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.
4.77 from 43 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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382 Comments

  • Ken

    I think these cookies were amazingly delicious. I followed the updated recipe. I made 20 1 oz dough balls from the recipe. I could have baked them for one less minute, but live and learn. I switched racks and rotated the cookies half way through baking. Great recipe.

  • Nina

    It was a very good cookie! But the chocolate chips we added weren’t very good. Although that is our fault for buying those chocolate chips.

  • Kareem

    Thank you for this recipe. I bought some white chocolate chips because I wanted to make white chocolate macadamia nut cookies, but then I realized my wife had some baking cocoa and red food coloring, so I decided to make red velvet cookies instead.

    I followed the recipe exactly, except for the chips. I added way more than 3/4 cup because I like my cookies chip-rich. I would say I added 1 1/2 cups of white chocolate chips instead. They came out great.

  • Angela Ly

    Although I do agree with Linda Moore’s comment, I’m pretty happy with the way these turned out! I wish the red velvet flavour was more intense – these cookies came out BEAUTIFULLY but lacks a little flavour. The tip about keeping them in balls gave me these thick luscious cookies that were soft and cakey (but dense enough) on the inside and a perfect crisp on the outside.

    Here are some modifications that I made that seemed to work:
    Extra tsp of cocoa – I used terrasoul cold pressed organic cacao powder
    Extra tsp of vinegar
    Food colouring – I used full 1oz of Wilton red icing colour (from Bulk Barn)
    12 oz of white chocolate chopped into chunks rather than chips, which came out beautifully

    Happy to share photos if anyone wants!

    • Kareem

      I’d love to see pics of your cookies with the white chocolate chunks as a replacement. That sounds delicious.

  • Jennifer

    Delicious and beautiful. Thank you! They will be a hit at my grandson’s Valentine’s Day party today!!!❤️

  • Linda Moore

    The cookies were okay but not great. They were not as red as the picture, they were not flat and pretty like the picture and they didn’t have a lot of taste other than just being sweet.

  • DC

    This re open was completely disappointing. I don’t know what kind of red coloring or cocoa powder was used in this recipe…..
    But I measured EXACTLY and my dough turned brown from the cocoa. Not red at all. I threw it away because of the vomitous color.

    • Jaclyn

      Jaclyn Bell

      Sorry color tone can vary from brand to brand (with red food coloring and cocoa powder) but you could replace 1 Tbsp cocoa with another 1 Tbsp flour for a more vibrantly red cookie.

  • Val H

    I’d love to try this recipe, but have a couple of questions before I do. First is, I noticed from the first recipe to the second it switched from baking powder to baking soda, is that because the recipe kind of changed as a whole? I know for snickerdoodles I use powder and chocolate chip is soda so maybe it’s a texture reason? Also, there’s an asterisk next to cocoa powder in the second recipe, but no I didn’t see a reason why and I wondered what that was for. Can’t wait to try these! Just want to be sure I do my best.

    • Jaclyn

      Jaclyn Bell

      Baking soda produces chewier cookies while baking powder produces puffier more cakey cookies. Then if your cocoa powder is lumpy just sift if first. Hope you enjoy!