Red Velvet Cookies

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These soft and chewy red velvet cookies are made with a touch of cocoa powder and a little tang. Plus they’re studded with white chocolate chips! Their beautiful shade of red also make them perfect for Valentine’s Day!

Soft & Chewy Red Velvet Cookies

These red velvet cookies take a classic red velvet cake and turn it into a delicious and chewy cookie! They stay soft and chewy for days and are easy to make. Their cookie form also makes them easy to share, which is perfect for a holiday like Valentine’s Day (or even Christmas).

Sprinkled with creamy white chocolate chips, the flavors and texture of these cookies are hard to resist! To incorporate the classic red velvet flavor, they include some cocoa powder for a hint of chocolate and vinegar for a touch of the tang that you normal get from both vinegar and buttermilk in the cake. I’d have included buttermilk in the cookies, but that’d thin out the cookie dough too much and you’d end up with puddles instead of cookies. And then of course there’s the classic red color! Can’t forget that!

These cookies are an easy treat to whip up the day you need them. You can hoard them to yourself or share them with friends. Either way, they’ll be a hit!

What Flavor Is Red Velvet?

Red velvet-anything tastes like a tangy lightly-chocolaty treat. A lot of people think that red velvet cake is just chocolate cake with red food coloring, but red velvet really doesn’t have that much chocolate. It also includes buttermilk and vinegar to give it a noticeable tang, which is the trademark of red velvet flavor. 

Although it’s not necessary, red velvet treats often have white chocolate or cream cheese incorporated into them. It compliments the tang in the cookies and contrasts the red color beautifully.

What You’ll Need

If you’ve got cocoa powder and red food coloring, you’ve already got the two most important ingredients. Check the recipe card at the bottom of the post for exact ingredient amounts.

• All-purpose flour – I recommend weighing your flour with a food scale to be sure it’s accurate. There’s nothing worse than a dry cookie dough that doesn’t spread properly because you added too much flour.
• Cocoa powder – Natural unsweetened cocoa powder is all you need.
• Baking soda – For the perfect chewy cookie texture.
• Salt – For flavor. Don’t skip adding it.
• Unsalted butter – Be sure it’s at room temperature so that it’ll cream properly with the sugars.
• Sugar – Regular granulated sugar.
• Light brown sugar – This adds some extra chewiness and moisture.
• Egg: Use a large sized egg. The egg binds the cookie ingredients and adds chewiness.
• Vanilla extract – For flavor.
• Vinegar – You’ll want white vinegar.
• Red food coloring – I used liquid food coloring, but gel icing color will work as well.
• White chocolate chips – You can also use milk, bitter-sweet, or dark chocolate chips.

How to Make Red Velvet Cookies

Making these cookies with white chocolate chips is no different from most other cookies you’ve ever made.

• Prepare the baking sheet. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. You can also use silicone baking mats. Set them aside.
• Whisk the dry ingredients. In a large bowl, mix the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt until well combined. Set it aside.
• Cream the butter. Place the butter and sugars in the bowl of a mixer. Beat for 2-3 minutes or until light and fluffy. The mixture should also look slightly pale.

• Add the vinegar. Mix the egg into the creamed butter until well combined. Add the vanilla extract, vinegar, and food coloring. Mix until the batter is completely combined.

• Incorporate the dry ingredients. Mix in the dry ingredients until well combined. Don’t over-mix.
• Add the chocolate chips. Reserve 1/3 cup of white chocolate chips, if you’d like to press them into the tops before baking. Fold the rest of them into the dough.
• Roll the dough. Use a small ice cream scoop or measuring spoons to measure out 1 1/2 tablespoons of dough and roll them into balls. Set them on the baking sheets, leaving about 2″ of space between them.

• Bake. Press the reserved chocolate chips on top of the balls of dough. Pop the trays into the oven for 7-9 minutes. The cookies should spread and have a slightly soft center.
• Serve. Remove the cookies from the oven and let them rest for 3-4 minutes before removing them. This helps prevent breakage. Transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.

Tips for Success

You might as well open a cookie shop because of how easy your baking will become due to these tips.

• Weigh your ingredients. Using a food scale to measure all the ingredients will mean your cookies turn out exactly the same every time.
• Don’t over-mix the dough after you add the flour. It can over-develop the gluten and cause the cookies to not spread as nicely or be tough.
• Let them cool. Don’t be tempted to remove the cookies from the tray right after baking. They’ll crumble and even break so give them a chance to firm up by letting them rest for a couple of minutes after baking.

Variation Ideas

Switch up your red velvet cookies, if you’d like!

• Add cream cheese frosting. Skip the white chocolate chips and frost your cookies with cream cheese frosting.
• Use Hershey Kisses. Swap out the white chocolate chips for a Hershey’s kiss or hug.
• Change up the chips. I love the white chocolate chips, but feel free to use milk, semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips.
• Make a sandwich. Use two cookies and sandwich them around cream cheese frosting. You could even dip the sides of the frosting into festive sprinkles.

How to Store Red Velvet White Chocolate Chip Cookies

Store fully cooled cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days. In the fridge, they will keep for up to a week but you should let them come to room temperature before eating them to make sure they’re not too firm.

Can These Homemade Cookies Be Frozen?

Absolutely! What kind of cookies would these be if you couldn’t freeze them? Best of all, you can freeze them both baked and unbaked. Here’s how:

• Baked: Transfer the cooled cookies into a freezer-friendly bag or container. Freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw them in the fridge and bring to room temperature before serving.
• Unbaked: Place the balls of dough on the lined baking tray in the freezer for 40 minutes or up to 1 hour. Transfer the balls of dough into a freezer-friendly bag or container. Freeze them for up to 3 months. Bring them to room temperature before baking.

Watch How to Make These Cookies

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More Red Velvet Desserts

• Red Velvet Cupcakes with Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting
• Red Velvet Cookie Cake
• Layered Red Velvet Cheesecake Bundt Cake
• The Best Red Velvet Cake Recipe
• Red Velvet Cheesecake Cake

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