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If there’s one cookie I can never resist, it’s a rich chocolate cookie—especially a chocolate crinkle, and especially one that helps use up my sourdough discard. These Chocolate Sourdough Crinkle Cookies are one of my favorite sourdough discard cookies to make this time of year. They’re fudgy, sweet, have crispy edges, are coated in powdered sugar, and look perfectly crackled after baking.
If you’re building a standout holiday cookie plate, these belong on it, right alongside my Sourdough Chocolate Chip Cookies and my soft and chewy Sourdough Gingerbread Cookies.
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Why You’ll Love Chocolate Sourdough Crinkle Cookies
- So Easy – These are truly easy sourdough cookies! Just mix up the dough and roll them in powdered sugar, just like my Sourdough Snowball Cookies and Lemon Crinkle Cookies with Sourdough Discard.
- Uses Sourdough Discard – I love adding sourdough discard into so many recipes, and with these cookies, it makes them extra moist and chewy. You’ll want to try discard in my Oatmeal Sourdough Chocolate Chip Cookies too!
- Chocolatey – You’ll love the rich chocolate flavor of these cookies, thanks to the natural Dutch-processed unsweetened cocoa powder. And chocolate lovers will also want to try my Homemade Sourdough Oreo Cookies and Sourdough Brownies!
- Holiday Favorites – These cookies belong on a holiday cookie plate alongside my Sourdough Thumbprint Cookies. You’ll also want my list of The Best Sourdough Christmas Cookies!
Sourdough Discard Tip: I keep a jar in my fridge that I continually add sourdough discard to. Discard is a by-product of your sourdough starter and there is no reason to throw it away. Instead, use it in incredible sourdough discard recipes where it adds moisture and great flavor. Use older, more tangy discard in savory recipes like these Sourdough Discard Breadsticks and young/fresh discard in sweeter recipes like these Sourdough Oatmeal Cookies.
Important Ingredients
If you’re looking for a simple sourdough dessert recipe to add to your holiday baking list, these chocolate crinkles never disappoint.
- Sourdough Discard – In order to avoid a stronger sourdough flavor, use sourdough discard that is fresh or no more than a day or two old. I always use 100% hydration sourdough discard. If your discard is very runny, you may need a little extra flour in this recipe.
- Unsalted Butter – I use unsalted butter in my cookie recipes so I can control the flavor. Salt levels in salted butter vary. If using salted butter, reduce the added salt. Use softened butter for the best results.
- Sugar – Brown sugar and granulated sugar are used in this recipe to give the perfect balance of sweetness with the cocoa powder.
- Dutch Processed Cocoa Powder – Using a dark/Dutch processed cocoa powder gives these sourdough chocolate crinkle cookies a rich chocolate flavor.
- All-purpose flour – These cookies are perfect with all-purpose flour. Use flour with an 11.5% protein content, not bread flour.
- Cornstarch – I love using a little bit of cornstarch in cookie dough because it makes the dough and resulting baked cookie extra tender and soft.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities
Substitutions
- Sourdough Discard: Substitute with active starter.
- Cornstarch: Leave the cornstarch out and substitute all-purpose flour.
- Variations: For a fun variation, add a Hershey’s Kiss after baking, sprinkle with crushed candy cane, or skip the powdered sugar and frost the cookies.
How to Make Chocolate Sourdough Crinkle Cookies
Mix the Dough
Step 1: To a large bowl, mix the wet ingredients. Use a hand mixer or stand mixer to beat the softened butter until it lightens in color. Add the sugars and mix until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, sourdough discard, and vanilla extract until smooth. Scrape down the edges with a rubber spatula if needed.
Step 2: Whisk together the dry ingredients: flour, cocoa powder, cornstarch, baking soda, and salt in a separate bowl. Fluff together with a fork and then add the flour mixture to the butter mixture. Mix on medium-speed until just combined.
Dough Texture: This chocolate crinkle cookie dough is naturally soft and a little sticky. Use weight measurements for best results. The sticky dough helps create the classic crackles and gives you a fudgy center making these extra fudgy sourdough cookies that everyone will love. If you find your dough too sticky to shape into balls, add 10-20 more grams of flour to the dough.
Shape Cookie Dough
Step 3: Add powdered sugar to a small bowl and set aside. Scoop the cookie dough into about 1.5-2 Tbsp-sized balls and drop them into the powdered sugar.
Step 4: Roll each dough ball in the powdered sugar and place on parchment paper lined cookie sheets. The powdered sugar creates the classic crinkled “snowball” look as the cookies bake.
Long Fermenting Cookie Dough: For even deeper flavor, and for some of those sourdough benefits, scoop the cookie dough into balls and refrigerate for 24–48 hours. This slow rest lets the sourdough discard work its magic, enhancing flavor and fermenting the flour in the cookie dough.
Bake the Cookies
Step 5: Preheat the oven to 375ºF convection. Bake the cookies for 7–8 minutes, or until the edges are set and the centers still look slightly soft. Don’t overbake!
Step 6: Remove the cookies while the centers are still a little gooey—they’ll continue to bake on the sheet and set into a perfectly chewy texture as they cool. Let cool completely and enjoy!
Why I use Convection for Cookies: Convection bake gives you the best of both worlds: crisp edges and a soft, chewy center. If your oven has a convection setting, use it! For this recipe, bake at 375°F for 7–8 minutes.
