If you love red velvet cake, you’ve got to try making these Red Velvet Cookies too! These cookies are filled with a rich chocolate ganache, have a delicious red velvet cookie base, and are topped with a dreamy cream cheese frosting, making them the ultimate decadent cookies you’ll ever have tried in your kitchen.
Table of Contents
Why Make Red Velvet Cookies
- These soft and chewy cookies are so much more than just the visual appeal. Their rich chocolate flavor and the cream cheese frosting are a match made in heaven.
- Making red velvet cookies may seem like a lot of work and effort, but it actually isn’t all that complicated.
- You’ll need just under half an hour of prep time to get everything together, and your cookies will be ready before you know it.
Recipe Ingredients
You’ll need 3 sets of ingredients to make these red velvet cookies with cream cheese frosting.
- Cold Unsalted Butter, Cubed: Creates the rich, buttery texture of the cookies and prevents excessive spreading during baking by staying cold.
- Granulated Sugar: Adds sweetness to balance the cocoa’s bitterness and contributes to the cookies’ crisp edges.
- Eggs, Room Temp: Bind the ingredients together and ensure a moist, chewy texture.
- Vanilla Extract: Enhances the flavor complexity of the cookies, providing a subtle backdrop to the chocolate and red food coloring.
- Red Liquid Food Coloring: Gives the cookies their iconic vibrant red color, setting them apart from regular chocolate cookies.
- Unsweetened Cocoa Powder: Provides a deep, rich chocolate flavor that contrasts beautifully with the sweet frosting.
- Baking Soda: Helps the cookies rise and spread, creating a tender crumb.
- Cornstarch: Makes the cookies extra soft and thick.
- Salt: Enhances all the other flavors in the cookies, making them taste even more delicious.
- Cake Flour and All-Purpose Flour: The combination of these two flours results in a cookie that’s light yet sturdy enough to hold the filling.
- White Chocolate Chips And Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips: Add a delightful chocolatey surprise in each bite, with their contrasting flavors adding depth to the cookies.
Chocolate Ganache:
- Bittersweet Chocolate, Roughly Chopped: Is the star of the ganache, providing a rich, intense flavor.
- Heavy Cream: Creates a smooth, velvety texture in the ganache, balancing the bittersweet chocolate’s intensity.
Vanilla Cream Cheese Frosting
- Butter -Unsalted Room Temp and Cream Cheese (Softened): Combine to create a rich, creamy, tangy frosting that perfectly complements the sweet, chocolatey cookies.
- Powdered Sugar: Adds sweetness to the frosting and helps achieve the desired consistency.
- Vanilla Extract: Enhances the flavor of the frosting, providing a subtle vanilla undertone.
- Heavy Cream: Lightens the frosting’s texture, making it fluffy and spreadable.
- White Chocolate Shavings (Garnish): Not only make the cookies look more appealing, but also add an extra white chocolate flavor to each bite.
How To Make Red Velvet Cookies
Got all your ingredients ready? Here’s what you’ll need to do to make red velvet cookies.
Step One: To make the chocolate ganache, place the chocolate in a medium mixing bowl. In a small saucepan add the cream, and heat over medium heat. Bring the cream to a boil. Once you reach a boil reduce the heat to low, and stir the cream.
Pour the cream over the chocolate and whisk until the chocolate has melted and mixture is smooth. Place in the refrigerator for 1 hour.
Step Two: Preheat oven to 410° degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone liners and set aside.
Step Three: In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the cubed cold butter and the sugar, on low speed for 1-2 minutes. Increase speed to medium to high and continue beating for another 2-3 minutes until the mixture is light and fluffy, Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula.
Add in the eggs, one at a time, and vanilla, mixing well after each addition. Beat in the red food coloring, and mix on low until incorporated.
Step Four: In a large bowl add the baking soda, cornstarch, salt, cocoa powder, cake flour and all-purpose our, whisk to combine. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture 1 cup at a time. Mix until incorporated. Add both types of chocolate chips on low speed and using a stand mixer, mix until incorporated.
Refrigerate uncovered for 20 minutes to chill. Using a digital cooking scale or a large cookie scoop measure out 4 ounces of dough, forming it into a ball. Place the cookie dough balls on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
Step Five: Use the palm of your hand to press down on the cookie slightly, so that the cookie dough ball creates a thin disk. Using a small cookie scoop, scoop out the chocolate ganache and place it on half of the cookie dough.
Step Six: Take the second dough ball and place it on top of the dough ball with the ganache. Roll the dough together to form a ball. Place the dough ball on the baking sheet.
Step Seven: Bake in the center rack of the oven for 8-11 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool for at least 30 minutes on the baking sheets.
Step Eight: Cream the butter and cream cheese until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes on medium speed. Add the powdered sugar a little at a time until fully combined. Add the vanilla and heavy cream, if needed. Place the frosting in a Ziploc bag and snip the corner of the bag. Drizzle the frosting on top of the itchy cookie and garnish with white chocolate shavings
Tips For Making Great Red Velvet Cookies
Think you’re ready to give this recipe a try? Wait up! Take note of these little tips and tricks too!
- Quality Ingredients: Make sure you use the best quality cocoa powder and food coloring to make these cookies. Natural cocoa powder is the best choice, because it really makes all the difference, and lends the cookies that classic red velvet cake flavor.
