Put a fun holiday spin on your favorite soft and fudgy crinkle cookies! These Red Velvet Crinkle Cookies are perfect for Christmas or Valentine’s Day.
Just like your favorite classic crinkle cookies, but with the red color and extra rich flavor of red velvet against that familiar crackle of white powdered sugar! Red Velvet Crinkles are just as easy to make as their chocolate cousin, but they’re extra pretty and festive.
You’ll love how soft, thick, and chewy these cookies are. As red velvet typically is, these cookies are slightly less chocolatey than regular crinkle cookies, but the flavor is completely amazing! Greek yogurt and apple cider vinegar provide the perfect tangy balance that you’d expect from red velvet.
Looking for more fun versions of crinkle cookies? Try my earthy Matcha Crinkle Cookies, or take a shortcut and make a batch of Cake Mix Crinkle Cookies next.
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Red Velvet Crinkle Cookies from Scratch
- Perfect for the Holidays! Red cookies like these are the perfect hue to fit in with Christmas desserts or Valentine’s Day Cookies. The best part is that because the cookies are already red and white, you don’t need to add any extra decorations to them.
- An Easy Drop Cookie Recipe. There’s truly nothing complicated about this recipe. Follow along with the instructions and you’ll have a batch of red velvet crinkle cookies ready to eat in no time.
- Soft, Chewy Cookies. Be sure not to overbake your crinkles so that they stay chewy and soft in the center.
Key Ingredients
Complete list of ingredients with quantities and instructions is located in the recipe card below
- Cocoa Powder: Unsweetened natural cocoa powder gives red velvet it’s decadent flavor. Use higher quality cocoa powder for the best results.
- Melted Chocolate: Semisweet chocolate makes these cookies extra fudgy.
- Flour, Baking Soda, Baking Powder, and Salt: Baking soda and powder give crinkle cookies the perfect amount of lift. They’ll puff up in the oven before settling in their fun crackled patterns.
- Butter: Let your unsalted butter sit out to soften at room temperature.
- Eggs: I also always let my eggs come to room temperature before baking with them. This allows you to create a smooth, uniform cookie dough.
- Yogurt and Apple Cider Vinegar: These two ingredients are key to getting that slightly tangy red velvet flavor. They also help to make the cookies tender and soft.
- Sugar: Use both granulated sugar and light brown sugar to make these soft cookies with crisp edges.
- Red Food Coloring: It’s best to use gel food coloring to tint the dough to it’s signature burgundy hue. Liquid food coloring won’t do the job nearly as well.
- Powdered Sugar: For rolling the cookie dough before baking.
How To Make Red Velvet Crinkle Cookies
- Mix the Dry Ingredients: In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, salt, and baking powder. Set aside.
- Cream Butter and Sugar: In a separate bowl, cream the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar together. Add the eggs and greek yogurt and mix well.
- Add Color and Flavorings: Now add the melted chocolate, vanilla extract, apple cider vinegar, and red food coloring and mix again.
- Combine Dry and Wet: Pour the flour mixture into the butter mixture in 2 or 3 smaller additions, mixing well after each. The batter will be thick and sticky at this point. Cover the dough and refrigerate it for at least 3 hours before continuing.
- Prepare: When you’re ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Line three cookie sheets with parchment paper.
- Roll: Use a cookie scoop to portion the chilled dough into balls, then roll each ball fist in granulated sugar, and then in powdered sugar to coat.
- Bake: Place the sugar coated cookie dough balls on the prepared baking sheets 2 inches apart. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until the cookies have puffed and crackled. Let them cool on the baking sheets for 10 minutes, then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Top Tips For the Best Crinkle Cookies
- Fresh baking powder is key. If yours is old, the cookies won’t rise properly. You can test the baking powder by adding a bit of it to hot water. If it fizzes, it’s good to go!
- Don’t skip the chilling step. This dough is very difficult to work with at room temperature because it’s super moist and sticky. Allow for at least 3 hours of chill time before you try to bake these.
- Bake one tray at a time. I have found that this recipe works best if you you don’t try to fill the entire oven with cookies. Bake one tray at a time in the very center of the oven for best results.
- Adjust the size. This recipe will work with any size cookies that you’d like to make. Smaller cookies may need a bit less baking time though, so keep an eye on them.
Storing Crinkle Cookies
Once they’ve cooled, these cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week.
Other Desserts You Should Try
These other red and pink cookies are perfect for all sorts of celebrations!
- Red Velvet Cut Out Cookies
- Red Velvet Brookies
- Strawberry Cake Mix Cookies
- Pink Ombre Spritz Cookies
- Valentine’s Day Cookies with Royal Icing
Recipe FAQs
What Flavor is Red Velvet?
Red velvet is flavored with chocolate and cocoa powder, but with a slight tangy flavor from the apple cider vinegar.
Why are My Crinkle Cookies not Crinkling?
There are two common reasons for this. The first would be that your oven wasn’t fully preheated or hot enough for the cookies to rise quickly. Your cookies also might not have risen well because the baking powder wasn’t fresh.
How to Freeze Crinkle Cookies
You can freeze crinkle cookies after they’ve been baked, or freeze the dough for baking later. Baked cookies should be stored in an airtight freezer bag or container and will stay fresh for up to 3 months. Cookie dough can be rolled into balls and frozen for up to 3 months. Thaw the cookie dough for about 30 minutes at room temperature before rolling into sugar and baking.
These Red Velvet Crinkle Cookies are perfect! Gorgeous color, rich flavor, chewy texture – what else could you possibly need in a cookie recipe! Be sure to Pin this recipe so that you have it the next time you want to make a festive red velvet treat!
Red Velvet Crinkle Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 ½ cups all purpose flour spooned and leveled
- 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ cup unsalted butter softened to room temperature
- ¾ cup light brown sugar
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs at room temperature
- 2 tablespoons plain greek yogurt
- 2 oz semisweet chocolate melted
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- Red food coloring
- ½ cup granulated sugar for rolling
- 1 cup powdered sugar for rolling
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, salt and baking soda; set aside.
- In a separate bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar. Add the eggs, and greek yogurt and mix well.
- Add the melted chocolate, vanilla extract, apple cider vinegar, and red color and mix again. Pour the flour mixture into the butter mixture in 2-3 smaller additions, mixing well after each. Batter will be thick and sticky.
- Cover the cookie dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 3 hours.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C), or 160°C if using a fan oven. Line three baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
- Roll heaping tablespoons of dough into balls, then place into the granulated sugar and roll to coat. Transfer to the powdered sugar and roll to coat completely.
- Place sugar coated cookie dough balls on the prepared baking sheet 2 inches apart.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 8-10 minutes, or until the cookies have puffed and crackled. Allow to cool 10 minutes before transferring to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
Notes
- Fresh baking powder is key. If yours is old, the cookies won’t rise properly. You can test the baking powder by adding a bit of it to hot water. If it fizzes, it’s good to go!
- Don’t skip the chilling step. This dough is tough to work with at room temperature because it’s super moist and sticky. Allow for at least 3 hours of chill time, or up to overnight, before you try to bake these.
- Bake one tray at a time. I have found that this recipe works best if you you don’t try to fill the entire oven with cookies. Bake one tray at a time in the very center of the oven for best results.
- Adjust the size. This recipe will work with any size cookies that you’d like to make. Smaller cookies may need a bit less baking time, so keep an eye on them.
- Storage: Keep these cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week. They can also be frozen for up to 3 months.
Nutrition
This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.
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