Classic Chocolate Chip Cookies are always a favorite but these Red Velvet Chocolate Chip Cookies have taken them to the next level! Soft and chewy like the original, these beauties are perfect for the holidays or for any day quite frankly! Of course, they’re gluten free, nut free, egg free and easily vegan! They’re a must try for the red velvet lovers!
Red Velvet has a specific flavor profile. It has that little bit of cocoa taste and that little bit of tang.
I feel like either you love it or you hate it but these cookies are pretty impossible not to love!
Even my little picky eater who doesn’t want much of anything aside from dark chocolate, has been eating them non stop.
I know red velvet can be made at ANY time, but I truly love making them around the holidays and Valentine’s Day.
They’re just so cute and festive!
Just make sure not to spill the red food coloring all over your hands…unless you want red hands.
That’s a 100 percent sure way to have them be red for days. And…DAYS.
I may or may not be speaking from experience.
Anyway, I love this variation of my original Chocolate Chip Cookies and my Double Chocolate Chip Cookies!
LET’S CHAT ABOUT RED VELVET
What makes red velvet special? Is it just chocolate with red food coloring?
As I’ve said before, 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.
WHAT ABOUT THE RED FOOD COLORING? IS THAT SAFE?
Many food colorings are NOT safe for those with celiac and nut allergies.
It appears to me that McCormick is.
I checked 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 even called the company. 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.
I can buy it in my local grocery store, but you can also buy it on Amazon.
MAKING OUR OWN VEGAN BUTTERMILK
If we want these cookies to be vegan, buttermilk is not an option. Not a problem. Making your own vegan buttermilk takes about 5-10 minutes.
Measure out ¼ cup of a non dairy milk of your choice and add ¼ tablespoon of white vinegar into that milk. Stir it and let it sit for 5-10 min on the counter.
After it has sat, stir it again and you’ll notice it appears slightly chunky. That’s perfectly normal and supposed to happen. This is your vegan buttermilk. It’s now ready to be added to our recipe.
Don’t know how to measure out ¼ tablespoon? Just fill up ½ tablespoon about half way. It doesn’t have to be 100 percent exact.
What if I don’t want these red velvet chocolate chip cookies to be vegan?
No problem! If you don’t want these cookies to be vegan, do the same exact thing with regular milk. It’s still a homemade buttermilk; I know most of us don’t happen to have buttermilk on hand!
HOW DO WE PREVENT THESE RED VELVET CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES FROM BEING DRY?! HERE ARE MY TIPS:
- Softened butter or vegan baking stick: Don’t use melted. Melted butter tends to make the cookies spread out more, especially since no egg, creating a thin crispy cookie and that’s just not what I wanted for this recipe.
- Dark brown sugar: I only use dark brown sugar in this recipe. The dark brown sugar has more molasses than light brown sugar, making the cookies have more moisture.
- Molasses: In addition to the dark brown sugar, I use an entire tablespoon of unsulphured molasses. Without the extra molasses the cookies dry up once they’re cool.
- Milk: Normally most CCC recipes do not contain milk but these need the moisture. Adding the milk of choice is essential.
- Refrigerate the dough: This is a MUST with egg free cookies. The dough needs to be chilled for at least 2.5 hours so that the dough doesn’t spread all over the place once they bake. Don’t try to take the super sticky dough out of your mixing bowl…simply place plastic wrap on top of the bowl and pop the entire thing in the fridge for 2.5 hours. Also, make sure you put the extra dough back into the fridge in between batches.
These are the things that are essential to making these cookies soft and chewy…even after they cool.
TIPS FOR MAKING RED VELVET CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES LOOK EXTRA PRETTY
- Refrigerate the dough- As I just said, this is a must with egg free cookies. The dough needs to be chilled for at least 2.5 hours so that it doesn’t spread all over the place once they bake.
- Press extra chocolate into the tops of the cookie prior to baking- This makes these cookies even more amazing. It ensures you get gooey chocolate in every bite.
- Use a small cookie dough scoop- I found using the scoop makes the cookies have those beautiful ridges and ripples. If you were to break off an inch of dough and roll it in your hands, the cookies will spread more in the oven and they will have very smooth tops.
CAN THESE BE VEGAN?
Yes! Follow these steps to make sure they’re vegan:
- Use a gluten free flour that’s free from dairy- Some gluten free flours contain dairy. Make sure to read the label to make sure the flour you’re using is vegan.
- Swap out the butter with vegan baking sticks– Make sure to use vegan baking sticks instead of butter.
- Use a non dairy milk- Replace the milk with a non dairy milk of choice. See a few paragraphs above where I discuss vegan buttermilk.
- Make sure the chocolate chips you use are vegan- Read the label to ensure the chocolate chips you’re using are free from dairy. These are a favorite in my house.
- Only use gluten free/vegan red food coloring- Make sure to read the label to keep your food safe. I use McCormick.
There you have it!
I love these cookies so much…I might have to make them more often.
They definitely were gone very quickly in my house! Enjoy!
Red Velvet Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- ½ cup 1 stick unsalted butter or vegan baking stick, softened
- 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 of choice
- ¼ tablespoon white vinegar
- 1 tablespoon red food coloring I use McCormick. You may need less if you’re using a gel or paste
- 1.5 cups gluten free flour
- ¼ cup cocoa powder I use Dutch or Natural Unsweetened
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 ¼ cups chocolate chips
Instructions
- In a large bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or using a hand held mixer, beat the softened butter or vegan baking stick and the dark brown sugar until soft and creamy. About 2-3 minutes.
- 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 small bowl, using a spoon, mix together the cornstarch and water until thin and watery. It will be thick and tacky at first.
- With the mixer on low speed, beat in the cornstarch water mixture. Then beat in the vanilla, molasses, homemade buttermilk and the red food coloring. The mixture might look slightly chunky and that’s ok.
- In a separate large bowl, whisk together the gluten free flour, the cocoa powder, the baking soda and the kosher salt.
- 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.
- Take the bowl of dough out of the fridge. Using a small cookie scoop, scoop the dough out. At this point the dough will still be a bit sticky.
- Press some extra chocolate chips into the top of the dough balls. I usually press an extra 4-5 chips per cookie.
- I only put about 12 cookies on the tray at a time. Make sure to space them at least 3 inches apart. Put the extra dough back into the fridge in between batches.
- Bake the cookies in the middle rack for 11 minutes.
- Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes before moving the cookies to a cooling rack. Repeat with the rest of the dough.
- Once the cookies cool, store in an airtight container at room temperature. Enjoy!
John
These red velvet cookies look and taste delicious!
Lee
Thanks so much! Glad you liked them!!