Red velvet crinkle cookies are soft, chewy cocoa cookies dyed deep red and rolled in powdered sugar, so they bake up with white tops split by red cracks. This recipe makes 24 cookies from scratch in about an hour, and most of that is a 30 minute chill.
The trick is cold dough and a heavy sugar coat. Cold dough rises slowly, so the sugared surface has time to dry and crack. A thin coat just melts in.
I first fell for red velvet as a cake at a family gathering. These cookies give me the same color and cocoa flavor without baking layers, and they pack into a tin far better.
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Try the Recipe Converter →- Makes: 24 cookies, about 1 inch dough balls
- Time: 15 minutes prep, 30 minutes chilling, 10 to 12 minutes baking
- Oven: 350°F (175°C), two parchment lined baking sheets
- Texture: chewy edges, soft and fudgy in the middle
- Keeps: 4 days in a tin, 2 months in the freezer
The Ingredients, From Flour to Food Coloring
Everything here is a pantry staple except the red.
- 1½ cups all-purpose flour and ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder: the cocoa is generous, so these taste like a soft chocolate cookie with a vanilla note, closer to a fudgy crinkle than to a light red velvet cake.
- 1 teaspoon baking powder and ¼ teaspoon salt: the baking powder is what pushes the dough up and splits the sugar coat.
- ½ cup softened unsalted butter and 1 cup granulated sugar: creamed for 2 to 3 minutes until pale and fluffy.
- 2 large eggs and 1 teaspoon vanilla: they make the dough soft and sticky, which is why it needs the chill.
- 1 tablespoon red food coloring: gel gives the strongest red without adding liquid.
- ½ cup powdered sugar: only for rolling, and you will use most of it.
There is no buttermilk or vinegar in this dough, so the cookie itself is not tangy. The tang most people link with red velvet comes from cream cheese frosting, and that is easy to add as a filling (more on that below).
How to Keep Them Red, Not Brown
Half a cup of cocoa is a lot of brown to cover. Three small choices decide whether you get a deep red or a muddy brick color.
Use natural unsweetened cocoa, the regular kind in the supermarket. Dutch-processed cocoa is darker and pulls the red toward brown. Use gel coloring if you can; a tablespoon of liquid coloring works, but the shade will be duller. Then judge the color in the raw dough and aim one shade brighter than you want to see on the plate, because red velvet darkens in the oven, most of all around the edges.
Even done right, these come out a deep cranberry red rather than the bright red of a frosted cake. Against the white sugar, that darker red is what makes the cracks stand out.
Mixing, Chilling and Rolling the Dough
Heat the oven to 350°F and line two baking sheets with parchment. Whisk the flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl.
In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar for 2 to 3 minutes until lighter in color and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then the vanilla and red coloring, until the mixture is evenly tinted with no pale streaks.
Add the dry ingredients gradually and stir only until no flour shows. The dough will look like thick, sticky frosting. That is right. Cover the bowl and chill it for at least 30 minutes, until you can scoop it without it smearing on your palms.
Scoop tablespoon portions and roll them into 1 inch balls. Drop each ball into the powdered sugar and roll until no red shows. Let the balls sit a minute while you roll the next few, then roll them through the sugar a second time. The first coat soaks up a little moisture; the second one stays white.
Space them 2 inches apart. If you bake one tray at a time, put the rest of the dough back in the fridge while you wait.
Where the Crackle Comes From
Powdered sugar dries the outside of each ball as soon as it goes into the oven. The middle is still cold and soft, so when the baking powder starts working, the cookie rises and splits that dry crust. The colder the dough and the thicker the sugar, the bigger and whiter the cracks.
Bake for 10 to 12 minutes. At 10 minutes the edges look matte and set, and the red inside the cracks is still a little glossy. Pull them then for chewy, fudgy middles. Twelve minutes gives a firmer cookie that stacks well for gifts. Past that, the edges turn brown and the cookie dries out.
Leave them on the sheets for 3 to 5 minutes. They settle slightly and firm up, then move them to a rack to cool completely.
Flat, Pink or Barely Cracked?
- Sugar melted into a pink film: the dough was too warm or the coat too thin. Chill longer, roll twice, and bake right after rolling.
- Cookies spread flat: soft dough or a warm baking sheet. Use a cool sheet for every batch and chill the dough a little longer.
- Few cracks: usually old baking powder or warm dough. Check the date on the baking powder.
- Brown edges: they baked too long. Start checking at 10 minutes.
Red Velvet Crinkle Sandwiches With Cream Cheese
This is how I add the tang. Pipe or spread a spoonful of cream cheese frosting on the flat side of one cooled cookie and press a second one on top. Fill them the day you serve them and keep them in the fridge, because the frosting softens the cookies over time. If you love that pairing, red velvet whoopie pies are the cake-like version.
For a Christmas tray, they sit nicely next to chocolate crinkle cookies and the bright purple crinkle cookies. For more red velvet in cookie form, try red velvet snowball cookies with a white chocolate filling or red velvet cheesecake cookies.
Keeping Them for Christmas Trays and Gifts
Baked cookies keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days. Layer them with parchment so the sugar does not rub off. For longer, freeze the baked cookies for up to 2 months and thaw them in the container so the condensation forms on the lid, not on the sugar.
