Red Velvet Cookies — Soft and chewy red velvet cookies that are loaded with white chocolate chips in every bite! A classic from-scratch red velvet cookie recipe that’s made in one bowl and EASY to make with PERFECT results every time! Perfect for Valentine’s Day, Christmas, or anytime you’re craving red velvet because these come together in no time and everyone LOVES them!
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Best Ever Red Velvet Cookie Recipe (Really!)
Red velvet-anything is one of my weaknesses. It’s right up there with peanut butter as being one of the best dessert flavors of all time — and yet, I somehow haven’t shared a classic red velvet cookie recipe before now. It’s a totally from-scratch recipe, no cake mix here.
To me, the best red velvet cookies are chewy around the edges but still soft and slightly fudgy in the center. I want the cookies to have a rich cocoa flavor and be have an alluring red color. These quick and easy cookies are winners on all counts!
Because I love pairing my red velvet desserts with some kind of chocolate element, I folded white chocolate chips into the cookie dough. White chocolate chips are sweet and creamy, and they go perfectly with the rich red velvet cookies but you can use milk or semi-sweet chocolate chips.
Best of all, there are no special ingredients required to achieve that classic red velvet flavor! To color the cookie dough, I used liquid food coloring. You can make these as subdue or intensely red as you like.
Red velvet desserts are especially perfect for Valentine’s Day and Christmas, but these red velvet white chocolate chip cookies can be enjoyed any time of year!
Love Red Velvet Cookies? Try These Next!
If you love these classic red velvet cookies, be sure to make my red velvet cake mix cookies next! They use cake mix as a baking shortcut and are incredibly ooey-gooey in texture and there’s tons of semi-sweet chocolate in every bite!
Red Velvet Cookies Ingredients
This recipe is very simple and calls for no special ingredients.
Here’s what you’ll need to make red velvet cookies with white chocolate chips:
- All-purpose flour
- Unsweetened natural cocoa powder
- Salt
- Unsalted butter
- Light brown sugar
- Granulated sugar
- Egg
- Milk (any kind)
- Vanilla extract
- Liquid red food coloring
- White chocolate chips (optional)
Note: Scroll down to the recipe card section of the post for the ingredients with amounts included and for more complete directions.
How to Make Red Velvet Cookies From Scratch
It doesn’t get much easier than this recipe for red velvet cookies! Make sure to plan accordingly because the cookie dough MUST chill in the fridge for one hour before being scooped into balls and baked.
Here’s a look at how the red velvet white chocolate chip cookies are prepared:
- In a large bowl, beat the butter for about 1 minute until it’s creamy.
- Add both kinds of sugar, followed by the egg, milk, and vanilla extract.
- Stir in the liquid red food coloring.
- Add the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir to combine the flour mixture into the wet mixture.
- Gently fold in the white chocolate chips.
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.
- Scoop the chilled cookie dough into 1.5 to 2-tablespoon balls using a medium cookie scoop.
- Bake on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet or Silpat baking mat until the edges are set and the centers are just barely set. Let cool on a wire rack before enjoying.
Recipe Tips
- Bake time: You want the cookies to be chewy around the edges but remain soft in the middle. You’ll know they’re ready to be pulled out of the oven when the edges are set and the centers have just barely set. Remember that cookies finish setting up as they sit on the baking sheet exposed to room temp air.
- White chocolate chips: The white chocolate chips are optional, so feel free to omit them entirely if you don’t like them or don’t have any on hand. They can also be replaced with another kind of chocolate chip.
- Make-ahead option: Consider making a batch of red velvet cookie dough, scooping it into balls, and then freezing to bake off later. I always bake my cookie dough from frozen and add 1 to 2 minutes to the total time, as needed.
Recipe FAQs
When talking about red velvet cake, I’d say it tastes like a cross between vanilla cake and chocolate cake. It’s cocoa-y in flavor, with a subtle tanginess to it. Even though these red velvet cookies are very rich, they’re not in-your-face chocolate flavored which makes it dangerously easy to eat one cookie after another!
Of course! If you have a red gel food coloring you like to use, feel free to use it in this recipe. Remember that gel food coloring is much more concentrated than liquid food coloring, so you might want to add a little bit at a time to the cookie dough until the right color is achieved.
You didn’t add enough food coloring! If you think your liquid red food coloring has not delivered a strong enough color after adding 3 teaspoons to the cookie dough like the recipe calls for, add more, as desired until you achieve the correct shade but don’t exceed about 5-6 teaspoons total because potentially you may taste it, although I haven’t ran into that.
And you might want to try a different brand in the future or use gel food coloring next time (which is much more concentrated in color).
If you shortchanged the chill time for the cookie dough, the cookies will spread like crazy on the baking sheet. The cookie dough must chill for 1 hour MINIMUM to prevent this from happening.
Cookies will also spread if you add the chilled dough to a warm baking sheet. This can happen if you only have one baking sheet and are using it to bake multiple batches of cookies.
Absolutely! I think these red velvet cookies are the best within two days of baking them, but they’ll last up to a week on your counter if stored in an airtight container. Remember that the baked cookies and raw cookie dough can both be frozen for up to three months as well, so you have a couple different make-ahead options!
