Can you turn red velvet cake into a cookie? Though they’re not exactly like red velvet cake, these white chocolate red velvet cookies have the same vanilla, butter, and cocoa flavors as their cake counterpart. Enjoy soft-baked centers, chewy edges, and of course, a generous dip in smooth white chocolate!
I originally published this recipe in 2014 and have since added new photos, a video tutorial, and more success tips.
A lot of red velvet first timers always ask meโฆ what does it taste like? Is it just red chocolate? Well, to be honestโฆ red velvet tastes like buttery vanilla and cocoa combined; a harmonious marriage of chocolate and vanilla together, if you will. Dip all that into some pure white chocolate and you have one impeccably tempting dessert.
These White Chocolate Red Velvet Cookies Are:
- Dipped in melted chocolate
- From scratch without cake mix
- Soft, chewy, & buttery
- A spin-off of my red velvet chocolate chip cookies and red velvet kiss cookies
- Perfect for Valentine’s Day, Christmas, or any time you crave homemade cookies
Readers have made these with blue sprinkles for 4th of July or green sprinkles for Christmas. Lots of festive possibilities!
One reader, Kat, commented: “Every time I’ve made these cookies, I’ve gotten comments that they’re the best cookies my friends have ever had. By far my favorite sweet recipe! I could eat these every day. โ โ โ โ โ “
Another reader, Marie, commented: “Once again… perfect recipe, beautiful cookies! They’re too pretty to eat, but I’m sure I will! They turned out exactly like your picture. You’re amazing, Sally! โ โ โ โ โ “
Success Tips for White Chocolate Red Velvet Cookies
- Optional Vanilla Sugar: Have you ever made or used vanilla sugar in your baking? Red velvet desserts are a wonderful place for your vanilla sugar because it adds even more vanilla flavor. You can use it as a 1:1 replacement for regular granulated sugar like we do when making vanilla bean biscotti. If you don’t have it, just use regular granulated sugar as written in the recipe below.
- Chill the Cookie Dough: Set aside at least 2 hours to chill this cookie dough. Itโs a fairly sticky dough and without time in the refrigerator, your cookies will spread all over the baking sheet. To save time on the day you need the cookies, make the cookie dough the night before.
- Use Pure White Chocolate: The best chocolate for dipping is pure baking chocolate such as the 4 ounce โbaking chocolateโ bars found in the baking aisle. I prefer Bakers or Ghirardelli brands. You need 2 four ounce bars for this recipe, 8 ounces total. Candy melts, vanilla/white dipping wafers (such as Ghirardelli brand) or almond bark work too. Do not use white chocolate chips because they contain stabilizers preventing them from melting into the correct consistency.
Tinting the Cookie Dough Red
Tinting the cookie dough red is certainly optional. If you skip the red food coloring, the cookies will be light brown and still perfectly festive if you use colorful sprinkles.
For the pictured cookies, I use 3/4 teaspoon gel food coloring. You can control how vibrant the red color is, so use more or less if desired. You can find gel food coloring in craft stores, some grocery stores, or online. (I like Americolor Red Red or Super Red.) Liquid coloring is fine in a pinch, but you need more of it for the color to actually show up. If youโre looking for a natural alternative, use 2 teaspoons of beet powder. Iโve done this successfully with my red velvet chocolate chip cookies. The color stands out a lot more in cookie dough than in cake batter, and you wonโt taste it.
By the way, these cookies are wonderful plain without the white chocolate. You could even frost them with cream cheese frosting so it’s truly like a red velvet cake cookie.
Make sure the cookies are relatively cool before you dip them into the white chocolate. And once the chocolate has set, the cookies can be stacked, stored, transported, or gifted.
Can I Add White Chocolate Chips?
I don’t recommend using white chocolate chips for the white chocolate dip (see above and recipe note below). However, you could certainly add white chocolate chips to the cookie dough and skip the white chocolate coating. I recommend beating 1 cup (180g) of white chocolate morsels into the cookie dough after you mix in the milk and food coloring.
Red velvet lovers, you are about to enter into cookie heaven. Warning: you may never turn around!
