These Red Velvet Chocolate Chip Cookies are soft, chewy and loaded with chocolate chips. With a gorgeous deep red color, these beauties are perfect for the holidays or for any day quite frankly! Thanks to our secret ingredient, they're soft even the next day. Of course, they’re gluten free, nut free, egg free and easily vegan! They’re a must try for the red velvet lovers!
These Red Velvet Chocolate Chip Cookies stay soft for days...even without any eggs! Many eggless cookies have a tendency to dry up but not these! Thanks to our special ingredient...molasses! You can also find that secret ingredient in our regular Eggless Chocolate Chip Cookies!
If you're looking for more red velvet recipes, try my Red Velvet Oreo Cookies, Red Velvet Cupcakes, Red Velvet Muffins, Red Velvet Ice Cream and my Strawberry red Velvet Cake.
Reasons to Love these Cookies
- Allergy Friendly- These cookies are gluten free, nut free, egg free and can easily be dairy free (vegan)!
- Soft & Gooey Inside- The cookies are thick, soft, chewy and oozing with chocolate inside!
- Chocolate Chips- They are fully loaded and topped with chocolate chips like in our Eggless Chocolate Cookies!!
- Red Velvet- There is that slight tang that's classic of red velvet.
Ingredient Notes
- Gluten Free Flour- If you also have nut allergies, make sure to use a brand that’s made in a nut free facility. I really love to use this gluten free flour because it’s free of the top 9 allergens. It also contains xanthan gum which really helps give baked goods their bounce and prevents them from falling apart.
- Vegan Baking Stick/Butter- Only use room temperature. If you use melted, the cookies will spread too much while baking.
- Cornstarch and Water- These are eggless cookies so this mixture helps bind everything together.
- Dark Brown Sugar- I use brown sugar instead of granulated for added moisture like in my Dark Chocolate Chip Cookies.
- Milk- If there are no dairy allergies or if you’re not vegan, you can use regular whole milk. For non-dairy, use a dairy-free milk of your choosing.
- Molasses- The secret ingredient! I use a tablespoon of unsulphured molasses. Without it, the cookies will dry up within a day. If you're a molasses lover, check out my Gluten Free Ginger Cookies!
- Red Food Coloring- Make sure to read the label to keep your food safe. I use McCormick.
See my recipe card below for a complete list of the ingredients with measurements.
Substitutions and Variations
How to Make these into Vegan Red Velvet Cookies
- Use a gluten free flour that’s free from dairy.
- Make sure the brand of sugar you use is vegan.
- Use vegan baking sticks instead of butter.
- Only use a non-dairy milk of choice.
- Read the label on your chocolate chips to ensure they’re gluten free, nut free and vegan.
- Make sure the red food coloring is made in a vegan facility or is plant based.
Make this Recipe with All Purpose Flour
- Use 1 ½ packed cups of regular flour (252 grams).
- Make sure to also use packed cups of cocoa powder.
- You still need to chill the dough due to the lack of eggs.
For Smaller Cookies
- Use a small cookie scoop or roll the dough into 1 inch balls.
- Bake the cookies at the same temperature but for 11-13 minutes. Reshape as needed. Should make 24 cookies.
Red Velvet Cookies without Food Coloring
- Simply omit the red coloring. The cookies will be a light brown instead.
This recipe has not been tested with some of these substitutions and/or variations due to celiac disease and food allergies. If you change any of the ingredients, please let us know how the recipe turned out in the comments below!
How to Make Red Velvet Chocolate Chip Cookies
Here are the step by step instructions to make these red velvet cookies!
Step 1: Make the Homemade Buttermilk
Measure out the milk and stir in ¼ tablespoon white vinegar. Let it sit for 5-10 min then stir again. The milk will appear chunky; that’s normal.
Step 2: Whisk Together the Dry Ingredients
In a medium bow whisk together the gluten free flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt.
Step 3: Make the Cornstarch Water
In a small bowl, using a spoon, mix together the cornstarch and water until thin and watery. It will be thick and tacky at first
Step 4: Cream the Butter and Sugar
In a large bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or using a hand held mixer, beat the dark brown sugar and unsalted butter together until soft and creamy; about 2 minutes.
Step 5: Add in the Other Wet Ingredients
Slowly beat in the cornstarch water, the milk, molasses, vanilla and red food coloring until fully combined. It will appear chunky; that’s normal.