- Sugar: To lend these cookies some extra flavor, you can use light brown sugar instead of white sugar that the recipe calls for. The caramel-like flavor of the brown sugar complements the creaminess of the white chocolate beautifully.
- Use A Wire Rack: The best way to let the cookies cool is to transfer them to a wire rack a few minutes after they’re out of the oven. You can also choose to let them stay on the prepared baking sheet if you want to, but that’ll cause the cookies to become dry and crumbly.
- Cold Butter: Remember to use cold butter, and not melted butter to make these cookies. You can choose to use salted butter or unsalted butter- it all depends on your personal preference.
- Baking Mat: If you don’t fancy prepping the cookie sheets, you can also choose to use silicone baking mats. This will cut down your need of placing the parchment paper on your baking sheets too.
Substitutions
- Drizzle: If you don’t have cream cheese, but still want a bit of that white drizzle on the cookies. you can simply use some melted white chocolate chips to do the trick.
- Chocolate Chips: You can experiment with the recipe and try out different variations using different chocolate chips. I love using white chocolate chips, milk chocolate chips ,and dark chocolate chips.
Best Way To Store These Cookies
- Container: The best way to store baked cookies is to move them to an airtight container and let them stay on at room temperature for 2-3 days.
- Freeze: You can also let the cookies freeze for months if you want them to last longer. Just remember to wrap up the remaining dough in plastic wrap and then pop it in a freezer safe container to keep the freezer burn at bay.
FAQ’S
I’ve used gel food coloring to give the cookies that bright red color, but you could also use some beet powder if you want to stick to using healthier ingredients.
Regardless of what you choose, remember that red food coloring is an absolute must for this recipe, especially if you want the cookies to have that bright red color- just the cocoa powder won’t cut it.
Red Velvet Cookies
Ingredients
Cookie Mixture
- 1 cup Unsalted Butter cubed
- 2 cups Granulated Sugar
- 2 Eggs room temp
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 2 tsp Red Liquid Food Coloring
- 1/2 cup Cocoa Powder Unsweetened
- 1 tsp Baking Soda
- 1 tsp Cornstarch
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- 1 1/2 cups Cake Flour
- 2 cups All Purpose Flour
- 2 cups white Chocolate Chips
- 1 cup Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips
- 9 oz Bittersweet Chocolate roughly chopped
- 1 cup Heavy Cream
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 3 tbsp Butter Unsalted
- 3 oz Cream Cheese Softened
- 1 1/2 cups Powdered Sugar
- 1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 1/2 tbsp Heavy Cream
Garnish
- 1/2 cup White Chocolate Shavings garnish
Instructions
- Prepare the Chocolate Ganache: To make the chocolate ganache, place the chocolate in a medium mixing bowl. In a small saucepan add the cream, and heat over medium heat. Bring the cream to a boil. Once you reach a boil reduce the heat to low, and stir the cream.
- Let Cool in the Refrigerator: Pour the cream over the chocolate and whisk until the chocolate has melted and the mixture is smooth. Place in the refrigerator for 1 hour.
- Prep the Baking Sheets: Preheat oven to 410° degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone liners and set aside.
- Cream Butter and Sugar: In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the cubed cold butter and the sugar, on low speed for 1-2 minutes. Increase speed to medium to high and continue beating for another 2-3 minutes until the mixture is light and fluffy, Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula.
- Add Eggs and Food Coloring: Add in the eggs, one at a time, and vanilla, mixing well after each addition. Beat in the red food coloring, and mix on low until incorporated.
- Combine Dry Ingredients and Chocolate Chips: In a large bowl add the baking soda, cornstarch, salt, cocoa powder, cake flour and all-purpose our, whisk to combine. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture 1 cup at a time. Mix until incorporated. Add both types of chocolate chips on low speed and using a stand mixer, mix until incorporated.
- Refrigerate and Make Red Velvet Cookie Dough Balls: Refrigerate uncovered for 20 minutes to chill. Using a digital cooking scale or a large cookie scoop measure out 4 ounces of dough, forming it into a ball. Place the cookie dough balls on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
- Add Chocolate Ganache to the Dough Balls: Use the palm of your hand to press down on the cookie slightly, so that the cookie dough ball creates a thin disk. Using a small cookie scoop, scoop out the chocolate ganache and place it on half of the cookie dough.
- Place Cookie Dough Balls on the Baking Sheet: Take the second dough ball and place it on top of the dough ball with the ganache. Roll the dough together to form a ball. Place the dough ball on the baking sheet.
- Bake and Cool Completely: Bake in the center rack of the oven for 8-11 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool for at LEAST 30 minutes on the baking sheets
- For the frosting: Cream the butter and cream cheese until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes on medium speed. Add the powdered sugar a little at a time until fully combined. Add the vanilla and heavy cream, if needed.
- Drizzle Over the Cooled Cookies: Place the frosting in a Ziploc bag and snip the corner of the bag. Drizzle the frosting on top of the itchy cookie and garnish with white chocolate shavings
Nutrition
Notes
More Cookie Recipe Ideas
If you enjoyed making these rich and dreamy red velvet cookies, you’ve got to try some more of these cookie recipes as well.
