Red Velvet and White Chocolate Cookies! The iconic red velvet cake flavour in cookie form. Delicious, chewy cocoa cookies packed with lots of white chocolate chunks and a “secret” ingredient to keep them soft and tender…
If you’re a fan of red velvet bakes, this red velvet cookie recipe is a quick and easy way to get your fix.
The cookies are tender, sweet and packed with plenty of creamy white chocolate chunks, cocoa powder and vanilla. All the delicious flavours of red velvet cake wrapped up in a cookie!
I thought this was the perfect time of year to post these cookies – I mean just look at them! Could they be any more festive?
what does red velvet taste like?
If you’ve never tried a red velvet cake or cookie before, you might be wondering what it actually tastes like. Red velvet is a light chocolate flavour with hints of vanilla. The texture of this red-hued Southern American cake is typically very smooth and “velvety”. Adding sour cream to the cookie batter gives a very similar texture.
ingredient list for red velvet and white chocolate cookies
Here’s what you’ll need to make this recipe:
scroll to the bottom of the post to find a printable recipe card with ingredient amounts and detailed instructions.
- Soft butter
- Brown sugar and caster sugar
- one large egg
- plain (all purpose) flour
- baking powder and bicarbonate of soda to make the cookies rise
- red food colour paste or gel (see notes below for the brand I use)
- cocoa powder – try and use the best quality you can find. I used Callebaut, but Green & Black’s is also very good.
- vanilla extract
- sour cream – this is the extra “secret” ingredient! It makes the cookies nice and soft and adds a slight “tang” that all good red velvet recipes should have. One thing I must insist on – please use full fat! The recipe won’t be as good with half fat or low fat sour cream.
- white chocolate chunks or chips
what food colouring should I use for red velvet cookies?
Please don’t use liquid food colouring – it won’t work! You would need to use a whole bottle to achieve the right colour…which will mess up the recipe proportions. You need a food colour paste or gel here. I used Sugarflair “Christmas Red” to make these cookies and as you can tell from the photos, it’s the perfect deep red velvet colour!
BAKING TIPS
It’s important to chill the cookie dough before you bake the cookies – if you try and bake them straight away they’ll spread out quite a lot.
A minimum of one hour chill time is required, but I often make the dough in the evening and bake the next day.
You can roll the chilled dough into balls very easily. If you don’t want red hands I recommend wearing disposable gloves!
Reserve some of the chocolate chunks and place on top of the cookies before you bake them – it gives a really professional looking finish.
Don’t over bake the cookies – they will still feel quite soft in the middle when baking time is done, but that’s exactly how you want them. They’ll firm up as they cool, but will still have a slightly fudgy centre.
I prefer using chocolate chunks for cookies – I think the slightly irregular shapes make for a more interesting cookie. You can of course use chocolate chips instead. My favourite brand is Callebaut. You could also use a chopped bar of white chocolate.
storing red velvet cookies
These cookies will keep well in an airtight container for up to three days.
freezing instructions
To freeze the baked cookies, place them in an airtight container or freezer bags and freeze for up to three months.
The unbaked cookie dough can also be frozen for up to two months. Roll the chilled dough into a long sausage shape. Wrap in a double layer of cling film and tin foil before freezing. When you’re ready to bake the cookies, simply cut the frozen dough into rounds and bake!
more easy cookie recipes to try
Looking for more cookie recipes that are perfect for Christmas gifting? Here’s just a few:
For even more inspiration, check out my Christmas recipes and cookies and biscuits archives!
If you’re sharing a photo of your cookies on Instagram, don’t forget to tag me #sweetsavouryblog – it makes my day to see what you’ve been making 🙂
Red Velvet and White Chocolate Cookies
If you're a fan of the classic red velvet cake, then you must try these festive red velvet white chocolate cookies! Soft, chewy red hued cookies stuffed with lots of creamy white chocolate chunks.
Ingredients
- 225g (1 1/4 cups + 2 tablespoons) plain (all purpose) flour
- 25g cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
- 1/4 teaspoon fine salt
- 115g (1 stick) soft butter
- 150g (3/4 cup) soft light brown sugar
- 50g (1/4 cup) caster sugar
- 1 large egg (not extra large)
- 2 teaspoons real vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons full fat sour cream
- 1 1/2 teaspoons red food colour paste*SEE RECIPE NOTES BELOW*
- 150g white chocolate chunks or chips
Instructions
- Grease and line two large baking sheets with baking parchment.
- Place the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt in a medium mixing bowl. Stir everything together to combine.
- Cream the butter and both sugars together until well combined, about 2-3 minutes if usnig an electric mixer.
- In a separate small bowl, mix together the egg, vanilla extract, sour cream and red food colour paste until smooth. Add this red tinted mixture to the creamed butter and sugar and mix well, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a plastic scraper to make sure everything is thoroughly combined.
- Tip in the bowl of dry ingredients and mix until you have a soft cookie dough. Fold in 125g of the white chocolate chips or chunks. Place the cookie dough in the fridge for a minimum of one hour to firm up.
- When you're ready to bake, reheat the oven to 180C/160Fan/350F. Roll 25g (or 50g for jumbo cookies) sized balls of cookie dough in your hands (if you don't want red hands, wear disposable gloves!)
- Press the reserved white chocolate chunks or chips on top of the cookie dough balls. Place in the oven and bake for 10-12 minutes, or 14-16 minutes if you make jumbo cookies. They will still be quite soft in the middle, but will firm up on cooling. Leave on the baking tray for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire cooling rack.
Notes
PLEASE do not use liquid food colouring - the recipe won't work! I used Sugarflair "Christmas Red".
The baked cookies will keep in an airtight container for up to three days.
The cookie dough can be frozen for up to three months.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 12 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 112Total Fat: 7gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 22mgSodium: 123mgCarbohydrates: 11gFiber: 1gSugar: 8gProtein: 2g
Calories and nutritional information are provided by a third party application and should be viewed as indicative figures only.
Replacement for sour cream
You could use full fat Greek yoghurt instead 🙂
Hi, just wondering why liquid food colouring won’t work, it’s what I have in the house? Will the mixture make the dough, let’s say, ‘too watery’?
Thanks
Hi, Yes I’m afraid the liquid food colour wouldn’t work – you would need to add so much to get the vibrant red, it would affect the dough, potentially causing the cookies to either collapse or spread out into one giant cookie. Sorry!