No convection? Try one of these:
• Increase the temperature by 25°F (to 400°F) and preheat well for 15–20 minutes.
• Bake at the convection temperature (375°F) and add 2–3 extra minutes of baking time.
How to Store Leftovers
If you have extra cookies, let them cool completely, then place them in an airtight container. They’ll keep on the counter for 24 hours, or you can freeze them right away for the best freshness. To enjoy, pull them out a few hours before serving to thaw at room temperature. You can re-dunk them in powdered sugar if you’d like.
Amy’s Recipe Tip
If you love having fresh cookies on demand, freeze the dough balls ahead of time. Just place the scooped dough on a sheet pan, freeze until firm, and transfer to an airtight container. When you’re ready to bake, thaw the dough balls in the fridge overnight. Right before baking, roll them in powdered sugar and pop them in the oven. It’s the easiest way to enjoy warm, chocolate crinkle cookies anytime!
Frequently Asked Questions
You don’t have to chill this dough. These are basically no-chill crinkle cookies, which makes them perfect for quick baking days. If you do chill it, it will give you a thicker, fudgier cookie. Scoop the cookie dough into balls, refrigerate for 1-2 hours and then roll into powdered sugar and bake.
Yes. Active starter works the same in this recipe. Just substitute it for the discard.
Yes. Hershey’s cocoa powder works well in this recipe. It won’t give quite the same deep, rich flavor as a Dutch-process cocoa, but your cookies will still be delicious.
Most popular Sourdough Cookie recipes
If you tried these Chocolate Sourdough Crinkle Cookies or any other recipe on my website leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below. Happy Baking!
Chocolate Sourdough Crinkle Cookies
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Equipment
- mixer or hand mixer
Ingredients
- 113 grams unsalted butter, softened, about 1/2 cup
- 115 grams brown sugar, about 1/2 cup
- 150 grams granulated sugar, about 2/3 cup
- 2 large eggs, about 100 grams
- 60 grams sourdough discard, about 1/4 cup
- 4 grams vanilla extract, about 1 teaspoon
- 200 grams all purpose flour, about 1 1/2 cups
- 65 grams dutch processed cocoa powder, see recipe notes, about 1/2 cup
- 10 grams cornstarch, about 1 Tablespoon
- 6 grams baking soda, about 1 teaspoon
- 3 grams salt, about 1/2 teaspoon
- 50 grams powdered sugar, for rolling the cookies
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375ºF convection. See recipe notes for non-convection.
- To the bowl of a stand mixer using the paddle attachment (or using a hand mixer), beat the softened butter until light and fluffy for about a minute. Add the brown sugar and granulated sugar. Cream together until fluffy and smooth.
- Crack the eggs and add them to the butter/sugar mixture. Whip together with the beaters until the eggs are fully incorporated. Add the sourdough discard and vanilla extract. Mix again with the mixer until smooth and combined.
- To a medium-sized bowl, add the flour, cocoa powder, cornstarch, baking soda, and salt. Whisk together to combine. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix until the wet and dry ingredients are incorporated.
- Scoop the cookie dough into small, 1.5-2 Tablespoon-sized balls. Roll each ball in powdered sugar and stick on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
- Bake cookies in a preheated, 375º F oven on convection bake for about 7-8 minutes. After 7-8 minutes, the cookies should be puffy with the edges just a little crispy. Let the cookies cool on a baking sheet for 5-10 minutes until they set up completely. If you don't have convection bake, bake the cookies at 375º F for about 10 minutes. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Don’t hesitate – just bake these, well maybe don’t if you are trying to have more portion control because they are highly addictive…ran out of vanilla so used a little almond extract and now 24 hrs later have to make another batch (my fault for sharing them with my grown children and grandchildren and only saving 3…). Thanks for such great sd recipes Amy!
They are so great! Thanks for the review.
Liked the recipe a lot! I am making it for a Valentine’s Day Chocolate Feast.
I was wondering about what you thought chilling the dough for a few minutes would do. It ended up being quite sticky so I didn’t know if it would harm the process in any way.
I haven’t tried that, but I think it’s worth trying! How did they turn out?
Wow! These were so yummy. A soft brownie like cookie that we made for my husband’s chocolate dessert loving family. They were a hit!
Yum! Thanks for the review!
These were so good and a huge hit with my soft cookie loving friends.
I’m glad they turned out great! Thanks for the review.
These were a hit at the cookie exchange.
Wonderfully soft cookies with the fudgy taste. I will be making more of these.
They are the perfect cookie for an exchange – thanks for the review!
easy to follow and tastes great! i added crushed peppermint candy to half of the cookies and they were amazing!
Peppermint candy sounds amazing in these – thanks for the review!
Storage? Or freezing?
If you have extra cookies, let them cool completely, then place them in an airtight container. They’ll keep on the counter for 24 hours, or you can freeze them right away for the best freshness. To enjoy, pull them out a few hours before serving to thaw at room temperature. You can re-dunk them in powdered sugar if you’d like.
Hi Amy!
These look amazing! Was wondering though, if I am going to do a long ferment or freeze them should I still roll in the powdered sugar or should I wait until I am ready to bake them?
I would roll them in powdered sugar right before baking to avoid it melting with any added moisture exposure.