For more festive Valentine’s Day dessert recipes, try my Valentine’s Day Cookies, Sparkle Sweetheart Cookies, and these Nutella-inspired Valentine’s Day Cupcakes!
More Red Velvet Recipes
- Red Velvet Layer Seven Layer Bars
- Red Velvet Cheesecake Swirl Brownies
- Red Velvet Oreo Brownies
- Red Velvet Cake Roll
- Red Velvet Whoopie Pies
White Chocolate Dipped Red Velvet Cookies
- Prep Time: 2 hours, 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 12 minutes
- Total Time: 3 hours (includes cooling)
- Yield: 20 cookies
- Category: Cookies
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
These are soft & chewy red velvet cake inspired cookies made from scratch. Dip them in white chocolate and finish with festive sprinkles. Do not skip the cookie dough chilling step.
Ingredients
- 1 and 2/3 cups (210g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1/4 cup (21g) unsweetened natural cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup (8 Tbsp; 113g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 3/4 cup (150g) packed light or dark brown sugar
- 1/4 cup (50g) granulated sugar
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 1 Tablespoon (15ml) milk (I use buttermilk)
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 3/4 teaspoon gel red food coloringย (or alternative)*
- two 4-ounce bars (226g) white chocolate, coarsely chopped*
- 2–3 Tablespoons sprinkles
Instructions
- Whisk the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt together in a medium bowl. Set aside.
- Using a hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, beat the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar together on medium speed until creamy, about 3 minutes. (Hereโs a helpful tutorial if you need guidance onย how to cream butter and sugar.) Add the egg and vanilla extract and mix on high until combined, about 1 minute. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed.
- Pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, add the milk and food coloring, and then mix on low speed until everything is combined. The dough will be sticky. If you want a more vibrant hue, beat in more food coloring a little at a time. Cover and chill the dough in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours (and up to 3 days). If chilling for longer than a few hours, allow dough to sit at room temperature for at least 15 minutes before rolling and baking because the dough will be quite hard.
- Preheat oven to 350ยฐF (177ยฐC). Line large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Set aside.
- Scoop and roll cookie dough, about 1.5 Tablespoons of dough each. (A medium cookie scoop is helpful here.) Arrange on the baking sheet about 3 inches apart. Bake for 11โ13 minutes or until the edges appear set. Centers will look very soft.
- Remove cookies from the oven and cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheets. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
- White Chocolate Dip: In a microwave-safe bowl, melt the white chocolate in 15 second increments stopping and stirring after each until perfectly smooth. (Stir in 1 teaspoon vegetable oil if chocolate seems too thick for dipping.) Dip half of each cooled cookie into white chocolate and garnish white chocolate with sprinkles.
- Allow chocolate to set completely at room temperature or in the refrigerator.
- Cover and store leftover cookies at room temperature for up to 3 days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
Notes
- Freezing Instructions: Cookies with or without chocolate coating can be frozen for up to 2โ3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before enjoying. Cookie dough balls can also be frozen up to 2โ3 months. Bake for 1โ2 extra minutes (do not thaw). Read my tips and tricks on how to freeze cookie dough.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | Baking Sheet | Silicone Baking Mat or Parchment Paper | Medium Cookie Scoop | Cooling Rack |ย Americolor Red Redย orย Super Red or Beet Powder
- Food Coloring: You can control the vibrancy of the red color. Or, if you wish, skip the red coloring altogether because itโs only for looks. I use and recommend 3/4 teaspoon of gel food coloring. You can find gel food coloring in craft stores, some grocery stores, or online. (I like Americolor Red Redย orย Super Red.) Liquid coloring is fine in a pinch, but you need more of it for the color to actually show upโaround 1 Tablespoon. If youโre looking for a natural alternative, use 2 teaspoons of beet powder. Iโve done this successfully with myย red velvet chocolate chip cookies. The color stands out a lot more in cookie dough than in cake batter, and doesn’t taste like beets.
- White Chocolate: For dipping, use pure white chocolate. Pure white chocolate can be found in the baking aisle and is typically sold in 4-ounce (113g) bars such as Ghirardelli or Baker’s brands. Do not use white chocolate chips because they do not melt down properly to make a smooth coating.
