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Red Velvet Crinkle Cookies are soft, pillowy delights that are so light and flavorful, with a perfect cloudy coating of powdered sugar. Easy and pretty, these festive crinkle cookies are a perfect addition to your holiday cookie platter.
These beautiful red-looking cookies covered in the snow of powdered sugar are surprisingly soft, fluffy, and delicious with a hint of chocolate and vanilla, and yet have a slightly crisp bottom.
The rich red color not only makes it a perfect cookie for Christmas or Valentine's Day but also a shining star for any other casual gatherings. It makes your holiday platter look vibrant, and who doesn't love red velvet?
Tell you a secret!! I love having these yummy Red Velvet Crinkle Cookies with a cup of hot cocoa, sitting by the window enjoying the beautiful winter wonderland outside.
For me, red velvet crinkle cookies are those beautiful soft fluffy cookies that give me a feeling of red velvet cake in a smaller bite.
Looking for more Christmas cookies? Check these out
Ingredients for Red Velvet Crinkle Cookies:
Butter - Always use room temperature butter for baking these cookies. The butter you need to use in this recipe should be unsalted. Every brand has a different balance of salt in its butter. So it is advisable to use unsalted butter so you have control over the amount of salt that goes into the recipe.
All-purpose flour - I prefer using bleached all-purpose flour for these cookies as bleached flour gives the cookies a soft texture, good volume, and vibrant color. This is what we need in this red velvet crinkle cookies recipe.
Cocoa Powder - Use regular natural unsweetened cocoa for the cookies. Regular unsweetened cocoa has higher acidity and works great with baking soda leavening the cookies and giving the red velvet crinkle cookies beautiful crumbs.
Baking Soda - Always check the expiry date of the baking soda before using it.
Baking Powder - Use the regular baking powder, do not use the double-acting baking powder.
Eggs - large eggs at room temperature
Sugar - White granular sugar.
Lemon Juice
White Chocolate Chips - This is an optional ingredient but I would highly recommend that you add it to the cookie.
Vanilla Extract - Preferably use a good quality vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste and do not replace it with vanilla essence.
Salt
Red Food Color - Use a no flavor red gel food color. This is very important, most red food colors available in the market turn the food product bitter. The amount of food color we need for this recipe is very high and hence if possible use no flavor red food gel color.
Powdered Sugar - Powdered sugar or confectioner's sugar.
Milk - you can use whole milk or 2% milk for this recipe.
How to make Red Velvet Crinkle Cookies
In a bowl sift together the all-purpose flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, and regular cocoa powder. Whisk it all once and set it aside for later.
In a bowl for a stand mixer with the paddle attachment or a large bowl for a hand mixer take the unsalted butter and granular sugar and beat it at medium speed for 4 to 5 minutes or till it becomes light and fluffy and looks light-colored.
Add one egg at a time and beat it until well combined after each addition.
In a small bowl mix together the milk, red food gel, vanilla extract, and lemon juice.
Pour the mixture into the stand mixer bowl and mix it together using the paddle attachment at low speed.
Keeping the mixer on low speed add the sifted dry ingredients in 3 parts mix to the bowl and mix it till all is combined. Do not over mix the dough.
Finally, add the white chocolate chips to the red velvet crinkle cookie dough and stir them all together.
Cover the bowl with cling wrap and refrigerate the dough for 3 to 4 hours or preferably overnight. The longer you chill the dough the better the cookies you bake.
Do not try to make the cookies immediately as the dough is too sticky and soft and will result in flat and crisp cookies. The dough needs to chill and condition to get the soft fluffy cookies that we are looking for.
Preheat the oven to 350F, and pour the powdered sugar into a bowl. Also, line a baking tray/sheet with parchment paper.
Get the chilled dough out of the fridge. Using a tablespoon or a tablespoon cookie scoop, scoop the dough on your hand and roll it into a round ball.
Roll the red velvet crinkle cookies dough ball in the confectioner's sugar or powdered sugar. Cover it evenly with the sugar as this is what will give the cookies the beautiful crinkle look.
Place the sugar-coated cookie ball on the parchment-lined baking tray. Keep a couple of inches of distance between each ball so there is enough room to spread.
Bake the cookies at 350F for 12 to 14 minutes. Once you get the cookies out of the oven let them cool on the baking tray for 10 to 12 minutes and then transfer them to a wire rack to cool further to room temperature.
Once the Red Velvet Crinkle Cookies have cooled down completely you can store them in an airtight container and they will stay good for a couple of weeks.
But I would highly recommend having a warm cookie before transferring them to the wire rack. That warm fresh cookie with the molten white chocolate inside has its own beautiful magic.
FAQ's for Red Velvet Crinkle Cookies
Why do we use room-temperature butter for making cookies?
Room temperature butter is solid and yet soft enough to be whipped. Thus when we cream the butter and sugar the sharp edges of sugar cut the soft butter and create air pockets making the mixture creamy and fluffy.
