Indulge in the ultimate holiday treat with red velvet crinkle cookies. Each bite is soft, chewy, and bursting with rich cocoa flavor. Their festive red hue and delicate powdered sugar coating make them a stunning treat!
Recipe Science
- Concentrated fel food coloring gives red velvet crinkle cookies a vibrant color without altering flavor or texture.
- Coat dough in granulated sugar before powdered sugar to dry the surface, creating tension for perfect crinkles.
- Baking soda reacts with cocoa for lift, while baking powder adds puffiness and spread, for a soft interior with a cracked surface.
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Why It Works
Red velvet crinkle cookies are perfect for holidays or special occasions like Christmas or Valentine’s Day. My kids love making them for Santa! Their festive red hue and delicate powdered sugar coating make them visually stunning and ideal for adding a pop of color to your dessert table. With a soft, fudgy interior and a hint of cocoa, they bring the irresistible flavor of red velvet cake in a fun, bite-sized form.
This recipe is designed to make the process simple and successful. It uses gel food coloring for vibrant color, unsweetened chocolate for a rich base, and a combination of baking soda and baking powder to ensure perfect puff and crackle. Rolling the dough in granulated and powdered sugar creates a striking crinkle effect while locking in moisture for a tender texture. For a rich chocolate version, try my classic crinkle cookies.
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Flour: All-purpose flour is selected because it has moderate protein, 10 to 13% for gluten formation, and a cakey red velvet cake texture.
- Cocoa Powder: Cocoa powder adds chocolate flavor and reacts with baking soda’s acidity to create lift, ensuring soft, tender, and beautifully puffed cookies.
- Chocolate: Chopped 100% cacao unsweetened baking chocolate provides a rich flavor without added sugar or emulsifiers. When melted with butter, it creates a smooth, fudgy cookie base.
- Leavening Agents: Baking soda reacts with acidic ingredients like cocoa powder to provide lift, while baking powder ensures consistent puffiness and helps the cookies spread slightly, resulting in a soft, tender interior with cracked, defined edges.
- Eggs: Add richness for a fudgy red velvet crinkle cookie texture.
- Sweetener: Light brown sugar adds moisture and chewiness to the cookies due to its molasses content. It also enhances the flavor with a subtle caramel-like sweetness.
- Coloring: Gel food coloring is ideal for red velvet crinkle cookies because it provides a vibrant, concentrated color without altering the flavor or texture of the dough. Unlike liquid coloring, it doesn’t dilute the mixture, ensuring the dough stays thick and easy to work with.
- Butter: The butterfat and milk solids add richness and toasted flavor to the cookie.
- Flavoring: Vanilla extract boosts the warm baked notes of the cookie.
- Coating: The cookie dough is rolled in granulated and powdered sugar to create the classic red velvet crinkle cookie surface.
See the recipe card below for all ingredients and measurements (US and metric).
Ingredient Substitutions
This red velvet crinkle cookie is easy to customize! Try these tasty options:
- Food Coloring: Add 1 tablespoon of liquid food coloring, adding more if needed.
- Make it Gluten-Free: Substitute gluten-free flour for all-purpose flour. Check that the chocolate is also gluten-free.
- Cocoa Powder Swap: You can use dark cocoa powder; however, the cookies will have a darker red hue.
- Chocolate Options: Use other types of chocolate, like semi-sweet or milk chocolate bars, for a sweeter taste.
- Butter Substitute: Use melted coconut oil or avocado oil.
- Flavoring: Try adding mint or peppermint, anise, or almond extract.
- Add Spices: Add cinnamon, nutmeg, or espresso powder to enhance the flavor.
How to Make Red Velvet Crinkle Cookies
Step 1: Preheat the Oven
Preheat the oven to 325ºF (163ºC), the ideal temperature for gentle cooking to prevent over-browning. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper to create a nonstick surface.
Step 2: Mix the Dry Ingredients
Whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. This step evenly distributes fine particles while aerating the dry ingredients, ensuring a consistent and tender cookie texture.
Step 3: Prepare Wet Ingredients
Combine the brown sugar, eggs, red gel food coloring, and vanilla.
Whisking allows the sugar to dissolve slightly and ensures the vibrant red color is fully incorporated into the mixture.
Step 4: Melt the Chocolate
Melting the butter and chopped chocolate creates a smooth, emulsified mixture that blends seamlessly into the cookie dough.
