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Grain Free Chocolate Crinkles

Published: · Modified: by · I may receive commissions from purchases made through links in this article · 87 Comments

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Grain Free Chocolate Crinkles are soft, fudgy cookies with a beautiful crackly top. Delicious and sweet, this healthier real food, Paleo-friendly version is naturally sweetened and sure to please. 

Plates of chocolate crinkle cookies. this RECIPE

Soft and chewy, brownie-like, Chocolate Crinkles are one of the best holiday cookies! 

This classic, traditional Christmas cookie, also known as Kringle Cookies or Chocolate Crinkle Cookies, has been around forever. 

Every bite is true bliss. If you've never had the pleasure of enjoying one of these cookies before, you've been missing out! Chocolate Crinkles are so delicious and extra special!

This Christmas cookie is similar to fudgy brownies, but in cookie form. The bonus with these holiday cookies is that you get that delectable crackly bite all over instead of just on the top like a traditional brownie bar. 

Plate of chocolate crinkle cookies.

Christmas is not complete without Chocolate Crinkles holiday cookies!

I can't remember a Christmas without chocolate crinkles. As a young kid, every holiday season I baked holiday cookies with my grandma - and sometimes my mom or dad. But the tradition originated with my grandma.

I would get to go visit my grandma overnight and we'd bake all kinds of holiday cookies. Out of all of the goodies we made, my favorite was always chocolate crinkles {... okay, and gingerbread too, they tie for favorite, but chocolate always wins in my book}.

One cookie was never enough, they were just so good! BUT ... the ones I grew up with were loaded with refined sugars and were gluten-packed. I can't have gluten anymore and I prefer to stay away from cane sugar.

Chocolate crinkle cookies on a baking sheet.

REAL FOOD Grain Free Chocolate Crinkles are THE best cookies for the holidays!

You can still enjoy this classic Christmas cookie WITHOUT all of the powdered sugar, white cane sugar and regular flour.

My grain free version tastes just as good (if not better in my humble opinion) and is so much healthier than the original refined sugary version.

Stack of chocolate crinkle cookies.

You only need 8 ingredients to make these easy Grain Free Chocolate Crinkles! 

All you need is some of my favorite grain free flour, quality fair-trade cocoa powder, grass-fed butter, maple sugar and some other basic cookie ingredients that you probably already have in your pantry like vanilla extract, baking soda, sea salt and eggs.

You won't find any powdered sugar in this recipe, only organic maple sugar. It's naturally a little powdery, so all you have to do is give it a quick blitz in your blender or food processor and in seconds you'll have a super fine homemade unrefined "powdered sugar".

Plate of chocolate crinkle cookies.

Make sure to chill the cookie dough! 

The hardest part about this recipe is that you have to wait for the cookie dough to chill. The cookie dough has to be cold! If you skip this step, the cookies will not bake properly. 

Waiting for cookies to be ready is always a hard thing! But it's worth the wait in the end.

Once you have the cookie dough made, you'll pop the cookie dough in the refrigerator for several hours until it's chilled through. If you are short on time and need to chill the cookie dough extra fast, you can place the cookie dough in the freezer to set up fast.

Before you know it you'll be rolling up little chocolate balls of cookie dough then rolling them in a dust bath of maple sugar.

For an extra special final touch, you can sprinkle a little bit of flaked sea salt over the tops of the cookies. The flaked salt is optional, but it sure does add a nice little salty crunch.

Plate of chocolate crinkle cookies.

These healthier Grain Free Chocolate Crinkles are wonderful holiday cookies to make for your loved ones and holiday guests!

Get your kids or grandkids in the kitchen with you to make these cookies! Kids always love rolling the chilled cookie dough in the powdered maple sugar and rolling them into little cookie dough balls. 

This recipe makes a big batch of cookies, so you'll have plenty to enjoy or share with loved ones, holiday company or neighbors. The cookies freeze well too! So if you'd like to make a batch and enjoy them over the month of December, you can do that too! That's what I do. I love to enjoy a cookie right out of the freezer when I need a little sweet treat. 

So make up a batch of these delicious holiday cookies, share them with friends and family, and make sure you enjoy some too! 

Plates of chocolate crinkle cookies.

MORE GLUTEN FREE HOLIDAY COOKIES & HOLIDAY TREATS RECIPES: 

Grain Free Chocolate Crinkles

Plate of chocolate crinkle cookies.

Grain Free Chocolate Crinkles

Yield: 40 small cookies
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 13 minutes
Inactive Time: 6 hours
Total Time: 6 hours 43 minutes

Grain Free Chocolate Crinkles are soft, fudgy cookies with a beautiful crackly top. Delicious and sweet, this healthier real food, Paleo-friendly version is naturally sweetened and sure to please.

