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These soft baked red velvet crinkle cookies are the best ever! Rolled in powdered sugar for a snowy appearance, they bake up soft and pillowy with perfect crackle tops. For the best texture, cover and chill the cookie dough for 2 hours before baking – so worth it! Recipe yields 26 to 28 cookies, enough to enjoy and share!
With their deep red color and rich, fudgy centers, these red velvet crinkles are a seasonal favorite for me.
They’re perfect to make while decorating the tree (pair them with hot cocoa!) and add a festive touch to any holiday cookie tray. Sweet and creamy white chocolate chips folded into the dough melt into each bite.
My foolproof, tested method for perfect crinkle cookies is a double coating of sugar. Rolling the cookie dough in granulated sugar before coating in powdered sugar helps the cookies crackle as they bake and keeps the powdered sugar coating in place.
For even more crinkle cookie love, don’t miss my fudgy chocolate crinkle cookies or chocolate peppermint crinkle cookies!
How to Make Red Velvet Crinkle Cookies
Whisk together flour, unsweetened natural cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl.
Beat butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar together on medium speed for about 2 minutes, until soft and creamy.
Add eggs one at a time and beat until combined.
Beat in vanilla extract, lemon juice, and red gel food coloring until combined. Reduce speed to low and gradually add flour mixture.
Add milk and mix in on low speed just until combined.
Fold in white chocolate chips with a spatula. The red velvet dough is soft and thick, so chilling is a must!
Cover the dough and chill it in the refrigerator for 2 hours. This quick rest develops the flavor and helps the cookies hold their shape in the oven.
Use a medium cookie scoop to form balls of dough. Roll the balls in granulated sugar and then coat generously in powdered sugar. Place about 2 inches apart on baking sheets.
Bake until cookies are puffed and cracked, with edges set, about 12 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes on baking sheets, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
You’ll love these festive Christmas cookies!
Favorite holiday cookie recipes:
- Soft Molasses Spice Cookies
- Peppermint Brownie Cookies
- Almond Thumbprint Cookies
- Brown Butter Sugar Cookies
Soft Baked Red Velvet Crinkle Cookies
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Chill Time: 2 hours
- Cook Time: 12 minutes
- Total Time: 2 hours 32 minutes
- Yield: 26 to 28 cookies
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: American
Description
These red velvet crinkle cookies are the best ever! Rolled in powdered sugar for a snowy appearance, the cookies bake up soft and pillowy with the perfect crackle. Recipe yields 26 to 28 cookies, enough to enjoy and share!
Ingredients
Cookies
- 2 cups (280 g) all-purpose flour
- 1/3 cup (32 g) unsweetened natural cocoa powder
- 1 tsp (5 g) baking powder
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp (3 g) salt
- 1/2 cup (112 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 3/4 cup (150 g) granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup (100 g) light brown sugar
- 2 large eggs (100 g)
- 1 tsp (4 g) vanilla extract
- 1 tsp (5 g) lemon juice
- 1 Tbsp (21 g) red gel food coloring
- 1 1/2 Tbsp (22 g) milk
- 3/4 cup (128 g) white chocolate chips
For Rolling
- 1/2 cup (100 g) granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup (60 g) powdered sugar
Instructions
- Make dough: Whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. Beat butter and sugars in a large mixer bowl at medium speed until creamy, about 2 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, and beat until combined. Beat in vanilla, lemon juice, and gel food coloring until combined. Reduce speed to low and gradually add flour mixture; beat just until incorporated. Add milk and mix in on low speed just until combined. Fold in white chocolate chips.
- Chill dough: The dough will be thick and soft – cover and chill in the refrigerator for 2 hours.
- Preheat oven to 350°F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Roll cookies: Place granulated sugar and powdered sugar in separate shallow bowls. Use a medium cookie scoop coated with nonstick spray to form 1 1/2-inch balls of dough (approximately 30 grams each) and roll in granulated sugar to coat, then coat generously in powdered sugar. Place two inches apart on prepared baking sheets.
- Bake cookies for 12 minutes, rotating pans halfway through, until cookies are puffed and cracked, with edges set. If desired, tap baking sheets sharply once or twice to flatten the baked cookies slightly. Let cookies cool for 5 minutes on baking sheets, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature up to 3 days.
Notes
Unsweetened natural cocoa powder: Natural cocoa is more acidic than Dutch process cocoa, and also lighter in color, making the red hue of the cookies vibrant.
