Red Velvet Chocolate Chip Cookies

These red velvet cookies are baked soft and chewy and laced with milk chocolate chips. Perfectly festive for holidays, cookie exchanges, or an easy dessert.

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About Red Velvet Chocolate Chip Cookies

I’m the type that reaches for red velvet anything – cookies, cakes, you name it. And though I’ve shared a lot of red velvet recipes on this little food blog, these red velvet chocolate chip cookies are one of my favorites.

And maybe that’s because these cookies easy to eat (like all cookies are). Maybe it’s because you get an extra dose of chocolate with the milk chocolate chips. Or maybe it’s because they’re simply delicious.

Oh, who am I kidding? These red velvet cookies are my favorite for all those reasons and more.

So, what is red velvet?

Now, I know many people may tell you that red velvet either does not have a taste or that it tastes like chocolate cake.

And, truthfully, they’re not “wrong.”

Red velvet began as a chocolate cake with vinegar and buttermilk, and through a chemical reaction, the cake would turn a red brick color once baked. Fast forward a few years and we typically see red velvet recipes that are essentially chocolate cake with a healthy dosage of red food coloring.

Thankfully, you can use flavor emulsions (like this Red Velvet Emulsion) so you still get a hint of the true red velvet flavor without worrying about incorporating specific ingredients.

Do you need to chill the dough?

This particular recipe calls for chilling the cookie dough for one hour.

I know it can be frustrating to put your baking on hold, but when it comes to cookies, chilling the dough is totally worth the impact it has on your baking.

The short explanation for chilling has to do with the butter. The firmer the butter is at the time of baking, the slower it will melt, which makes cookies less likely to spread while baking. So, as a general rule of thumb, chilling the dough will lead to more dense, fluffy cookies while not chilling will lead to flatter, chewier cookies. This is not always the case, though. Whether you need to chill depends largely on the amount of butter used AND the composition of the other ingredients.

If you’d like a more indepth explanation of chilling dough (with examples!) then check out this article: To Chill or not to Chill.

Can you freeze red velvet cookies?

If you’d like to always have a batch of these cookies on hand, the easiest way is to freeze them for later. There are two ways you can do this.

To freeze the raw dough: 

• Mix all ingredients, then scoop out about one tablespoon of dough and roll it into a ball (the same way you would before baking).
• Place cookie dough balls on a tray and freeze for at least two hours or until outside is no longer tacky. Once firm, transfer to a freezer bag or a storage container with a sealable lid.
• Cookie dough can be stored for up to six months. When ready to bake, thaw in the refrigerator overnight, then bake like normal.

To freeze the baked cookies:

• Bake and allow to cool completely.
• Store cookies in a single layer in a freezer bag or storage container. If you need to stack the cookies, separate each layer with a sheet of wax paper.
• Baked cookies can be frozen for up to three months.

Notes and tips for these red velvet cookies

• When making these red velvet cookies, I like using a red velvet emulsion in place of regular red food coloring. The emulsion will give you a deep red color as well as hints of flavor that make red velvet so delicious.
• If you’re doing a lot of baking, I highly recommend having some silicone baking mats on hand. Baking cookies takes enough time without having to cut or measure parchment paper. Or if you prefer using parchment paper, you can try using pre-cut parchment paper sheets instead.
• Plus, some quality baking sheets are a must for a cookie baking extravaganza!
• For this recipe, I highly recommend using a stand mixer or a hand mixer. This recipe would be difficult to make by hand with a whisk.

Other lovely red velvet recipes

More fun cookie recipes

This recipe was originally published on December 11th, 2014. It was updated with new photos, revised recipe, and text on November 4th, 2018.