Just like chocolate crinkle cookies, but with the added flavor of real raspberries, these chocolate raspberry crinkles are soft-baked and chewy, deeply rich and fudgy, and coated in a raspberry-confectioners’ sugar topping that melts in your mouth. You need raspberry preserves and freeze-dried raspberries for these cookies.
One reader, Natalie, commented: “These were absolutely delicious! Really fudgy and a lovely hint of raspberry… Will definitely make these again! โ โ โ โ โ “
Chocolate crinkle cookies are honestly one of my very favorite cookies to make around the holidays, and I love coming up with new ways to make them. A couple years ago I developed these flavorful lemon crinkle cookies; and last year, I fell in love with these Nutella crinkle cookies, which have the added texture of chopped hazelnuts and a soft Nutella filling. Yum!
For today’s crinkle cookie recipe, I wanted to give the original chocolate version a fruity twist. My entire team and I absolutely LOVE how these turned out. I think I might have a new favorite crinkle cookie recipe!
Recipe Snapshot
- Texture: Rich, soft, and very chewy… and they stay that way for days!
- Flavor: The always-amazing combination of dark chocolate and sweet-tart juicy raspberries that we love in a chocolate raspberry cake, but in a powdered sugar-coated cookie. Expect real raspberry flavor inside and outโno artificial raspberry flavoring here.
- Ease: These chocolate raspberry crinkles are a beginner baking recipe.
- Time: About 3 and 1/2 to 4 hours, but that includes the hands-off 3 hours of dough chilling time.
Ingredients You Need for Chocolate Raspberry Crinkles:
- Butter: Remember that room-temperature butter is not as warm as you think. Let it sit out for only 1 hour before starting. It will feel cool to the touch.
- Oil: To my regular crinkle cookies recipe, I added more flour, to make up for the addition of raspberry jam. Because of the addition of flour, they needed more fat. So, I added a touch of oil to keep the centers moist and fudge-like.
- Sugars: Brown sugar adds softness, and white sugar helps the cookies spread in the oven. I usually use a combination of the two in cookie recipes.
- Egg: To bind the ingredients together.
- Vanilla Extract: Yes, even the chocolatiest of cookies benefit from a flavor boost of vanilla! If you crave even more raspberry flavor, try replacing the vanilla with raspberry liqueur, such as Chambord.
- Flour: The base of the cookies.
- Cocoa Powder: Make sure you use natural cocoa powder here, not Dutch-processed. If you’re interested in learning why, read this post on Dutch-process vs. natural cocoa powder.
- Baking Soda: This leavener helps the cookies puff up when baking, then fall and crackle as they cool.
- Salt: The always-important flavor balancer. Regular table salt is all you need.
- 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.
- Confectioners’ Sugar: For rolling the cookie dough balls in before baking, to give them that snowy crinkle-topped exterior that gives crinkle cookies their name.
- Freeze-Dried Raspberries: Blitz into a fine powder, like we do for these raspberry sugar cookies, and mix with the confectioners’ sugar for coating the cookies. This gives these cookies real raspberry flavor inside and out!
What Are Freeze-Dried Raspberries?
We love using freeze-dried berries in frostings. Have you tried this strawberry buttercream before? When you grind freeze-dried berries into a powder, you can easily use it in frosting; or, in the case of this chocolate raspberry crinkle cookie recipe, mix it with confectioners’ sugar to coat the cookies. Freeze-dried berry powder or โdustโ is perfect because itโs not wet and, therefore, doesnโt mess with the consistency of frosting. Real berry flavor without compromising texture.
Where to buy freeze-dried raspberries: I find them in my regular grocery store in the dried fruit aisle, and Trader Joeโs and Target usually have them, too. You can also purchase them online and here is a brand weโve used before. (They are much cheaper in stores if you can find them!)
Can I do this with regular dried fruit? No, do not use chewy/gummy dried fruit. You need freeze-dried raspberries, which are raspberries with all of the moisture removedโthat way they can grind into a powder.
The dough comes together easily with a stand or hand mixer.
Success Tips for Chocolate Raspberry Crinkle Cookies
Chill the dough. This is a must for this thick, sticky dough. Chilled cookie dough is not only easier to handle and roll into balls, it also bakes thicker cookies. 3 hours is the minimum, but it can also hang out in the refrigerator for up to 3 days, so you can start these cookies one day and finish them another.
Shaping the cookies: If the dough has chilled for longer than 3 hours, let it sit out at room temperature for 30 minutes to make it easier to scoop. Scoop the dough (about 1 and 1/2 Tablespoons/35g in sizeโa medium cookie scoop is just right for this) and roll it into a ball.
