Red Velvet Cookies
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Red velvet cookies with cream cheese frosting are a classic combo! These giant chewy cookies are just what your sweet tooth needs!
This red velvet cookie recipe is bound to be the hit of your dessert tray! Serve them alongside other cookie favorites like banana pudding cookies and key lime pie cookies.
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Red Velvet Cookies
Red Velvet Cookies
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Why you’ll love this recipe!
📌 Delicious cream cheese + red velvet chocolate flavor combo!
📌 Super easy to make and are a great bake sale or cookie basket option.
📌 Prepare as giant cookies (pictured), or make lots of smaller ones!
Red Velvet Cookie Ingredients
- Butter – Salted butter, softened.
- Sugar – Brown sugar and white granulated sugar.
- Egg – Large egg.
- Vanilla – Real vanilla extract.
- Vinegar – White vinegar.
- Red food coloring- I like to use a gel food coloring for the intensely bright color!
- Cocoa powdered – Unsweetened cocoa powder.
- Flour – All purpose flour.
- Baking powder – For leavening. Make sure you use baking powder and not baking soda.
- Frosting – Butter, cream cheese, powdered sugar.
How do you make red velvet cookies from scratch? (step-by-step)
⭐ First, cream together butter and both sugars until light and fluffy. Beat in egg, vanilla, vinegar, cocoa powder, and food coloring. Add the flour, baking powder, and salt.
⭐ Next, mix until just combined (it will be crumbly). Divide dough into equal portions and form into balls. Place on a lined baking sheet and chill.
⭐ Then, bake until the edges are just turning golden brown. While cookies are cooling prepare cream cheese frosting by whipping together the butter and cream cheese. Add powdered sugar and thin with liquid if desired.
⭐ Finally, when cookies are fully cooled, pipe or spread frosting over top. Sprinkle with cocoa powder.
Scroll down to the printable recipe card toward the bottom of this article for ingredient measurements and detailed cooking instructions.
Preparation
Can you make frosted red velvet cookies ahead of time?
Yes! You can make and bake the cookies a few days ahead, or prep by making the dough in advance and keeping it in the refrigerator or freezer until ready to bake.
What topping for red velvet Crumbl cookies?
We’ve topped these cookies with a delicious cream cheese frosting that we made with a combination of powdered sugar, butter, and cream cheese.
How many cookies does this recipe make?
This recipe is inspired by the Crumbl red velvet cookies, so we made six HUGE cookies! You can absolutely split the dough up more and make up to 24 smaller cookies.
Just make sure to shorten the cook time accordingly.
Storage and leftovers
How long do red velvet cookies last?
These will keep 3- 4 days in the refrigerator or longer in the freezer. They should not be kept at room temperature since the topping is made with dairy.
Can you freeze the cookies?
Yes! To freeze the baked cookies, allow them to cool completely then store in a freezer safe air-tight container for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator.
To freeze the dough, form into balls and roll in dough, then place in a freezer safe airtight container and separate layers with parchment paper.
Tips, tricks, and frequently asked questions
✅ Make sure not to overbake. In fact, these cookies should be just slightly under-baked so they stay soft and chewy on the inside.
✅ Bake on a lined baking sheet (with a silicone mat or parchment paper) or use a well greased cookie sheet (I prefer silpat!) to make sure the cookies don’t stick.
✅ Don’t have a piping bag with a tip? Just cut off the tip of a gallon ziploc bag and use that to pipe!
What to eat with homemade red velvet cookies (serving suggestions)
These are great over the winter holidays (or for Valentine’s day!) – serve them along a delicious dinner of spaghetti carbonara, air fryer roasted brussels sprouts, and creamy mashed potatoes.
Or serve them on a random Wednesday after a yummy dinner of chicken spaghetti!
More delicious cookie recipes
- Pie crust cookies with cinnamon and sugar
- Strawberry shortcake cookies
- Raspberry cheesecake cookies
- Crumbl key lime pie cookies
- Banana cake mix cookies
- Classic butter cookies
- See all our easy cookie recipes!
Other awesome recipes with cream cheese frosting
More copycat recipes to try
- Olive Garden Toasted Ravioli
- Chick Fil A Chicken Minis
- Bonefish Grill Bang Bang Chicken
- Ikea’s Swedish Meatballs
- Cosmic Brownies
- Taco Bell Mexican Pizza
- See all our restaurant copycat recipes!
Tools we love
- Baking sheets – This set is perfect, we use them for everything from roasting, to baking, and even serving.
- Silicone baking mats – I always always always line with these, nothing sticks!
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How to Make Red Velvet Cookies
Red Velvet Cookies
Ingredients
- ½ cup salted butter softened
- ¾ cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup white sugar
- 1 large egg
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- red food coloring gel* to desired color
- ½ teaspoon white vinegar
- 4 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
FROSTING
- 2 sticks salted butter softened
- 1 block cream cheese (8 ounces) softened
- 6 cups powdered sugar
Instructions
- In a large bowl use an electric mixer to cream together the butter and both sugars until fluffy. Beat in the egg, vanilla, vinegar, cocoa powder and food coloring.
- Add in the flour, baking powder and salt; mix until just combined. The dough will be very crumbly.
- Divide the dough into 6 equal portions and form each portion into a ball. Just until it comes together. Place on a parchment lined baking sheet and refrigerate for at *least* 30 minutes. (Do not skip this step, chilling is what makes the cookies soft and chewy in the middle).
- Bake the cookies for 15-18 minutes at 350° F. The edges should just be turning golden brown, we want the cookies to stay chewy.
- Allow the cookies to cool about 5 minutes on the baking sheet, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
- While the cookies are cooling, use an electric mixer to whip the butter and cream cheese until fluffy. Add in the powdered sugar and beat to combine. If desired, add a splash of milk to thin the frosting to your desired consistency.
- Pipe the buttercream on top of the cookies using a large round tip and dust with cocoa powder.
Notes
Nutrition
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If you love red velvet but don’t want to make cookies from scratch, try our red velvet cake mix cookies!
Red Velvet Cookies
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The cream cheese frosting makes these over the top delicious!
Talk about delicious!! And that frosting! Woah… so good. Now I make these for after-school snacks or even to take to holiday gatherings. Thank you!
these are super soft cookies and I cannot wait to make them again! thank you so much for sharing this amazing recipe!