Red Velvet Cookies are a moist, chewy Red Velvet flavored cookie made from scratch topped with rich cream cheese frosting. Better than a bakery’s! The flavor is out of this world!
Nothing beats a tasty red velvet cookie topped with cream cheese frosting, am I right? It’s such a chewy, soft, and deliciously rich treat that you can’t help but to eat more than one.
This red velvet cookies recipe is an easy one to follow, and it’s pretty simple too. Ahem, no dough chilling!! The only ingredient you may not already have on hand is the red food coloring. And to be honest, this is for looks only. So if you are only with a non-red red velvet cookie, you could totally make these without.
These Red Velvet cookies really are simple, the taste is amazing.. you’ll find yourself making these for every occasion!
What’s In Red Velvet Cookies?
- Butter: I always use what I have on hand, so salted butter it is! You’ll want it softened.
- Granulated Sugar: We will use just a little granulated sugar in this recipe, we will use mostly brown sugar!
- Brown Sugar: We are using mostly brown sugar in this recipe because it helps create that soft and chewy texture.
- Egg: Just one egg is needed. 🙂
- Vanilla: This recipe calls for an entire tablespoon of vanilla. Use it all! Trust me!
- Flour: Nothing fancy here, just all purpose flour.
- Cocoa Powder: Regular, unsweetened cocoa powder is needed. The combination of the vanilla and small amount of cocoa powder is what gives Red Velvet it’s classic flavor.
- Baking Soda
- Salt
- Red Food Coloring: I strongly suggest picking up a gel food coloring before making these cookies. Gel food coloring will not add any extra liquid to the cookie dough and it is a lot more concentrated than the drops which means you won’t need to use near as much.
- Cream Cheese Frosting: Cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar and vanilla are needed. I’ll go over everything in the recipe card below, but if you want all the Nitty Gritty details, check out my Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe post.
How to Make Red Velvet Cookies
Making this red velvet cookie recipe follows the exact pattern that the majority of cookie recipes follow. You can use either a stand mixer or electric hand mixer for this recipe. First, we will cream together the butter and sugars, next the eggs and vanilla go in. Mixing until everything is nice and combined. Don’t forget to scrape the sides!
Next, the dry ingredients will go in (that includes flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt!) The dough will be soft. Lastly, that red food coloring is mixed. Scoop or roll your dough into balls. I love my cookie scoop because it it created equal sized cookies every time! I have a size #50 that I purchased off of amazon.
Arrange the cookies on a cookie sheet (no need to grease it!) and bake at 350°. If your cookies are on the small side, bake for 7-9 minutes. For large cookies, use 1/4 cup of dough and then bake for 12-15 minutes.
The cookies should just start to turn golden brown on the very edges when you pull them out of the oven. Now, it is important, allow them to cool completely on the pan. The pan is still hot so the cookies will continue to cook as they sit and cool on the pan.
Once the cookies are cool, whip up a batch of Cream Cheese Frosting and frost liberally! I will have instructions and ingredient amounts in the printable recipe card below.
How to Store Red Velvet Cookies with Cream Cheese Frosting
If you plan on eating these cookies within the day, you can store them at room temperature. If you are hooping to keep them fresh for up to 5 days, I would suggest refrigerating them. The powdered sugar in the cream cheese frosting will stabilize the dairy in the cream cheese, allowing the frosting to be at room temperature for a day or so without any risk. Beyond that, I would suggest refrigerating them, though.
When to Serve Red Velvet Cookies
Red velvet cookies are great any time of the year, but with their bright red and vibrant color, they often pair well with holidays as well. Everything from Christmas to Valentine’s Day and Patriotic holidays is great! But even as a mid-day snack (… or breakfast. BEEN THERE, DONE THAT! I won’t judge.), you really can’t go wrong!
Freezing Red Velvet Cookies
Yes. Just yes! Freeze these bad boys, frosting and all! They freeze beautifully. Freeze for 30 minutes on a cookie sheet and then place them into individual zip top bags and freeze until you are ready to eat. Take them out of the zip top bag and allow them to sit at room temperature for 15 minutes prior to eating.
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Want ALL the cookie recipes?? Find my Favorites below!
- Gingersnap Cookies
- Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe
- Funfetti Cookies
- Roll and Cut Sugar Cookie Recipe
- Sprinkle Cookies
- Brownie Mix Cookie
- Twix Cookies
- Raspberry Cheesecake Cookies
- Chocolate Blossom Cookies
Red Velvet Cookies
Ingredients
Red Velvet Cookies
- 3/4 cups butter softened
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 1 3/4 cup all purpose flour
- 1/4 cup cocoa powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- red food coloring gel is best
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 2 tbsp butter softened
- 4 oz cream cheese room temperature
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 pinch salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°.
- Cream together the butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar.
- Add the egg and vanilla. Mix until light in color and creamy.
- Add in the dry ingredients (flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt), mix into the dough. Mix until completely combined. The dough will be soft.
- Mix in the red food coloring, about 1/8 tsp at a time until the dough has a brilliant red color.
- Scoop or roll the cookie dough out into equal sized balls. Arrange on a cookie sheet.
- For smaller cookies, bake at 350° for 7-9 minutes or until the edges are starting to turn golden brown. For large cookies, use 1/4 cup of dough and bake for 12-15 minutes. Allow the cookies to cool completely on the pan.
- Once the cookies are cool, make the cream cheese frosting.
- Cream together the butter and cream cheese until fully incorporated. Scrape the sides of the bowl and slowly add in the powdered sugar, vanilla and salt. You can adjust the texture of the frosting by adding more milk or more powdered sugar to your preference.
- Fost the cooled cookies generously.
Notes
Nutrition
- Snickerdoodle Cupcake Cookies - July 19, 2021
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- Crumbl’s Red Velvet White Chip Cookie - June 21, 2021
Lucero Alcantar says
This recipe sounds delicious!! Thanks Karli!
Karli Bitner says
I hope you enjoy it!! 🙂