To work ahead, make the dough a day early and keep it covered in the fridge. Roll it in sugar only right before baking. For packing, see my Christmas cookie packaging ideas; a clear bag tied with red ribbon shows off the cracks.
Red Velvet Crinkle Questions
Can I make red velvet crinkle cookies with cake mix?
This recipe is from scratch with flour and cocoa. For a box version, follow my cake mix crinkle cookies method with a red velvet cake mix: one box, 2 eggs, and ⅓ cup oil, chilled before rolling.
Do I have to chill the dough?
Yes. Straight from the bowl it is too sticky to roll, and warm dough spreads and swallows the powdered sugar. Thirty minutes is the minimum.
Why are my cookies brown instead of red?
Dutch-processed cocoa, too little coloring, or overbaking. Use natural cocoa, gel coloring, and take them out at 10 to 12 minutes.
Pin a Batch for the Holidays
Save these to your Christmas cookie or Valentine’s board so the recipe is there when the baking starts. For more ideas, browse my 50 best Christmas cookies. If you bake them, leave a comment below and tell me how red yours turned out.
Red Velvet Crinkle Cookies
These red velvet crinkle cookies are soft, chewy cocoa cookies made with flour, unsweetened cocoa powder, butter, sugar, eggs, and red food coloring, rolled in powdered sugar before baking. The recipe makes 24 cookies in about an hour, including a 30 minute chill, and they bake in 10 to 12 minutes at 350°F. Cold dough and a thick powdered sugar coat give the white tops their deep red cracks. Serve these red velvet crinkles on a Christmas cookie tray, pack them as gifts, or sandwich two with cream cheese frosting for Valentine's Day. Keep them in an airtight tin for 4 days or freeze baked cookies for up to 2 months.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tbsp red food coloring
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar, for rolling
Instructions
- PREHEAT THE OVEN: Set the oven to 350°F (175°C) and line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.
- MIX DRY INGREDIENTS: In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt until well combined.
- CREAM BUTTER AND SUGAR: In a large bowl, beat the softened butter and granulated sugar together for 2 to 3 minutes until the mixture is light and fluffy.
- ADD EGGS AND COLORING: Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each. Stir in the vanilla extract and red food coloring until the batter is evenly tinted.
- COMBINE MIXTURES: Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture, stirring just until no streaks of flour remain. The dough will be soft and sticky.
- CHILL THE DOUGH: Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes to firm up the dough and make it easier to handle.
- FORM AND COAT DOUGH BALLS: Once chilled, scoop out tablespoon-sized portions and roll them into 1-inch balls. Roll each ball generously in powdered sugar until fully coated.
- BAKE: Place the coated dough balls on the prepared baking sheets, spacing them about 2 inches apart. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until the cookies are set on the edges but still soft in the center.
- COOL: Let the cookies rest on the baking sheets for 3 to 5 minutes, then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
Use natural unsweetened cocoa, not Dutch-processed, and gel food coloring for the deepest red; the color darkens as the cookies bake. Chill the dough for at least 30 minutes; it is too sticky to roll warm and spreads in the oven. Roll each ball in powdered sugar twice so the coating stays white. Bake 10 minutes for chewy centers, 12 for firmer cookies. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days, or freeze the baked cookies for up to 2 months. The dough can be made a day ahead and kept covered in the fridge; roll it in sugar right before baking.
Nutrition Information
Yield
24Serving Size
1Amount Per Serving Calories 179Total Fat 6gSaturated Fat 3gUnsaturated Fat 3gCholesterol 29mgSodium 116mgCarbohydrates 28gFiber 2gSugar 11gProtein 4g
Hello, could you freeze these cookies in place of preparation for Valentine’s Day. If so, at what point would you freeze?
Hi Lakiya,
Yes, you can absolutely freeze these cookies to get ahead for Valentine’s Day! You have two options, depending on what works best for your schedule:
1. Freeze the Dough Balls (Preferred Method): After chilling the dough and rolling it into balls, freeze the uncoated dough balls on a baking sheet until solid. Once frozen, transfer them to an airtight container or freezer bag. When ready to bake, thaw them in the fridge for about 1-2 hours, roll in powdered sugar, and bake as directed.
2. Freeze Baked Cookies: You can also bake the cookies first, let them cool completely, and then freeze them in layers separated by parchment paper in an airtight container. Thaw them at room temperature when ready to serve.
Freezing the dough ensures fresh-baked cookies on the day of, but both methods work beautifully! Let me know how it goes or if you have any other questions! 😊
Hi Emma. If using gel food coloring do you still use 1 TBL?
Hi! If you’re using gel food coloring, you won’t need the full table spoon. Gel is much more concentrated than liquid, so I’d start with about 1 tea spoon and adjust from there depending on the brand and the color intensity you want. I usually add a bit at a time and mix it in before deciding if it needs more. Just keep in mind that the cocoa powder can mute the color slightly once baked, so it’s okay if the dough looks a little more vibrant than you expect 🙂
Is it okay to make the batches of dough and let it sit in the fridge until ready to bake? I’d say a day or two?
Yes, Kat, chilling the dough for a day or two works well with this recipr. I’ve made it ahead before, and the cookies actually turn out a bit more flavorful with that extra rest time. Just be sure to wrap the dough tightly or keep it in an airtight container so it doesn’t dry out. If it’s too firm straight from the fridge, let it soften slightly at room temp before rolling in powdered sugar. Should bake up beautifully