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. In a large mixing bowl, add melted butter or ghee and maple sugar. With a hand-held mixer, mix on medium speed for about 30 seconds. Add eggs and vanilla extract and mix on medium speed just until batter comes together, about 1 minute.
  2. In a separate mixing bowl combine cassava flour, cocoa, baking soda and sea salt. Give it a quick stir to mix it up. Add dry mixture to the wet mixture. Mix on low speed just until the batter comes together - do not over-mix! You can always finish mixing the batter by hand in order to not over-mix the cookie dough.
  3. Place cookie dough in the refrigerator to set up for at least 6 hours or until completely chilled through. I recommend making the dough the day before you want to bake them and let the dough set up in the fridge over night. If you truly need to make a batch of cookies fast, pop the dough in the freezer for about 30 minutes to set up fast.
  4. While the dough is chilling, make your homemade maple powdered sugar. Place ½ cup maple sugar in a high powered blender of food processor and pulse/blend until it becomes a fine powder, about 15 seconds. Set aside.
  5. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and line a cookie sheet with unbleached parchment paper. Set aside.
  6. When dough is fully chilled, roll tablespoon balls of cookie dough in your hands. Drop cookie dough balls into the powdered maple sugar and give them a roll around in the "dust bath" until they are fully coated. Place balls on lined cookie sheet, spaced about 2 inches apart. Do not press them down. Add a little sprinkling of sea salt flakes to the tops of the cookie dough balls. Bake for 10-13 minutes or just until cracks have formed, DO NOT OVER BAKE or they will not be as fudgy. Every oven is different, I find that my oven bakes them perfectly at 11 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes before removing them from the parchment paper. If you're really careful, you can carefully lift the parchment paper with cookies on it off of the baking sheet and transfer over to a cookie rack, but if you're not too careful the cookies could fall off. Fair warning on that, but it does help the cookies cool quicker. Repeat the same steps above until all cookies are baked.

Notes

Storage: These cookies are still fabulous the next day. If left at room temperature overnight, they're almost softer the next day. They can also be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days or in the freezer for months. They taste delicious out of the freezer too!

Cassava flour is not tapioca flour. Cassava is 100% Yuca, a root vegetable. Tapioca is an extracted starch. Cassava flour is a whole food; the entire root, minus the peel. I do NOT recommend using any other cassava flour than the one listed above. It is the highest quality cassava flour available.

Adapted from My Grandma's Recipe and Allergy Free Alaska's Gluten Free Chocolate Crinkles. Originally published December 2016.

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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 40 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 106Total Fat: 5gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 29mgSodium: 99mgCarbohydrates: 15gFiber: 1gSugar: 8gProtein: 1g

This nutritional information was auto-generated based on serving size, number of servings, and typical information for the ingredients listed. To obtain the most accurate representation of the nutritional information in a given recipe, please calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients and amounts used, using your preferred nutrition calculator. Under no circumstances shall the this website and the author be responsible for any loss or damage resulting for your reliance on the given nutritional information. You are solely responsible for ensuring that any nutritional information provided is accurate, complete, and useful.

© Emily
Cuisine: American / Category: Dessert

Are you on Pinterest? I pin lots of yummy real food recipes + more there. I have a board just for Gluten Free Treats + Winter Favorites + Christmas too. Come follow along. 

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. I've never had a chocolate crinkle! I can't wait to try these!

    Reply

    • No way! I hope you get to try some, they're such a fun cookie. They're always a hit with the kiddos. 🙂

      Reply

  2. Ohhh these look delicious, and definitely scream Christmas time!

    Reply

    • Thanks so much 🙂

      Reply

  3. They look sooo yummy, Emily!! Sure to be a favorite of ours!

    Reply

    • Thank you Megan! I hope you get to make some 🙂

      Reply

  4. These look easy, delicious and healthy. I love it!

    Reply

    • Thanks Chandice! They're so yummy 🙂

      Reply

  5. I made 2 batches of chocolate crinkles over the weekend!

    Reply

    • How fun! They're so addictive! 🙂

      Reply

  6. Please, please, PAH-lease enter these in the Gluten-Free Cookie Swap! How yummy! So many people would love to have this recipe!!!!

    Reply

    • 🙂 thanks for letting me know about it!

      Reply

  7. one of my favorite cookies as a child. I love that these chocolate crinkles are grain free too!

