Valentine's cookies are fun to make and perfect for giving to friends and family. The hardest thing about these is deciding which cookie cutters you'll choose!
Table of Contents
❤️ Why you'll love it
- Red velvet sugar cookies hold their shape in the oven and have a delicious red velvet taste.
- This red velvet dessert is a cinch to make with this easy recipe!
- Great for Valentine's Day parties.
Cut out cookies are always fun for special occasions but when you are talking about Valentine's Day they are even better when they are made with that classic red velvet flavor!
The sugar cookies are a beautiful crimson color and they are easy to cut out and decorate, too. These aren't particularly crispy - they stay softer than my traditional sugar cookies.
These are super pretty on a plate with a couple of cranberry bliss bars.
🧾 Ingredients
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- flour
- dark cocoa powder
- buttermilk powder
- baking soda
- salt
- unsalted butter
- cream cheese
- sugar
- vanilla extract
- red food color
🔪 Instructions
- Mix together dry ingredients.
- Cream butter, cream cheese, sugar, vanilla, and food coloring; add flour mixture to butter mixture.
- Chill the dough for several hours or overnight.
- Roll out the dough on a floured surface and then cut into shapes. Bake - cool on wire racks before decorating.
🥄 Equipment
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You'll need the following items to make this Valentine's Day cookie recipe successfully.
🥫 Storage
Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week.
The dough can also be frozen baked or unbaked for about 3 months.
📖 Variations
- If you prefer a sweeter sugar cookie, add an extra ¼ cup of sugar to this dough.
- Instead of frosting these cookies with royal icing, you can press heart-shaped chocolates into the tops of the cookies while they are still warm.
- Fold in 1 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips to your dough for a hint of chocolate flavor.
- Cream cheese frosting would also taste amazing on top of these easy red velvet cookies or used to sandwich two together.
- These are pretty Christmas cookies, too!
💭 Tips
Expert Tip: Use powdered buttermilk as recommended. The buttermilk powder gives it that delicious red velvet flavor without adding moisture.
- The color will depend on the food coloring so use a good one. I used McCormick. This is not a good time to try out a new brand!
- Make sure that you chill your dough for at least two hours before rolling out.
- When cutting out your cookies, do not twist your cookie cutter. This will cause the cookies to bake unevenly and they'll shrink while baking.
- To remove excess flour from cutout cookies, use a small brush or place your cookie in the palm of your hand and gently tap it on the top.
- Roll out thin (⅛ inch) for crispy cookies and a little thicker (¼ inch) for softer cookies.
Love this flavor as much as we do? Here are 50 red velvet recipes!
👩🍳 FAQs
Yes, the dough can be frozen tightly wrapped in plastic wrap for up to three months.
Sugar cookies need to bake for about 8 to 10 minutes.
Yes, you can but you will need to chill your dough longer and butter really tastes better.
📚 Related recipes
Here are more Valentine's Day treats!
- Red Velvet Sandwich Cookies are rich and vibrant and would look great for Valentine's Day.
- Red velvet and white chocolate chip brownies are a red velvet dessert that you don't want to miss.
- Classic Red Velvet Cake is rich and moist and makes for the perfect southern Valentine's Day treat.
- This homemade Red Velvet Cheesecake is filled with vibrant colors and a sweet hint of chocolate flavor - the perfect Valentine's dessert.
🍽️ Serve with...
- Red Velvet Martini is a boldly colored drink would taste amazing with a few of these cookies. Or, try an Irish coffee.
- Shell Pasta with Creamy Vodka Sauce is a Valentine's Day Dinner that my entire family looks forward to.
- Parmesan Chicken is easy to make and a family friendly recipe that can help you celebrate the day of love.
📞 The last word
This red velvet cookies recipe gives you bright crimson cookies with that unmistakeable red velvet flavor. You can cut them into shapes for decorating for any holiday.
It's one of my favorite recipes for Valentine's Day cookies!
They are easy to make -- just remember to give yourself enough time for the dough to chill.
If you happen to be using these for Christmas they are fabulous on a cookie tray with these white chocolate covered cherries!
If you click on the number of servings in the recipe card you can adjust the measurements up or down for the exact number of servings you need. Don't forget that you can click on "add to collection" to save it to your own, private recipe box!
If you love this recipe please give it 5 stars! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
📖 Recipe
Red Velvet Cookies
Print Pin Recipe Save Recipe Rate RecipeIngredients
- 2 ½ cups all purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons dark cocoa powder
- 1 ½ tablespoons buttermilk powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup butter, room temperature
- 8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 tablespoon red food coloring
- Royal Icing
Instructions
- Mix flour, cocoa powder, buttermilk powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl.
- Set aside.
- Cream butter, cream cheese, sugar, vanilla, and food coloring until fluffy.
- With the mixer on low speed stir in the flour mixture until well mixed.
- Form dough into a disk. Wrap in waxed paper and chill for several hours or overnight.
- Preheat the oven to 350F.
- Cut the dough in 3 equal pieces.
- Place 2 of the pieces back in the refrigerator.
- Spread a piece of waxed paper on the counter.
- Sprinkle the waxed paper lightly with flour.
- Place the dough on top of the floured waxed paper.
- Sprinkle lightly with more flour.
- Put a piece of waxed paper over the top, covering it completely.
- Roll the chilled dough out to ⅛-inch thickness.
- Remove the top layer of waxed paper.
- Cut into desired shapes and place on a silicone or parchment covered baking sheet.
- Bake for 10 to 12 minutes.
- Cool completely.
- Cookies will crisp as they cool.
- Decorate as desired.
Notes
- The color will depend on the food coloring so use a good one. I used McCormick. This is not a good time to try out a new brand!
- Make sure that you chill your dough for at least two hours before rolling out.
- When cutting out your cookies, do not twist your cookie cutter. This will cause the cookies to bake unevenly and they'll shrink while baking.
- To remove excess flour from cutout cookies, use a small brush or place your cookie in the palm of your hand and gently tap it on the top.
- Gel food coloring will give you more vibrant red color.
- These are not cakey cookies. They have crispy edges and a slightly soft center.
- Bake a bit longer for a crunchy cookie.
Nutrition Facts
Nutrition information is estimated as a courtesy. If using for medical purposes, please verify information using your own nutritional calculator. Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
This recipe has been tested several times. If you choose to use other ingredients, or change the technique in some way, the results may not be the same.
First published January 18, 2016 as "Red Velvet Sugar Cookies.
Lisa says
What about the eggs??
Marye says
There's no eggs in the recipe