Red Velvet Chocolate Chip Cookies are soft, chewy chocolate chip cookies made more festive with a touch of red food coloring and packed with chocolate chips. For another colorful, classic cookie, be sure to try my Red Velvet Sugar Cookies with Cream Cheese Frosting.
Red Velvet Chocolate Chip Cookies
This soft, chewy, and delicious red velvet cookie has all the rich chocolatey goodness of a traditional chocolate chip cookie, but with a fun and festive red tint, perfect for Valentine’s Day, Christmas, or any other special occasion. Before baking, sprinkle a few extra chocolate chips on top for a decadent finish!
Ingredients & Substitutions
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. If you don’t have any on hand, you can make your own homemade cake flour.
Cream of Tartar: Cream of tartar is not a cream at all, but a powdery acid. In this recipe, it serves as a leavening agent when combined with the baking soda, causing the cookies to puff up and become 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.
Food Coloring: These cookies use one teaspoon of red food coloring to give it a deep red color. But, you can always add more or less, depending on your color preference.
How to Store Cookies
- Allow the cookies to cool completely. Store cookies in an airtight container or resealable plastic bag at room temperature for up to 5 days.
- To maintain the softness of the cookies, add a piece of bread to the storage container. Alternatively, you can also soften a cookie by wrapping it in a paper towel and microwave it for 15-25 seconds.
How to Freeze Cookies
Cookie Dough
- Scoop the dough out onto a parchment-lined baking sheet and freeze for 1-2 hours.
- Store the frozen dough balls in a labeled and dated freezer-safe resealable bag for up to 4 months.
- This cookie dough can be baked from frozen, but you may need to add a couple of minutes to the baking time.
Baked Cookies
- Allow the cookies to cool completely before placing them onto a parchment-lined baking sheet in a single layer. Freeze the cookies for 1-2 hours, or until frozen solid.
- Transfer the frozen cookies to a labeled and dated freezer safe container. Be sure to use parchment paper to separate layers if you are planning on stacking the cookies.
- Allow the cookies to thaw to room temperature before serving.
For more tips, check out my Guide to Freezing, Baking, and Storing Cookies.
Red Velvet Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups (187.5 g) cake flour
- ¼ cup (29.5 g) unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ⅛ teaspoon cream of tartar
- ½ cup (1 stick / 113 g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon red food coloring*
- 2 cups (336 g) semi-sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
- Using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy (3-5 minutes), scraping the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Reduce the mixing speed and add the egg, vanilla, and food coloring*. Continue mixing until fully incorporated.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, salt, and cream of tartar.
- Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, mixing until just combined.
- Mix in chocolate chips.
- Using a 2 tablespoon scoop, scoop out the dough and use your hands to roll into balls. Place the dough a few inches apart onto the prepared baking sheet. (Optional: Add a few chocolate chips to the top of each ball of dough.) Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until the edges of the cookies are set.
- Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Video
Notes
Did you make this recipe?
Thank you for making my recipe! You took pictures, right? Well go ahead and post them on Instagram! Be sure to mention me @iambaker and use the hashtag #YouAreBaker.
Can you use all purpose flour for this recipe instead of cake flour?
You can make your own. 🙂 https://iambaker.net/homemade-cake-flour/
You are my absolute favorite one to follow.
Can you turn these into bar cookies?
Do you have to use cake flour?
That is how the recipe was formulated. If you want to try different options you certainly can (experimentation is good!) but I can’t guarantee results.