These red velvet crinkle cookies are thick & chocolatey with a melt-in-your-mouth texture and beautiful iconic cracks.
Similar to my red velvet brownies, these red velvet cookies have more of an emphasis on the chocolate than the traditional red velvet flavor does, but you can never have too much chocolate right?! So these thick, fudgy cookies bake up with a rich chocolate flavor and a bright red color!
For more red velvet desserts, try Mini Red Velvet Whoopie Pies, Red Velvet Bundt Cake, and Red Velvet Macarons.
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Why you'll love these red velvet crinkle cookies
- Fudgy Brownie Texture: If you're a brownie center piece kind of person, then you're going LOVE these cookies. They're so soft & fudgy just like your favorite brownies! Each bite is pure heaven!
- Beautiful Signature Cracks: I'm not one for decorating cookies with lavish details, so I'm always a fan of desserts that look naturally beautiful, and this cookie recipe is one of them! Let their beautiful signature cracks be the wow factor at a holiday party!
- Signature Red Color: With the addition of a small amount of red food coloring, these cookies bake up with a bright red color. They're perfect for Valentine's Day, Fourth of July, and Christmas!
- Naturally Dairy Free: This recipe uses oil rather than unsalted butter, so it's naturally dairy free!
Ingredient Notes
Ingredient quantities are listed in the recipe card below. Here you'll find notes on why I chose certain ingredients, as well as ingredient substitutions.
- All-Purpose Flour: You'll need 1 cup of flour, but as always I HIGHLY recommend weighing your flour to exactly 120g.
- Cocoa Powder: I always recommend using dutch process cocoa powder, but you could use unsweetened cocoa powder instead.
- Leavener: Since these cookies have more of a brownie like texture, you'll add baking powder instead of baking soda.
- Sugars: You'll need both light brown sugar and granulated sugar.
- Oil: I recommend using a neutral oil, such as light tasting extra virgin olive oil, canola oil, or vegetable oil.
- Eggs: Bring your eggs to room temperature quickly by placing it in a bowl of warm water.
- Gel food coloring: I recommend using Americolor red food gel rather than liquid food coloring, as a little goes a long way!
- Powdered Sugar: You'll need about ½ cup of powdered sugar to coat the cookie dough.
See recipe card for full information on ingredients and individual quantities.
Step by Step Instructions
STEP 1: Combine dry ingredients. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
STEP 2: Whisk wet ingredients. In a large bowl, whisk together the granulated sugar, brown sugar, oil, eggs, vanilla extract, and red food gel.
STEP 3: Fold dry ingredients into wet. Gently fold the dry ingredients into the wet until just combined. Do not over-mix! Cover the bowl and chill in the fridge overnight.
STEP 4: Scoop the cookie dough. Using a 1 tablespoon cookie scoop, scoop the cookie dough into 1-inch balls.
STEP 5: Roll in powdered sugar. In a separate bowl, add the powdered sugar, and roll the cookie dough balls to coat.
STEP 6: Bake. Place cookie dough on the prepared baking sheet about 1 inch apart. Bake the cookies for about 8-10 minutes or until puffed up and cracked. Allow cookies to cool completely on the baking sheet before removing.
Expert Baking Tips
- Chill the cookie dough. To ensure the cookie dough thickens up to the right consistency, don't skip the chill time!
- Use a cookie scoop. Use a 1 tablespoon cookie scoop to portion the cookie dough into equally sized cookies!
Recipe FAQs
The best cocoa powder for baking is dutch process cocoa powder! Since dutch process is alkalized, it is neutral rather than acidic, and is far richer in flavor than regular cocoa powder.
Yes, I recommend chilling the dough overnight so the soft cookie dough has time to firm up and develop a deeper flavor. It will also make the dough easier to handle and ensure that they bake up into thick cookies, rather than spreading too much.
Storage Tips
Room Temperature: Store these crinkle cookies in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
Freezer: For long term storage, place the baked cookies in a freezer bag and freeze for up to 3 months.
Baking in Grams
All of the recipes on this blog are carefully developed with gram measurements so you can easily recreate them in your own kitchen with success. Volume measurements are extremely inaccurate and leave room for significant errors. Not all measuring cups are made equally, so your one cup of flour will be different from my one cup of flour. By providing precise measurements in grams (aside from minor ingredients, which are given in tsp/tbsp), you can make these recipes accurately and with less cleanup! All you need is this kitchen scale.
If this still isn't enough to convince you, I have provided volume measurements in the recipe card. If you are interested in understanding the conversions, this is the best conversion chart.
But trust me, once you try baking in grams you'll never turn back!
Happy baking! x
Other cookie recipes to try
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📖 Recipe
Red Velvet Crinkle Cookies
Equipment
Ingredients
- 120 g (1 cup) all-purpose flour
- 60 g (scant ¾ cup) dutch process cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 100 g (½ cup) granulated sugar
- 82 g (⅓ cup + 1 tbsp) brown sugar
- 50 g (¼ cup) neutral oil
- 2 eggs, room temp
- 1 teaspoon vanilla paste or extract
- 1 teaspoon red food gel
- 56 g (½ cup) powdered sugar, for rolling
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, combine the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the granulated sugar, brown sugar, oil, eggs, vanilla, and red food gel.
- Gently fold the dry ingredients into the wet until just combined. Do not over-mix!
- Cover the bowl and chill in the fridge overnight.
- When ready to bake the cookies, preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C) and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Using a 1 tablespoon cookie scoop, scoop the cookie dough and roll in the powdered sugar.
- Place cookie dough on the prepared baking sheet about 1 inch apart.
- Bake the cookies for about 8-10 minutes or until puffed up and cracked.
- Allow cookies to cool completely on the baking sheet before removing.
Notes
- Chill the cookie dough. To ensure the cookie dough thickens up to the right consistency, don't skip the chill time!
- Use a cookie scoop. Use a 1 tablespoon cookie scoop to portion the cookie dough into equally sized cookies!
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