Raspberry-sugar coating: In a food processor or blender, grind the freeze-dried raspberries into a powder. Raspberries have teeny-tiny seeds, and you can either leave the seeds in if you don’t mind them, or sift the powder through a fine-mesh sieve, and discard the seeds. That’s what I did for the pictured cookies. Mix the raspberry powder with confectioners’ sugar in a small bowl, and roll each cookie dough ball generously in the coating.
Coating disappearing into the chocolate raspberry crinkle cookies? Try this: Try not to let excess confectioners’ sugar fall off as you place the cookies on the baking sheets. If the coating melts too much, you can use a sieve to sift a little more confectioners’ sugar on top once the cookies have cooled. It’s also helpful to bake these cookies on dry days. Any humidity in the air will soak into the confectioners’ sugar, slightly melting it. Sometimes you can’t avoid humidity, but if you’re wondering why the sugar melts more on one day than the last time you made these, it could be the weather. Again, go heavy on that roll in the raspberry powder-confectioners’ sugar coating. We want the coating to melt in our mouths, not in the oven!
If you have extra raspberry powder, sprinkle a little on top of the warm cookies as they’re cooling. Nature’s perfect pink sprinkles!
This recipe is part of my annual cookie countdown called Sally’s Cookie Palooza. It’s the biggest, most delicious event of the year! Browse dozens of cookie recipes over on the Sally’s Cookie Palooza page.
Chocolate Raspberry Crinkle Cookies
- Prep Time: 3 hours, 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 13 minutes
- Total Time: 3 hours, 45 minutes
- Yield: 24-26 cookies
- Category: Cookies
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
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) packedย 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 flourย (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
- 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 3 minutes. (Hereโs a helpful tutorial if you need guidance onย how to cream butter and sugar.) Add the egg and vanilla extract, and beat on high speed until combined. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed.
- 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.
- 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.
- Preheat oven to 350ยฐF (177ยฐC). Line large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.ย Set aside.
- 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.
- 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.
- Bake the cookies for 12โ14 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.
- 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.
- Cookies stay fresh covered at room temperature for up to 1 week.
Notes
- 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.
- 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
- 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.
- Where to Buy Freeze-Dried Raspberries: I find them in my regular grocery store in the dried fruit aisle, and Trader Joeโs and Target usually have them, too. You can also purchase them online and here is a brand weโve 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 removedโthat way they can grind into a powder.
- Can I Use Strawberry Jam/Preserves and Freeze-Dried Strawberries Instead? Yes, absolutely!
- Topping Melting Into Cookies: Be sure to coat the dough balls heavily in the topping. If it melts too much,ย use a sieve to sift a little more raspberry-confectioners’ sugar on top once the cookies have cooled.
- Be sure to check out my top 5ย cookie baking tipsย AND these are my 10 must-haveย cookie baking tools.
Reader Comments and Reviews
These are sooooo yummy! Pretty easy to make too. I will for sure be making them again.
I have just made your Chocolate Raspberry Crinkle cookies. They are absolutely delicious. I think that will be one of my new favourite cookie recipe. I made them as gifts at Christmas and I am sure the recipients will be very happy with them. Thanks so much for sharing such a great recipe.
Hi, when I tried these it seems the raspberry flavor is not coming out much. My powder also doesnโt seem to be as red as yours. I wonder if maybe I had a lot of seeds. More preserves would be ideal for raspberry but it would mess up the moisture. Maybe raspberry extract if that exists? Love all your recipes! I just want some more raspberry flavor. My husband mentioned certain cookies have the flavor and others donโt so maybe I needed more incorporation of the preserves to do it evenly.
I am looking forward to trying this cookie! I would probably use seedless raspberry jam..
Looks yummy!
Hi! The recipe looks amazing.
Will the recipe work if I want to use it to make New York style cookies (120g per cookie)?
Thank you!
Hi Adele, we haven’t tried making them that big, but don’t see why it shouldn’t be fine… just bake a couple on a baking sheet to start, to see how it goes before you bake more. Hope you love them!
Cookies came out like rocks. Any idea why? I went over the recipe and nothing was missed.
Hi Bradley, how did you measure your flour? Be sure to spoon and level (or use a kitchen scale) to ensure your flour wasn’t over measured. If there is too much flour soaking up the wet ingredients, the cookies will be dry and hard. Over baking can also cause the cookies to become dry and hard. Hope this helps for next time!
Hi, if I am using straight raspberry powder, how much would I include (i.e., how much powder does 1/2 cup of freeze dried raspberries produce)?
