Red Velvet Sugar Cookies

You will love how easy it is to make these red velvet sugar cookies! This one-bowl, NO CHILL, melted butter recipe creates soft, flavorful cookies with crinkly tops.

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My continual quest to make fast, easy and no chill cookies continues with this recipe. Is it just me who feels like red velvet is a festive flavor for Valentine's Day or Christmas? In reality, they are delicious any time of the year! Red velvet brownies are perfect for those holidays or the 4th of July too.

Since ya'll are busy bakers, like me, here are some other no chill cookie recipes. Cherry almond cookies, orange creamsicle cookies and white chocolate raspberry cookies.

This easy cookie recipe comes together in about 10 minutes and takes 10 minutes to bake. That means only about 20 minutes stands between you and these scrumptious cookies! It's a spin on my popular sprinkle cookies recipe, but doesn't require a food processor. Oh, and did I mention that you only need ONE BOWL to mix them up?? Yay for less dishes to wash!

what are red velvet sugar cookies?

This red velvet sugar cookie recipe is a soft and chewy sugar cookie with a touch of cocoa powder, a decent amount of vanilla and some red coloring. It's not as rich as a chocolate cookie, but has a light chocolate taste. My taste testers found them to be irresistible!

what ingredients are needed for red velvet cookies?

• Unsalted butter ~ we are using it melted to make this recipe even faster to make. The melted butter also gives the cookies a chewier texture.
• Granulated sugar ~ for sweetness and flavor.
• Confectioners' sugar ~ also known as powdered sugar or icing sugar. Adds extra softness to the finished cookies.
• Red food coloring ~ I use gel coloring and specifically like the Wilton Color Right red for this recipe. The gel coloring is more concentrated so you use less of it. {food coloring can be omitted, if you choose}
• Pure vanilla extract ~ for flavor.
• Large egg yolks ~ save the whites to make meringues, a Swiss meringue buttercream {my vanilla version is my fave!!} or an egg white scramble.
• All-purpose flour ~ for structure.
• Cocoa powder ~ I use Hershey's Cocoa 100% Cacao Natural Unsweetened
• Baking soda ~ for a little leavening.
• Kosher salt ~ I only use kosher salt, if using table salt you may want to reduce the salt by half.

let's make cookies!

Start by preheating the oven and preparing your baking sheet pans with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.

Then melt the butter and add the granulated sugar and confectioners' sugar and mix well. Next add the red food coloring, egg yolks and vanilla extract.

Once the wet ingredients are well combined, add the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and kosher salt. Give the dry ingredients a little toss together on top of the wet ingredients. Then stir until just combined.

how to roll the red velvet cookies

Scoop roughly 2 tablespoons of dough {I use a size 30 cookie scoop} and roll it between your hands until it forms a ball. Then roll the cookie dough ball into a bowl of granulated sugar until it's fully coated. Then re-roll the ball between your hands and roll in the granulated sugar a second time. This helps to give the cookies a somewhat *sparkly* appearance.

how do you get the crinkly tops on the cookies?

This cookie recipe takes 9-10 minutes to bake. Please remember your oven is different from mine and may vary slightly in baking time! I use this oven thermometer to ensure my oven is baking at the temperature I think it is.

To get the crinkly top, let the cookies bake for 8 minutes. Then pull the pan out of the oven {use caution as it's hot!} and use the flat bottom of a cup to lightly press down the tops of the cookies. Then place back in the oven to bake 1-2 minutes more.

The cookies can cool completely on the baking sheet pan or you can let them rest 5 minutes and then move to a wire cooling rack. I didn't find any difference in the finished cookies between those two cooling methods.

tips for success

This one-bowl, melted butter and no chill cookie recipe is so easy that you may find yourself baking this recipe a lot!😉

• Gel food coloring is going to give you the best results with the least amount of food coloring {I use Wilton Color Right red for this recipe}. Liquid food coloring also works, but you will need at least double the amount. Many people also have success with using beet root powder as a natural alternative, but I have not used it myself. You can also omit the food coloring if you don't want red cookies.
• Use a cookie scoop to ensure uniform cookies.
• The dough can be quite soft. If you are having trouble working with it, let it rest 2-3 minutes and it should be easier to work with.
• This recipe can be easily halved if you are looking for a small batch of cookies.

Remember to snap a picture and tag me on Instagram if you make these Red Velvet Sugar Cookies. It warms my heart to see you bring these recipes to life! Thank you for being here and happy baking!

more easy, no chill cookie recipes to try!

• Sprinkle Cookies
• Chocolate Sprinkle Cookies
• Easy German Chocolate Cookies
• Almond Flour Skillet Cookie

If you make this recipe {or any recipe!} from two sugar bugs please come back and leave a review and a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ star rating.  I read every comment, and I LOVE hearing from you!