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The quintessential cookie that must be on Santa’s plate of cookies–or else! My Red Velvet Crinkle Cookies are chewy and full of red velvet flavor with a touch of cocoa powder and a rich red color.

Red velvet crinkle cookies horizontal image.

When I look at how simple the ingredients are for these red velvet crinkle cookies, it shocks me. Just simple baking ingredients: flour, sugar, butter, and a small amount of cocoa powder, and you have the quintessential Christmas cookie that must be in every cookie tin!

The only special ingredient you need here is red food coloring, but please note that you can also use green! It would be so fun to divide the dough in half, and make red and green cookies!

Stack of red velvet crinkle cookies on white surface.

Ingredients

Bowl of white flour, white sugar, cocoa powder, and two eggs on a marble surface.

Butter. One stick (1/2 cup; 113 grams) of unsalted butter, softened just to room temperature. The best way to do this is to unwrap it, slice it, and leave it out at room temperature for about 30-60 minutes. It should be easy to press a finger indent in it, but not overly soft. Please don’t use the microwave because you will end up with half melted and half too cold butter.
Sugar. One and 1/4 cups (250 grams) of granulated white sugar.
Eggs. Two large eggs. It’s best if these are room temperature also, so put them out when you unwrap the butter.
Vanilla. One and a half teaspoons of real vanilla extract.
Red Food Gel. One-half teaspoon of red food gel. If you’re using food coloring instead of gel, you will need 3-4 times the amount. Gel is much more concentrated than the classic red food coloring you find in most markets. I find my food gel at hobby stores in the cake decorating aisle. However, you can still use the regular liquid, if that’s all you have (just use roughly 2 teaspoons of it). Look at the photos below, and try to match your batter to the same color.
Flour. Two cups (250 grams) of all-purpose flour. Do not use self-rising flour.
Cocoa Powder. Real red velvet contains a small amount of chocolate. We’re adding 1/3 cup cocoa powder to the red velvet crinkle cookies batter. Cocoa powder acts like flour in a recipe, so do not skip it, or your cookies will be too wet.
Baking Powder. One and a half teaspoons of baking powder.
Baking Soda. One-quarter teaspoon of baking soda. These cookies use two leavening agents so that they puff up and crackle a lot. (The high sugar content helps them crackle, too!)
Salt. We’re using unsalted butter, so were adding one-half teaspoon of fine sea salt.
Powdered Sugar. To make the crackles more defined, we’ll use 2/3 cup of powdered sugar to roll each dough ball in before baking.

How to Make Red Velvet Crinkle Cookies

White bowl with whole stick of butter and granulated sugar sprinkled on top.

Yellow batter with two egg yolks and a splash of red food gel on top.

In a bowl, combine the stick of softened butter and 1 1/4 cups of sugar, and beat with an electric mixer until fluffy, about 1 minute.

Next, add the eggs, vanilla, and red food coloring, beat just until well-mixed again.

Bright red dough in a white bowl with beater swirls in it.

Red batter with flour and cocoa powder sprinkled on top.

This is the ideal color for the batter–red enough that it still comes through after baking with cocoa powder. Add any extra red food gel or food coloring, to your liking.

Evenly sprinkle the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder ,baking soda, and salt on top. Use a spatula to fold everything together until no streaks of flour remain.

Three red dough balls being rolled in powdered sugar.

Twelve raw powdered sugar covered dough balls on a baking sheet.

Chill the dough in the fridge for 2 hours. This is mandatory! Then, use a cookie scoop to make 2-tablespoon-sized balls of dough. (This recipe makes 24 cookies).

Roll each dough ball in powdered sugar, and evenly space on a baking sheet, one dozen at a time. Bake for 10-12 minutes, until the edges set.