Rich and delicious, these gluten free chocolate crinkle cookies are a wonderful addition to your holiday cookie tray! These chocolate treats melt in your mouth – they are a favorite holiday dessert. Enjoy these fudgy cookies with a cup of dairy free hot cocoa on a cold winter afternoon.
I asked Darryl what holiday cookies “made” Christmas for him, and he said. “Those wreath cookies that are dark green. With the corn flakes.”  I was stunned by this answer. “What!? Are you kidding me?” I’m just not into green cookies, I guess.
There was no way that I was going to make his “favorite” Christmas cookie on my site, so I decided to make one that I know his mom makes every year – chocolate crinkle cookies. I know he likes these, even though I guess he likes the green wreaths more. (!)
With a few changes, I was able to make these fudgy cookies free of gluten, dairy, and eggs. I bet these will become a favorite for your family, too. If you’re looking for more things to bake, take a look at these easy gluten free Christmas cookie recipes.
Well, here they are…the best, most delicious, vegan and gluten free chocolate crinkle cookies.
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Ingredient Notes
- Egg Replacer – You have a couple of options here…you can use applesauce OR prune puree for the egg replacer. I wouldn’t use flax seed eggs, because I think the cookies would get gummy. The fruit keeps these a little lighter.
- Dairy Free Chocolate Chips – I like Enjoy Life or PASCHA allergy friendly chocolate chips. The melted chocolate chips in this batter keep these crinkles moist in spite of them being free of eggs, and they also add a rich, chocolatey flavor.
- Gluten Free Flour Blend – I recommend using Namaste Perfect Flour Blend or another cup for cup blend like Living Now Foods or Gluten Free 1-2-3.
- Powdered Sugar – Rolling the cookie dough in powdered sugar before baking is what creates the crackled, crinkled appearance. You may want to roll them a couple of times so that there is plenty of sugar coating the dough.
Step by Step Instructions
- Mix your cookie dough, then chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.
- Roll the dough into balls, and then roll in powdered sugar.
- Place the coated cookie balls on a cookie sheet, and bake at 350 degrees F for about 12 minutes.
- Allow to cool fully on the cookie sheet before removing.
Baking Tips
- Make sure you chill the dough so these don’t spread out on the baking sheet. Keep the dough cool and work quickly, and these crinkle cookies will turn out perfectly every time.
- Line the cookie sheets with parchment paper so that the cookies don’t stick to the pan.
- A thick coating of powdered sugar will give these cookies the prettiest appearance.
- Be sure to allow the cookies to cool completely before trying to move them.
Storage/Freezing
These cookies should last up to five days in an airtight container. Place a piece of gluten free bread in the container to help them stay moist.
These could be frozen in an airtight container or freezer bag. They should be fine in the freezer for 2-3 months.
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links.
Recipe
Gluten Free Chocolate Crinkle Cookies (Vegan, Nut Free).
Ingredients
- 1 cup dairy free chocolate chips
- 1 ½ cups gluten free flour blend
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- ¾ cup organic cane sugar
- 6 tablespoons vegan buttery spread softened
- ½ cup unsweetened applesauce
- 3 Tablespoons cocoa powder
- ¾ cup powdered sugar set aside for rolling – I used corn free confectioner’s sugar
Instructions
- Place the chocolate chips in a small bowl and microwave until melted. I start with 45 seconds and then stir, then microwave 15 seconds at a time, stirring in between, until they are smooth. Set aside to cool to room temperature.
- In a large bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and sea salt. Pour the confectioner’s sugar into a small bowl and set aside for later.
- In a large mixing bowl, cream the buttery spread and the sugar. Add the applesauce mix to combine. Add the cooled chocolate chips and mix again.
- Add the combined dry ingredients a little at a time and continue to mix. The paddle attachment works well for this batter, which is going to be very thick. If it seems too dry, you can add a little bit more applesauce.
- Cover the batter in the bowl and refrigerate it for at least 30 minutes. This keeps the cookies from spreading.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Using your hands, roll the refrigerated dough into balls that are about one inch in diameter. Put the balls into the confectioner’s sugar and roll around until thoroughly coated.
- Place the balls on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and bake for 12-15 minutes. Let cool on the sheets for five minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Janet Heald
LOVE your site! I made these crinkle cookies with a few modifications. I added 1 teaspoon of cinnamon and 1/4 teaspoon of clove. I rolled them with cocoa dusted hands. I did not roll them in powdered sugar as I wanted them chocolate colored. After they were cooled I dipped them in a simple chocolate glaze of 5/8 cup powdered sugar, 11/2 tablespoons of cocoa and 1/8 cup of boiling water. These ended up very like Mostaccioli cookies that I used to make years ago. They are a chocolate spice cookie. They are supposed to have nonpareils sprinkled on them for color, but I can’t chance the ingredients in them.
Please give them a try!
Kelly Roenicke
Sounds delicious!
Holly
I just came from a function for my daughter’s school. The parents were asked if we could donate some cookies for a light reception afterwards. Most brought regular store bought cookies. I made these ones. And my tray was the only one emptied by the end of the night! They were a HUGE hit and so many people could not tell they were gluten free and vegan. If I could give more stars I would. Thank you so much!
