Red Velvet Sugar Cookies

Soft and chewy red velvet sugar cookies are rolled in sprinkles for the perfect crunchy finish. These red velvet sprinkle cookies are a small batch recipe and can be rolled in any colour sprinkles you like.

Red Velvet Sugar Cookies

Hi hi! Just popping in to share the recipe for these red velvet sugar cookies with you! These are a small batch, red velvet version of my chocolate sprinkle sugar cookies, which are super popular.

This is a small batch, no mixer required sugar cookie recipe that uses an egg yolk, so is perfect if you have an extra one kicking around! These are a firm favourite in our house. I rolled mine in white sprinkles, but you can mix it up here and do whatever you like.

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Small Batch Sugar Cookies

These Small Batch Red Velvet Sugar Cookies are super easy to make, and come together in less than 10 minutes. The recipe requires no chilling, so you can have these ready to go in about half an hour. I use an electric hand mixer to make these, but you could also just use a whisk and spatula and some elbow grease.

• Combine dry ingredients. Doing this first makes things go nice and fast. Combine the flour, cocoa baking soda and salt all together in a bowl.
• Cream butter and sugar. We all know the drill here. Cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.
• Add egg yolk and mix. This recipe uses a single egg yolk, so pop that in and quickly mix to combine.
• Add food colouring and vanilla. I used red gel food colouring for these red velvet cookies, so incorporate that in to the mixture with the vanilla.
• Mix in dry ingredients. Pop in your dry ingredients and mix to combine. The cocoa will turn the mixture a dark red colour.
• Scoop out and roll. Scoop the dough out into balls, then roll each in sprinkles to generously coat. Place onto the sheet pan (don't worry about flattening them).
• Bake. Bake the cookies until they are set around the edges. Remove from the oven and leave to cool. This recipe makes 9 cookies, so I usually bake off 6 then have the last three ready to go on a smaller pan as soon as the first batch is done.

What flavour is red velvet?

Red velvet is basically light chocolate flavour. This is a chocolate sprinkle cookie, with red food colouring added. I tested these red velvet sugar cookies with a little less cocoa and found they weren't quite what I was after, so I increased the quantity slightly. So while these aren't the reddest red velvet cookies, they are very, very good.

The best food colouring to use for a red velvet cookie is a gel food colouring. Gel food colouring is thicker and more intense, so it will not throw off the texture of what you are making by adding too much liquid. I use americolor, but there are a lot of other options out there too. I used a tsp, feel free to dial that back or leave it out completely.

The best sprinkles for sugar cookies

I rolled these red velvet sugar cookies in nonpareils, or as we call them in New Zealand, Hundreds and Thousands. I have a big bag of white (and a zillion other colours) which I used for these. Plain coloured sprinkles are available online or you can usually get them at cake supply stores.

'Jimmies' style sprinkles also work great on these cookies, or you could roll them in a sparkly sanding sugar. Whatever you use, make sure to get a good generous coating on the outside.

FAQ for Red Velvet Sugar Cookies

• What tools and equipment do you use?

You can see a full list of all the tools I use here

• Do I have to roll these in sprinkles?
  No - they are super good rolled in regular granulated sugar before they go in the oven!
• Can I leave out the food colouring?
  Absolutely - these will just be a chocolate sprinkle cookie, and will be so good!
• Can I use regular cocoa?
  I have only tested this recipe with dutch process - so you are welcome to try and it should be fine, but I haven't tested this myself.
• What cookie scoop do you use?
  I use this one. You can also weigh out your dough balls - they will be approximately 50g each.

For more small batch cookie recipes, check out:

• Small Batch Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Egg Yolk Chocolate Chip Cookies

Made this recipe and love it?

If you made this recipe then I would LOVE for you to leave me a review below to let me know how you liked it! Also, please make sure to tag me on Instagram if you make it!

A note on salt and oven temperature

It is important to note the type of salt that is called for in a recipe. I use Diamond Crystal salt throughout my recipes - if you use a different sort of kosher salt or regular table salt you will need to adjust accordingly as some salt is 'saltier' than others. Morton's salt is twice as salty, so you will need half the quantity. Same goes for a regular table salt. I am working to get gram measurements throughout my recipes for salt but still getting there.

All oven temperatures are conventional unless otherwise stated. If you are baking on fan / convection, you will need to adjust the temperature. An oven thermometer is a great investment to ensure that your oven is the correct temperature.

Using the double / triple function in the recipe card

You will notice that there is a '1X' '2X' '3X' button in my recipe card. This can be used for doubling or tripling a recipe. However, please note that this only doubles the ingredient quantities in the ingredients list and NOT in the method. If there are quantities or pan sizes in the method of the recipe (for example weigh out 150g brown butter), you will need to scale this number manually. It will also not change the baking time in the recipe so you will need to adjust this yourself too. It is always a good idea to read through a recipe fully before doubling it just to check this. If you would like to scale this recipe or convert for another pan size, use my calculator!

Tools and equipment

For a list of my go-to tools and equipment, I have a post you can refer to here.

Why is this recipe in grams?

I post my recipes in grams as it is the most accurate way to bake. Cups are not only inaccurate but they vary in volume worldwide. There is no way for me to provide one cup measure that works for everyone. However, posting in weight fixes this issue. If you would like the recipe in cups you are welcome to convert it yourself via google, but please do not ask me to do it for you as I am not comfortable providing a recipe using a method that I have not tested. Baking with a scale is easy, accurate, and also makes cleanup super simple. Here is the scale that I use if you would like a recommendation! Here's to accurate baking!

Recipe For Red Velvet Sugar Cookies

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