Red Velvet Chocolate Chip Cookies are soft chocolate chip cookies made more colorful with red food coloring and packed with all the chocolate sweetness. Try my Red Velvet Peanut Butter Cookie for another colorful classic cookie.
Red Velvet Chocolate Chip Cookies
This cookie has all the flavors and textures of a soft and chewy chocolate chip cookie, but with a red tint to give it some color. It has all the chocolatey goodness you would expect from a chocolate chip cookie, but with a slightly red hue (perfect for Valentine’s Day)! I like to reserve a few chocolate chips to add to the tops of the cookies before I bake them.
Red Velvet Chocolate Chip Cookies Ingredients
Cake Flour: Cake flour brings more softness to cookies. It is lower in protein than all-purpose flour, which gives baked goods a delicate, fine crumb. You can easily make your own homemade cake flour if you don’t have any on hand.
Cream of Tartar: Cream of tartar is not a cream at all, but a powdery acid. It can be found in the baking aisle, near the spices, in your local grocery store. It is important in this recipe because it reacts with the baking soda as a leavening agent. This reaction causes the cookies to puff up a little bit and be nice and soft.
Room Temperature Ingredients: Using room temperature ingredients (especially butter and eggs) will help you get the best results when baking these cookies. Butter is at room temperature at 65°F. Don’t put it in the microwave to soften it; simply cut it up into small pieces and let it sit out if you forgot to take it out of the refrigerator.
Red Food Coloring: With just one teaspoon of liquid red food coloring used, it won’t make the cookies a bright red. But, you can always add more or less, depending on preference.
Adding Chocolate Chips: When adding solid ingredients (like chocolate chips), I prefer to stir them in by hand. If you are using your mixer, mix them in on low for only about 5 seconds.
How to Make Red Velvet Chocolate Chip Cookies
To get started making these red velvet chocolate chip cookies, first, cream the room temperature butter and sugar together. I prefer a stand mixer with a paddle attachment. But, however you cream the butter and sugar, make sure you mix it enough to get a light and fluffy mixture.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the cocoa powder, baking soda, cream of tartar, and salt. Set the dry ingredients aside as you add the egg and vanilla. Just like the butter, make sure the egg is also at room temperature. Cold eggs can curdle the batter. Next, add the food coloring and mix until incorporated.
After the egg, vanilla, and food coloring have been added, slowly add the dry ingredients. Mix until combined. Finally, fold in the chocolate chips by hand. Once the dough is ready, use a 2-3 tablespoon scoop to drop the dough onto a cookie sheet. Use your hands to roll each drop of dough into even balls of dough. Add a few chocolate chips on top before baking.
Bake the cookies at 350°F for 10-12 minutes. Let the cookies cool a bit on the baking sheet before transferring them to a wire rack to finish cooling. Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for 4-5 days. To keep the cookies soft, store them in a zipped plastic bag with a small piece of bread. You can also soften a chocolate chip cookie by wrapping it in a paper towel and microwaving it for 15-25 seconds.
Freezing Cookies
Cookie Dough
Most cookie doughs are great for freezing. To freeze the dough, scoop the batter onto parchment paper-lined baking sheets. Place the dough balls in the freezer for 1-2 hours. After the dough is completely frozen, store them in a freezer-safe zipped bag until ready to bake. To bake from frozen, simply add a couple of minutes to the baking time.
Baked Cookies
If you have already baked these Red Velvet Chocolate Chip Cookies, let them cool completely before freezing. Place the cooled cookies in a single layer on a baking sheet. Put them in the freezer for 1-2 hours. After they have frozen completely, place them in a freezer-safe container. If they are stored in layers, separate each layer with parchment paper.
Looking for More Cookie Recipes?
Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 1½ cups (187.5) cake flour
- ¼ cup (29.5g) cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ⅛ teaspoon cream of tartar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup (1 stick or 113g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon red food coloring
- 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 350°F.
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Using a mixer with a paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy (3 to 5 minutes).
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Reduce mixing speed and add the egg. Then, add vanilla and food coloring, continuing to mix until incorporated.
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In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, cream of tartar, and salt.
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Slowly add dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, mixing until just combined. Fold in chocolate chips by hand.
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Drop spoonfuls (2-3 tablespoons) of dough onto a baking sheet. Use your hands to roll into equal-sized balls of dough. Add reserved chocolate chips for topping (optional). Bake for 10-12 minutes.
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Let cool a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.