Mini Crinkle Cookies

These mini crinkle cookies bake up perfectly chewy and soft and are streaked with those gorgeous powdered sugar crinkles!

Crinkle cookies are soft, chewy cookies rolled in sugar before baking, which creates their signature crackled, powdered sugar exterior.

As they bake and spread, the dough cracks open to reveal vibrant color underneath. These mini crinkle cookies are a smaller, bite-sized version that are perfect for parties, cookie platters, or seasonal celebrations.

By dividing the dough and coloring it with gel food coloring, you can easily turn this classic crinkle cookie recipe into colorful spring or Easter crinkle cookies.

And if you love classic crinkle cookies like my lemon or red velvet versions, you’ll love this colorful mini variation.

How to Make Mini Crinkle Cookies

Let’s walk through each step of this mini crinkle cookie recipe to make sure it turns out as amazing as possible!

Step 1: Preheat the Oven and Combine the Dry Ingredients

Preheat oven to 350 F / 175 C and line three large baking sheets with parchment paper or a silicone mat. Set aside.

Whisk together the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Set aside.

Step 2: Make the Citrus Sugar and Cream the Butter and Sugars

Use a handheld or stand mixer with a paddle attachment to cream together the softened butter, packed brown sugar, and citrus sugar in a large bowl.

Mix on a medium-high speed until the mixture becomes lighter in color.

Cream together for about 3 minutes, until the mixture becomes lighter in color and looks fluffy. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed with a rubber spatula.

Step 3: Mix in the Remaining Wet Ingredients

Then mix in the eggs and the vanilla extract on a medium speed.

Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed with a rubber spatula. Mix on a low speed until combined.

Step 4: Mix in the Remaining Dry Ingredients

Then it’s time to mix the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients. Mix on a low speed just until incorporated. The dough should be thick and a little bit sticky!

Step 5: Color, Scoop, and Coat the Crinkle Cookies

Divide the dough into four parts. One batch of dough is about 720g, so each portion of dough should be about 180g if you make 4 different colors. Use gel food coloring to make yellow, pink, purple, and green cookie dough.

Combine the powdered sugar and granulated sugar in a small bowl.

Scoop the dough using a 1 Tbsp cookie scoop, and drop each cookie dough ball directly into the powdered sugar mixture.

Be sure to completely coat each cookie and aim to get a thick coating of sugar. Repeat until you’ve used all the dough. You should end up with 10 cookies in each color and a total of 40 cookies.

Place the cookies on the prepared sheet, spacing them about 2 inches apart. Then lightly flatten each ball to resemble a hockey puck.

Bake one sheet of cookies at a time, and bake for 9-10 minutes. Let the cookies cool for 15 minutes on the baking tray before transferring them to a wire cooling rack.

Bake time can vary if you make smaller or larger cookies, so keep an eye on them!

Store any leftover cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.

Mini Crinkle Cookie Recipe Substitutions and Swaps

While I love this recipe just the way it is, I know some of you might have food allergies or not have all these ingredients on hand.

If you find yourself in either of these situations, I share some swaps and variations that can be made below.

• All-purpose flour – This recipe works best with all-purpose flour, but you can use a gluten-free flour blend if needed. I recommend using a GF flour blend like this.
• Unsalted Butter – If you only have salted butter on hand, you can use it in place of the unsalted butter and omit the salt in this recipe. You can also use vegan butter in its place!
• Brown Sugar – You can use light or dark brown sugar in this recipe! I prefer using dark brown sugar because it deepens the hue of the cookies and adds extra flavor.
• Granulated Sugar – The balance of granulated sugar and brown sugar in this recipe yields a soft, perfectly chewy cookie. I don’t recommend changing the ratio of sugars.
• 1 Large egg – If you have an egg allergy, you can try using a flaxseed egg or a powdered egg replacer.
• Gel Food Coloring – I highly recommend using gel food coloring to color these cookies. It creates vibrant-colored cookies without throwing off the consistency of the dough the way liquid food coloring can. I usually order my gel food coloring online and love both the Americolor and Chef Master’s brands. If you’re really in a pinch, you can use 1 Tbsp of liquid food coloring, but I recommend adding an additional Tbsp of flour to offset the extra moisture.

