing them in an airtight container. Some people toss a piece of bread in with the cookies to help absorb any excess moisture.

Too much butter makes cookies turn out just as you'd expect: very buttery. This batch of cookies was cakey in the middle, but also airy throughout, with crispy edges. They were yellow and slightly puffy in the middle, and brown and super thin around the perimeter.

My cookies are too pale.

Use fresh baking soda which promotes browning (make sure there's some sort of acid in the dough, see above). Don't use an insulated baking sheet. Increase baking temperature and time slightly. Add a 1/4 cup additional sugar to the dough.

The cookies came out cakey. Baking powder or flour in excess will cause cookies to rise more, making them more fluffy and cakey. Increased sugar will make them caramelize more and increased fat will make the dough heavier and richer, all increasing retention of water in the dough- these all add up to chewier cookies.

Answers: Chris hinted at it -- to get the cracks, you need to have the top set early, so it's not going to expand while the middle's still trying to rise, and there's still enough leavening left to break through the crust that formed. You have a few things that can go wrong: The oven isn't hot enough.

Coating the cookies with either type of sugar draws out moisture from their surface, promoting cracks by drying out their tops before the interiors set. But granulated sugar does so more efficiently because of its coarse, crystalline structure. As the crystals absorb moisture, some—but not all—dissolve into a syrup.

Cracking occurs from several chemical reactions during the baking process. If some of your cookies aren't cracking, it could be because those dough balls were less round than others, the dough became too warm, your oven isn't heating evenly, or (most likely) the cinnamon sugar coating wasn't applied as thoroughly.

Dry – “Dry” or “Crumbly” dough is a product of over-mixing or using too much of any ingredient during the mixing process. This can be reversed by adding one to two tablespoons of liquid (water, milk or softened butter) to your mix.