Red Velvet Sugar Cookies Recipe | Dessert for Two (2024)

Easy, adorable chewy little bright red sugar cookies with a heart in the center! These Red Velvet Sugar Cookies make the softest, chewiest sugar cookies and the hearts in the center are just store-bought candy! This recipe makes a small batch of cookies because Valentine's Day desserts should serve two.

Red Velvet Sugar Cookies Recipe | Dessert for Two (1)
Why Red Velvet?

I discovered something really important about red velvet, and I'm ready to tell the world. If you've never had red velvet, it's a tender cake with a touch of cocoa powder. It loves to be paired white chocolate, and it loves cream cheese, but what you didn't know is how much a white chocolate peanut butter heart brings to the party.

If you remember (and laughed at) my Valentine's Day candy review, you'll recognize these Reese's white chocolate peanut butter hearts. It was hard to save 6 for this red velvet sugar cookies recipe, but I did it. If I can do it, you can do it! This small-batch sugar cookie recipe just makes 6 cookies, so all you have to save is 6 hearts. That's reasonable, right?

To be honest, though, any heart-shaped chocolate is welcome here. The caramel hearts from my small-batch brownies would be great, and even the Dove dark chocolate hearts, though they are a bit smaller.

Red Velvet Sugar Cookies Recipe | Dessert for Two (2)

Let's Get Baking

Creating these Red Velvet Sugar Cookies for two is really easy and doesn't take much time. Here's what you need:

  • Unsalted Butter
  • Sugar
  • Egg Yolk
  • Vanilla Extract
  • Red Gel Food Coloring
  • All-Purpose Flour
  • Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
  • Baking Soda
  • Salt
  • White Chocolate Peanut Butter Hearts

Combine the melted butter, sugar, egg yolk, vanilla extract, and red gel food coloring. Then add the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt and stir to combine. Flatten the dough and divide into six parts. Roll each part into a ball and cover in sugar. Bake and allow to cool. Add the heart into the middle and enjoy!

Red Velvet Sugar Cookies Recipe | Dessert for Two (3)

Red Velvet Sugar Cookies for Valentine's Day:

I've got a soft spot for red velvet. I've gone years without it, because, as you know, as a society, we are very into beet and spirulinapowder these days, and we are certainly avoiding red food coloring. But, um, it's Valentine's Day and I just can't resist a festive dessert for two. It's just how I roll.

This sugar cookie recipe is based on one from my next cookbook, Sweet & Simple: Dessert for Two, and I love it for so many reasons. The recipe uses melted butter, which is always loaded easier for a person like me who is a) impatient and b) never remembers to put butter on the counter to soften. These cookies bake up soft, crackly and perfect, no matter what size you scoop them. I've rolled them into 10 dough balls, and I've beefed it up to 6 balls (like I did here)--no matter what I do, they always bake up perfect. They also bake up perfectly round, even if you do a half-ass job shaping them into balls.

They're essentially the perfect sugar cookie recipe that you need in your arsenal.

Red Velvet Sugar Cookies Recipe | Dessert for Two (4)

If you're looking for the perfect easy sugar cookie recipe without red food coloring, I've got you covered.

These cookies only use an egg yolk, so be sure to check out my recipesto use leftover egg whites.

Yield: 6 cookies

Red Velvet Sugar Cookies

Red Velvet Sugar Cookies Recipe | Dessert for Two (5)

Small batch sugar cookies: red velvet sugar cookies with hearts for Valentine's Day!

Prep Time10 minutes

Cook Time10 minutes

Total Time20 minutes

Ingredients

  • 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
  • ⅓ cup granulated sugar, plus extra for rolling
  • 1 large egg yolk
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 teaspoon red gel food coloring
  • ½ cup + 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
  • 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
  • ¼ teaspoon baking soda
  • ⅛ teaspoon fine salt
  • 6 white chocolate peanut butter hearts (like Reese's)

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350, and line a small baking sheet with parchment paper (or use a silicone mat).
  2. Stir together the melted butter, sugar, egg yolk, vanilla extract and red food coloring. Stir very well to combine.
  3. Next, sprinkle the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt evenly over the dough, and stir just to combine.
  4. Press the dough flat and evenly in the bowl, and then divide it in half by eye. You should get 3 cookies from each half.
  5. Roll each dough ball in your hands, roll lightly extra granulated sugar, and then space evenly on the prepared baking sheet.
  6. Bake for 10-12 minutes, until they spread, start to crackle and appear dry on top.
  7. Let the cookies rest on the baking sheet for 2 minutes before moving them to a wire rack to cool completely.
  8. After the cookies have cooled for 10 minutes, press a white chocolate heart into the center of each cookie. Move the cookies to the fridge (so the hearts don't melt too much) to set for 30 minutes.
  9. Bring to room temperature before serving.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

6

Serving Size:

1

Amount Per Serving:Calories: 325Total Fat: 22gSaturated Fat: 8gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 11gCholesterol: 82mgSodium: 225mgCarbohydrates: 27gFiber: 3gSugar: 18gProtein: 8g

Did you make this recipe?

Please leave a comment on the blog or share a photo on Instagram

Red Velvet Sugar Cookies Recipe | Dessert for Two (2024)

FAQs

What happens if you add too much sugar to sugar cookies? ›

Sugar sweetens the cookies and makes them an enticing golden brown. Adding too little sugar can affect the taste and texture of cookies. Adding too much can cause them to be brittle. Take your time creaming the sugar and butter together at the beginning.