Why use regular unsweetened cocoa powder in the cookies?
What is the enticing beauty of the red velvet crinkle cookies? Of course the beautiful red color. That is the most important reason one should use regular unsweetened cocoa powder. The Dutch-processed cocoa powder is dark and will ruin the color of the cookies.
Can I skip the white chocolate chips?
Yes, you can skip the use of white chocolate chips in this recipe. I like adding the chocolate chips as they enhance the flavor and bring one more layer to the flavor and texture.
Why is it important to use no flavor red food gel color?
Normally the red food coloring that you get has an aftertaste. It is fine if you are using it in small quantity however this recipe calls for 5 teaspoons of red color which could possibly turn the red velvet crinkle cookies slightly bitter. Hence I prefer using non-favored red food gel.
Can I freeze the cookie dough?
Yes, you can wrap the dough in a tight cling wrap and store it in an airtight container for up to 2 months. Thaw the dough in the fridge overnight before you plan to bake the red velvet crinkle cookies.
I also like some different cookies like Cashew cookies, Nankhatai and Karachi Biscuits.
HAVE YOU TRIED THIS RECIPE?
DROP A COMMENT IF YOU HAVE TRIED THE RECIPE. I WOULD LOVE TO HEAR ABOUT YOUR EXPERIENCES. ALSO, IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS DO DROP A COMMENT BELOW. I WOULD BE HAPPY TO HELP.
Post a photo on my Facebook page or tag me on Instagram with #prajakta_food_lab, you can even pin it on Pinterest with the tag #p3foodlab.
Red Velvet Crinkle Cookies
Equipment
- Stand Mixer
- Paddle Attachment
- Big Bowl for flour
- Sifter
- Spatula
- Baking sheet/tray
- parchment paper
- Cookie scoop/ table spoon
Ingredients
- 3 cups Al-purpose flour
- ¼ cup Regular unsweetened cocoa powder
- ¼ teaspoon Salt
- 2 teaspoon Baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon Baking soda
- 3 large Eggs
- ¾ cup Unsalted butter
- 1 ⅓ cups Granular sugar
- 1 tablespoon Milk
- 2 teaspoon Lemon juice
- 1 ½ teaspoon Vanilla extract
- 1 cup Powdered/confectioner's sugar
- 5 teaspoon Red food color
- ½ cup White chocolate chips
Instructions
- In a bowl sift together the dry ingredients, 3 cups of all-purpose flour, ¼ cup regular unsweetened cocoa powder, 2 teaspoon baking powder, ¼ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon baking soda. Set it aside for later.
- In a bowl for stand mixer take ¾ cup unsalted butter at room temperature and 1 ⅓ cup granular white sugar and beat it/cream it with paddle attachment till it becomes light and fluffy with a light cream color.
- Add one egg at a time to the butter and sugar mixture and keep mixing till all is well combined.
- In a small bowl mix together the 1 tablespoon milk, 5 teaspoon red food gel color, 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract, and 2 teaspoon lemon juice.
- Pour this liquid into the butter batter and stir it till all is mixed together.
- Now add the dry sifted ingredients in 3 parts to the batter and mix it all together till well combined.
- Finally, add the ½ cup chocolate chips and fold them into the dough so it's evenly distributed.
- Cover the bowl with a cling wrap and refrigerate the red velvet cookies dough for 3 to 4 hours or if possible overnight.
- Preheat the oven at 350F and line the baking tray with parchment paper.
- Take powdered sugar in a small bowl.
- Get the dough out of the fridge and using a teaspoon or small cookies scoop, scoop up the dough into your palm. Roll the dough into round balls.
- Roll the dough balls in the powdered sugar and coat them properly.
- Place the dough balls in the parchment-lined baking tray and keep a 2-inch space between each ball.
- Bake the cookies for 12 to 14 minutes. get the tray out of the oven and let it cool on the baking tray for 10 to 15 minutes.
- After 10 to 15 minutes transfer the cookies onto the wire rack to cool further to room temperature.
- Enjoy the cookies fresh warm or after they have cooled down. They taste so beautiful when fresh out of the oven that they are hard to resist.
- Store the cooled-down cookies in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.
Notes
- You can use ½ cup extra chocolate chips in the recipe if you like. It will give you a more sweet and chocolatey flavor.
- If the dough is too sticky, apply oil to your hand before rolling the dough balls.
- If you want more chocolatey flavor you hand replace 2 tablespoon all-purpose flour with 2 tablespoon cocoa powder.
- You can use dutch processed cocoa but the cookies will turn out much darker.
- If the powdered sugar is not holding onto the dough balls you can first roll them in granular sugar and then powdered sugar.
[…] Soda – Always check the expiry date of baking soda before using it. An expired baking soda will result in a denser red velvet […]