This was my first attempt at red velvet anything and I went into it with a blank slate. I honestly had no idea what made something “red velvet” and how it differentiated from any other colourful cookies. Here’s the long and the short of it: it’s not very different at all.
Essentially, red velvet is regular chocolate chip cookie dough with some added cocoa powder and red food dye. It doesn’t sound as exquisite when you put it like that, but they still look really impressive (and taste awesome), so that’s really all that matters, right?
I decided to use peanut butter chips because they are the equivalent to crack in baked goods. So delicious and addictive. If you haven’t tried them yet I truly feel sorry for you.
I adapted this recipe from Sally’s Baking Addiction. She seriously is the master of all things baked.
Note: I made these in a stand mixer, but made one small mistake which was adding the chips in and using the mixer to stir. It ended up being a little too aggressive and breaking up the chips. It still tastes good and I added more on top, but I’d suggest just stirring them in with a spatula to avoid crumbles.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup plus 1 tbsp. softened unsalted butter
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose gluten-free baking mix*
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/2 tsp. pure xanthum gum
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup dark brown sugar
- 1 tbsp. milk
- 1 large egg
- 2 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1 tsp. red gel food colouring
- 1 cup peanut butter chips
* You can make your own mix using rice flour, potato starch, xanthum gum or a combination of whatever you feel works best. If you’re not opting for gluten-free you can substitute all-purpose wheat flour.
Method
Mix the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt together in a large bowl. Set aside.
Using a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, beat the butter on high speed until creamy. Scrape down the sides and the bottom of the bowl as needed. Turn up the speed to medium and beat in both sugars until combined. Beat in the egg, milk, and vanilla extract, scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed.
Once mixed, add the food coloring and lightly beat until combined. Turn the mixer off and pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Turn the mixer on low and slowly beat until a very soft dough is formed. Beat in more food coloring if you’d like the dough to be redder. Add in the peanut butter chips and stir by hand. The dough will be sticky at this point.
Leaving the dough in the bowl, cover it tightly with aluminum foil or plastic wrap and chill for at least 1 hour. Chilling is mandatory.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Set aside.
Scoop 1.5 tablespoons of dough and mold into a ball. Place roughly 9 balls onto each baking sheet—there should be enough space so they can spread a little. Bake each batch for 10-11 minutes. If the cookies only spread slightly, press down on the warm cookies to slightly flatten and form crinkles. Lightly press a few peanut butter chips on top of each cookie.
Allow the cookies to cool on the cookie sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 7 days. Cookies may be frozen for up to 2 months. Cookie dough may be frozen up to 2 months – thaw overnight in the refrigerator. Cookie dough balls may be frozen up to 2 months. Bake for 1-2 extra minutes (do not thaw).
the vegetarian ginger 
Have you tried using just plain wheat-free flour? Did it work?
These must have bee delicious! And peanut butter crack equivalent??? We NEED that in the UK. Seriously. I’m gonna start a campaign. 😀