Recipe Variations to Try
This is such a simple red velvet cookie recipe that there’s not a whole lot you can do in the way of ingredient swaps or substitutions. However, there are a few delicious ways you can customize these cookies:
- Replace the white chocolate chips with another kind, such as dark, milk, or semi-sweet.
- Use another mix-in entirely such as crushed Oreo pieces, M&M’s, peanut butter chips, toffee chips, or even finely chopped candy bars could all work!
- Top with frosting. Homemade or store-bought would both work, and you can either frost classic red velvet cookies or white chocolate chip red velvet cookies. Some frosting ideas include chocolate frosting, chocolate ganache, and cream cheese frosting.
- Create cookie sandwiches by adding a spoonful of frosting (any kind!) between two red velvet cookies.
Storage Instructions
Store leftover red velvet cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week. Or, store the baked cookies in a zip-top bag and freeze for up to 3 months.
You can also scoop the cookie dough into balls and freeze for up to 3 months. I recommend baking the cookie dough balls from frozen – no need to thaw first – noting that you will likely need to add a minute or two to the total bake time.
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Red Velvet Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 ⅔ cups all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup unsweetened natural cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- ⅔ cup light brown sugar, packed
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 tablespoon milk, 2% or whole milk preferred, although any type may be used
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 teaspoons liquid red food coloring, or as desired*
- 1 cup white chocolate chips, milk or semi-sweet chocolate chips may be substituted
Instructions
- To a large bowl, add the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, salt, and whisk to combine the dry ingredients; set aside.
- To the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or large mixing bowl and handheld electric mixer), add the butter, and beat on high speed for 1 minute, or until soft and creamy; stop to scrape down the sides of the bowl.
- Add the sugars and beat for 1 minute, or until light and creamy.
- Add the egg, milk, vanilla, and beat for 1 to 2 minutes, or until creamy and combined; stop to scrape down the sides of the bowl.
- Slowly add the dry ingredients, little by little, beating to incorporate them as you go, until you've added everything and a smooth dough forms; don't overmix.
- Add the food color (I use liquid food color, but gel food color may be used noting you'll need less because it's more concentrated) and beat carefully to incorporate, taking care that it doesn't splatter up on you because it stains everything in its presence. Food Coloring Tips – I used 4 teaspoons liquid food color but you can use up to about 5-6 teaspoons if you want a brighter and/or more prominent red color. If you want fire engine red cookies, you'll either need to use at least 2-3 tablespoons (not teaspoons) liquid food color, or perhaps about 3/4 to 1 tablespoon gel food color.
- Add the white chocolate chips and mix to incorporate.
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place in the fridge to chill for 1 hour. Tips – Alternatively, you can form dough balls and place them on a plate to chill for up to 48 hours. However, if you're going to keep the dough chilling in the bowl, after 1 hour, retrieve it and form the cookie dough balls, otherwise the dough simply gets too hard to chisel out of the bowl.
- Preheat the oven to 350F and line two baking sheets with parchment or Silpat baking mats; set aside momentarily.
- Using a medium cookie scoop, form approximately 20 mounds of dough, about 2 tablespoons each in size and evenly place them on the baking sheets. You'll want about 10 to 12 dough balls per baking sheet, but not more, because they'll spread and need room.
- Bake for about 12 to 13 minutes, or just until the edges are beginning to set, even if the centers look undone because the cookies will firm up as they cool. Allow them to sit on the bakings sheets and firm. up for about 10 minutes, or until they're cool enough to transfer to a wire rack to cool completely (See More Baking Tips below). Tip – If desired, add a couple white chocolate chips to the top of each freshly baked cookie for visual appeal and a burst of additional chocolate flavor.
- Storage – Cookies are best fresh but will keep airtight at room temp for up to 5 days. Unbaked cookie dough balls can remain airtight in the fridge for up to 48-72 hours before being baked. Unbaked cookie dough balls will keep airtight in the freezer for up to 3-4 months. You do not need to thaw them and can bake straight from frozen, simply add 1-2 minutes or as necessary to the baking time so they're done. You can also freeze baked cookies airtight for up to 3-4 months, although I prefer freezing the cookie dough balls so that I can always bake up a batch of fresh cookies.
- Recipe adapted from Sally's Baking Addiction
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Hi Averie: I’m making these now and need a little clarification. So it doesn’t look like these cookies actually have the chips mixed in with the dough, only added to the top of the cookie after baking?
I just added a step 7. Stir them in after the dough comes together like you would with most other cookie recipes. Enjoy!
By the time I saw your response it was too late for me to add the chips into the batter, so I did add a few in the top at the end on the first tray. With the second tray I attempted to add a few chips into the batter but it was pretty hard to mix. I actually preferred the looks of the cookies where I just added them on top, much better presentation. Very tasty cookie; my husband really enjoyed them.
Thanks Meri for the 5 star review and that’s interesting that you preferred the looks of the chips only on top and that it was a better presentation. But my apologies on the oversight about stirring the chips into the batter but it’s fixed now of course for anyone reading this comment – but I am glad you liked them better with the chips just on top! And that your husband enjoyed them, too!