RED VELVET CHRISTMAS COOKIES

Red Velvet Christmas Cookies are buttery and rich, topped with cream cheese icing and holiday sprinkles to make these festive cookies irresistible!

Be sure to check out our updated collection of SANTA APPROVED CHRISTMAS SWEETS & TREATS here!

 

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.

 

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.