- Be sure to check out my top 5 cookie baking tips AND these are my 10 must-have cookie baking tools.
Reader Comments and Reviews
These cookies were a hit! Gave them to my family for Valentineโs Day and they were delicious!! I love your recipes!
Love this idea, so cute! I was wondering if there was a way that I could shorten the 2 hour refrigeration time?
Hi Addy, the refrigeration time is necessary to help prevent the cookies from spreading while baking. Hope you enjoy them!
Red velvet cookies
My cookies didnโt spread in the oven. They stayed ball shaped so I had to press them down myself after the my came out of the oven. What happened?
Hi Tara, Usually when cookies donโt spread, thereโs too much flour in the dough. How did you measure the flour? Make sure to spoon and level (instead of scooping) to avoid packing in too much flour into your measuring cups โ or use a kitchen scale. You can read more about properly measuring baking ingredients in this post.
Iโm planning on making these this weekend, but wanted to bake them as mini bite sized cookies- what would be the cooking time approx for bite sized cookies? Thank you!
Hi Katie, you can reference our mini M&M cookies recipe for baking instructions for mini cookies – enjoy!
Hi!! I have not made these yet but I was wondering what food dye did you use?
Hi Ann, See the recipe notes section (below the recipe) for details on the food coloring and different options.
I made these for Christmas, they were great! I just made them for Valentine’s day, and they are cakey instead of chewy. What happened?
Hi Pam! Cookies will end up cakey if there’s too much flour in the dough. Make sure to spoon and level (or use a kitchen scale) when measuring flour!
Hi, I love your recipes so much and wanted to try this one out for Valentines. I was need to multiply this recipe by 5 but Iโm not really sure how. Do you know how I can do that or the measurements after multiplying
I would recommend making 5 separate batches of this dough, unless you have a large stand mixer that can accommodate doubling the dough. In which case, make 2 double batches and then 1 more single batch. Hope they turn out great!
Thank you so much. Would I just multiply all of the ingredients by two to double the recipe or is there anything that would have to be changed otherwise (sorry if that doesnโt make sense)
You can just multiply by 2, yes. No other changes needed. Enjoy!
Can I make this batter a few days in advance? If so, how many days before I want to bake?
Hi Ariana, you can cover and chill the dough in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. If chilling for longer than a few hours, allow the dough to sit at room temperature for about 15-30 minutes before rolling and baking because the dough will be quite hard.
hi there, can u use dutch processed cocao in this recipe?
Hi Kelly, unsweetened natural cocoa powder is best for this recipe.
I am a big red velvet fan and loved the taste of these cookies. They had that subtle cocoa taste you get in red velvet and looked pretty too. They did spread a little thin in the oven but still stayed soft and chewy. I put some of the batch in the freezer to bake closer to Christmas. I’m hoping they may not spread as much after being in the freezer. I actually used cream cheese flavored chips for dipping the cookies. Next time I will probably drizzle the cookies instead of dip them in the melted chocolate just because I prefer to have an even distribution of chocolate over the cookie. Will remember this recipe for next Christmas or Valentine’s Day!
Every time Iโve made these cookies, Iโve gotten comments that theyโre the best cookies my friends have ever had. By far my favorite sweet recipe! I could eat these every day.
I am usually a HUGE fan of Sally’s recipes, so I was disappointed when these didn’t work out for me. They taste okay, but despite many hours of chilling, the dough spread a ton in the oven resulting in very thin cookies.
Iโm becoming a good baker because of your recipes. My friends are amazed. Thank you
If the red food coloring is just for show, can I use green food coloring to make a St. Patrick’s Day cookie and it taste the same?
Hi Andrea, yes, you can use green instead for a green velvet cookie. Enjoy!
Thanks! I will definitely give it a try
My daughter wanted to make these for her class for V day. I donโt know what we did wrong. We chilled the first batch for 2 hours โ The cookies spread out into one big sheet after 11 minutes. After chilling overnight, same problem. We will try to salvage as brownie brittle.
Once againโฆ Perfect recipe, beautiful cookies! Theyโre too pretty to eat, but Iโm sure I will! They turned out exactly like your picture. Youโre amazing Sally!