Soft Baked Red Velvet Cookies

Soft Baked Red Velvet Cookies - made dough March 19, 2016 from Bakes by ChiChi

I’m kind of ambivalent about these cookies. I certainly like the artistic concept of them: wonderfully dark red cookies with white chocolate chunks for interesting contrast in appearance, taste and texture. But I think I missed somewhere on execution because mine didn’t look as good as the original blog I got the recipe from. Plus I wasn’t wowed by the taste. It’s possible I just wasn’t in the mood for cookies or red velvet at the time I made these (pigs do fly, you know) or I didn’t bake them properly or something.

It’s a standard cookie recipe in that you throw the ingredients together and I followed my normal process of making dough balls, freezing them and baking off the frozen dough for less spread. These did spread somewhat so that was a disappointment. They weren’t as pretty as the ones I was trying to copycat from the original blog. And the taste didn’t grab me either even though I used the good cocoa.

I know, not a rousing endorsement, eh? You could still try them, especially for Valentine’s Day, Christmas, Memorial Day and 4^th of July. But I think I’ll stick with my red velvet cookies with cream cheesefrosting if I really want red velvet.

1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1/4 cup full fat cream cheese
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup superfine granulated sugar
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/8 cup cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon white vinegar
1 tablespoon milk
red food coloring
1 1/2 to 2 cups white chocolate chips or chunks

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat butter, cream cheese and sugars until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes.
2. Sift together flour, cocoa powder and baking soda; set aside.
3. Whisk together egg, vanilla extract, vinegar. milk and red food coloring. Add to sugar mixture and mix until combined.
4. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add flour mixture and eat just until combined. Do not overmix. Mix in white chocolate chips and/or chunks.
5. Portion dough into golf-ball-size dough balls and flatten slightly into thick discs. Cover and chill or freeze overnight or for several hours.
6. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line several baking sheets with parchment paper.
7. Evenly space discs on baking sheets and bake 9-11 minutes or until edges are set and middles no longer look raw. Remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes before moving cookies to wire racks to cool completely.