Chocolate Raspberry Crinkles

 
 Prep Time: 3 hours, 30 minutes
 
 Cook Time: 13 minutes
 
 Total Time: 3 hours, 45 minutes
 
 Yield: 24-26 cookies

Just like chocolate crinkle cookies, but with the added flavor of real raspberries, these chocolate raspberry crinkle cookies are soft-baked and chewy, deeply rich and fudgy, and coated in a raspberry-confectioners’ sugar topping that melts in your mouth.

Ingredients

Cookies

• 1/2 cup (8 Tbsp; 113g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
• 1 Tablespoon vegetable oil, avocado oil, or olive oil
• 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup (100g) packed light or dark brown sugar
• 1 large egg, at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract or raspberry liqueur (such as Chambord)
• 1 and 1/2 cups (188g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
• 2/3 cup (56g) unsweetened natural cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup (100g) raspberry preserves

Topping

• 3/4 cup (90g) confectioners’ sugar
• 1/2 cup (13g) freeze-dried raspberries

Instructions

1. Make the cookie dough: In a large bowl using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter, oil, granulated sugar, and brown sugar together on medium high speed until fluffy and light in color, about 2–3 minutes. Add the egg and vanilla extract, and beat on high speed until combined. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed.
2. In a separate bowl, whisk the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt together until combined. Pour into the wet ingredients, and add the raspberry preserves. Beat everything on low speed until combined. The cookie dough will be thick and very sticky. Cover dough tightly and chill in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours and up to 3 days. Chilling is mandatory for this sticky cookie dough.
3. Remove cookie dough from the refrigerator and allow to sit at room temperature for 10 minutes. If the cookie dough chilled longer than 3 hours, let it sit at room temperature for about 20 minutes. This makes the chilled cookie dough easier to scoop and roll.
4. Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Line large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Set aside.
5. Make the topping: In a dry food processor or blender, grind the freeze-dried raspberries into a fine powder. Sift through a fine-mesh sieve to separate out the seeds. Discard the seeds and place the raspberry powder into a small bowl. Add the confectioners’ sugar and mix together.
6. Scoop and roll dough into balls, about 1.5 Tablespoons (35g) of dough each. A medium cookie scoop is helpful here. Roll each ball very generously in the raspberry-sugar topping. Place 3 inches apart on the baking sheets.
7. Bake the cookies for 12–14 minutes or until the edges appear set and the centers still look soft. If they still look pretty puffy, don’t worry, the cookies deflate a bit as they cool.
8. Cool cookies for 10 minutes on the baking sheet, and then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely. If you have extra raspberry powder, sprinkle or sift a pinch on top of the warm cookies.
9. Cookies stay fresh covered at room temperature for up to 1 week.

Notes

1. Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: You can make the cookie dough and chill it in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Unbaked shaped cookie dough balls (that are not coated in sugar) freeze well up to 3 months. Thaw for 30 minutes, and then proceed with step 7. See this post on how to freeze cookie dough for more information and a video tutorial. Baked and cooled cookies freeze well for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator or at room temperature.
2. Special Tools (affiliate links): Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | Glass Mixing Bowls | Whisk | Baking Sheets | Silicone Baking Mats or Parchment Paper | Food Processor or Blender | Medium Cookie Scoop | Cooling Rack | Fine Mesh Sieve
3. Raspberry Preserves/Jam: I use the Bonne Maman brand of raspberry preserves, but you can use any raspberry preserves or jam that you can find. Preserves generally have larger chunks of fruit, while the fruit in jams is more finely mashed; but in the case of soft, delicate raspberries that break down easily, there probably isn’t a noticeable difference between preserves and jam.
4. Where to Buy Freeze-Dried Raspberries: I find them in my regular grocery store in the dried fruit aisle, and Trader Joe’s and Target usually have them, too. You can also purchase them online and here is a brand we’ve used before. (They are much cheaper in stores if you can find them!) Do not use chewy/gummy dried fruit. You need freeze-dried raspberries, which are raspberries with all of the moisture removed—that way they can grind into a powder.
5. Can I Use Strawberry Jam/Preserves and Freeze-Dried Strawberries Instead? Yes, absolutely!
6. Topping Melting Into Cookies: Be sure to coat the dough balls heavily in the topping. If it melts too much, use a sieve to sift a little more raspberry-confectioners’ sugar on top once the cookies have cooled.
7. Be sure to check out my top 5 cookie baking tips AND these are my 10 must-have cookie baking tools.