Red Velvet White Chocolate Chip Cookies

These red velvet white chocolate chip cookies are easy to make and make a festive addition to your cookie platter for the holidays. And these red velvet cookies are a sneak peak recipe to my new cookbook that is coming out!

 

When it’s the holiday season I can’t help but have my brain go completely red velvet on you all. I’m sorry. Bring on the lights, the decorations, the tree and all things red velvet. 

So when I was brainstorming cookie recipes for my upcoming cookbook, The Beginner’s Baking Bible, I knew I wanted a red velvet cookie. 

And I wanted them to be chock full of white chocolate chips. I also can’t help pairing red velvet with white chocolate. 

Wait let’s back up a moment.

You have a cookbook coming out?!

Yup. I’m trying to act all chill right now. Like, yea no big deal. I have a cookbook coming out. But I am so not chill. I’m all cartwheels and squeals on the inside. I have a cookbook dropping on December 24th, but it’s available for pre-order right now!

Read all about the cookbook right here. And this cookie recipe is a sneak peek from the book. I figured with the holidays coming up, this was the perfect recipe to share with you all from the book.

Do I Have To Use Red Food Coloring?

You can also now buy all natural food coloring! How awesome is that? You might like India Tree Nature’s Colors from Craftsy. Or Amazon has a few varieties of natural food colorings that I think are worth checking out.

There are also other alternatives to red food coloring. I have to say that I have NOT tested these cookies with these alternatives, so I caution you that it may change the intended result. But you are welcome to try. 

I found these five alternatives to red food coloring from The Kitchn:

• Red Beet Juice
• Beetroot powder might also be an option- I haven’t tried this but I would add the powder to my dry ingredients and sift as normal
• Cranberries boiled in water
• Pomegranate juice
• Hibiscus flowers steeped in a bit of hot water until cooled

What ingredients do I need to make these red velvet cookies?

These cookies use all the classic ingredients you probably have in your pantry already, with the addition of red food coloring and white chocolate chips.

• All purpose flour
• Unsweetened cocoa powder
• Baking powder
• Baking soda
• Salt
• Unsalted butter
• Light brown sugar
• Granulated white sugar
• Eggs
• Vanilla extract
• Buttermilk
• Red food coloring
• White chocolate chips

How to make these red velvet white chocolate chip cookies

Step One: Combine your dry ingredients

For these cookies, you want to measure in a separate mixing bowl your flour, cocoa powder, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. I simply whisk these all together. 

Pro Tip: Be sure to measure your flour correctly! Kitchen scale is best, or use my spoon and level method. 

Step Two: Cream Butter And Sugar

In your stand mixer with your paddle attachment, you want to cream your softened butter and sugars together properly. I cream on medium speed to make sure to not over cream the mixture.

Pro Tip: Here are 3 ways to soften your butter quickly if you are in a hurry!

Step Three: Add Remaining Wet Ingredients

Now it’s time to add the rest of your wet ingredients. You want to add a room temperature egg, food coloring, and buttermilk.

Pro Tip: No buttermilk? No problem. Go ahead and whip up homemade buttermilk in a few easy steps.

Step Four: Add Dry Ingredients

Now you need to add in the flour mixture. Be sure to stir just until incorporated so it’s not overworked and you end up with a tough cookie. And then stir in by hand the white chocolate chips.

Step Five: Scoop And Bake!

I love these cookies because they can be immediately baked. I use either parchment paper or a silicone baking mat on my cookie sheet.

Pro Tip: Right before baking them, plop a few extra white chocolate chips right on top of each cookie. This helps to make the cookies extra pretty!

Tips For Making These Red Velvet White Chocolate Chip Cookies

• Measure your flour correctly. I use the spoon and level method. Meaning I spoon my flour into my cup then level off with a spatula or the back of a knife. By measuring your incorrectly means you could end up with more flour then you want. Added flour in your cookie recipe means your cookie may end up cakier or tougher than you would like. 
• You need to use room temperature butter so your dough is properly creamed and aerated. To soften your butter quickly, here are 3 quick ways. 
• Make sure to use room temperature eggs so they are easily incorporated into the cookie dough. I place mine into a bowl of warm water for 10 minutes before using them.

Red Velvet White Chocolate Chip Cookie FAQ’s

Can I make these cookies ahead of time?

Yes!  The great thing about these cookies (and all scoop and bake cookies) is that they freeze so well! I freeze my cookie dough first uncovered for about 30 minutes. Then place them in a zip-loc bag. You can have cookies whenever you need them. Because seriously some days just need a cookie, don’t they? 

And they super easy to pull out of the freezer and pop into the oven. Just simply bake them for a couple minutes longer, no need to thaw!

Do I need to chill the cookie dough?

Nope! However, you can if you want to make these ahead of time. And chilling your dough will also help with the cookies not spreading as much.

Why did my cookies spread so much?

Cookie spreading is a bummer. There 8 reasons that I can think of why your cookies may have spread. If your cookies do spread in the oven, you can try this little trick I picked up from Sally’s Baking Addiction, which is to take them out of the oven and take a spoon and press the edges of the cookie inward.

