How to make Red Velvet Cookies

Red Velvet Cookies – These are delightfully sweet with touches of vanilla and cocoa flavor, and they are pleasantly soft and chewy.

They are also stunningly red with a pretty white chocolate chip contrast. It’s a tempting treat that people of all ages will enjoy!

Red velvet cookies on a white, rectangular tray on a marble tabletop, as seen from above.

Red-velvet Cookies With White Chocolate Chips

With its lovely and festive red color, red cookies have to be one of the best Christmas or Valentine’s Day cookies.

These few ingredients make for an easy recipe that will satisfy your cravings for velvet cookies.

Red velvet cake and chocolate chip cookies are two of the nicest desserts combined in these cookies.

It’s impossible to make a mistake with these cookies! You only get a fun new spin on cookies and straightforward classic flavors.

Just remember not to wear your best clothes with all that red as it’s a simple baking project that’s ideal for the weekend.

Additionally, allow time because cookie dough needs to chill (otherwise cookies will spread too much).

An illustration of the ingredients for red cookies. contains white chocolate chips, butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, red food coloring, vanilla extract, salt, and vinegar.

Ingredients In red velvet cookies

• All-purpose flour: Bleached or unbleached flour works here. Bleached spreads just a little less and produces softer cookies while unbleached flour makes slightly chewier cookies.
• Cocoa powder: Don’t use dutch process cocoa powder, it’s too dark here.
• Baking soda: If you want cookies a little puffier include 1/4 tsp baking powder along with the baking soda.
• Salt: Just use table salt.
• Unsalted butter: If you only have salted butter on hand you can use that here. Just add 1/8 tsp salt to the recipe.
• Granulated sugar and brown sugar: The combo makes the cookies perfectly sweet and the brown sugar helps make the cookies softer.
• Egg: This helps bind the ingredients and also makes for a softer cookie.
• Red food coloring: I have made these with both gel and liquid food coloring. The gel seems to work just a little better since it’s not as liquidy but it is harder to find at most grocery stores so I’ve included options for both. You can try beet powder or a natural gel color but keep in mind the color won’t be as vibrant.
• Vanilla extract: Another option here is to use vanilla bean paste.
• Vinegar: Just plain white vinegar is used here (similar to classic red velvet cake) but I’ve also used lemon juice and it works well too. It just boosts flavor a little.
• White chocolate chips: I like the pretty contrast of the white chocolate chips but semi-sweet or even milk chocolate chips will work well too for a richer chocolate flavor.

Making Red Velvet Cookies: A Recipe

In a mixing bowl whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt, and set aside.

1. In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment cream together butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar until combined.
2. Mix in egg. Add in red food coloring, vanilla, and vinegar.
3. Add flour mixture and mix just until combined.
4. Mix in 3/4 cup white or semi-sweet chocolate chips (set aside the remaining 1/3 cup to use after baking).
5. Cover bowl and chill dough for 1 – 2 hours until dough is nearly firm. Near the end of chilling preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
6. Scoop dough out and shape into balls about 1 1/2 Tbsp each (or 28g). Transfer to a parchment paper lined baking sheet spacing 2-inches apart.
7. Bake one sheet at a time (keep remaining dough chilled and repeat process), until cookies appear set on the edges but slightly under-baked in the center, about 10 – 11 minutes.
8. Remove cookies from the oven and gently press some of the remaining white chocolate chips into the tops.
9. Let cool on a baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool

Shelf life And Storage

• Store cookies in an airtight container (I even add them to the storage container before they are completely cool to trap in some of the steam and moisture.
• To help keep cookies soft add a few slices of bread to the storage container or lay flour tortillas over the tops.
• These cookies are best enjoyed within 2 days of preparation.
• I don’t recommend freezing as cookies will likely become dry.

Variations

• Skip the white chocolate chips being mixed in and rather dip one-half of the cookies in melted white chocolate or drizzle it over the top.
• Add 1 tsp lemon zest for a light zip.
• Use milk chocolate or dark chocolate chips.
• Replace 1 Tbsp of the flour with an additional 3 tsp cocoa powder for a little more chocolate background flavor. Just keep in mind cookies won’t be quite as red.
• Omit white chocolate chips and instead finish cookies with a cream cheese frosting.

Try These More Tempting Red Velvet Desserts

• The Red Velvet Cake
• Crinkle Red Velvet Cookies
• Blueberry Pancakes
• Oreos with red icing

Ingredients

• 189g or 1 1/3 cups of all-purpose flour (scoop and level to measure)
• 4 teaspoons (6g) cocoa powder
• 12 teaspoon baking soda
• 14 teaspoon (a lot of) salt
• 12 cups softened unsalted butter
• 100g (half a cup) of granulated sugar
• packed light brown sugar, 1/4 cup (55g)
• One big egg
• 1 1/2 teaspoons of red food coloring or 2 teaspoons of liquid red food coloring
• 3/4 teaspoon of vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon of lemon juice or white vinegar
• 1 cup of semi-sweet or white chocolate chips, divided

Instructions

• Flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt should be combined in a mixing basin before setting it aside.
• Butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar are mixed in the bowl of an electric stand mixer with a paddle attachment.
• Mix in egg. Add vinegar, vanilla, and red food coloring.
• Add the flour mixture and blend briefly. Add 3/4 cup of the white or semi-sweet chocolate chips; save the remaining 1/3 cup for later use.
• The dough should be chilled for one to two hours until it is almost stiff. Near the end of chilling the dough, preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
• Scoop the dough out and form it into 1 1/2 tablespoon-sized balls (or 28g). Transfer to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, putting transfers 2 inches apart.
• Bake one sheet at a time, 10 to 11 minutes, until cookies seem set on the edges but still slightly underbaked in the center (repeat process with remaining chilled dough).
• After taking the cookies out of the oven, gently press some of the leftover white chocolate chips onto the tops of each cookie.
• Transfer to a wire rack to cool after 5 minutes of cooling on the baking sheet.
• Cookies should be kept in an airtight container. To keep cookies soft, place a couple of slices of bread or big flour tortillas in the container.

Notes

• *If the cocoa powder is clumpy, sift it into the flour mixture.
• December 2020 update to the recipe.