    Reply

    • I love that! They were mine too 🙂

      Reply

  8. Oh these sound fabulous! Adding to my must make list.

    Reply

    • Thanks so much Theresa! Hope you get to make some. 🙂

      Reply

  9. I'm super excited to try this recipe! Chocolate crinkles were a childhood favorite and I haven't made them in years! Looking forward to a healthier option!

    Reply

    • They're so good Kelsey! I hope you get to make some. They were a favorite of mine too ... and still are 🙂

      Reply

  10. These look and sound SO delicious!
    I don't have maple sugar on hand.
    Do you think I can use coconut sugar, Emily?
    If so. should I somehow add some maple syrup?
    oh dear.. I know it's awkward to change up recipes sometimes.
    Let me know what you think. If no go.. will find maple sugar.. lol..
    I am in Canada, after all. lol.

    Reply

    • Hmm I'm guessing it won't be exactly the same. I have found that coconut sugar makes for a different texture in other baked goods. My local natural foods co-op sells maple sugar but they also sell it online too. If you used coconut sugar, I would recommend putting it into the blender to make it more fine since it's pretty course grain. I would not add maple syrup at all since that will change the texture of the cookies - this cookie really needs a dry sweetener. Not sure if that helps much. 🙂

      Reply

  11. I love a good grain free cookie recipe and have never thought to do chocolate crinkle cookies grain-free! These look great! And I especially love the lack of the powdered sugar. I'll have to try the organic maple sugar like you did - it looks so similar!

    Reply

    • Thanks Marlynn 🙂 I think maple sugar is becoming easier to find these days depending on where you live. I'm able to find it at my local natural foods co-op, but I used to buy it online before. It works so well in baked goods as a dry sugar replacer.

      Reply

  12. Those ingredients are incredible! I am adding these to the list of cookies I will be making for an exchange. Thank you!

    Reply

    • Thank you Kristen! I hope you get to try some 🙂 They're so yummy!

      Reply

  13. Finally ordered some cassava flour! These are on my Christmas cookie list!

    Reply

    • Yay!!! That's so exciting! I hope you get to make some 🙂

      Reply

  14. Yum! I love these crinkley little cookies!

    Reply

    • Thank you Linda! 🙂

      Reply

  15. I can't wait to try them! they look delicious!

    Reply

    • I hope you get to try some Brittany 🙂

      Reply

  16. My grain free/gluten free cookies never look this good. Lol! I need to give your recipe a try.

    Reply

    • Oh no! 🙂 lol I'm sure yours look great too! Kind of you though. I hope you get to try some of these.

      Reply

  17. What a delicious treat for the holidays!

    Reply

    • Thanks Melissa! They're so yummy 🙂

      Reply

  18. I've never had these before ! Hopefully I get some time to try this recipe during break.

    Reply

    • I hope you get to try some Rochelle! If you like brownies, you'll LOVE these cookies.

      Reply

  19. These cookies are some of my favorites! I love that they are healthier! Yummy!

    Reply

    • Chocolate Crinkles are the best! I love that you love them too 🙂

      Reply

  20. These grain free choc crinkles look so yummy. You're making me crave them now! Super excited to have this recipe to give them a try. I'm sure I'll LOVE them!!!

    Reply

    • Thanks Jessica! I hope you get to make some 🙂

      Reply

  21. Mmm, so delicious!! Can't wait to try the recipe--sharing to Pinterest. Thanks!

    Reply

    • Thanks Cathy! Appreciate the pin! I hope you get to enjoy some 🙂

      Reply

  22. These cookies will be absolutely perfect for my paleo friends this Christmas! It is always so tough making treats for them!

    Reply

    • Yes! These are awesome Paleo cookies 🙂 I hope you get to make some for them.

      Reply

  23. I've never had crinkle cookies before! They're so small I might eat a whole bunch at once (sort of like gingersnaps), LOL!

    Reply

    • LOL you will, they're that good 🙂 You can make them bigger though, I just like to make big batches with smaller ones.

      Reply

  24. These look delish! Now I'm wondering if I could experiment to make them egg free for my allergic daughter (no grains, eggs, nuts (butter and almonds ok) among various other allergies). Anyway, thanks for the inspiration! Happy holidays!!

    Reply

    • Hi Jess, it is possible that it could work. I use an egg-replacer in this gluten free gingerbread cookie recipe and it works perfectly. You could try doing that in this recipe and see if it works.

      Reply

  25. EEE! These cookies sound fantastic! These have always been one of my favorites - thanks for the recipe!

    Reply

    • Thanks Kristine! I love that you love them too. They're such a fun classic holiday cookie. 🙂

      Reply

  26. I feel like everyone has a fond memory involving crinkle cookies! Your recipe sounds wonderful...definitely worthy of being a star on the Christmas dessert table!

