These Red Velvet Crinkle Cookies are delicious, chewy, fudgy Christmas cookies for red velvet lovers.
Their beautiful crinkle appearance and vibrant red colors make them adorable for your Christmas cookie platter.
I have a red velvet fan at home, and my daughter loves our red velvet mug cake, but with Christmas just around the corner, she asked for red velvet cookies.
Since we love crinkle cookies, we worked on a red velvet flavor, and the result was the best thing we have tried so far. It’s so chewy and fudgy and has the best Christmas colors.
What Are Red Velvet Crinkle Cookies?
Crinkle cookies are a mix between brownies and cookies with a particular crinkled look formed by a sugar coating applied before baking.
They are soft, chewy, and fudgy with a rich chocolate and vanilla flavor similar to red velvet cake. They are the perfect Valentine’s day cookies or Christmas cookies with their lovely vibrant red color.
How To Make Red Velvet Crinkle Cookies
It’s super easy to make Red Velvet Crinkle Cookies from scratch with no red velvet cake mix!
It’s also very fun and relaxing to bake as there are very few steps involved.
Ingredients
All you need to make these delicious cookies are:
- All-Purpose Flour or white spelt flour
- Sugar
- Brown Sugar
- Unsalted Butter softened at room temperature for 30 minutes
- Egg
- Salt
- Baking Powder
- Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
- Gel Red Food Coloring
- Vanilla Extract
- Confectioner’s Sugar or powdered sugar
Creaming Butter
First, add softened butter, sugar, and brown sugar in a large mixing bowl or the bowl of your stand mixer.
Using the paddle attachment or an electric beater, beat until creamy and smooth – it takes about 1 minute on medium speed.
Making The Batter
Pour the vanilla extract and egg and beat again to incorporate on low-speed.
Add the flour, unsweetened cocoa powder, salt, baking powder, and gel food coloring.
Beat again on the low-speed setting until all ingredients come together into a sticky, creamy vibrant red colored cookie dough. You can add more gel food coloring to enhance the cookie color if you like.
Film the dough ball with plastic wrap and chill 30 minutes. This step is important as it makes the crinkle cookies ultra fudgy.
Sugar Coating
Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and lightly oil the paper with an oil spray. Set aside.
Prepare two shallow bowls, one with sugar, the other with powdered sugar. Set aside.
Remove the cookie dough from the fridge.
Scoop out 1 tablespoon of cookie dough for small red velvet cookies or 2 tablespoons for larger crinkle cookies.
Roll between oiled hands as the dough is a bit sticky.
To make lovely crinkle cookies, the raw cookie dough is rolled in sugar, then rolled in powdered sugar before baking.
Sugar absorbs moisture from the cookie dough as it bakes and forms the elegant crinkles on top of the cookies.
First, roll each cookie dough ball in the granulated sugar.
Then roll them into the powdered sugar to entirely coat the cookies.
Baking The Cookies
Place each cookie dough balls on the prepared baking sheet, leaving a thumb of space between each.
These cookies expand slightly so keep enough room between each.
Bake the cookies at 350°F (180°C) with one pan on the center rack and one on the rack just below until the cookies spread slightly and crack on top.
It takes 13 to 15 minutes depending on the size of the cookies. You know they are ready when they crackle and the top is dry and set with moister parts between the cracks.
Let the cookies cool down on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack and letting them cool completely.
Add-Ons
You can play with flavors and add some delicious filling in these crinkle cookies.
The most delicious additions are:
- 1/3 cup of chocolate chips, especially white chocolate chips that marry so well with red velvet flavors.
- Shredded Coconut
Storage Instructions
You can store your crinkle cookies in a cookie jar for up to four days in the fridge.
Allergy Swaps
Below I listed some ingredients alternatives if you need:
- Egg-Free – You can use a store-bought egg replacer or make a flaxseed egg to use as a plant-based egg. To do so, stir one tablespoon of golden flaxseed meal with 2 /12 tablespoons of lukewarm water. Set it aside for 10 minutes until gooey, then use as an egg.
- Dairy-Free – Use dairy-free butter or margarine.
- Gluten-Free – An all-purpose gluten-free flour blend containing xanthan gum should work in this recipe if no other ingredients substitution are made.
Frequently Asked Questions
Here are my answers to your most common questions about these red velvet crinkle cookie recipe.
Can I Substitute Gel Food Coloring?
You can use liquid food coloring. Some natural options like beet juice, pomegranate juice, or beet powder are great ideas.
Can You Freeze Crinkle Cookies?
You can freeze the crinkle cookies in zip-lock bags or an airtight container for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature the day before.
More Cookie Recipes
Here are some more cookie recipes for you to try:
Have you tried this red velvet cookies? Share a comment or review below!
Red Velvet Crinkle Cookies
Ingredients
- ½ cup Unsalted Butter softened at room temperature
- ½ cup Sugar
- ½ cup Brown Sugar
- 2 teaspoons Vanilla
- 1 large Egg
- ½ teaspoon Gel Red Food Coloring
- 1 ½ cups All-Purpose Flour
- ¼ cup Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
- 1 teaspoon Baking Powder
- ¼ teaspoon Salt
For rolling
- â…“ cup Powdered Sugar
- â…“ cup Sugar
Instructions
- In a large bowl, or the bowl of a stand mixer using the paddle attachment, beat softened butter sugar and brown sugar until creamy and smooth – about 1-2 minutes on medium speed.
- Add in the egg, vanilla extract, and red food coloring. Keep beating on low speed until incorporated – about 1 minute.
- Stop the beater and pour in dry ingredients: flour, cocoa powder, salt, and baking powder. Beat again on low speed until a soft, sticky cookie dough forms. Feel free to add more food coloring for more vibrant colors.
- Film the bowl with plastic wrap and chill it for 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper. Slightly oil paper with oil spray. Set aside.
- Prepare two shallow bowls, one filled with granulated sugar and one filled with powdered sugar. Set aside.
- Scoop 1.5 tablespoons of cookie dough and roll it generously in the sugar first, then in the powdered sugar.
- Place the cookie dough ball on the baking sheet and flatten them slightly. The cookies spread, so leave 1 inch of space between each. Don't over-press them to keep them fudgy and thick, like regular crinkle cookies.
- Bake 13-15 minutes, until they puff, crack on top, and set on the outside. Remove them from the oven and slightly press to increase the crinkles if desired.
- Cool on the baking sheet for 5-10 minutes or until easy to transfer to a cooling rack. Cool completely on the rack before storage.
Storage
- Store for up to 4 days in a sealed cookie jar in the fridge. Freeze in Ziploc bags for up to 3 months and thaw at room temperature the day before.
