Red Velvet Cookies

Published December 8, 2020. Updated February 27, 2024

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Red Velvet Cookies – These are deliciously soft and chewy, gorgeously red along with a pretty white chocolate chip contrast, and they’re perfectly sweet with hints of vanilla and cocoa flavor. It’s a tempting treat that people of all ages will enjoy!

Red Velvet Cookies shown from overhead on a rectangular white platter on a marble surface.

Red Velvet White Chocolate Chip Cookies

Red velvet cookies would have to be one of the ultimate Christmas or Valentines Day cookies with their pretty and festive red color.

These are an easy to make cookie that uses basic ingredients and they’re sure to satisfy those red velvet cravings!

These cookies are a combination of two of the best desserts – red velvet cake and chocolate chip cookies.

Really you just can’t go wrong with these cookies! You just get simple classic flavors and a fun new take on cookies.

It’s a simple baking project that’s perfect for the weekend, just don’t wear your best attire with all that red. Also plan some time since cookie dough needs to chill (otherwise cookies will spread too much).

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Image of ingredients used to make red velvet cookies. Includes flour, granulated sugar, brown sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, red food coloring, vanilla extract, salt, vinegar, butter, egg and white chocolate chips.

Red Velvet Cookies Ingredients

  • 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. 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 richer chocolate flavor.

Collage of six images showing steps to making red velvet cookie dough in a stand mixer.

How to Make Red Velvet Cookies

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

Collage of six images showing remaining steps of making red velvet cookie dough batter then shaping cookie dough into balls and placing on baking sheet.

Storage and Shelf Life

  • 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 tops.
  • These cookies are best enjoyed within 2 days of preparing.
  • I don’t recommend freezing as cookies will likely become dry.

Variations

  • Skip the white chocolate chips being mixed in and rather dip the one half of 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.

Red Velvet Cookies layered together, shown from a side angle on a platter.

More Tempting Red Velvet Desserts to Try

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Red Velvet Cookies shown from a side angle on a platter.
4.78 from 44 votes

Red Velvet White Chocolate Chip Cookies

These are deliciously soft and chewy, gorgeously red, they're dotted with creamy white chocolate chips that add a pretty contrast, and they're perfectly sweet. It's a tempting treat that's perfect for Christmas or Valentines.
Servings: 23
Prep15 minutes
Cook20 minutes
Chill1 hour
Ready in: 1 hour 35 minutes

Ingredients

Instructions

  • In a mixing bowl whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt, set aside.
  • In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment cream together butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar until combined.
  • Mix in egg. Add in red food coloring, vanilla and vinegar.
  • Add flour mixture and mix just until combined. Mix in 3/4 cup white or semi-sweet chocolate chips (set aside remaining 1/3 cup to use after baking).
  • Cover bowl and chill dough 1 - 2 hours until dough is nearly firm. Preheat oven to 350 degrees near the end of dough chilling.
  • Scoop dough out and shape into balls about 1 1/2 Tbsp each (or 28g). Transfer to parchment paper lined baking sheet spacing 2-inches apart.
  • 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.
  • Remove cookies from oven and gently press some of the remaining white chocolate chips into tops.
  • Let cool on baking sheet 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool.
  • Store cookies in an airtight container. Keep a few bread slices or large flour tortillas in container with cookies to keep them soft.

Notes

  • *Sift cocoa powder into flour mixture if it's clumpy.
  • Recipe has been updated December 2020.

 

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390 Comments

  • Alex

    I have an xmas work event that I would like to make them for on Wednesday. Do you think they would taste good still if I made the dough and froze it tonight (sunday) and pulled them back out on Tuesday to bake? Thanks! :)

    • Jaclyn

      Jaclyn Bell

      I think you’d be okay to leave it out. You could replace it with lemon juice if you have that.

  • Cha

    Hi, what’s the difference between those 2 recipes? :D I really want to try this one but I don’t know which recipe to try :)

    • Jaclyn

      Jaclyn Bell

      One the updated version is a little more red and thicker the other has more of a chocolate flavor but a little less red color to it. I liked the first best.

  • Christy

    Tried making your Red Velvet Crinkle cookies last night. They are beautiful but was liking for a more chewy, crunchy cookie but those were a more cake-y cookie (as noted in the write-up and comments. This cookie sounds like it’s more the chewy sort. Would it work right to roll them in the powdered sugar to get the look of the Crinkle cookie out would that throw off the flavors?

    • Jaclyn

      Jaclyn Bell

      I probably wouldn’t recommend rolling these in powdered sugar or they’d be too sweet. But yes these are definitely more chewy.

  • Kate

    I made another batch tonight with a few changes… Reduced baking soda to 1/2 tsp and salt to a rounded 1/4 tsp. This helped remove the aftertaste I initially noticed. The cookies tasted better but still baked up exactly the same as before. I also added 1/2 cup of chips to the dough before scooping. But then reserved the rest for final placement after removing the cookies from the oven while still hot. No more burnt chips :) Looking forward to sharing these at my cookie swap. Thank you!

  • Kate

    LOVED that your recipe was not from a box so first off let me say thank you! These did bake up nice and chewy thanks to the shortening and cornstarch. The centers were still gooey when I removed them from the oven but they set up nicely after 5 minutes on the pan and 10 minutes on a cooling rack. One thing I did notice was a slight aftertaste. It wasn’t from my red food dye – I use the Americolor gels and never have issue with them. And while my baking soda is always fresh I think maybe the measurement could be reduced just a tad. I also learned the hard way that I should have just followed your suggestion from “Gonna Want Seconds” and placed all the final chips into the cookie after baking. The ones placed on top before baking become very brown even on the second batch when I placed them “tip down”. These came together very easy and I’m determined to do another round later this week to remedy my issues. I’ll keep you posted :)

  • Jasper

    Hi! This looks yummy. I’m getting all the ingredients in awhile but just a question.. That 375. That’s farenheit right?

  • Resa

    Im new to baking and found your originAl recipe. Made it today, and it turned out too sweet? If i use brown sugar instead of white, will the measurement change and the color be the same? I want mine to be as vibrant as yours. Also, my cookies didnt spread enough so it looked like a semi dome. Any suggestion? Thank you so much!

    • Jaclyn

      Jaclyn Bell

      As far as getting them to spread more, you can either add a little more butter or a little less flour and you can add more food coloring for a more vibrant color. You can reduce the sugar slightly but I wouldn’t recommend by much because the cookies won’t be as tender and the sugar also helps with spreading. Hope those suggestions help!