Soft, chewy cookies topped with a light, fluffy frosting. These red velvet cookies with cream cheese frosting take the flavors you love in a red velvet cake, just in cookie form!
When I think of red velvet, I think of wedding cake or Valentine’s Day desserts. Something decadent and for a special occasion. Red velvet has such a unique flavor and is way more than just red-dyed chocolate fudge. The vinegar provides a tangy-ness that just makes it feel decadent and fancy. I’m not one to turn down cake, but sometimes you just want something light. Enter these cookies. They take the flavor of a red velvet cake and put it in a portable cookie form that you can eat for any occasion—even if that occasion is just a random Tuesday. 😉
Jump to RecipeIngredients
- A stick of butter, softened
- Brown sugar and granulated sugar to help make the cookies chewier
- An Egg
- A bit of vanilla for flavor
- Milk & Vinegar to give them the signature red velvet taste (or you can use buttermilk)
- Cocoa powder
- Flour
- Baking soda — to react with the vinegar
- Salt
- Red food coloring – for that signature red color
How to Make Red Velvet Cookies
First, mix together the milk and vinegar. You’re basically making a homemade buttermilk. Set it aside while you measure out and combine the other ingredients. It will be ready (look curdled) in about 3-4 minutes.
Beat the stick of butter and sugars together until light and fluffy (around 2 minutes). Add the egg, vanilla, and milk/vinegar mixture. Mix until combined.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix together.
Add the red food coloring at the end. I used 1 tsp of gel food coloring and they turned out more chocolate with a red tint vs. bright red (see photos). If you want them to be bright red add and addition tsp. If you’re using liquid food coloring, you’ll want to double that as it’s not as intense as gel.
Optional: Chill the dough for about 30 minutes to make it easier to handle when rolling into a ball. This is optional because if you don’t care about the shape, you can just use a spoon and drop a tablespoon or so on a baking sheet.
Bake at 350 for 10 minutes. Let chill completely before frosting.
How to Make Smooth Cream Cheese Frosting
Cream cheese frosting can be a challenge. You can end up with bits of unblended cream cheese which is not pleasant to experience when you’re expecting it to be creamy. I’ve made this mistake many times so I’ve tried really hard to perfect how to do this.
First, put your cream cheese in the microwave for 7-10 seconds on power level 7. This will help with the creaming process but won’t melt your frosting.
And now…
You’ll want to beat the butter and cream cheese for a good 3 minutes to get it nice and creamy. Add the powdered sugar and vanilla and then beat for another 5 minutes. It will become light, fluffy and extremely creamy! It will feel like forever, but trust me. This is the key to getting light, fluffy cream cheese frosting.
Jump to RecipeVariations & Substitutions
There aren’t many variations with this recipe, but you could do the following:
Milk: Both dairy and non-dairy milk will work for this recipe. I almost always use almond or oat milk in my baking and it still creates the tangy flavor needed for these red velvet cookies.
Vinegar: Don’t have vinegar? No problem. You can also make this homemade buttermilk with lemon juice. You’re looking to add acidity to react with the baking soda to create that signature flavor.
White Chocolate Chips: Not into cream cheese frosting? Want to give these a bulkier texture. Try adding white chocolate chips to the dough instead of topping with cream cheese frosting. Simply stir in 1/2 cup of white chocolate chips at the very end.
If you aren’t eating them right away, keep these bad boys in the refrigerator an air tight container. They will store for up to 5 days. I prefer to let them come to room temperature before eating.
The short answer is yes. While the sugar does provide some stabilization, cream cheese will spoil faster if left on the counter. If you’re making them in the morning and planning on eating them that day, then they’re fine to stay on the counter, but anything longer than 24 hours should really go in the fridge.
Looking for more unique cookie recipes?
Try these cherry cordial cookies, chai cookies, or these RumChata cookies.
This recipe was adapted from my Cut Out Butter Cookies and inspired by Cooking Classy.
Red Velvet Cookies with Cream Cheese Frosting
Equipment
- 1 mixing bowl
- electric mixer
- cookie sheet
Ingredients
- 1 stick butter ((1/2 cup))
- 1/2 cup lightly packed brown sugar
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 tbsp milk
- 1 tsp vinegar
- 2 tbsp cocoa powder
- 1 1/4 cups flour
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp red food coloring (gel)
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 4 oz cream cheese (softened)
- 4 oz butter (1/2 stick) (softened)
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1/2 tsp vanilla
Instructions
Red Velvet Cookies
- Preheat the oven to 350 °F. In a small bowl, stir together the milk and vinegar. Set aside. (See note)
- In a large mixing bowl, beat together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
- Add the egg, vanilla, and milk & vinegar mixture. Mix until combined.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Mix until just combined. Add red food coloring. Mix well until all food coloring is evenly distributed.
- Chill dough for 30 minutes.
- Scoop approx. 1 tbsp of dough into your hands and shape into a ball. Place onto an ungreased baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes. Let cool completely before frosting.
Cream Cheese Frosting
- Heat cream cheese in microwave for 5-7 seconds.
- Beat together the softened cream cheese and room temperature butter until completely smooth. (about 3 minutes).
- Add the powdered sugar and vanilla. Beat for another 4-5 minutes until light and creamy.
- Decorate the cooled cookies and enjoy!
