These red velvet cake-inspired chocolate chip cookies marry the velvet-soft texture and light cocoa undertones from the popular cake flavor with the gooey goodness and crisp edges of classic chocolate chip cookies. Combining brown sugar, cocoa powder, vanilla, and buttermilk, these aren’t just cookies tinted red—they truly capture the flavor and appearance of both iconic desserts.
I originally published this recipe in 2013 and have since added new photos and success tips.
Is red velvet a mystery flavor to you? It used to be for me, and I really didn’t understand the hype. I don’t make red velvet treats often, but when I do, I always try to get these 4 flavors into every bite:
- Mild cocoa
- Tangy buttermilk
- Sweet vanilla
- Rich butter
When done right, these 4 flavors are outstanding together! And today’s red velvet chocolate chip cookies nail it.
One reader, Margaret, commented: “I made these with white chocolate chips. They are a new contender for favorite in our house! They were so so good!! Color and consistency turned out just right. Will definitely be making these again. ★★★★★“
Here’s Why You’ll Love These Red Velvet Cookies
- Soft and chewy in the centers with buttery-crisp edges
- Crimson hue is festive for holidays like Valentine’s Day, Christmas, 4th of July, or if your team’s colors include red
- Simple to make
- You can use white or semi-sweet chocolate morsels, or both
- The vibrancy of red is up to you; use as much or as little coloring as you want OR skip it entirely for a light brown cookie
If you’ve ever tried my cream cheese-stuffed red velvet cookies or white chocolate-dipped red velvet cookies, you’re familiar with this cookie dough. Today’s red velvet chocolate chip cookies were the original red velvet cookie I developed and published, and I based the dough off of my double chocolate chip cookies dough.
Grab These Cookie Ingredients:
As you can see, you need some chocolate chip cookie basics including flour, egg, vanilla, brown sugar, and regular granulated sugar. A kiss of cocoa powder and a little buttermilk help move us in the flavor direction of red velvet cake. Between chocolate chips and white chocolate morsels, I think I sway more towards the white chocolate in these cookies, which is usually not the case!
Both are obviously delicious, though.
Tinting the Dough
Tinting the cookie dough red is optional. If you skip the food coloring, the cookies will be light brown.
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 depending on the color you’d like. 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 you’re looking for a natural alternative, use 2 teaspoons of beet powder. The color stands out a lot more in cookie dough than in cake batter, and you won’t taste it.
Expect a sticky cookie dough:
Chill the Cookie Dough, Briefly
Like with many cookie recipes on my website, I recommend chilling the cookie dough in the refrigerator before baking it. This is a sticky dough, and letting it firm up in the refrigerator will help your cookies hold shape and maintain wonderfully soft and chewy centers.
I usually only refrigerate the cookie dough for about 1 hour. I find the longer I chill this particular dough, the thicker the cookies will be. If your cookies aren’t spreading at all, you may have chilled the dough for too long; in that case, lightly press down on them with the back of a spoon towards the end of bake time. Easy fix.
You can use a medium cookie scoop to measure 1.5 Tablespoons of dough per cookie, or weigh the dough balls to be about 30–35g each.
While the baked cookies are still warm, I press a few more chocolate chips into the tops. This is only for looks!
So this recipe sounds pretty easy, right? It is! Just your basic chocolate cookie recipe with a bit less cocoa, some vanilla, buttermilk, and a sprinkling of chocolate chips. A quick cookie dough chill and boom! You’ll have red velvet cookies from scratch in about 90 minutes.
Yes, absolutely. If you’d like to do that, you can keep or skip the chocolate chips in the dough. If you skip them, I recommend refrigerating the cookie dough for at least 2 hours. (They spread more without add-ins.) Roll the dough into 1.5 Tablespoon-size balls (about 30 to 35g each), and then roll each into confectioners’ sugar. 1 cup (about 120g) is enough confectioners’ sugar. Bake time is the same.
For more festive Valentine’s Day dessert recipes, try my Valentine’s day cookies, sparkle sweetheart cookies, and these Nutella-filled Valentine’s Day cupcakes!
Print
Red Velvet Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Prep Time: 1 hour, 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 12 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour, 30 minutes
- Yield: 20 cookies
- Category: Cookies
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
These are soft-baked red velvet chocolate chip cookies made from scratch. Be sure to refrigerate the cookie dough for at least 1 hour, and feel free to skip the food coloring for light brown cookies.
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 milk (I recommend buttermilk)
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 3/4 teaspoon gel red food coloring (or alternative)*
- 1 cup (180g) white or semi-sweet chocolate chips (plus a few extra for tops)
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. (Here’s a helpful tutorial if you need guidance on 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. Add the chocolate chips and beat on low speed until just combined.
- Cover and chill the dough in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour (and up to 3 days). I recommend just 1 to 2 hours, otherwise the cookies won’t spread much. If chilling for longer than 2 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 350°F (177°C). Line large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Set aside.
