Soft and Chewy Red Velvet Cookies Recipe

Soft and Chewy Red Velvet Cookies Recipe – Get your Red Velvet Cake (frosting and all) in cookie form!  These irresistibly soft and chewy red velvet cookies stuffed with real deal cream cheese frosting, are pretty amazing!

Servings: 16

INGREDIENTS

INSTRUCTIONS

TO MAKE THE CREAM CHEESE FROSTING STUFFING: (SHOULD BE MADE AT LEAST 2 HOURS IN ADVANCE)

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or in a medium bowl and using hand-held mixer) beat the butter on medium-high speed until creamy and lightened up, 1 to 2 minutes.

On low speed, gradually add in the confectioners sugar, salt and vanilla until fully incorporated. Raise the speed to medium-high, and beat until lightened in both color and texture and looks fluffier than when it started, 2 to 3 minutes.

With the mixer running on medium speed, add one piece of cream cheese at a time, one after the other, mixing well after each addition so there are no lumps. Continue adding the cream cheese until fully incorporated.

Increase the speed to medium-high and beat until the frosting is light and fluffy, and until no cream cheese lumps remain, 2 to 3 minutes.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or silicone mat. Using a tablespoon-size ice cream scoop or a round tablespoon measuring spoon, scoop out 16 rounded tablespoons of cream cheese frosting onto the prepared baking sheet. (You might have about a tablespoon leftover; consider this your baker’s treat!) Freeze until solid, at least 2 hours and up to overnight.

TO MAKE THE COOKIES:

Line another baking sheet with parchment paper or silicon mat.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder cornstarch, baking soda, baking powder and salt to combine; set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or in a large bowl and using a hand mixer or whisk), beat the melted butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar on medium speed until well combined.

Add in the egg, egg yolk, vanilla, red food coloring, and mix on medium speed until mixture is smooth and emulsified with no sugar lumps remaining, about 30 seconds. Let the mixture rest for 3 minutes, then mix for another 30 seconds.

Repeat the process of resting and mixing 2 more times (a total of 3 rests and 4 mixes) until mixture is thick, smooth, and slightly lightened in color. This step helps dissolve the sugar better, resulting in a thicker, chewier cookie. So unless you prefer thinner cookies, don’t skip it.

Stir in the vinegar. The mixture will separate slightly, but that’s OK.

Using a rubber spatula, stir in the flour mixture until just combined. Do not overmix.

If the dough feels too soft or warm to scoop and shape into firm balls, then cover and refrigerate for about ½ an hour until scoopable. Using a 3 tablespoon-measure ice cream scoop with a release mechanism, scoop out the dough onto the lined baking sheet, forming 16 equal dough balls.

Using the back of a wooden spoon handle or your thumb, make a deep indentation into each dough ball.

Take the cream cheese frosting scoops out of the freezer and working quickly, peel the frosting scoops from the baking sheet and place one inside each indentation of every dough ball. If you’re working in a warm kitchen, you might want to keep the frosting scoops in the freezer, taking only one by one as you work, to prevent them from softening.

Gather the dough up over the frosting scoops to completely cover them. Roll the dough into smooth balls, making sure the frosting is completely wrapped inside and nothing is peaking out.

Loosely cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, then either bake immediately or transfer to a large zipper lock bag and freeze for up to 1 month.*

Preheat oven to 350F/180C and adjust oven rack to middle position.

Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or silicon mats. Place 8 cookie balls per sheet, spacing them at least 2 inches apart.

Bake until the cookies flatten with a slight dome, and the outer edges start to set yet centers are soft and puffy, 10 to 11 minutes. The centers will feel undone, but they shouldn’t be shiny or sticky. DO NOT OVERBAKE or you’ll get hard cookies. The cookies will continue to bake after they come out of the oven from the residual heat of the baking sheet.

Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for at least 15 minutes before serving, but they taste best at room temperature when they cream cheese frosting is no longer warm. If you’d like to decorate them with the white chocolate drizzles, make sure that they’ve cooled down completely before doing so.

TO DECORATE:

In a small microwave-safe bowl, microwave the white chocolate in 15 second intervals, stopping and stirring in between until mostly melted. Continue to stir the chocolate until it has completely melted and very smooth.

Allow to cool slightly until barely warm. Transfer the melted chocolate to a disposable piping bag or zipper lock bag and snip the end using scissors to expose a tiny opening. Pipe random lines over the completely cooled cookies.

Set the cookies aside to cool until the chocolate drizzles set. Store cooled cookies in an airtight container.

RECIPE NOTES

I use Kiri squares cream cheese here because It’s what’s ready available were I live; Egypt. If using Philadelphia brand, make sure it’s brick style.

Weighing ingredients is highly recommended, but if you don’t have a kitchen scale to weigh the flour, use the Spoon & Sweep method: Use a spoon to lightly fill measuring cup with flour until required amount is obtained, then sweep access with the back of a knife.

Use the soft kind of brown sugar that feels and looks like damp sand like Dominos brand. Avoid the coarse, granular type of brown sugar like demerara. Use fresh, moist brown sugar instead of hardened brown sugar, which will make the cookies dry.

Cookie dough balls could be chilled in the fridge for up to 4 days or frozen for up to one month in a zipper lock bag. Bake straight from frozen. You might need to add an extra 2 minutes to the baking time.

Source: cleobuttera.com