Can I freeze these cookies?

Yes and you should. You can freeze them baked or unbaked. 

To freeze unbaked: Scoop the cookies onto a cookie sheet, and freeze solid. Then place into a sealable plastic bag. You can bake frozen, without thawing, but add on a few extra minutes of baking time.

To freeze baked: Allow the cookies to cool completely. Then when ready to eat, allow to thaw. I like to pop them into the microwave for about 20 seconds to bring them back to ooey gooey life. 

Why do my chocolate chip cookies get hard?

This could be because you overbaked the cookies. If the dough is too warm (remember that chilling time!) then it could cause them too spread too much resulting in a cookie that gets too thin and gets too crispy and hard. Your oven temperature may also be too high. I recommend using an oven thermometer to ensure your oven is running at the correct temperature.

More Cookie Recipes

• Red Velvet Cupcakes
• Red Velvet Bars
• Red Velvet Layer Cake
• White Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Red Velvet Donuts
• Chocolate Whoopie Pies

And don’t forget to pre-order my cookbook now for the holidays!

Red Velvet Chocolate Chip Cookies

These are a perfect cooking to make around Christmas or Valentine’s Day. Like true red velvet, they have a hint of cocoa and a little bit of tang from the buttermilk. This dough does need be refrigerated before baking, so it’s best to make these the day before. I used white chocolate chips, but semi-sweet chocolate chips would work as well.

5 from 9 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes minutes

Total Time: 25 minutes minutes

Servings: 18 cookies

Calories: 203kcal

Author: Heather Perine

Ingredients

• ▢ 2 cups (8 ½ ounces, 240 g) all-purpose flour
• ▢ 1/4 cup (¾ ounces, 21 g) unsweetened cocoa powder
• ▢ 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ▢ ½ teaspoon baking powder
• ▢ ½ teaspoon table salt
• ▢ ½ cup (1 stick,113 g unsalted butter) softened
• ▢ ¾ cup (5 ½ ounces, 160 g) light brown sugar
• ▢ ¼ cup (1 ¾ ounces, 50 g) granulated white sugar
• ▢ 1 large egg room temperature
• ▢ 1 ½ tablespoons buttermilk or regular milk
• ▢ 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
• ▢ 1 tablespoon red food coloring
• ▢ 1 cup (6 ounces, 170 g) white chocolate chips

Instructions

• Preheat and prepare pans. Preheat oven to 350^oF. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mat.
• Combine dry ingredients. Whisk flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt together in a bowl.
• Cream butter and sugar. Beat butter with an electric mixer until fluffy, about 2 minutes; beat in brown sugar and white sugar until smooth, about 1-2 minutes.
• Add remaining wet ingredients. Beat egg, milk, and vanilla extract into butter mixture; beat in food coloring until uniformly colored.
• Add dry ingredients. Stir flour mixture into butter mixture gradually with electric mixer on low speed until combined; stir in 1 cup chocolate chips.
• Scoop the cookies. Using a 1-inch cookie scoop, or tablespoon, scoop the cookies into 1 ½-inch balls onto prepared cookie sheets about 2 inches apart. Roll dough into 2-inch balls; place on prepared baking sheets and flatten slightly.
• Bake and cool cookies. Bake in preheated oven until edges are lightly browned, about 10 minutes. Cool cookies on the cookie sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack to continue cooling.

Notes

• To freeze unbaked: Scoop the cookies onto a cookie sheet, and freeze solid. Then place into a sealable plastic bag. You can bake frozen, without thawing, but add on a few extra minutes of baking time.
  To freeze baked: Allow the cookies to cool completely. Then when ready to eat, allow to thaw. I like to pop them into the microwave for about 20 seconds to bring them back to ooey gooey life. 
• You can also now buy all natural food coloring! How awesome is that? You might like India Tree Nature’s Colors from Craftsy. Or Amazon has a few varieties of natural food colorings that I think are worth checking out.
• These would be just as good with semi-sweet chocolate chips.
• For a pretty presentation, right before baking these top each cookie dough ball with a few extra chocolate chips.
• No buttermilk? No problem. Go ahead and whip up homemade buttermilk in a few easy steps.
• Measure your flour correctly. I use the spoon and level method. Meaning I spoon my flour into my cup then level off with a spatula or the back of a knife. By measuring your incorrectly means you could end up with more flour then you want. Added flour in your cookie recipe means your cookie may end up cakier or tougher than you would like. 
• You need to use room temperature butter so your dough is properly creamed and aerated. To soften your butter quickly, here are 3 quick ways. 
• Make sure to use room temperature eggs so they are easily incorporated into the cookie dough. I place mine into a bowl of warm water for 10 minutes before using them.
•  

Nutrition

Calories: 203kcal | Carbohydrates: 29g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Cholesterol: 24mg | Sodium: 143mg | Potassium: 88mg | Sugar: 17g | Vitamin A: 175IU | Vitamin C: 0.1mg | Calcium: 40mg | Iron: 0.9mg

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