Vegan Chocolate Peppermint Crinkle Cookies
Everyone loves these chocolate crinkle cookies. Rich, fudgy, and filled with peppermint flavor, these cookies make the perfect addition to your holiday treats. But be careful; they are highly addictive!
Today we are being visited by the Ghost of Christmas Past who is taking us back a handful of years to the first Christmas that I was blogging – back to the days of bad writing, dimly lit photography, and…questionable recipes. To the days that my blog was called The Sweet Life and my twitter handle changed every couple of weeks because anything was better than @thesweetlife5 and I was still trying to figure out what was up with Instagram.
It’s all flashing before my eyes. Ghost of the Christmas Past, why must we go there?
Why? Because in that dark time, my friends, I created a recipe that was going to become one of my most popular recipes ever. It was a cookie that was going to take Pinterest by storm and teach me what the words “going viral” truly meant. This cookie may largely be the reason I am still blogging today.
And so, it’s time to give it a little makeover and remind you of this delicious gem sitting in my archives.
Chocolate Peppermint Crinkle Cookies, y’all!
What is a Chocolate Crinkle Cookie?
First and foremost, chocolate crinkle cookies are, hands-down, the best cookie in the world!
For those of you who haven’t yet had the crinkle cookie experience, it’s time to change that! A vegan crinkle cookie is a delicious combination of a chewy cookie with a crisp outside and all the gooey melt-in-your-mouth fudginess of a vegan brownie. Before they are baked, crinkle cookies are covered in powdered sugar. As they bake, the powdered sugar splits, creating beautiful crinkles in the sugar giving it the cookie’s name.
THEN, if that wasn’t enough, these particular vegan crinkle cookies are made even better with a hint of peppermint extract for, dare I say, the perfect vegan Christmas cookie.
Recommended Ingredients & Equipment
Rich, fudgy, and melt-in-your-mouth good, these cookies might be the best you’ve ever had. But beware, once you bite into one of these incredible cookies, you’re going to have a very hard time stopping.
Ingredients & Substitutions
- Oil – This recipe calls for canola oil because it creates the best texture without added flavor. If you want to avoid hydrogenated oils, try avocado or melted coconut oil. Olive oil also works but adds a slightly savory flavor.
- Granulated & Powdered Sugar – Check out my guide to vegan sugars and healthy sugar alternatives.
- Vanilla & Peppermint Extract
- Applesauce – The applesauce acts as the binder for these cookies. You can’t taste the applesauce but if you would prefer a different kind of egg replacer, check out my complete guide on replacing eggs to get a few more ideas.
- All-Purpose Flour – I have also made these cookies with 1:1 Gluten-Free Flour Baking Blend (<<affiliate link) with great success.
- Cocoa Powder
- Baking Powder
- Salt
Recommended Equipment
For all my cookie recipes, I recommend a stand-up mixer. These make whipping, beating, and blending so much easier. However, they are pricy and if they are not in your budget, you can make cookies with by hand or with a handheld mixer.
In addition, you will need basic cooking equipment including a baking sheets, silicone baking mats, and a wire cooling rack. (<<affiliate links)
Check out the full list of my recommended kitchen tools and gadgets.
How to Make Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
Step One – Make the Dough
In a small bowl combine flour, salt, and baking powder. In a separate bowl stir together cocoa powder, sugar, applesauce, oil, extracts, and peppermint candies (if using) until well blended. Slowly add the flour mixture and mix until just combined.
Once your dough has formed, wrap it in in plastic wrap and chill it for at least 2 hours. This is an important step as the dough will be quite soft and hard to handle. However, some readers have had success freezing the dough for about 30-60 minutes until it is cold enough to shape.
Step Two – Bake The Cookies
After the cookies are chilled, roll them into balls about 2 tablespoons big. I recommend using a cookie scoop for this recipe as the dough will become difficult to handle as it warms up.
Coat the cookies in sugar and place them on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake the crinkle cookies for 12 minutes until the outside begins to crisp up but the center is still slightly underdone.
Pro Tip: Remove from the oven when the edges have just started to set and the centers are still slightly underdone. This is key for the chewiness of these vegan cookies.
Let the cookies cool 10 minutes on the baking tray before transferring them to a wire cooling rack.
Serving And Storing
Store Cookies: Once cookies are completely cool, store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days. Raw dough can be frozen for up to 2 months.
