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.