How many decorated sugar cookies per person? ›

Recipes I use are sugar cookies, gingerbread cookies, and/or chocolate sugar cookies. 6-8 cookies for each person to decorate is usually plenty and have extras in case any break, drop, etc.

How do you make Pillsbury sugar cookies keep their shape? ›

Cookies can spread when baked and lose their shape. To fix this, let your cookie dough rest in the refrigerator for an hour before you roll it out and cut out shapes. Our result: We didn't see a huge difference between chilled dough and room-temperature dough after baking.

What makes cookies fluffy and not flat? ›

Room temperature butter is just the right consistency to incorporate air when it's creamed with sugar. These trapped air pockets result in risen, fluffy cookies. If the butter is any warmer, it won't incorporate enough air and your cookies will have less rise.

Can you overwork sugar cookie dough? ›

Over-working the dough yields a tough cookie, which is not at all what you want. The very best sugar cookies are soft and tender. → Follow this tip: One of the keys to great sugar cookies is mixing the dry ingredients only until they're just incorporated, and not a second longer.

How far in advance can you make decorated sugar cookies? ›

If you want to make your cookies in advance… totally doable! 1 week before event: I start the process UP TO 1 week before the event and don't do any freezing in this time period (either of the icing or cookies).

How much to sell a dozen homemade cookies for? ›

Many simple cookies sell for between $2.00 and $5.00 each, but it's not uncommon to see a dozen cookies cost $55 or more depending on the time and ingredients that went into making them. Some people charge $10 or more per cookie because of their decorative, custom designs.

How to make sugar cookies look professional? ›

Start by outlining the cookie with piping-consistency icing in any color you choose. Then, use flooding-consistency icing to fill the outlined area, starting by flooding around the edges and working your way towards the center. If the flooding is inconsistent in thickness, redistribute the wet icing with a toothpick.

Is it better to bake cookies at 325 or 350? ›

350° is the standard temp for a cookie, and it's a great one. Your cookies will bake evenly and the outside will be done at the same time as the inside. Baking at 325° also results in an evenly baked cookie, but the slower cooking will help yield a chewier cookie. The outsides will be a little softer, too.

Can I roll out store-bought sugar cookie dough? ›

Roll on floured surface until 1/4 inch thick. Cut with 2 1/2-inch cutter. Bake 8 to 11 minutes.

What is the trick to sugar cookies? ›

From the dough to the baking to the icing, our guide will leave you with the perfect sugar cookie this holiday season.
  1. Opt for Room Temperature Eggs. ...
  2. Splurge on "Pure" Vanilla Extract. ...
  3. Whisk the Flour. ...
  4. Chill the Dough. ...
  5. Refrain from Overmixing. ...
  6. Go Easy on the Flour. ...
  7. Bake on Parchment Paper.
Dec 16, 2014

Should I use baking soda or baking powder in cookies? ›

Baking soda is typically used for chewy cookies, while baking powder is generally used for light and airy cookies. Since baking powder is comprised of a number of ingredients (baking soda, cream of tartar, cornstarch, etc.), using it instead of pure baking soda will affect the taste of your cookies.

What does melted butter do to cookies? ›

Cookies made with melted butter often deflate and become denser when they cool, resulting in a perfectly cooked fudgy center — a similar textural result to brownies that get rapped (aka banged against an oven rack mid-bake to deflate them) or Sarah Kieffer's iconic pan-banging cookies that turn out pleasantly compact.

What does vanilla extract do in cookies? ›

The primary purpose of vanilla extract is to add flavour to baked goods. Lacking it, baked goods tend to have a bland and boring taste. Vanilla extract can also contribute moisture to create a soft and fluffy texture.

How to fix adding too much sugar? ›

If your dish is a little too sweet, try rounding out the sweetness by adding flavors or ingredients that are sour, bitter, or spicy. It may be obvious not to add more sweet ingredients, but you should also stay away from salty ones since they actually bring out the sweetness in food.

What to do if you put too much sugar in baking? ›

If you over sweeten, you have a few different options, according to Curtis. He suggests adding a squeeze of lemon or lime juice. "The acidity helps to balance it," he explains. If you don't have either handy, you can also try yogurt, or you can add a fat like olive oil, the chef says.

How does the amount of sugar affect a cookie? ›

The lower the sugar, the less cookies spread, the drier/more crumbly they are. Cookies with less sugar taste less sweet, of course. But beyond that, their flavor also becomes flat; sugar is a flavor enhancer much like salt is.

What happens if you add too much granulated sugar? ›

Consuming excess sugar leads to a condition called insulin resistance, which is a precursor to type 2 diabetes, a fatty liver, and cardiovascular disease. Insulin is responsible for the body's absorption of glucose — or sugar — for energy. Those with insulin resistance experience a buildup of glucose in the blood.

References

Top Articles
Latest Posts
Article information

Author: Amb. Frankie Simonis

Last Updated:

Views: 5998

Rating: 4.6 / 5 (56 voted)

Reviews: 87% of readers found this page helpful

Author information

Name: Amb. Frankie Simonis

Birthday: 1998-02-19

Address: 64841 Delmar Isle, North Wiley, OR 74073

Phone: +17844167847676

Job: Forward IT Agent

Hobby: LARPing, Kitesurfing, Sewing, Digital arts, Sand art, Gardening, Dance

Introduction: My name is Amb. Frankie Simonis, I am a hilarious, enchanting, energetic, cooperative, innocent, cute, joyous person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.