Crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside, this red velvet cookies recipe with white chocolate chips is easy to make. The red color makes the cookies festive and a great sweet treat to make for holidays, while the chocolate and vanilla flavor makes them so good!
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Ingredients and substitutes
Flour - I use all-purpose flour for my red velvet chocolate chip cookies.
Cocoa powder - Make sure to use unsweetened, good-quality cocoa powder.
Baking powder and baking soda - Both leveling agents are needed in this recipe to help form the chewy texture we all love in our cookies.
Butter - We need to use unsalted butter at room temperature. If the butter is too cold, it won't beat well with the sugar and will appear grainy when mixed with the egg.
Sugar - I use granulated white sugar, but you can replace it with caster sugar.
Egg - We’ll need only one large egg (it should be around 55g) at room temperature.
Vanilla extract and salt - I like to add a good amount of salt to cut through the sweetness. It's so delicious when you get a salt crystal on your tongue while chewing a sweet cookie with a chocolate flavor. Also, I like to use vanilla extract here but you can skip it if you want.
Red food coloring - I use 1 tablespoon of red soft gel paste but you can use any water-soluble gel food coloring.
White chocolate chips - Some like to make cream cheese frosting (the type you would make for red velvet cake) and sandwich two cookies together with it, but I prefer adding chocolate chips. White chocolate partially caramelizes in the oven and becomes even more delicious. However, you don’t have to use chocolate chips at all or can use another type of chocolate instead. Dark chocolate will melt more during baking, just so you know! Also, you can use a chopped-up chocolate bar instead of chips.
Cooking tips
Measure your ingredients with a digital kitchen scale. As always, for consistently good results, you need to measure your ingredients properly.
Use butter at room temperature. The butter should be very soft throughout. If you press with a finger, you should be able to leave an indent without a problem and no butter should stick to your finger when you lift it.
Eggs should also be at room temperature. Let's say your butter is at the right temperature and you beat it with sugar into a nice pale, fluffy mixture. You add your egg even though it’s a little bit cold and that's it, your butter hardens and appears grainy. Your egg won't mix properly with the butter. How do you fix it? You need to wait until the mixture comes to room temperature and mix it again. Friction from the mixer will help to gently heat up the ingredients too.
Chill the dough before baking. You don't have to go crazy but 15-20 minutes in the fridge, while the oven is preheating, will be enough for the cookie dough to relax and the butter to firm up a little bit. Chilling the dough will help the cookies to spread evenly during baking.
Step by step directions
1. Sift the dry ingredients into a bowl. Mix well and set aside.
2. Beat the butter with sugar until white and fluffy. Use a stand mixer with a paddle attachment or a mixing bowl and a hand mixer.
3. Add the food coloring and beat until the mixture reaches a homogenous color.
4. Add the egg and vanilla and beat until incorporated.
5. Add the dry mixture and mix just until no dry ingredients are left. Then, add the chocolate chips and mix again. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 15 minutes.
6. In the meantime, preheat the oven to 180C and line a baking tray with parchment paper.
7. Take out the dough and form 16 even balls from it. You can use a scoop or do it by hand.
8. Place on a baking tray leaving enough space in between. The cookies will spread during baking. If all balls don’t fit on your tray, bake in two batches.
9. Bake for 12-13 minutes or until spread and dry on the surface. Don’t overbake as the cookies can dry out too much.
10. Remove from the oven and leave to cool down for at least 5 minutes on the tray without touching them. Then, transfer onto the cooling rack to cool down completely. Repeat the process with the second batch and serve.
FAQ
You can freeze them for up to 2 months. Thaw in the fridge overnight and gently heat in the microwave before serving.
Yes, you can freeze it for up to 2 months. Make sure that you wrap it with plastic wrap and then a piece of foil to prevent frostbite. Thaw in the fridge overnight before using.
Store completely cooled cookies in an air-tight container in a dark place at room temperature for 7-10 days.
More dessert recipes
Recipe card
Red velvet cookies
Equipment
- Digital kitchen scale
- Cookie scoop
- Stand mixer
- Rubber spatula
Ingredients
- 230 g all-purpose flour
- 10 g unsweetened cocoa powder
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 125 g unsalted butter at room temperature
- 200 g granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon red soft gel paste
- 1 large egg at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 100 g white chocolate chips
Instructions
- Into a large mixing bowl, sift flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, soda, and salt. Mix well and set aside.
- In another large mixing bowl, beat the butter with sugar until white and fluffy. You can also use a stand mixer with a paddle attachment.
- Then, add the food coloring and beat until the mixture has a homogenous color. Add an extra 1-2 teaspoons coloring, if desired, and beat again.
- Add the egg and vanilla and beat until incorporated.
- Add the dry mixture to the wet one and mix just until no dry ingredients are left. Add the white chocolate chips and mix again. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 15 minutes.
- Meantime, preheat the oven to 180C/355F and line a baking tray with parchment paper.
- Take out the dough and form 16 even balls from it (around 45g each). You can use a scoop or do it by hand.
- Place on a baking tray leaving enough space in between. The cookies will spread during baking. If all balls don’t fit on your tray, bake in two batches.
- Bake for 12-13 minutes or until spread and dry on the surface. Don’t overbake as the cookies can dry out too much.
- Remove from the oven and leave to cool down for at least 5 minutes on the tray without touching them. Then, transfer onto the cooling rack to cool down completely. Repeat the process with the second batch and serve.
Sara
I made them without chocolate chips. Very delicious!