Red Velvet Blossom Cookies

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Soft and chewy red velvet cookies, topped with a chocolate heart. No box mix required– they’re made completely from scratch!

Let’s start from the beginning…

No, these are not red velvet peanut butter blossoms. No peanut butter here! Just straight up red velvet blossom cookies, so don’t worry, no crazy flavor combos going on here today!

ANYWAY. Glad we’ve cleared that up.

When I made these chocolate peppermint blossoms many many Decembers ago, I had a Facebook friend mention that he likes to make red velvet cookies with dark chocolate kisses for Valentine’s Day.

Well, that friend (I don’t know if he’s a reader, but… Hi, Chad!) is a genius, and planted the red velvet blossom seed into my head. So I got to work on a red velvet cookie recipe.

I did some red velvet cookie research (because I’m pretty familiar with the cake, if you recall from my red velvet cupcakes and my black velvet layer cake), and found a lot of recipes exist out there in the food blogging world, but many of them begin with a box mix.

And we all know how I feel about box mixes (ahem).

The more I read, the more I realized the basic outline was quite similar to my peppermint blossoms, so I made a few adjustments to account for differing ingredients and voila! Red velvet cookies from scratch– yay.

Psst… You can also make blue velvet cookies if you’re looking to add something fun to your baking list, too!

While this cookie dough is pretty unfussy, it does need to be chilled. Only about 2 hours, then they’re ready to go.

You’ll only want to put 6 dough balls on a baking sheet at a time. They spread a decent amount, while still remaining a bit puffy. The perfect amount of puffiness, actually, to smoosh a Dove chocolate heart onto.

Milk or dark, whichever you prefer!

After baking, let the cookies rest for 3 minutes, then quickly press chocolate hearts into the tops. Then, pop the whole tray in the freezer for 15 minutes.

You can certainly use a Hershey’s Kiss to make these into red velvet Hershey Kiss cookies if you’d prefer, but the heart just totally makes things much more Valentine’s Day-ey. Don’t you agree?

Though, I guess they’d be red velvet Kiss cookies, which sounds Valentine’s Day-y…

Ok, but really. Do it up with the hearts. These cookies are so adorable.

While these cookies don’t require either of the “staple” ingredients we used in our typical red velvet recipes (white vinegar or buttermilk), they still end up tasting just like red velvet cake.

Like rich, deeeeeep red velvet flavor. The kind that makes you go “ohhhh yeah. That’s red velvet.” Not the kind that makes you wonder if it’s really there.

These cookies are soft and chewy, my favorite qualities in a cookie, and jam packed with red velvet flavor without a hint of a box mix! And the extra jazz of chocolate is just the cherry on top.

Or, you know, heart on top.

While they will take a bit of planning ahead (because of chilling) and making some room in the freezer, they’re definitely worth it and I’d venture to say they’re sure to jazz up your Valentine’s Day (oh man, I didn’t even try to make that rhyme, but I have to leave it)!

You have to try these cookies. Do it for Cupid!

5 from 1 vote

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Red Velvet Blossom Cookies

Soft and chewy red velvet cookies, topped with a chocolate heart. No box mix required– they're made completely from scratch!

Prep Time2 hours hrs 10 minutes mins

Bake Time11 minutes mins

Total Time2 hours hrs 21 minutes mins

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Recipe Author Lynn April

Servings: 2 dozen cookies

Ingredients

• ▢ 1 and ½ cups (180g) all-purpose flour be sure to measure properly
• ▢ 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon salt
• ▢ ½ cup (59g) unsweetened cocoa powder
• ▢ ½ cup (113g) unsalted butter softened to room temperature
• ▢ ½ cup (100g) granulated sugar
• ▢ ½ cup (100g) firmly packed light brown sugar
• ▢ 2 large eggs room temperature*
• ▢ 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ▢ 2 Tablespoons red food coloring
• ▢ approximately 24 dark chocolate Dove hearts or Hershey's Kisses unwrapped

Instructions

• In a medium size bowl, toss together flour, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder. Set aside.
• In a separate medium size bowl with a hand mixer or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and both sugars until light and fluffy, approximately 3 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, beating after each addition, and scraping down the sides as necessary. Add vanilla and red food coloring and beat on medium speed until combined. Using a spatula, scrape down the sides and all along the bottom of your bowl to ensure coloring is distributed evenly. Beat again on medium speed until everything is incorporated.
• Decrease mixer speed to low and add the flour mixture. Beat on low until dough has formed and no more pockets of flour remain. Cover bowl with plastic wrap or foil and refrigerate for at least 2 hours and up to 3 days. If chilling longer than 2 hours, allow dough to sit at room temperature for 15 minutes before rolling into balls.
• When you are ready to bake your cookies, preheat oven to 350ºF (177ºC) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Make room in the freezer for one baking sheet.
• Using a cookie scoop (I use this #50 cookie scoop for all of my standard size cookies) and your hands, roll dough into balls approximately 1 and ½ Tablespoons in size and place no more than 6 dough balls on a prepared baking sheet. Bake cookies for 10-11 minutes. Cookies will look underdone. Remove baking sheet from oven and allow to cool for 3 minutes.
• Working quickly, press a chocolate heart into the tops of each cookie, and place baking sheet in freezer immediately for at least 15 minutes to prevent chocolate heart from melting. When cool, remove from freezer and transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool completely. Cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 7 days or frozen for up to 2 months. Rolled cookie dough freezes well– up to 2 months. Bake frozen and add 1-2 minutes to bake time.

Notes

*Room temperature eggs: these are crucial for proper incorporation into batter. To bring eggs to room temperature quickly, place in a bowl of warm water for 10 minutes.

Did you make this recipe?Mention @freshaprilflours on Instagram or tag #freshaprilflours!

Nutrition Disclosure

All nutritional values are approximate and provided to the reader as a courtesy. Changing ingredients and/or quantities will alter the estimated nutritional calculations.