Freeze Cookie Dough: If you only want to make only a few at a time, you can store the remaining dough in the freezer. To do this, roll all the dough into balls. Place them on a baking sheet in the freezer to freeze all the way through. Once frozen, transfer your cookie dough into a large ziplock bag and return to the freezer. You can store the cookies this way for up to 2 months. When you’re ready to bake, remove from freezer and bake!
Tips and Tricks
- Make sure to chill the dough for at least 2 hours before baking. This allows the dough to be more moldable.
- When rolling your crinkle cookies, roll them in granulated sugar first before rolling them in powdered sugar for the PERFECT crinkle every time.
- If you can’t find vegan peppermint candy, you can omit the peppermint candies and just use peppermint extract for this recipe.
- Vegan white chocolate chips make a great addition. You can buy them online here. (<<affiliate link)
- Pull cookies out when they are slightly underdone. I found 12 minutes to be the perfect baking time. They will continue to harden as they cool, giving you a crispy outside with a deliciously fudgy and chewy center.
Getting the Perfect Crinkle
Friends, I’m going to let you in on a VERY exciting secret.
A couple of years ago I learned a great little trick, thanks to Cook’s Illustrated. To get the PERFECT crinkle on your cookie, first coat the cookie in granulated sugar. This allows the cookie’s surface to dry out quickly before the interior sets, creating more of those beautiful crinkly cracks. The extra layer of sugar also prevents the powdered sugar from melting into the cookie for that stark white on black visual.
More Vegan Cookie Recipes
- Vegan Eggnog Cheesecake Thumbprint Cookies
- Red Velvet Crinkle Cookies
- Hazelnut Sandies
- Chocolate-Dipped Rosemary Shortbread Cookies
- Classic Gingerbread People Cookies
Everyone loves these chocolate crinkle cookies. Rich, fudgy, and filled with peppermint flavor, these cookies make the perfect addition to your holiday treats. But be careful; they are highly addictive!
Did you make this recipe? Leave a comment and rate it below.
If you made any substitutions, let us know how it turned out!
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup dutch-process cocoa powder
- 2 cups sugar
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- ¾ cup applesauce
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon peppermint extract
- 1 tbsp peppermint candies, crushed (optional)
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- In a small bowl combine flour, salt, and baking powder. Set aside.
In a medium bowl or stand up mixer stir together cocoa powder, sugar, applesauce, oil, extracts, and peppermint candies (if using) until well blended. Add flour mixture and mix until just combined.
Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill for 2 hours.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Place the granulated and powdered sugars in two separate bowls.
- Remove chilled dough and roll into balls about one tablespoon each. Toss first in the granulated and then second in the powdered sugar, coating fully.
- Bake for 12-13 minutes (cookies should be slightly underbaked). Remove from oven and allow to cool for 2-3 minutes before transferring onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Serving and Storing - Once cookies are completely cool, store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days. Raw dough can be frozen for up to 2 months.
Make in Advance - If you only want to make only a few at a time, you can store the remaining dough in the freezer. To do this, roll all the dough into balls. Place them on a baking sheet in the freezer to freeze all the way through. Once frozen, transfer your cookie dough into a large ziplock bag and return to the freezer. You can store the cookies this way for up to 2 months. When you’re ready to bake, remove from freezer and bake!
Recipe Tips
- Make sure to chill the dough for at least 2 hours before baking. This allows the dough to be more moldable.
- When rolling your crinkle cookies, roll them in granulated sugar first before rolling them in powdered sugar for the PERFECT crinkle every time.
- If you can't find vegan peppermint candy, you can omit the peppermint candies and just use peppermint extract for this recipe.
- Vegan white chocolate chips make a great addition. You can buy them online here.
- Pull cookies out when they are slightly underdone. I found 12 minutes to be the perfect baking time. They will continue to harden as they cool, giving you a crispy outside with a deliciously fudgy and chewy center.
Jena says
I was just wondering how many calories per cookie these were?
Deborah says
Is Herseherys 100%cocoa ok to use in this recipe
Sarah says
Yeah, that should be fine.
Josh Simons says
These are awesome cookies — everyone in the family loved them, both vegans and non-vegans. I paired these with Chandra’s Mexican Hot Chocolate Snickerdoodles (which have cayenne pepper — which I reduce by half for a more subtle heat) to make a Fire and Ice cookie offering. Good for Christmas, but maybe also for a Game of Thrones party. 🙂
Madeleine says
These look so great, and I’d love to give them out as Christmas treats! I just have one question: How long/well do they keep?
Andrea says
I have the same question. Everyone loved these so much last year that I’ll be baking a ton of them as gifts this year. Would love to know how long they’ll keep.