Tips for Perfect Execution: Heating in short microwave intervals prevents overheating, which can cause the chocolate to scorch and lose its smooth texture.
Step 5: Make the Dough
The combination of melted chocolate, the sugar and egg mixture, and the flour base creates a sticky, fudge-like cookie dough. After mixing, let it sit for 10 minutes for the flour and cocoa solids to absorb the moisture and thicken, making it easier to scoop and portion.
Step 6: Roll Out the Cookies
Portion the cookies into 2 tablespoon-sized balls. I find that using a #30 scoop makes the process easy. Roll it into the granulated sugar first; this makes it easy to shape into a ball. Lastly, roll in the powdered sugar, adding a thick and even coating. Space the cookie dough balls evenly apart on the sheet pan.
Step 7: Bake
Bake the cookies one sheet at a time for about 12 minutes, until the cookies are puffed with set edges but soft, slightly raw centers in the cracks. Rotate the pan halfway through for even baking.
Step 8: Let Them Cool
Allowing the cookies to rest on the baking sheet for 5 minutes lets them finish setting as they cool slightly from the residual heat, which helps firm up their structure without overbaking. Transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Frequently Asked Questions
Rolling the dough balls in granulated sugar before confectioners’ sugar helps to dry the surface quickly, encouraging it to harden while the interior remains soft and expands. This contrast in textures creates tension that pulls the surface apart, forming those signature cracks. Without this step, the powdered sugar alone may not provide enough dryness for optimal crinkling.
Red velvet cookies can turn brown if the red food coloring isn’t vibrant enough or if cocoa powder overpowers the mixture. The red hue balances the cocoa’s natural brown color and the added dye, so using too much cocoa or too little food coloring can dull the red. Use a concentrated gel food coloring instead of liquid to maintain a vibrant red.
Yes, you can freeze red velvet crinkle cookie dough for later use! Scoop and roll the dough into balls, then freeze them on a baking sheet until firm. Once frozen, transfer the dough balls to an airtight container or freezer bag. When ready to bake, let the dough thaw, roll in granulated and powdered sugar, and bake as directed—add a minute or two to the baking time.
More Cookie Recipes
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Red Velvet Crinkle Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 ½ cups light brown sugar, packed
- 3 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon red gel food coloring
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup powdered sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the Oven – Set the oven rack to the middle position. Preheat to 325ºF (163ºC). Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Mix the Dry Ingredients – In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- Prepare Wet Ingredients – In a large bowl, whisk the brown sugar, eggs, vanilla, and red gel food coloring.
- Melt the Chocolate – Microwave the butter and chopped unsweetened chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl in 30-second increments. Stir in between until the chocolate is melted.
- Make the Dough – Whisk the melted chocolate mixture into the wet mixture until combined. Fold in the dry flour mixture until no dry streaks remain. Let the dough sit at room temperature for 10 minutes. The dough will be thick, like fudge, and feel sticky. It solidifies more as it cools but does roll nicely into balls.
- Roll Out the Cookies – Spread the granulated sugar into a shallow dish. Spread the powdered sugar into a separate shallow dish. Scoop 2 tablespoons (1 ounce, 32 grams, #30 scoop) sized rounded dough balls and drop one at a time into the granulated sugar, roll to coat, and then form into a ball. Transfer to the powdered sugar bowl and roll to coat generously. Repeat with the remaining dough. Evenly space the dough balls on the prepared baking sheets, 11 cookies per sheet pan.
- Bake – Bake one sheet at a time until puffed and the edges set, but the centers still look soft and raw between the cracks, about 12 minutes. Rotate the pan halfway through baking.
- Let Them Cool – Leave the cookies on the sheet pan for 5 minutes, then transfer them to a wire rack. Cool completely before serving.
Recipe Video
Notes
- Make it Gluten-Free: Substitute gluten-free flour for all-purpose flour. I recommend Bob’s Redmill 1:1 Gluten-Free Baking Flour.
- Red Gel Food Coloring Substitute: Use 1 tablespoon of liquid food coloring.
- Storing: Airtight container for up to 5 days, freeze for up to 1 month.
Nutrition Facts
Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000-calorie diet. All nutritional information is based on estimated third-party calculations. Each recipe and nutritional value will vary depending on the brands you use, measuring methods, and portion sizes per household.
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