Step 6: Add in the Dry Ingredients and fold in the Chocolate Chips and Chill
With the mixer on low speed, slowly beat in the gluten free flour mixture a little at a time until just combined. Use a spatula to scrape down the sides and combine.
Using a spatula, gently fold in ¾ cup chocolate chips until combined.
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and pop the entire bowl of dough in the fridge for 2.5 hours.
Step 7: Scoop the Dough and add Additional Chocolate Chips
Using a large cookie scoop, scoop the dough out into 12 scoops.
If the dough is sticking to the cookie scoop, wash the scoop half way through to get off any stuck on dough.
Pour the additional ½ cup chocolate chips into a small bowl. Press the tops of the dough balls into the mini chocolate chips. With your hand, gently press down on the chips so they stick to the dough, but keep the ball shape.
Step 8: Bake the Cookies and Cool
Place the dough balls about 3-4 inches apart on the parchment lined baking sheet. Bake the cookies at 325 degrees Fahrenheit for 15 minutes.
Immediately reshape the cookies when they come out of the oven and let cool on the baking sheet for 5 min before transferring to a cooling rack.
Expert Baking Tips
- Use Packed Cups of Flour- Normally in baking we do not use packed cups however, when working with gluten free, I've found using packed cups works best to help the baked goods keep their shape. For this recipe use packed cups or the gram amount.
- Make the Homemade Buttermilk- Measure out ¼ cup of milk of choice. Add in ¼ tablespoon of white vinegar and stir to combine. Let it sit for 5-10 minutes and then stir again. It will appear chunky and that’s normal. If you don’t have ¼ tablespoon just fill up ½ tablespoon about half way full.
- Use Room Temperature Butter- Do not use softened or melted butter/vegan baking sticks. The cookies will spread out when baking into a giant mess while in the oven.
- Chill the Dough- If you don’t chill the dough for at least 2.5 hours, the cookies will spread and be flat and thin. Chilling overnight is the best.
- Reshape the Cookies- If you want your cookies nice and round, reshape them as soon as they come out of the oven. Use a spatula to push them back into a circle shape. Work quickly because they harden pretty fast.
Recipe FAQs
You can make the dough the night before. Keep it in a bowl and cover the top with plastic wrap in the fridge. If doing this, there is no need to chill again prior to baking.
Or wrap the dough in plastic and freeze the dough for up to 30 days. Thaw the dough in the fridge the night prior to using.
Most gluten free baked goods are best made the same day, but you can make these cookies a day before!
Unlike most eggless and gluten free cookies, they stay fresh for several days!
Many food colorings are not safe for those with celiac and nut allergies.
It appears to me that McCormick is.
Their website and it said that any product that contains a gluten free label is produced on a dedicated gluten free line and has been validated as gluten free.
McCormick says if gluten appears in a product, they will always list it on a label.
They will never hide allergens under the term “natural flavors.”
I called the company and the statement said, if a product ever contained an allergen it would be declared on the label. If it is not declared, this means the product does not contain it.
I feel very confident in using McCormick products due to these procedures they have in place, but of course you need to make your own decisions.
You can also use plant based natural food colorings but keep in mind it won't be as deep a color as mine are.
I can buy it at my local grocery store, but you can also buy McCormick Red Food Coloring on amazon.
No. It's more than just that.
There is cocoa powder in the cookies but if you were to eliminate the red food coloring, there wouldn’t be enough cocoa powder to make this a true double chocolate chip cookie.
In addition to a small amount of cocoa powder, red velvet contains buttermilk and white vinegar. Those things help give it that tang that we know so well.
Since we are making our own buttermilk with white vinegar, I eliminated the extra vinegar as I thought it would make the cookies a bit too tangy.
Once the cookies have cooled, store them in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
If you want them warm and gooey, heat the cookie in the microwave for a few seconds prior to serving. Be careful not to burn your mouth.
Other Chocolate Chips Cookie Recipes You'll Love
Did you try this recipe? Please leave me a ⭐ review below!
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📖 Recipe
Red Velvet Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 1.5 cups multipurpose gluten free flour (I use a gluten free multipurpose flour with xanthan gum already in it)
- ¼ cup cocoa powder (I use natural unsweetened)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ cup unsalted butter or vegan baking stick, room temperature
- 1 ¼ cups dark brown sugar
- 2 heaping tablespoons of cornstarch mixed with 3 tablespoons of water
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon unsulphured molasses
- ¼ cup milk
- ¼ tablespoon white vinegar
- 1 tablespoon liquid red food coloring (I use McCormick. You may need less if you’re using a gel or paste.)