    Reply

    • Right?! I love that about these cookies. Such fun memories with these cookies. 🙂

      Reply

  27. it just doesn't seem right if you don't have cookies this time of year, these look fabulous and I love that they are grain free.

    Reply

    • I couldn't agree more Dahn 🙂

      Reply

  28. Yummy! I love vegan cookies these look so good.

    Reply

    • Thanks 🙂

      Reply

  29. These do look very good and are certainly very seasonal.

    Reply

    • Thanks Brian!

      Reply

  30. I love that you recreated a cookie that you used to make with your grandma- how special! These look so delicious and I could definitely go for a couple right now!

    Reply

    • Thank you Jessica! It's so fun recreating recipes that my grandma made. I love how food takes you back to special memories 🙂

      Reply

  31. These look AMAZING!!!

    Reply

    • Thank you Orleatha! xo

      Reply

  32. Ok, this recipe has finally convinced me to try out Cassava flour! These cookies look AMAZING! I can't wait to make this recipe!

    Reply

    • Thank you Kelly! I hope you get to try some! It's my favorite flour 🙂

      Reply

  33. These look so good! What a great Christmas cookie recipe, and perfect with a cup of cocoa!

    Reply

    • Thank you! That sounds perfect! What a fun treat 🙂

      Reply

  34. I love that these are grain free!

    Reply

    • Thank you Tess! 🙂

      Reply

  35. Hi Emily.
    There is no cassava flour in Brazil.
    I have tapioca. It's the same?
    Or can I sub cassava flour for oat flour?
    Thanks 🙂

    Reply

    • Hi Fernando, such a bummer. Unfortunately, tapioca isn't the same. Cassava, also known as Yuca, is a root vegetable. Tapioca is the bleached and extracted starch of the cassava root. Cassava flour is the whole root; peeled, dried, and ground. "Otto’s Cassava Flour and tapioca flour/starch have very different actions in both baking and your digestive system." You could try using oat flour, I'm guessing that will have a similar texture, although it probably won't be exactly the same. Cassava flour ends up having a similar texture to regular white flour. I hope that was somewhat helpful. Happy holidays to you!

      Reply

  36. Question - do you measure the butter after melted or prior and then melt it down. I think I went wrong the first time making these.

    Reply

    • The butter should be measured prior to melting. It should be 3/4 cup solid butter, then melt. Hope that helps!

      Reply

  37. What a perfect holiday cookie! I love the tip about blending the maple sugar to get it the right consistency. I haven’t worked with it before and now I really want to!

    Reply

  38. Crinkles are always a hit, and with ingredients like this...you don't have to compromise your health either! Deep and fudgey, yum!

    Reply

  39. What a fun cookie! They look delicious!

    Reply

  40. Soft, fudgy and crackly on top is the best of all cookie combinations! We made these in the weekend and they were just perfect! I'm going to make a few batches to give to friends 🙂

    Reply

  41. Crinkle cookies are the best, and I love that powdered maple sugar! And topped with sea salt, sounds like perfection.

    Reply

  42. You had me at chocolate! I love crinkle cookies. They are so delicious and festive looking. Perfect for the holiday season!

    Reply

  43. These were so goood with a cup of tea yesterday! I've never made regular, non-grain-free crinkles before but these were a total winner. Will definitely make again!

    Reply

  44. What a good tip to blitz organic maple sugar in the blender. Thanks! I love that, and had never thought to make my own powder sugar that way.

    Reply

  45. So my MIL used to make these with boxed cake mix! I admit: they were reallllllly good. But your version is one I'd happily eat now! I haven't had hers in YEARS. Love that crinkly top!

    Reply

  46. Wow, I remember these & I have not had hem in a long time. It is great to have a healthier option 🙂

    Reply

  47. You're right, perfect for Christmas. Who doesn't love chocolate? Great recipe!

    Reply

  48. These are perfect for the holidays. I'm always looking for new recipes to try. Something different. Can't wait to try these!

    Reply

  49. I've never tried chocolate crinkles before, crazy I know! I see them on Pinterest all the time, I need to give your recipe a try as the description has me sold! xo

    Reply

  50. This looks yum and so chocolaty. I love chocolate and if I can make and eat this today I will be in heaven. LOL

    Reply

  51. I was looking for an amazing article about GRAIN-FREE CHOCOLATE CRINKLES and now I found your blog. It's the best one for GRAIN FREE CHOCOLATE CRINKLES. thank you

    Reply

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