This small batch of red velvet cookies with cream cheese frosting perfectly balances chocolate and vanilla in a super fudgy crimson hue cookie! The easy cookie recipe is great for Christmas baking and special occasions with tangy cream cheese frosting that can be decorated for any holiday.
Trust me when I say you will love this small batch of red velvet cookies! I had one of those ‘OMG’ social media moments with my first bite. The fudgy centers combined with spoon-worthy frosting made me a little weak in the knees. Yes, I love all of my recipes. But these were the delicious surprise I needed to catapult me into the Christmas baking season.
Red velvet cookies have the appearance of something fancy (hello red velvet small batch crinkles!), but really, they are just incredibly good chocolate cookies. And, traditionally red velvet is paired with cream cheese. Enter the cream cheese cookie frosting.
Because of their crimson hue, these cookies are great for any holiday or special occasion. And for more special occasion cookies, try my chocolate cream cheese sugar cookies, pecan almond flour snowballs, and sparkle sugar cookie blossoms.
Table of contents
Highlights: Red Velvet Cookies With Cream Cheese Frosting
- Easy cookie recipe – With only a handful of ingredients, the cookies are easy to prepare and bake – perfect for beginner bakers or to bake with kids!
- Chewy, fudgy centers – These red velvet cookies are simply chocolate cookies after all! Like the chocolate andes mint small batch cookies, they have the ideal caramelized exterior and gooey center.
- Great for holidays – These cookies are perfect for Christmas cookie swaps and a Valentine’s Day dessert for two.
- Tangy frosting – Red velvet and cream cheese are the iconic combination. And the cream cheese cookie frosting delivers the perfect compliment to the fudgy chocolate cookie.
Easy Ingredients
- All-Purpose Flour – You can try a 1:1 gluten free flour blend if you need a gluten free version. Or, try my chocolate crinkle gluten free cookies recipe and add food coloring!
- Unsweetened Cocoa Powder – I like to bake with Dutch process cocoa powder for two reasons: it delivers bold cocoa flavor and it isn’t as acidic as natural cocoa powder. However, you can swap in natural cocoa.
- Baking Soda – The baking soda gives the cookies texture and helps them spread a little.
- Salt – To balance and enhance all of the flavors in the cookies, use salt!
- Unsalted Butter – Since we use salt, reach for unsalted butter. The butter is what gives these cookies their ooey, gooey, chewy texture!
- Granulated Sugar – I like to use organic cane sugar in most of my desserts because it has a rich flavor and is not as processed as regular granulated white sugar. However, you can use white sugar.
- Brown Sugar – To add moisture and chew to the cookies, brown sugar will impart delicious flavor. Either dark or light brown sugar will work.
- Egg Yolk – The egg yolk in the red velvet cookies makes them incredibly soft.
- Sour Cream – Use full-fat sour cream for the best texture in the cookies. The sour cream keeps the cookies soft and contributes to their fudgy centers. You can swap it for Greek yogurt.
- Vanilla – Red velvet cookies (and any dessert in general!) taste best when they have different layers of flavor. Which is why we use vanilla extract!
- Red Food Coloring – Gel food coloring is my recommendation for a rich, red color. Liquid food coloring will also work, though you may need a couple of extra drops to get the red hue.
How To Make Red Velvet Cookies
1. Mix The Dry Ingredients
In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt.
Tip! If your cocoa powder is extremely lumpy, sift it through a fine mesh strainer set over the mixing bowl. Otherwise, you can break up lumps with your whisk
2. Mix The Wet Ingredients
In the work bowl of a stand mixer, add the butter and both sugars. Beat on high speed until fluffy. Then add the egg yolk, sour cream, and vanilla and continue to mix until smooth and creamy.
Tip! I use a 3-quart bowl since this is a small batch cookie recipe – see the recipe Notes for details!
3. Make The Cookie Dough Red Velvet
Sprinkle the dry ingredients over the wet in 2 increments. Add the food coloring after the first addition then continue to mix until no dry streaks remain.
Tip! For a deeper red hue, add more food coloring 1 drop at a time. Just be careful – too much and you may get a darker shade than you intended. And too much can change the taste and texture of the red velvet cookies.
4. Bake The Cookies
Use a cookie scoop to evenly portion your dough. Bake the cookies for about 11 minutes. The edges should be set and the centers will still appear fudgy. This is what we want for a super chewy red velvet cookie!
While the cookies are baking and cooling, make the delicious cream cheese frosting!
Cream Cheese Cookie Frosting
The frosting for this small batch of red velvet cookies is easy to make! One bowl, 5 ingredients, and a couple of minutes is all you need to make the tangy counterpart to the fudgy cookies.
- Cream Cheese – Use full-fat cream brick cheese for optimal flavor and texture. Low fat will result in a thin frosting.
- Unsalted Butter – Since we add salt, unsalted butter is best. The butter will thicken the frosting and impart rich flavor.
- Powdered Sugar – Frosting isn’t frosting without powdered sugar to make it sweet and give it volume!
- Vanilla – For a little extra flavor, vanilla is subtle and the perfect complement to the other ingredients.
- Salt – With all the sweetness, we need a little salt to balance it out.
Tip! This is not a frosting that will dry hard, but rather a soft-set frosting. Meaning it will get a slightly firm shell, but is still soft. Because of this, I don’t recommend stacking the cookies.
FAQ
Rather than adding more food coloring – which will make it darker and can change the cookie texture – swap the Dutch cocoa for natural cocoa. Natural cocoa is lighter than Dutch, which will allow more red to show.