Sarah says
They would be best within 3-5 days. However, you could make the dough and freeze it, then bake them freshly throughout the season.
Isabella says
I just made these a couple hours ago, and they turned out really well! Next time, I might add a little more peppermint extract, since I didn’t use any crushed candy cane. I would definitely recommend this recipe!
Missy says
Yummy! Just made these. Didn’t have any peppermint extract so just did the candy cane crumbles.
Cara Jeanne says
I tried making the dough again, and the same problem! Not as crumbly as the first batch, probably because I added about 1/4 more applesauce. It’s definitely not holding together like a sticky wet dough though. I definitely followed the recipe exactly!
Sarah says
I’m really confused about this. The only other person (that I know of) who has had problems with this recipe told me the dough was so wet they couldn’t roll it into balls. My best two guesses for this problem are: the wetness of the applesauce might vary enough to affect the recipe (I use store bought applesauce that is pretty wet) and if the flour is packed in too tightly when measuring (which is why the best method of writing baking recipes is with weight rather than volume). Neither of these I would think would affect the dough dramatically, but perhaps both of them could cause a dry dough. Altitude I suppose also could play a factor. Next time you can try to measure the flour by sifting it into a cup measure. You could also just add a little liquid to the recipe if you continue to run into the problem. I hope this helps!
Cara Jeanne says
When I made this dough, it was very crumbly, and not dough-like at all. When I put it in saran-wrap to chill, I sort of formed it into a ball and it came together a little bit better. Will it be okay to bake?
Sarah says
I’m thinking you might have miscalculated some of the wet ingredients (or perhaps added a little too much dry) because the dough should be fairly sticky and wet. I’m not sure how they will bake up, but they won’t have the fudgy middles like crinkle cookies did. If you try again and get the same results, we can figure out what’s going on.
Michelle says
I just made these for my neighbors using a gluten free flour and they turned out awesome! I also made another batch of dough for more cookies but I think I overestimated how many I would need… Can I freeze the extra dough? Thank you, happy holidays 🙂
Sarah says
Glad you liked them! You can totally freeze the extra dough. What I would recommend is rolling them out into balls, freezing them on baking trays and then when they are frozen all the way through transferring them to a large ziplock bag. You don’t have to do this, but the dough will take so long to thaw once it’s frozen, that it would be nice to have the pre-rolled cookies ready to go.
Remi says
These were great. Even my mum’s boyfriend who usually frowns on my vegan baking thought these were amazing. Crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside. I will definitely make these again.
Kristin says
These are amazing! My second-grade son made the batter and then we all helped roll and sugar coat them. We cheated on the chilling time and they stilled turned out GORGEOUS and delicious! I think they are a new favorite Christmas cookie! Thank you, Sarah!
Cameron says
Mine didn’t turn out nearly as pretty as yours but these are AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I love them! Thanks for the recipe!
Liz says
Can the dough sit longer then four hours? Like maybe overnight?
Sarah says
Sure, that would be just fine.
Anna from Withinwire says
Good Instructions! Turned out good except for my taste the peppermint extract was too strong. I would have halved it if I had known. Hopefully the people I’m giving these to enjoy them!
Sarah says
I’m sorry you felt they were too pepperminty! Are you sure you were using peppermint extract and not peppermint oil? I just have to ask because I nor my taste testers have experienced the cookies overwhelming in the peppermint. But everyone does have there different tastes 🙂
Stephanie says
Love this! What a great recipe…thanks for sharing!!!
Lisa says
Your photography is so great! I love the touch of the red fabric under your cooling racks in the first picture. Mark got inspired, and is making chocolate crinkle cookies for his students…
Sarah says
I hope they love them as much as I do!
Mary Beth says
Oh my. These are perfect. I was really craving a mint chocolate dessert and these really hit the spot. Some dark chocolate chips ‘accidentally’ fell into the batter and were a great addition!
[email protected] says
These cookies look amazing. I would love for you to come and share your gorgeous pictures with us at foodepix.com.
Sarah says
I will check it out!
Jodye @ Chocolate and Chou Fleur says
Chocolate crinkle cookies are the best! I love your addition of peppermint – because really, who doesn’t like chocolate and peppermint together. It’s a close second to chocolate and peanut butter. I’ve always loved peppermint bark on Xmas, and I’ve started making my own with homemade vegan white chocolate! I’m also a sucker for gingerbread, so that always makes an appearance on my table in one way or another.
Ellen says
I am making these at this moment!