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.
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.
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 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 spirulina powder 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.
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 recipes to use leftover egg whites.
Red Velvet Sugar Cookies
Small batch sugar cookies: red velvet sugar cookies with hearts for Valentine's Day!
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
- Preheat the oven to 350, and line a small baking sheet with parchment paper (or use a silicone mat).
- Stir together the melted butter, sugar, egg yolk, vanilla extract and red food coloring. Stir very well to combine.
- Next, sprinkle the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt evenly over the dough, and stir just to combine.
- 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.
- Roll each dough ball in your hands, roll lightly extra granulated sugar, and then space evenly on the prepared baking sheet.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes, until they spread, start to crackle and appear dry on top.
- Let the cookies rest on the baking sheet for 2 minutes before moving them to a wire rack to cool completely.
- 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.
- Bring to room temperature before serving.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
6Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 325Total Fat: 22gSaturated Fat: 8gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 11gCholesterol: 82mgSodium: 225mgCarbohydrates: 27gFiber: 3gSugar: 18gProtein: 8g
Charlotte says
I love your sight and ALL of your recipes! I am a home baker and am interested in creating a blog of my own. Do you have any suggestions for an easy to use, free site, to start my own blog? Also I want to buy a quality but cheap camera- do you have any suggestions?
Jenny says
Hi Christina, I just made these and they didn't turn out well. The cookie spread and flattened and didn't achieve the crackly thick look of your cookies. Does the rolling in sugar make a difference because I skipped this? Does the butter need to be cooled? Does the dough need to chill? They look so beautiful that I'm sad they failed for me.
Christina Lane says
Hi Jenny!! Aww bummer, I'm so sorry! When a cookie spreads and flattens too much (and the recipe was followed correctly), the first thing I think of is the baking sheet and what you covered it with. Did you use parchment paper? It acts as an insulator and keeps cookies from spreading too much. Did you use just the egg yolk, not the whole egg? The sugar rolling is a-ok. No chill time required.
Gah, I'm so sorry you had a failure. I hate when recipes don't work! I'm clicking around on instagram right now and I see other people made them and had success, so I'm at a loss for why they failed. I'm so sorry. Happy Valentine's Day! I appreciate you letting me know.
Donna says
I could not find these white chocolate peanut butter candies.
Jenny says
I had a hard time finding them as well. I went to 3 Targets before I found them. I did not see them at Safeway either.
Katlyn says
Do you have a recipe like this for just plain sugar cookies?
Rubi says
These look amazing! Can you make them in advance?
Christina Lane says
Yes, up to 1 day. Keep in an airtight container on the counter :)
shelley says
can i freeze the dough for a few days or a week until i'm ready to bake these? thank you!!
Christina Lane says
I haven't tried that, Shelley, but I think you could! Just add a few minutes to the baking time, and I would press them down gently before baking to make sure they spread. I want you to have flat cookies for pressing the hearts on top :)
shelley says
i can't find white chocolate hearts anywhere, what brand were yours from? thanks!
Christina Lane says
These were Reese's last year, but I don't think they made the white ones this year. BUMMER! So, the chocolate ones in the video are from this year. I got them at Walmart & I've seen them at Target. It's so frustrating how candy companies only send certain styles of candy to certain stores!
Anna says
Hi Christina! I followed your recipe exactly (but doubled it) and my cookies didn't turn out red. They turned out brownish. I used red gel food coloring as specified. I had a feeling the color wasn't right as soon as I mixed everything up but was hoping magic would happen in the oven and they would miraculously come out red like yours pictured. Any idea what might've gone awry? Also, next time can I try using red gel icing coloring instead of gel food coloring? Is it the same thing?
Christina Lane says
Hi Anna! Oh no! I'm sorry this happened to you! Did you watch the video at the top of the post? Are they the same color as in the video? The photos in the post are enhanced for Pinterest. Sorry to mislead you! The cookies should be clearly red, but not super bright red. Do you like the color of them in the video?
Jan says
I made these cookies last night.I had a box of Wilton gel food colors and there was no red only Magenta. I tried it and they look great and taste great. I made two batches.Thanks for the great recipe.
Christina Lane says
That is so fun! I think my daughter would like these to be magenta :) Thanks for letting me know :)
Pam Wilson says
What did I do wrong?? I couldn't sprinkle the flour on the 'dough' - it was complete liquid! Were my eggs too big I wonder? I doubled the recipe and had to add another half cup flour to keep it from being too wet to handle. It cut down the colour and they never 'cracked' like the picture. Tips welcome!
Christina Lane says
Hmmm, Pam. I'm guessing that doubling the recipe is the cause. But also, if you use extra-large eggs, yes that could be it, too. I only test my recipes the way you see written, not doubled. I'm sorry! The dough is very loose because it's made with melted butter. Did you watch the video? It shows you exactly how to make it. IF you follow the directions exactly, you will get the right results. Good luck next time :)