Red Velvet Cookies

These red velvet cookies are soft, chewy, and richly flavored, with a deep red color, and white chocolate chips in every bite - developed to give you true red velvet flavor, not just red sugar cookies.

I tested this recipe carefully to make sure the texture and flavor match what people actually love about red velvet cake: a subtle cocoa note, a little tang of buttermilk, and a soft, tender crumb. Many red velvet cookie recipes rely too heavily on food coloring and sugar, but this version is balanced so the flavor comes through just as clearly as the color.

This is a from-scratch red velvet cookie recipe made with simple ingredients and a straightforward method that doesn't require chilling, shaping, or special equipment. The dough comes together easily, bakes evenly, and produces consistently chewy cookies - even if you don't bake cookies often.

Ingredients

This red velvet cookies recipe uses simple ingredients, similar to what you would see in a classic red velvet cake.

• Butter - Use unsalted butter and make sure it is at room temperature before beginning. 

• White Sugar - We'll use two types of sugar in the cookies, the first is regular white sugar for nice crisp edges.

• Light Brown Sugar - The other sugar in the recipe is light brown sugar, this helps to add some depth to the flavor and helps to make the texture of these cookies nice and chewy. 

• Egg - Use one large egg, always free range if you can. 

• Buttermilk - Even though we only use a small amount, the buttermilk contributes to that delicious tangy flavor we love in red velvet cake.  You can also sub with regular milk.

• Vanilla - Vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste will work well.  Try to avoid vanilla essence. 

• Red Food Coloring - Make sure you use gel food coloring.  The liquid food coloring that you find in grocery stores will not be powerful enough to add the lovely festive red color we are looking for.  

• Flour - Use all-purpose flour in these cookies for the right texture and structure. 

• Cocoa Powder - Red velvet needs to have a hint of chocolate flavor so don't skip the cocoa powder!  Use natural cocoa powder.

• White Chocolate Chips - I find the red velvet cookies work really well with white chocolate chips, both for flavor and style - but you could also make them more like regular chocolate chip cookies and use milk chocolate if you prefer.  

Make sure the butter, egg, and buttermilk are all at room temperature before baking. 

See recipe card for quantities and the full recipe.

Equipment

• Stand Mixer - or hand mixer, or a wooden spoon. 
• Large Bowl
• Cookie Sheet
• Cookie Scoop

How to Make Red Velvet Cookies

These cookies use the creaming method like a regular cookie dough, then mixes the red food coloring into the wet ingredients before combining with the dry.

Cream Butter and Sugars

Preheat your oven to 350°F / 180°C and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Beat the butter and both sugars together until combined.  They won't 'cream' together like some other recipes, but will just come together almost like a dough.  I used a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, but you could also just use a large bowl and a wooden spoon, or an electric mixer - whatever you prefer. 

Add egg

Add the egg and cream together at medium speed until smooth.  Scrape down the sides of the bowl. 

Wet Ingredients

In a small bowl, mix together the wet ingredients, including the buttermilk, vanilla, and red food coloring.

This is to make it easier for the food coloring to mix into the cookie dough without getting clumps of gel color.  

Once combined, pour them into the cookie dough and beat until the color is even across the mixture.

Note: You may want to start with just ¼ teaspoon of the red color and add more if needed - every brand of food coloring is different.  Keep in mind that although the dough will look bright red at first, once you add the dry ingredients with the cocoa powder, it will turn into a deep red color instead. 

Dry Ingredients

In a medium bowl, sift together the dry ingredients, including the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt. Mix together briefly to make sure everything is well dispersed. Pour the flour mixture into the cookie dough and mix on low speed until a dough forms and there are no more lumps of flour.  

White Chocolate Chips

Scrape down the sides of the bowl again to make sure everything is well incorporated, then add the white chocolate chips and mix them through the red velvet cookie dough evenly. 

Scoop Cookie Dough

Use a cookie scoop or tablespoon to scoop medium cookie dough balls onto the prepared cookie sheet.  My scoop makes balls the size of about 2-3 tablespoons of dough.  Make sure the cookies are well spaced out, as they will spread in the oven.

There is no need to chill the dough first or to flatten the balls of cookie dough; they will magically form into the perfect cookie shape as they bake.  

Bake Cookies

Bake cookies for 12-14 minutes.  They will still feel slightly soft on top, but they will set up more as they cool.  Let the cookies sit on the baking sheet on the worktop for at least 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool. 

Once the cookies are cooled, you can decorate by just melting some white chocolate and drizzling it on top of the cooled cookies -this step is totally optional, though! 

Variations

• Other Chocolate - If you aren't a fan of white chocolate cookies, you could use milk or dark chocolate chips instead, or just skip the chocolate chips entirely.  
  
• Red Velvet Sandwich Cookies - To make these cookies extra special, try sandwiching two of the cookies together with a delicious cream cheese filling. 
  
• Red Velvet Cheesecake Cookies - If stuffed cookies are your thing, try using this red velvet cookie dough with the filling and method in my Pumpkin Cheesecake Cookies for a delicious cream cheese center. 

Storage

Store your baked cookies in an airtight container at room temperature.  They will be good like this for 5 days.  

You can make cookie dough ahead of time and freeze it in pre-scooped balls to bake later. Just add 1-2 minutes to the baking time when baking from frozen.  You can keep the cookie dough in the freezer for up to 3 months. 

More Cookie Recipes

If you love these red velvet cookies, you might also enjoy some of these delicious recipes: