Red Velvet Christmas Cookies are buttery and rich, topped with cream cheese icing and holiday sprinkles to make these festive cookies irresistible!
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Red Velvet Christmas Cookies are a festive and easy recipe I’d like to share with you. These cookies are so simple to make and they have that rich, decadent taste of red velvet that goes perfectly with the holiday season, plus the coloration to make it all come together in a perfect Christmas shade of red.
How to Make this Red Velvet Christmas Cookies Recipe
Making these cookies is a pretty easy task, after preheating the oven you’re pretty much just mixing everything together in a bowl until it’s blended and then scooping out onto the cooking sheet, pressing flat and baking. After cooled, top with the homemade cream cheese frosting, sprinkles, and enjoy!
I recommend lining your cooking pans with parchment paper for easy cleanup and to help keep the cookies from spreading during baking. Also, when flattening the cookie dough, using a glass drinking cup that was sprayed with nonstick cookie spray works great and keeps the dough from sticking to the cup!
What Do Red Velvet Cookies Taste Like?
Red velvet is a unique flavor that is brought on by cocoa powder and some sort of acidic addition. In most cases, it’s the addition of buttermilk or vinegar. With these red velvet cookies, however, the acidic ingredient is actually cream cheese. This not only gives you that famous red velvet flavor but also helps to produce light and airy cookies you can’t resist!
Should Butter be Softened for Cookies?
Using softened butter for cookies is an easy way to get a great cookie. The temperature of your butter actually has a huge effect on the end results when it comes to cookies. If your butter is too melted, your cookies will be flat and have more crispness and chew. If your butter is too cold, it won’t fully incorporate into the batter and will have chunks of butter resulting in uneven cookies. Softened butter, is ideal because it can create perfectly fluffy and consistently shaped cookies.
Ingredients in these Red Velvet Cookies
For the red velvet cookies you will need:
-12-oz package Sugar Cookie Mix
-1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
-1 egg
-1/3 cup cocoa powder
-4 oz cream cheese, softened
-3 tsp red coloring
Ingredients for the cream cheese frosting:
-4 oz cream cheese, softened
-2 tsp butter, softened
-1 cup powdered sugar
-2-3 tablespoon milk
-1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
How to Make these Red Velvet Cookies with Cream Cheese Frosting
Preheat your oven to 375 degrees and in a medium-sized bowl, stir together the cookie mix, butter, egg, cream cheese, and the red food coloring until they’re well blended.
On a parchment-lined baking sheet, place rounded tablespoons of cookie dough at least 2 inches apart.
Spray the bottom of a glass with nonstick cooking spray and gently press down on the cookies to flatten them into 2.5-inch diameter circles.
Bake for 9-10 minutes and let the cookies cool completely.
To make the cream cheese frosting, beat together the cream cheese and butter with an electric mixer until they’re smooth.
Add in the powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla. Continue mixing until smooth.
Spread the frosting on each cookie and top with holiday sprinkles if desired.
Ingredients
Red Velvet Cookies
- 12 oz pkg Sugar cookie mix
- 1/2 cup butter (one stick)
- 1 egg
- 1/3 cup cocoa powder
- 4 oz cream cheese softened
- 3 tsp red coloring
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 4 oz cream cheese
- 2 tsp butter softened
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 2-3 tbsp milk
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
How to make the cookies
- Heat oven to 375°F.
- In a medium bowl, stir together cookie mix, butter, egg, cream cheese, and red coloring until well blended.
- Place rounded tablespoons dough 2-inches apart onto parchment-lined cookie sheet.
- Spray the bottom of a glass jar with non-stick spray. Press down each ball of cookie dough gently until a 2 1/2” diameter circle of dough forms.
- Bake 9-10 minutes. Cool cookies completely.
How to make the frosting
- With an electric mixer, beat cream cheese and butter until smooth.
- Add in powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla, mixing until smooth.
- Spread on each cooled cookie and top with holiday sprinkles.
Do cookies made with cream cheese need to be refrigerated?