- Scoop and roll cookie dough, about 1.5 Tablespoons (30–35g) of dough each. (A medium cookie scoop is helpful here.) Arrange on the baking sheet about 3 inches apart. Bake for 11–13 minutes or until the edges appear set. Centers will look very soft. If the cookies didn’t spread, simply press down on the warm cookies with the back of a spoon to slightly flatten. If desired, lightly press a few chocolate chips into the tops of the warm cookies.
- Cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheets. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Cover and store leftover cookies at room temperature for up to 1 week.
Notes
- Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: You can make the cookie dough and chill it in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. (See step 4.) Baked cookies freeze well for up to 3 months. Unbaked cookie dough balls freeze well for up to 3 months. Bake frozen cookie dough balls for an extra minute, no need to thaw. They won’t spread much, so press down on the warm cookies with the back of a spoon as directed in step 6. For more information, here are 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 | Americolor Red Red or 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 it’s 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 Red or Super Red.) Liquid coloring is fine in a pinch, but you need more of it for the color to actually show up—around 1 Tablespoon. If you’re looking for a natural alternative, use 2 teaspoons of beet powder. The color stands out a lot more in cookie dough than in cake batter, and doesn’t taste like beets.
- Red Velvet Crinkle Cookies: If you’d like red velvet crinkle cookies, you can keep or skip the chocolate chips in the dough. If you skip them, I recommend refrigerating the cookie dough for at least 2 hours. (They spread more without add-ins.) Roll the dough into 1.5 Tablespoon-size balls (about 30 to 35g each), then roll each into confectioners’ sugar. 1 cup (about 120g) is enough confectioners’ sugar. Bake time is the same.
- 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
Not someone who typically leaves reviews on recipes, but I had to leave one for this. Like 2 other commenters, I just added a tablespoon of plain yogurt instead of milk. I spent a while trying to find a real red-velvet cookie recipe, and this one actually follows what real “red velvet” flavor should be, which comes from a reaction between the cocoa powder and the buttermilk (acid). They came out absolutely perfect! I made these cookies for my sister’s birthday, and everyone was absolutely raving about them!! She had to hide them because they were getting snatched up!
Sally and team — I don’t have a mixer! What are your thoughts on using melted butter? Should I add a Tbs of flour if I use melted butter so they don’t spread too much? Thank you! Y’all are the best for always quickly responding!
Hi Kelly! We fear the cookies will spread too much using melted butter. You can certainly try and accommodate with extra flour and chilling time, or you could use a spatula to try and cream your room temperature butter and sugar by hand. Let us know how it goes!
Thank you!! I will let you know what I decide to do!
Lexi & Sally –
I decided to use melted butter and made these other changes: used 220 g of flour to make up for using the melted butter, omitted the milk, and reduced the brown sugar to 125 g, granulated sugar to 35, and used black cocoa because that is what I had. I used 118 g of white chocolate chopped and The rest bittersweet chips to make the difference. I chilled for 6 hours and then baked for 11 minutes. THEY ARE GREAT!!! I would definitely make them again, hopefully when I have my mixer! Thanks for another amazing recipe!!! Y’all are THE BEST!!!
I made these for my daughter for Valentine’s Day at college because Red Velvet is her favorite. She ate them all and would not share them with anyone! They looked great and tasted great!
Everything looks great
Another outstanding recipe! Like another reviewer, I used plain Greek yogurt in place of milk. I used the large OXO scoop and got 9-10 cookies. After placing a few white chocolate chips on top (glad I did cuz they look best that way!), I baked them for 10 minutes at 350*… they seemed underbaked, for sure, but I left them to cool on the silpat and the result was perfection! In fact, I just made a second batch since I know the recipe works and they’ll be a fun treat to share. Thanks, Sally!
Easily my wife’s favorite new cookie-white morsels are a nice touch
Delicious! So
E of mine were puffy and thick and some were flatter but it’s because they were baked in different type cookie sheets. Both were delicious. Could have cooked 1-2 min more as some were a little too gooey (for some!) inside. Taking to church for Valentine’s
Love the recipe! They taste and look great! Unfortunately, once cooked they were not as red-ish as when raw. How come?
Hi Ben, the browning that happens in the oven can change the color, this is normal. Did you use gel food coloring?
Hello I love your recipes- I can’t keep track of how many times I’ve used your site, but I know I always find myself coming back for more! I want to make these cookies for Valentine’s Day and I have little red hearts I’d like to decorate them with. I think they’re just made of sugar. When can I put them on top of the cookies without them melting but also so they stay in place? Should I partially cool the cookies, decorate them, and let them then completely cool in the fridge? Thanks so much
Hi Bella, we’d recommend letting them cool for just a few minutes and then placing on the sugar hearts. Hope you enjoy the cookies!
this was great and forever will be a favorite for my family!
Hi, your cookies are simply delish
Just wondering if Almond flour could be used in place of all purpose flour & coconut oil instead of butter ?
Thanks in advance
Hi Maha! We don’t recommend either of those swaps here, unfortunately. Best to stick with the recipe as written or search for a recipe using the ingredients you would like to use. Happy baking!
Can I use a cookie cutter or do they need to be in dough ball shape for baking?
Hi Gina, we don’t recommend using cookie cutters for this recipe.