How to Make Gluten-Free Crinkle Cookies

If you need to make gluten-free crinkle cookies, use gluten-free flour in place of the all-purpose flour.

I prefer King Arthur’s gluten-free flour blend. In addition to swapping the flour, there are two additional steps you need to take when making gluten-free cookies.

Be sure to over-mix your dough and let it sit for at least 30 minutes before baking for the best results.

Over-mixing gluten-free dough helps the cookies spread better as they bake and gives them a more tender texture.

Letting the dough sit helps it thicken and prevents the cookies from having a gritty texture.

Can I Make These Mini Crinkle Cookies in Advance?

You can make this cookie dough in advance! The cookie dough balls can be stored in the fridge for up to a week in an airtight container or the freezer for up to a month.

If you refrigerate the dough overnight/ahead of time, let it sit at room temperature for 10 minutes, then roll out the dough and bake following the recipe card below.

If you freeze the cookie dough, transfer it to the fridge the night before you want to bake the cookies, then let it sit at room temperature for 30 minutes and bake them following the instructions in the recipe card below.

Leftover cookies can sit at room temperature for 5 days in an airtight container.

You can also freeze baked cookies for up to a month. I like to thaw them overnight in the fridge, then let them come to room temperature the next day.

Frequently Asked Questions About These Mini Crinkle Cookies

Why didn’t my crinkle cookies crack?

If your crinkle cookies didn’t crack, it’s usually because your baking powder is expired, the dough wasn’t thick enough, or the cookies weren’t coated in enough sugar. A thick coating of granulated and powdered sugar helps create contrast as the cookies spread in the oven.

Also, be sure to lightly flatten the dough balls before baking. This encourages spreading and helps create those signature crinkles.

Why do you roll crinkle cookies in both granulated and powdered sugar?

Rolling the dough in granulated sugar first helps absorb moisture from the surface of the cookie, which keeps the powdered sugar from dissolving too quickly.

The final coating of powdered sugar creates that bold white crackled look as the cookie expands and splits in the oven.

Can I make mini crinkle cookies ahead of time?

Yes! You can scoop and freeze the cookie dough balls for up to a month.

When you’re ready to bake, let the dough sit at room temperature for about 20–30 minutes, roll it in the sugar mixture, and bake as directed.

Can I make these into pastel Easter crinkle cookies?

Absolutely! Divide the dough into portions and use gel food coloring to color each batch pastel shades like pink, yellow, green, or lavender before rolling in sugar and baking.

Tips for Making the Best Mini Crinkle Cookies

• Make sure your brown sugar is soft! If it’s hard or chunky, it will be extremely hard to mix into this cookie dough. If your brown sugar is hard, try softening it with these tips.
• Really cream together the butter, brown sugar, and citrus sugar until the mixture becomes lighter in color. This helps incorporate air into the dough, which makes soft and perfectly chewy cookies.
• Don’t overwork your cookie dough! Once the flour is added, mix on a slow speed just until the dry ingredients are incorporated.
• Use a cookie scoop to ensure your cookies are uniformly sized.
• Flatten the cookie dough balls out to a consistent thickness of about 1/2 inch. This will help them spread and get those beautiful crinkles, and help the cookies bake more evenly.
• Don’t overbake the cookies. Err on the side of underbaking your cookies and remember that the cookies continue to bake a bit as they cool. This will ensure your cookies have soft, chewy centers!

Let Me Know What You Think!

If you try this mini crinkle cookie recipe, I’d love to hear what you think of it! Please leave a rating and comment below.

Don’t forget to tag me @chelsweets and use #chelsweets so that I can see your delicious creations on social media!

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