Cream Cheese Red Velvet Cookies

Red velvet cakes always look special, right? It is unquestionably true for a classic red velvet cake or red velvet cupcakes. And a simple red velvet bundt cake is fancy too. But what about cookies? They can easily become the star at a special occasion too! Just like these chewy red velvet cookies with cream cheese frosting.

These cookies are soft and chewy with a rich red velvet cake flavor. The frosting on their top gives a red velvet cheesecake cookie feeling. And this makes everyone ask for more! 

If you are looking for a red velvet recipe without food coloring, you might want to see our chocolate beet muffins.

Jump to:

• Why We Like This Recipe
• About The Ingredients
• How To Make
• Variations
• How To Store
• Expert Tips
• Frequently Asked Questions
• More Red Velvet Recipes
• 📖 Recipe
• 💬 Comments

Why We Like This Recipe

• It is super easy to make as we use a red velvet cake mix. It is not something we always do, but sometimes we all need shortcuts.
• These cookies are wonderfully chewy with a delicious red velvet flavor.
• Sometimes we don’t even chill the dough and they are still good, just a bit thinner.
• The cream cheese frosting is so creamy and not overly sweet.
• These measurements make 3 dozen cookies. So they are perfect for the holiday season. 
• The cookie dough freezes well. 

About The Ingredients

For the dry ingredients of the cookie dough, we only use a box of Betty Crocker Red Velvet Cake Mix, which is 425g (15 oz). If this is something new to you, don't worry. Cake mixes can be baked in a cookie form. The color might change depending on the brand you use. 

We have 2 more ingredients for the wet mixture. Butter and eggs. We use softened unsalted butter but you can use melted butter too. You can even use vegetable oil or olive oil just like we do when making red velvet crinkles or lemon cake mix cookies. Also, we use medium eggs.

For the cream cheese filling on these red velvet cookies; we need cream cheese, butter, milk and powdered sugar. Make sure the butter is softened at room temperature. We use only ½ cup of powdered sugar and the sweetness is just enough. 

How To Make

The recipe for cream cheese red velvet cookies couldn’t have been easier. Let’s see how.

1. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs and softened or melted butter well. 

2. Combine the cake mix with the wet mixture using a spatula. It will be a thick and sticky dough.
3. Cover the dough with a plastic wrap and chill it for 1 hour.
4. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

5. Use a mini cookie scoop and scoop a teaspoon sized balls of dough onto the prepared baking sheet, spacing them 2 inches apart. 
6. Using a teaspoon, make an indentation in the center of the balls of dough.

7. Bake the cookies for 7 minutes. Remove from the oven and use a teaspoon to deepen the indentation. Let them cool on the baking sheet.

8. Meanwhile, make the cream cheese frosting. With an electric mixer, beat cream cheese and butter until smooth. Add in powdered sugar and milk, mixing until smooth. Don’t over mix.
9. When the cookies are completely cool, use a teaspoon and fill them with the cream cheese mixture.

10. Optionally use Valentine’s Day or Christmas sprinkles on your red velvet cream cheese cookies. You can even top the frosting with mini chocolate chips if you want.

Variations

We make these in the form of thumbprint red velvet cookies filled with cream cheese frosting because we find it easier and also we want to use some sprinkles on them. There are two more alternatives when it comes to shape the cookies after making the dough. 

You can use the same recipe to make sandwich cookies.

You can use the same recipe to make stuffed red velvet cookies. To do this, you will need to freeze dollops of cream cheese frosting on a baking paper lined cookie sheet. 

If you love chocolate drizzled cookies, you may want to melt white chocolate chips and drizzle across the cookies.

How To Store

These red velvet cheesecake cookies taste the best on the same day they are baked. So if you are not going to enjoy them on the same day, use half of the dough and refrigerate or freeze the remaining dough to use later.

We find it easier to roll the dough and then freeze the dough balls on a baking sheet and then store in a sealed freezer bag. You don’t need to thaw the cookies when you are ready to bake. Make the indentation right after you remove them from the oven and when they are still hot. 

You can refrigerate the remaining cream cheese frosting or freeze dollops of it for several days too. 

Expert Tips

• If you are not satisfied with the color of the red velvet cookie dough, you can use red food coloring for a more vibrant color. We would recommend gel food coloring as it doesn’t affect the texture of the dough unlike liquid coloring. Start with a teaspoon of it, mix well and then add more if you want or keep it as it is.
• If you are in a hurry or don’t want to wait, don’t chill the dough. Scoop the dough right after you make it. They are still chewy cookies and taste so good but spread more and come out a bit thinner.
• Don’t bake two baking sheets at the same time. 
• Don’t overcrowd the baking sheet because they will spread. Depending on the size of your baking sheet, you can bake 12 or fewer cookies at a time.
• Keep the remaining dough in the refrigerator when you put the first cookie sheet in the oven. Then you can repeat the same steps and make the second batch.
• Make sure not to over bake the cookies. Bake them just until their edges are set and the center is still so soft. They will continue on the cookie sheet after you remove them from the oven. 
• When making the frosting, make sure not to over mix. The cream cheese loses its thickness otherwise and it will be difficult to top the cookies with the frosting.

Frequently Asked Questions

More Red Velvet Recipes