Red Velvet Cookies with Cream Cheese
Make your season bright with these colorful Red Velvet Cookies. Baked with sweetened cream cheese and garnished with sparkly sugar, these pretty cookies have crispy edges and soft, chewy middles.
Velvet gives me the heebie-jeebies. No lie, I cannot touch it, look at it or speak of it without freaking the F out. This is paradox number 6,941 of my existence: red velvet material sends shivers down my spine but red velvet cookies steal my heart. It’s a saga of sensory contradictions that baffles the most seasoned psychologists my money can buy.
As it turns out, my velvet aversion is an actual affliction and not something I made up in my head for once. It’s a hypersensitivity disorder called haptodysphoria. And since I can’t even begin to pronounce that, let’s just call a spade a spade: it’s velvetphobia. That’s right, I’m afraid of a fuzzy fabric. Despite being cool with horror movies, monsters and complex tax forms, the mere thought of plush velvet makes my brain press the panic button.
It isn’t all bad; when I’m not waking in a cold sweat from velvet nightmares, I’m dreaming of red velvet cookies. And what sweet dreams they are; with cocoa undertones and sweetened cream cheese, these sugar-sprinkled cookies are velvet bliss. Loved by Santa, Cupid, and my support group of fellow velvet-fearers, these colorful cookies are perfect for any season and any reason.
Before sharing the recipe for Red Velvet Cookies, here are a few tips to help you out:
Ingredient Tips
This recipe uses red gel food coloring because it is more vibrant and less batter diluting than standard food coloring. Results will vary if liquid food coloring is used as a substitute.
For best results, butter, egg yolks and cream cheese must all be at room temperature before beginning.
Preparation Tips
Always use the spoon and level method to measure flour. Scooping flour is a no-no. That technique overpacks flour into the measuring cup which will result in dry, dense cookies.
This cookie dough must chill for a minimum of 2 hours before baking. Dough can be made ahead 1 day and chilled overnight before use.
A simple hack for perfectly round cookies is to place the rim of a large drinking glass over cookies when they are hot out of the oven then gently swirl the glass in a circular motion until each cookie takes shape.
How to Store Red Velvet Cookies
Store red velvet cookies in an airtight container in the refrigerator up to 3 days.
I hope you enjoy this Red Velvet Cookie recipe. Please leave a rating and review below when you try it yourself. And, while you’re at it, sign up for my weekly Recipe Newsletter so you never miss a tempting recipe.
Finally, if you’re looking for more red velvet recipes check out these Red Velvet Brownies. Crafted from an authentic red velvet cake recipe, these buttermilk brownies with cream cheese frosting will melt in your mouth.
Red Velvet Cookies with Cream Cheese
Ingredients
Red Velvet Cookies
- 1 cup all-purpose flour + 2 tbsp unbleached
- 3 tbsp cocoa powder unsweetened
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp sea salt fine
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter softened to room temperature
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large egg yolks room temperature
- 2 tsp vanilla extract pure
- 1 tbsp red gel food coloring
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar for rolling and sprinkling
Sweetened Cream Cheese
- 3 ounces full-fat cream cheese softened to room temperature
- 2 tbsp granulated sugar
Instructions
Red Velvet Cookies
- Line 2 large cookie sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
- Whisk together flour (1 cup + 2 tablespoons), cocoa powder, baking soda and salt in a medium-sized bowl. Set aside.
- In a separate bowl, beat butter and sugar with an electric mixer until light and creamy, approximately 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula as needed.
- Beat in egg yolks and vanilla.
- Beat in gel food coloring until evenly incorporated
- Reduce mixer speed to low then add dry ingredients to wet and mix until just combined.
- Set the bowl of cookie dough aside while you prepare the cream cheese.
Sweetened Cream Cheese
- Using clean beaters and a separate bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth and lump free.
Assembly
- Add 1 teaspoon of the sweetened cream cheese to the inside of a large, 2.5 tablespoon cookie scoop.
- Fill the remaining space in the cookie scoop with red velvet cookie dough.
- Place the cookie dough ball on your parchment-lined baking sheet with the cream cheese side facing up.
- Repeat the assembly process for the remaining cream cheese mixture and cookie dough, placing dough balls 3 inches apart from each other on the baking sheets.
- Cover baking sheets with plastic wrap to prevent dough from drying out then chill in the refrigerator for 2 hours.
Bake
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Remove dough from the refrigerator, discard plastic wrap then bake cookies one baking sheet at a time for approximately 14 to 16 minutes. Cookies are done when the edges are set and the center is crackly but still soft (it will firm as it cools). Avoid overbaking.
Cool
- Remove cookies from oven and cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheet before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.Note: Cookies will spread a bit as they bake. To reshape cookies, place the rim of a large drinking glass over cookies while they are still on the baking sheet then gently swirl the glass in a circular motion until each cookie is symmetrically round.
Store
- After cookies have cooled completely, sprinkle with granulated sugar and store in an airtight container in the refrigerator up to 3 days.
These are the first cookies I baked for Christmas this year. We loved the red velvet and cream cheese together and the red and white gives off serious Santa vibes.
Thanks for trying out the recipe, Connie!