Easy Homemade Red Velvet Cookies (No Cake Mix)

Homemade Red Velvet Cookies

Unlike red velvet cookie recipes that rely on cake mix, this easy-to-follow recipe for Homemade Red Velvet Cookies uses simple pantry ingredients to create the perfect balance of cocoa and sweetness with a signature hint of tang. These vibrant cookies are perfect for holidays, special occasions, or whenever you’re craving a bakery-quality treat at home.

We love mixing in white chocolate chips, but you could also use milk chocolate, semi-sweet, pecans, or even M&Ms!

Homemade Red Velvet Cookies | Soft, chewy, and made from scratch! No cake mix needed for these easy, bakery-style cookies.

What are the Ingredients for Red Velvet Cookies?

• Butter – Adds richness and moisture, creating a soft and chewy texture. Green Valley Butter is our favorite brand and keeps the cookies lactose free for sensitive tummies.
• Brown Sugar – Provides sweetness and adds a slight molasses flavor, helping keep the cookies soft.
• Granulated Sugar  – Balances the sweetness and contributes to a slight crispness on the edges.
• All-Purpose Flour  – The base of the cookie dough, providing structure and chewiness.
• Cocoa Powder  – Gives the cookies their signature subtle chocolate flavor.
• Vinegar  – Reacts with the baking soda for a light, tender texture and enhances the classic red velvet tang.
• Vanilla Extract – Adds depth of flavor and enhances the overall taste.
• Red Food Coloring – Creates the vibrant red hue that gives red velvet its signature look.
• White Chocolate – We use King David Vegan white chips to keep these cookies lactose free.

Easy Homemade Red Velvet Cookies | Love red velvet? These homemade red velvet cookies are rich, soft, and packed with flavor—no cake mix required! A simple recipe that’s perfect for sharing.

Why do You Add Vinegar to Red Velvet?

Vinegar is a key ingredient in red velvet cookies for a few important reasons:

1. Activates the Baking Soda – Vinegar is acidic and reacts with baking soda, creating tiny air bubbles that help the cookies rise slightly and stay soft and tender.

2. Enhances the Classic Red Velvet Flavor – Traditional red velvet recipes have a slight tang, which comes from vinegar and buttermilk (in cakes). The vinegar helps achieve that same subtle tangy flavor in cookie form.

3. Deepens the Red Color – When combined with cocoa powder, vinegar helps enhance the red hue, especially in older recipes that relied on natural cocoa’s acidity for color development. While modern recipes use food coloring, vinegar still plays a role in keeping the red vibrant.

Even though it’s a small amount, vinegar makes a big difference in texture, flavor, and color, helping create the perfect homemade red velvet cookies!

Make Bakery-Style Red Velvet Cookies at Home! | No cake mix, just real homemade goodness! A delicious, festive treat for Christmas, Valentine’s Day, or any day!

3 Quick Tips for Success

1. Use Room Temperature Ingredients – For the best texture, let the butter, egg, and other refrigerated ingredients sit at room temperature before mixing. This ensures even blending and prevents overmixing, which can make cookies tough.

2. Don’t Skip the Vinegar – The vinegar reacts with the baking soda to create a soft, tender texture and enhances the signature red velvet tang. Even though it’s a small amount, it makes a big difference!

3. Chill the Dough (If Needed) – If your dough feels too soft or sticky, chilling it for 20–30 minutes can help prevent the cookies from spreading too much while baking. This keeps them thick, chewy, and perfectly shaped!

Following these tips will help you achieve soft, chewy, bakery-style red velvet cookies every time!

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Easy Homemade Red Velvet Cookies (No Cake Mix)

Yield: 18

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 9 minutes

Total Time: 9 minutes

The perfect combination of soft, chewy, and cocoa-rich flavor! No cake mix, just pure homemade goodness.

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Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter, slightly softened
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 and 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 2 Tbsp. cup cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 Tbsp. vinegar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 Tablespoon red food coloring
• 1/2 cup white chocolate chips

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375ºF.
2. Use a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment to beat the butter and the sugars together until creamed. Mix in the egg.
3. Separately mix together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt.
4. Add the dry mixture, the vinegar, the vanilla, and the red food coloring to the stand mixer and mix until dough forms.
5. Scoop 2 tablespoons of dough at a time and roll into a ball. Roll the ball in the granulated sugar to coat and place on an ungreased cookie sheet.
6. Bake cookies for 9 minutes, and then let cool on the cookie sheet.

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 18 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 130Total Fat: 7gSaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 25mgSodium: 150mgCarbohydrates: 16gFiber: 0gSugar: 13gProtein: 1g

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