Using cream cheese as an added ingredient does reduce the shelf life of baked goods. As such, placing the cookies in an airtight container within the fridge can be a great way to get a few more days out of the cookies. But that’s optional as these cookies can do just fine at room temp for up to 3 days.
Can you freeze cookies with cream cheese?
With or without the frosting, these cookies can be frozen for up to 1 month. I recommend freezing them until solid on a flat cookie sheet before transferring to a Ziploc bag. Alternatively, the dough can also be frozen before use for up to 3 months. Let it thaw overnight in the fridge and then use it as directed.
How do you store cookies with frosting?
You may already know that it can be difficult to store frosted cookies due to the frosting bonding cookies together during the time they spend sitting. There’s a nifty little trick to help bypass this unfortunate side effect though. In an airtight container, lay an even (nonoverlapping) layer of frosted cookies. Place a cut sheet of parchment paper on top, and then another layer.
Repeat until the cookies are all stacked and the container is sealed closed. Now the cookies are easy to grab, and as a worst-case scenario, you can scrape the frosting off the parchment paper and put it back on the cookie before eating. Or lick the frosting off like a cupcake wrapper, I won’t judge.
Want more great Red Velvet recipes? Check these out!
- Red Velvet Oreo Balls
- Red Velvet Valentine Cookies
- Patriotic Red Velvet Trifle
- Red Velvet Cheesecake Brownies
- Red Velvet Whoopie Pies
With these red velvet Christmas cookies topped with cream cheese frosting, you’ll have a winning cookie recipe for your holiday cookie exchanges or yourself. The rich flavors and bright colors make them perfect for any festive occasion.
Kathy says
Can’t wait to make some of these.
Jessica says
I’ve made much more complicated red velvet cookies before and was shocked- these taste the same! LOVE it when that happens- enjoy!
Kristine Allen says
I can’t find these Krusteax vanilla sugar cookie anywhere. Can I substitute a regular sugar cookie mix?
Jessica says
You can Kristine!
Cathie says
Jessica… I’m excited to try this recipe, but I’m a bit confused. Don’t see where the cocoa power is mentioned in the directions. Please advise. Happy Holidays
Jessica says
It’s there- 1/3 cup! INGREDIENTS
Cookies:
1 package Krusteaz Butter Vanilla Sugar Cookie Mix
1 stick (1/2 cup) butter, softened
1 egg
1/3 cup cocoa powder
4 oz cream cheese, softened
3 tsp red coloring
Cream Cheese Frosting:
4 oz cream cheese, softened
2 tsp butter, softened
1 cup powdered sugar
2-3 Tbsp milk
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Holiday sprinkles
DIRECTIONS
Cookies:
1. Heat oven to 375°F. In medium bowl, stir together cookie mix, butter, egg, cream cheese and red coloring until well blended.
2. Place rounded tablespoons dough 2-inches apart onto parchment lined cookie sheet. Spray the bottom of a glass jar with non-stick spray. Press down each ball of cookie dough gently until a 2 1/2” diameter circle of dough forms.
3. Bake 9-10 minutes. Cool cookies completely.
Cream Cheese Frosting:
1. With an electric mixer, beat cream cheese and butter until smooth.
2. Add in powdered sugar, milk and vanilla, mixing until smooth.
3. Spread on each cookie and top with holiday sprinkles.
Stef says
I see it in the ingrediens, not in the directions. Does the cocoa go in with the cookie mix, egg, etc.?
Jessica says
Oh I see now- I’m sorry! No idea why Krusteaz hasn’t updated their post. Yes, just mix it in with the cookie mix!
Kali says
Made the cookie part- those came great. On to the frosting. Do these need to be refrigerated after the frosting is on?
Julie says
This recipe looks awesome, but I can’t find the Krusteaz sugar cookie mix anywhere. My cookie exchange is next week, so I don’t have time to order it. Can I use another sugar cookie mix?
Jessica says
You can use another sugar cookie mix Julie! Enjoy!