Hi! I love every recipe I’ve tried here, but this one just won’t work for me. I don’t know what I’m doing wrong? Not sure if I’m leaving my butter out for too long before I make the batter. I’ve chilled the batter for a few hours, for 24 hours, and for a few days. I’ve also placed the tray in the freezer while waiting for the oven to preheat. They all led to the same result unless I take out the cookies extra early. The cookies deflate once they leave the oven and they become completely flat. Please help!
Hi Yasmeen, if the cookies are deflating, they may be under-baked. Starting with proper room temperature butter is imperative as well. If noting else helps, you can always add a couple Tbsp extra flour to the dough. Sorry this recipe is giving you trouble!
Thank you so much! I put them back in the oven and they inflated back up.
Could I make this recipe into bar cookies 9×13 pan.
You could, Christine! We’d recommend an 8-inch or 9-inch square baking pan. We’re unsure of the exact bake time. Enjoy!
Update. Doubled the recipe. 9×13 pan. Baked 350° for 30 minutes . Next time may test a minute or 2 earlier. Perfect though and happy with the resilts..
Thank you. If I double recipe, could I use 9×13 pan? I need 24 bars.
That should work just fine – let us know if you try!
If I want to make 20 more cookies, can I just double the ingredients in the existing recipe? Or should I make a completely new batch of cookie dough?”
Hi Sharon, you could double this recipe if you wish. Simply double all the ingredients. Enjoy!
What is the difference between a chocolate cookie, and a red velvet cookie?
Hi Lily! These have a lighter chocolate flavor and more tang than a typical chocolate cookie.
I wish I could give this 0 stars. I was planning to give these cookies as a Christmas gift for someone special and this recipe… *insert curse word here because idk if my comment will be flagged* is terrible. First of all, the cream cheese filling IS A LOT and the cookie dough mixture is NOT ENOUGH compared to that. Second, THE COOKIES GET FLAT AND UGLY. THEY DO NOT LOOK LIKE THE PICTURE. And I’m a good baker. I followed the recipe exactly as it said, spooned and leveled, it did not work. DO NOT DO THIS RECIPE. Now I gotta improvise with something else in the morning. 4 hours down the drain. -50000/10.
Girl what cream cheese filling???
You did NOT follow this recipe
LOL you are kidding, right? You did not follow this recipe (doesn’t even have cream cheese filling) and you are not a good baker. What did you do for 4 hours??
What if I don’t have a mixer?
Hi El, you can certainly mix it by hand if necessary, but it will take quite a bit of arm muscle! Particularly when it comes to properly creaming the butter and sugars. We find a sturdy wooden spoon works best. Let us know how they turn out for you.
I love these cookies! My grocery store had cream cheese-flavoured chocolate chips, so I used those, and it was outstanding. Flattening the cookies with a spoon when they were warm kind of just make them looked squashed, so I skipped that after the first batch.
I love the recipe, it tastes delicious and everyone loves it. However, I want to point out that I could make 15 cookies at 60g each with precise measurements for all the ingredients.
I made over 230 cookies with this recipe over the holiday in 2 days so I’m pretty certain about the measurement.
Thanks for this great recipe! appreciate it.
These cookies are incredible!! I used chocolate chunks instead of chips. I baked them for an annual Christmas cookie competition and I won!!! Thank you
I want to try this recipe but I wondered, could I skip the chips and instead top them with a cream cheese frosting?
The cookies may spread a little more without the chips, but that should work just fine!
These red velvet chocolate chip cookies are delicious! I used a tablespoon of Greek yogurt in place of the buttermilk, half chocolate chips, half white chocolate chips in the batter and 3/4 teaspoon of Wilton red gel food coloring (the color of the baked cookies is perfect!) Yum! Another winner!
These are excellent. A little cakey, a little soft, a little crisp, the fudge of the choc chips and the cocoa. Almost taste like a brownie. Going to be a real nice Christmas giveaway (with white choc chips for color I think).
These Look delicious! What can I substitute for the buttermilk?
Hi Sharon, any milk is fine here.
Thank you! I am going to try them soon for a Christmas baking competition!! I hope I win!!
I love this recipe so far the dough tasted amazing. I forgot the milk, will that affect things?
Hi Bekah, the milk helps the cookies spread, but if that’s the only thing you left out, I would go ahead and bake the cookies–it’s a small amount of milk.
I’m not gonna lie, these smelled exactly like the red velvet cupcakes that me and my mom love. My house now has the freshly-baked scent that I adore.
But, the cocoa powder is too much for my poor, sugar addicted tastebuds, so I have to remember to edit the measurement when I make these again next weekend
Can this recipe be made into giant cookies? and would it still be the same temperature?
Hi Arthur! That shouldn’t be an issue, we find it’s better to bake large cookies at a lower temperature, like we do with these giant chocolate chip cookies. Let use now if you try.
Very nice recipie, I halved the recipie to make 10 cookies. I managed to make them without any electric mixer and succeded
I just made a double batch of these and they are fantastic! I used duck eggs, a mix of semi sweet, dark chocolate, and white chocolate chips. Will definitely be making these again and again!