The cookies can be covered and kept at room temperature for 1 day. After that, I recommend refrigerating because of the frosting.
You can freeze unfrosted cookies in a freezer bag for up to 3 months. I do not recommend freezing frosted cookies because the frosting texture can change when frozen.
Yes! Chill the dough, scoop into cookie balls and place in a freezer bag. Freeze for up to 3 months. The cookie dough can be thawed in the refrigerator. Or, you can bake the dough from frozen – just add about 1 minute to the baking time.
More Chocolate Cookie Recipes
Recipe
Red Velvet Cookies With Cream Cheese Frosting
EQUIPMENT
INGREDIENTS
Red Velvet Cookies
- ¾ cup, plus 2 tablespoons (105 g) all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons (10 g) unsweetened cocoa powder, Dutch process
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup (56.75 g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 6 tablespoons (72 g) brown sugar, light or dark
- 2 tablespoons (24 g) organic cane sugar (or granulated sugar)
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1 tablespoon (12 g) full fat sour cream, room temperature (or Greek yogurt)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon red food coloring
Cream Cheese Cookie Frosting
- 2 ounces cream cheese, room temperature (full fat)
- 2 tablespoons (28 g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ⅛ teaspoon salt (pinch or two)
- ½ cup (60 g) powdered sugar
INSTRUCTIONS
Red Velvet Cookies
- Line 2 baking sheets with a piece of parchment paper.
- In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Pro Tip – Set a fine mesh strainer over the bowl and sift the cocoa powder over the flour to remove lumps.3/4 cup, plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder, Dutch process, 1/2 teaspoon baking soda, 1/4 teaspoon salt
- Add the butter and both sugars to the 3-quart mixing bowl of a stand mixer (or medium mixing bowl to use a hand mixer). Beat on high speed until fluffy and creamy. Add the egg yolk, sour cream, and vanilla. Beat on medium high speed until smooth and creamy.1/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature, 6 tablespoons brown sugar, light or dark, 2 tablespoons organic cane sugar, 1 large egg yolk, 1 tablespoon full fat sour cream, room temperature, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Sprinkle half of the dry ingredients over the wet. Mix on low to just combine. Then add the food coloring along with the remainder of the dry ingredients. Mix until well combined and no dry streaks remain. For a deeper shade of red, add more food coloring a couple drops at a time.1/2 teaspoon red food coloring
- Cover the mixing bowl and chill the dough in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to 1 hour. If chilling longer than 1 hour, let the dough sit at room temperature for 10 to 15 minutes as it will get pretty firm when chilled.
- While the dough is chilling, preheat the oven to 350F degrees and adjust the oven rack to the middle position.
- Use a medium cookie scoop to evenly scoop 12 cookies and place them at least 2 inches apart on the baking sheets – 6 on each sheet. One baking sheet at a time (refrigerate the other while the first batch bakes), bake for 10 to 11 minutes or until the edges of the cookies are set – the centers will still look soft. Note – I recommend baking one cookie sheet at a time to avoid opening the oven and losing heat to rotate the pans.
- Cool the cookies on the baking sheet set on a wire cooling rack for 10 minutes. Then transfer to the wire rack to cool completely. The cookies must be cool before frosting!
Cream Cheese Cookie Frosting
- Make the frosting while the cookies are baking and cooling. It can be covered and refrigerated for up to 5 to 7 days if making ahead of time.
- In a medium mixing bowl, add the cream cheese and butter. Using a hand mixer (or clean bowl and stand mixer), beat on medium high speed until smooth. Add the vanilla, salt, and half of the powdered sugar. Mix on low to combine, then add the remaining powdered sugar and mix until the frosting is smooth. Note – For thicker frosting, add more powdered sugar in tablespoon increments. Keep in mind this should be a soft frosting for cookies and not a thick buttercream frosting.2 ounces cream cheese, room temperature, 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract, 1/8 teaspoon salt, 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- Use an offset spatula or spoon to frost the cooled cookies. The cookies can be covered and stored at room temperature for 1 day. After that, I recommend refrigerating because of the frosting.
RECIPE NOTES
- Serving Size – This is a small batch cookie recipe that can be doubled. You can either use 1 whole egg or 2 egg yolks for a double batch. Egg yolks only will make the cookies extra fudgy.
- Yield – The number of cookies you yield from the recipe will depend on the size cookie scoop you use.
- Cocoa Powder – I like to use Dutch process cocoa for its bold flavor and less acidic flavor. However, natural cocoa powder will work.
- Food Coloring – I like to use gel food color for a more saturated color.
- Make Ahead – The dough can be made and refrigerated for up to 3 days. If refrigerating longer than 1 hour, I recommend letting the dough sit at room temperature for 10 to 15 minutes as it will get firm when chilled.
- Freezing The Dough – Chill the dough as instructed, then scoop into cookie balls. Place in a freezer bag and freeze for up to 3 months. The cookie balls can bake from frozen – add at least 1 minute to the bake time.
- Freezing Baked Cookies – Completely cool and unfrosted cookies can be placed in a freezer bag and frozen for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature to frost and serve. I do not recommend freezing frosted cookies as the consistency of the frosting will change.
NUTRITION ESTIMATES
about the author ...
I'm Erin and I'm all about desserts - and a little bit of butter!
I've tested, written, and photographed hundreds of recipes on my website. Here you'll find the tastiest small batch desserts - all homemade, all simple, and all for you! Click here to learn more about me!