- 1 ¼ cups chocolate chips
Instructions
- Measure out ¼ cup milk of choice. Add in ¼ tablespoon of white vinegar. If you don’t have ¼ tablespoon just fill up ½ tablespoon about half way full. It doesn’t have to be 100 percent exact. Stir and let sit for 5-10 min. Stir again. It may look slightly chunky and that’s normal.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the 1 ½ cups gluten free flour, the ¼ cup cocoa powder, the 1 teaspoon baking soda and the ½ teaspoon kosher salt.
- In a small bowl, using a spoon, mix together the 2 heaping tablespoons cornstarch (26 grams) and the 3 tablespoons water until thin and watery. It will be thick and tacky at first.
- In a large bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or using a hand held mixer, beat the ½ cup room temperature butter or vegan baking stick and the 1 ¼ cups dark brown sugar until soft and creamy. About 2-3 minutes.
- Slowly beat in the cornstarch water, the ¼ cup milk, 1 tablespoon molasses, 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract and 1 tablespoon red food coloring until fully combined. It will appear chunky. That’s normal.
- Still on low speed, beat the gluten free flour mixture into the wet ingredients, a little at a time until just combined.
- Once combined, scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula and using the spatula, fold in ¾ cup of the chocolate chips.
- The batter will be very wet and sticky. Don’t try to take it out of the bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and put it in the fridge for at least 2.5 hours. It needs to harden otherwise the cookies will spread all over the place.
- After 2.5 hours, preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
- Using a large cookie scoop (I use a 2 ounce cookie scoop), scoop the dough out into 12 scoops. The dough will be quite sticky.If the dough is sticking to the cookie scoop, wash the scoop half way through to get off any stuck on dough.
- Pour the additional ½ cup chocolate chips onto another small plate. Press the top of each cookie into the chocolate chips so they stick to the dough, but keep the ball shape.
- Place the dough balls about 3-4 inches apart on the parchment lined baking sheet. Bake the cookies at 325 degrees Fahrenheit for 15 minutes.I only bake 6-8 at a time. Pop the rest of the dough balls in the fridge while the first batch is baking.
- Immediately reshape the cookies when they come out of the oven. Use a spatula to push them into a circle and let cool on the baking sheet for 5 min before transferring to a cooling rack. If you don't let them cool a little on the pan, the cookies will break apart into a giant mess when you try to lift them up.Repeat this with the remaining dough balls.
Amber Schaefer
I was nervous about making these but they turned out perfectly! I’m allergic to nuts and have friends who don’t eat gluten so I’m glad I have some yummy options for recipes. The cookies are chewy and the salt balances out the rich chocolate flavours very nicely! I made them with a smaller cookie scoop and put them in for 13 minutes in the oven.
Lee
Thank you for sharing!!!
Dionne
Can I add eggs to this and if so how many?
Lee
Hi Dionne! Sadly I cannot test this recipe with eggs due to my son's severe allergy. It actually took me years to try to mimic the texture of a cookie with eggs, so I am not truly sure what adding one would do. If you wanted to try, I would use packed cups of flour, no cornstarch water mixture, one egg, only 2 tablespoons of milk. Still chill the dough. Hope it works out!
Dionne
Thank you, I’ll give it a try.
Emily
What is considered a “heaping” tablespoon for the corn starch?
Lee
It will look like a rounded tablespoon. Hope that helps.
Holly McMeekin
Even the people in our family who have no food allergies loved these cookies. I got a text from my nephew today asking for these cookies for his birthday.
Lee
That's wonderful! Thanks so so much!
John
These red velvet cookies look and taste delicious!
Lee
Thanks so much! Glad you liked them!!
Rabia
Can I use normal flour instead of gluten free?
Lee
Hi! Yes you can but sadly I cannot test it out due to celiac disease. Make sure to use 1.5 packed cups of regular flour (252 grams) and only use 2 tablespoons of milk. You still need to chill the dough due to the lack of eggs. Hope this helps!
Rabia
Ok thank you so kuch... I'll try it out and share the results with you too