Hi Emma, the 1/2 cup of freeze dried raspberries will produce about 1/4 cup of raspberry powder.
I make these all the time! Theyโre delicious, everyone loves them! However, I was wondering if I could add more raspberry jam into the batter?
Hi Emma! Adding more jam would add more moisture to the dough, which will cause them to spread too much. So glad you love these cookies!
So good. However, I was wondering if there is anyway to make these cookies normally and not crinkle kind? Please let me know.
Hi Emma, you can skip rolling the cookies in the sugar/raspberry powder coating if you would like!
My 97 yo Dad adores these cookies but he also loves a smaller one bite cookie. Any recommendations for making these into a 1โ scoop cookie?
Hi Patty, you can definitely make smaller cookies – bake time will be shorter, but we’re unsure of the exact time needed.
I brought these to several social functions over the holidays and they were a huge hit every time. They disappeared instantly. Definitely going to put this one in my regular rotation!
Although I commented a few days ago, I now have a question….
I think the cookie is excellent, but I wasn’t crazy about the red color (dried raspberries) on top of the dark cookie.
My question is, do you think instead of rolling the cookie in the ground freeze dried raspberries & confectioner’s sugar, that I can just add the portion of the dried raspberries that are supposed to go on the top that I can just add them into the batter?
Thank you.
Hi EC, we’re sure you could, but it will likely take some tweaking of the other dry ingredients to compensate for the added powdered raspberries. Let us know if you do any experimenting!
I made these to share with friends and they were a big hit! Thank you for another great recipe!
Solid cookie recipe. Fudgy, chewy, and chocolatey. And very pretty! I would have liked a little more raspberry flavor. If I made them again, I might experiment by putting some freeze dried raspberries in the dough and/or doubling the recommended amount for the coating – by the time I processed them and took out the seeds, the berry powder got overshadowed by the sugar.
Hi Sally!
I refrigerated these for 5 hours before baking and they still spread and were very thin. What can I do to keep them thicker and prevent spreading?
Hi Kate, here are our best tips to prevent cookies from spreading. We hope it helps for your next batch! Thanks for giving these crinkle cookies a try.
I thought this recipe was good, but because I have so many of Sally’s other cookie recipes that I haven’t gotten to, I won’t be making this one again. Guess that’s saying, good but not good enough to make again.
It took awhile to make this recipe between the putting together of the ingredients (that wasn’t bad, typical cookie type recipe), however then they needed to be refrigerated for 3 hrs. Had to pulverize the dried raspberries & mix with the powdered sugar, roll the dough in that mix, & bake.
When finished baking the cookies they need to sit on the cookie sheet 10 mins. & then taken off the sheet & cooled on a baking rack.
We had a snowstorm this morning so I decided to make these cookies. Needless to say, by the time I got through with the preparing, baking, etc. it was well into the afternoon.
With all that said, as much as I LOVE raspberries I didn’t care for the “look” of the topping on these cookies. The regular chocolate crinkle cookies with just the white powdered sugar “look” much nicer, IMHO.
I have tried MANY of Sally’s recipes & like them all…even this one, but I’m onto the next recipe. : )
I make a new recipe every Sunday and take it to work Monday for a little pick-me-up. These were a huge hit this morning. FTR, I did NOT chill the dough before scooping these and didnโt have any trouble at all. And they didnโt spread much either which I kind of expected since they were room temperature when I started. Another winning recipe!
If using freeze dried raspberry powder how much would you use to mix with the confectionery sugar ? Thanks
Hi Sue, A Tablespoon would be plenty.
I tweaked the recipe to make them dairy-free. These are amazing. The tang of the raspberry keeps them from being too sweet. As others have said, listen to Sally and be generous with the coating. The cookies are soft, fudgy, and SO delicious!
I baked 10 different kinds of cookies for Christmas, and these were the clear favorite. The fudgy texture combined with the raspberry flavor made for a perfect cookie. Next time, Iโll double the recipe to keep up with the demand!
Can I freeze the baked cookies?
Absolutely! See recipe Notes for details.
These came out great! You have to be really generous with the powdered sugar and freeze dried raspberry coating. I even pit more coating half way through baking. After baking i sifted on some more freeze dried raspberry. Thanks!
My new favorite cookie!! I love chocolate crinkles so much and I was so excited to try these!! I found the freeze dried raspberries at a local store so it was easy for me! I froze the dough for 10 days or so and they turned out fantastic!!
Thinking I try strawberries next, but will 100% keep raspberry in the rotation from now on!!
As a boxed Christmas gift, will this cookie travel well from the eastside (SC) of our country to the westside (WA)?