Kelly Roenicke
Yay! I am so happy to hear that! Thanks for sharing!
Sara Jack
I am making these cookies for the 2bd time. The 1st time they came out amazing! I was reading through the ingredients & directions before starting and noticed tge ingredients say 3/4 cup cane sugat, but the dieections say to cream butter & brown sugar. Just wondering which is the correct sugar to use. They turbed out great with the cane sugar the 1st time.
Thanks!
Diane
Hi there. Thank you for this receipe. How many cookies does recipe make?
Thanks!
Emma
Baking these now and wondering if there’s a good way to tell if they are done?
I know I probably won’t hear back in time so here’s hoping they turn out!
(I have only baked like once in my life before so fingers crossed!)
Thanks for the recipe
L
These look very good for allergy free. We also have apple allergy. Anything you would recommend to substitute for the applesauce? Thanks!
Kelly Roenicke
You can use beet puree or prune puree.
Casey
I used pumpkin purée instead of applesauce and it was perfect :)
Laureen L Lacey
I am going to try these for my Christmas party for my crafting ladies, this will give me something I can eat too! Thank you for making them dairy free also, dairy can send me to the hospital.
Kelly Roenicke
I hope you love them!
Leah
If we’re not gluten- free can I use all purpose flour?
Kelly Roenicke
Yes, you can!
kara
I e king arthur and adjusted leavening last time for a df gf sharlotka, bu wanted know about cornstarch in place of the xanthan since our area is out till December! Thanks! And sorghum is a gas producer for me so i stick with rice, almond, corn and potato since those are not prone to causing flare ups for me in small doses. Can it be done say for lemon crincles? Thanks!
Bonnie
Can you use coconut oil as a non dairy butter spread?
Kelly Roenicke
The texture will change if you do that. You could try palm shortening instead.
Holly
I can’t wait to try these! Just curious…will these turn out to be soft/chewy or more of a crunchy texture?
Kelly Roenicke
These are soft cookies.
Sharon
I love chocolate crinkle cookies! I am so glad to see that they turn out well as a top 8 free cookie too!
Kelly Roenicke
They are a favorite over here!
Sarah S
Making these for a dairy free neighbor. Just curious why the dough balls should be rolled in powdered sugar before baking? In other recipes, the powdered sugar rolling usually happens right after the cookies are out of the oven and have cooled enough to handle, so that the powdered sugar crinkle look takes effect. I see in my oven the powdered sugar seems to have been baked/melted off, and the cookies haven’t yet finished baking. Thanks’
Kelly Roenicke
I have never seen a crinkle recipe that says to roll them after you bake them. The crinkle effect happens because as the dough spreads, it creates cracks between the powdered sugar and the dough.
Kortney
Crinkle cookies are an absolute must bake for the holidays! These just look yummy and melty!
Kelly Roenicke
Thank you! :)
Abigail hall
For this recipe I used the enjoy life all purpose flour and it turned out even better then when I used the king Arthur flour!
Susan
The cookies look wonderful, but I just began to whip up a batch and found that brown sugar is not present in the ingredients list of your recipe, yet step 3 specifies to cream the buttery spread and the brown sugar.
Can you tell me how to modify the recipe so that it turns out right? Do I add a certain amount of brown sugar to the ingredient list, replace the cane sugar with brown sugar, or put 3/4 of a cup of sugar where half is brown and half is cane?
Thanks for your help.
Kelly Roenicke
That was an error! The instructions should have just said sugar. Although you could sub brown sugar if that’s what you have.
I corrected it, sorry for the confusion! :)
Matt Killy
Hey there,
Really delicious article! ;) I really love your photos. Is it iPhone only or are you using a specific camera?
I also made a chocolate chip cookie dough recipe, let me know what you think about it:
http://healthylifestylebymatt.com/almond-butter-protein-balls
Cheers!
Matt
vegetarianmamma
YUMMMM, just in time for Christmas!! Thanks for linking up at our Gluten Free Fridays party! I have tweeted and pinned your entry to our Gluten Free Fridays board on Pinterest! :)
Hope your week is great!
Cindy from vegetarianmamma.com
Meredith
I’m so happy to have found this recipe and your blog! I asked my children what kind of cookies they wanted for Christmas this year, and, remembering back several years to the days when I still used gluten, eggs, and butter, they asked for “Chocolate Zebras”! Now I will be able to fulfill their request! Thanks.
Kelly @ The Pretty Bee: Cooking + Creating
I’m so glad! That’s what I was hoping for when I thought of this series – that people would find out that they can make their favorite Christmas cookies even though they have different dietary needs. :) Enjoy!
Kelly
I hope so, those green ones are awful! :)
Natalie @ Tastes Lovely
Ha, I love Darryl’s description of his favorite cookie. So funny when guys try to describe food. These cookies look delicious! Hopefully these become his new favorite.
Kelly
I hope so, those green ones are awful! :)
Lisa Howard
These are going to be a new favorite! My daughter-in-law is gluten intolerant and I try to avoid it whenever possible. Thanks for all the awesome recipes! You have become my gluten-free go-to girl! :-)
Kelly
Oh good! I hope you enjoy these, Lisa! So many people are gluten intolerant these days, you hate to think about them missing out on Christmas cookies!