Lemon juice: Fresh lemon juice acts as an acid to boost the color of the cookies. If you don’t have lemon juice on hand, you can use 1 teaspoon of white vinegar instead.
Red gel food coloring: I use and recommend AmeriColor Super Red Soft Gel Paste. Gel color is more concentrated than liquid food coloring, so you don’t need to add as much of it – this helps maintain the texture of the cookies.
Make ahead: Roll the dough into balls (without the sugar coating) and freeze on a baking sheet for 1 hour, then transfer to an airtight container in the freezer for up to 2 months. Just before baking, roll the cookie dough in granulated sugar, coat in powered sugar, and bake as directed, adding 1-2 minutes to baking time.
Freeze cookies: You can freeze red velvet crinkle cookies for up to 1 month. After they have cooled completely, freeze flat on a baking sheet for 1 hour, then transfer to an airtight container in the freezer (layer between pieces of parchment paper). When you’re ready to enjoy, thaw the cookies at room temperature.
is it okay to use chocolate chip instead of white chocolate? 😊 Thank you
Yes, of course! Happy baking! 🙂
This is the best red velvet crinkles we have ever tasted! I tried this recipe and it’s really great. My family and neighbors said it’s perfectly baked: soft and chewy inside with a little bit crisp in the outer edges. Just perfect. Will definitely bookmark this recipe so I can bake this again. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe 😊
Thank you so much, Jessica! 🙂
Will try to make these cookies on weekend! Looks so delish! Btw, what type of milk should I use? We only have low fat milk available. Thank you.
That’s perfect! Happy baking 🙂
Can cashew milk be used or does it have to be dairy milk?
Hi Jenny, that should work fine! Happy baking! 🙂
These cookies are amazing! I made them to give to friends and they were a huge hit! My husband loved them so much he didn’t want me to give them away. I will definitely be making them again!
So glad you tried these cookies, they’re a favorite of mine too! 🙂
I just made these cookies & they turned out WONDERFUL! They look just like the picture. I checked out many other red velvet cookie recipes & found yours to be the ideal. The one thing I’m doing with them is making a variant of cream cheese frosting as a filling; then I’ll put two cookies with their flat sides together & filling in the middle. That way they will resemble the flavor of red velvet cake. These are a winner for the holidays.
Thank you so much, Terry! I love these cookies too, and the cream cheese filling sounds fabulous! 🙂
Hi, Laura! I made these today and they were delicious! However, I had only Hershey’s Cocoa on hand, and the color wasn’t as red as I’d like. I thought I saw you provide a link to the kind of cocoa you like to use, but cannot find it now. Can you let me know? And thank you for the awesome recipe!
Hi Lianne! So glad you tried this recipe. My favorite cocoa to use is Ghirardelli 100% unsweetened cocoa powder.
These cookies we’re so easy to make. I love the white chocolate chips in them. And they “crinkled” perfectly! A definite keeper in Christmas cookie rotation!
Thanks so much, Jackie! So glad you tried this recipe! 🙂
Hi! Would you say these are more fudgey/chewy than cakey? 🙂
Hi Rica, I would describe them as pillowy/chewy. Hope that helps! 🙂
Can you freeze these?
Hi Desiree, yes you can freeze these cookies once baked. You can also freeze the dough – shape into balls, freeze flat on a baking sheet for 1 hour, then transfer to an airtight container. Just before baking, roll in sugar and bake as directed, adding 1-2 minutes to baking time. Hope that helps! 🙂
I made this and it tasted soo good. This is the perfect recipe for red velvet crinkles. So chewy!
Thanks so much, Kim! So glad you tried this recipe! 🙂
These are the nicest looking crinkly cookies – I want to try these this weekend. I’m not a fan of white chocolate. Do the chips melt away? Will the recipe work if I omit them?
Hi Sara, the white chocolate chips do melt somewhat into the batter, but you can also leave them out. 🙂
Hi there, I want to ask is it possible to replace the lemon juice with vinegar? Thank you 🙂
Yes, you can substitute 1 teaspoon of vinegar. Happy baking! 🙂
Hi there, gorgeous cookies! Can I use liquid food colour rather than gel?
Hi Lucy, yes you can! You’ll probably need to add more of the liquid food coloring since the gel tends to be concentrated – I’d start with a tablespoon and then add more if necessary. Hope that helps!
Laura, these cookies will be perfect for the Christmas holidays. And I am sure they will taste as good as all your other recipes. They photograph beautifully.
Tutti Dolci rocks again!
Gram