These thick, soft and chewy stuffed red velvet cream cheese cookies have the best flavors of red velvet cake. Stuffed with a tangy, fluffy cream cheese frosting, these cookies are perfect for a gift, cookie swap or holiday event.
Looking to try more red velvet recipes? Try these Red Velvet Macarons, Red Velvet Sugar Cookies and Red Velvet Cupcakes.
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Why You Will Love These Cookies
- These large stuffed cookies (think Crumbl style) are soft, thick, and chewy with sugary crisp edges from coating in sugar before baking.
- They get their vibrant dark red from both gel food color and Dutch process cocoa powder. The cocoa powder gives these cookies a fudgy and decadent flavor.
- The cream cheese filling is tangy and fluffy, like the cream cheese frosting that accompanies red velvet cake, and for the traditional tang of buttermilk found in red velvet recipes.
- While these do require a bit of time and patience, the cookie making process is straightforward and easy to follow. With my step-by-step photo instructions, you’ll be making perfect cookies every time.
Recipe Ingredient Notes
(See recipe card for a full list of ingredients and amounts.)
Cream cheese – Use full fat cream cheese. Reduced fat and fat free tend to contain more water.
All-purpose flour – Just a bit, to help thicken up the cream cheese filling.
Dutch processed cocoa – You can use natural cocoa powder in place of Dutch processed. Note that your cookies will be more of a bright red color instead of a dark red color.
Brown sugar – Brown sugar lends a deep caramel-like flavor to the cookies and helps in keeping them soft and chewy.
Red gel food color – The more concentrated the red gel food color, the less that has to be used. I prefer to use Chefmaster Super Red. Americolor and Wilton gel colors also will work here. Do not use liquid food color.
Recipe Instructions
(See recipe card for a detailed recipe instructions.)
- Beat together the cream cheese, confectioners’ sugar, flour and vanilla until smooth and fluffy.
- Divide the cream cheese filling into 12 equal portions on a baking sheet lined with parchment or wax paper. Freeze for two hours.
- Roll the frozen cream cheese portions into ball shapes. Freeze for another two hours.
- Whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, salt, baking powder, and baking soda in a medium bowl.
- Whisk together the eggs, gel food color and vanilla in a measuring cup.
- Beat together the butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar until light and fluffy, about 3-5 minutes.
- Beat in the egg/gel food color mixture.
- Beat in the flour mixture until just combined.
- With a large cookie scoop (¼ cup), scoop out the dough for 12 cookies.
- Roll each dough scoop into a ball and flatten to a disc to about the size of your palm.
- Place a frozen cream cheese ball in the center of the each of the discs.
- Wrap the dough around the cream cheese filling.
- Roll the cookie back into a ball shape and freeze for 15 minutes.
- Roll the cold dough balls in granulated sugar to coat.
- Place on prepared cookie sheets, leaving 3”- 4” between each cookie.
- Bake for 14-16 minutes. Cool at least 30 minutes before serving.
Baking Tips
- Keep the cookie dough chilled at all times if you are baking in batches. The key to keeping the centers from melting out of the cookie and for the cookie to bake up thick and chewy is keeping the dough cold. Don’t skip or reduce the chilling times.
- Different brands of food color will have varying red colors and intensities. I’ve listed some of my recommendations in the ingredients notes above. You can always start with a smaller amount of red gel food color to see if you are happy with the color before adding more. Do NOT use liquid color.
- As soon as the cookies come right out of the oven, scoot a large round cookie cutter around them in circular motion. This helps moves the cookies into a perfect round shape.
Storage
Stuffed red velvet cream cheese cookies are best eaten the day they’re baked. Since these cookies contain cream cheese, they do have to be refrigerated. They can be stored at room temperature for 3-4 hours, then stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days. The cookies will start to get soggy after a few days.
They can be made in advance and stored in the freezer for up to 3 months. Bake the cookies directly from the freezer, baking for an additional 2-3 minutes.
The cream cheese filling can be made up to 3 days in advance and stored in the freezer until ready to use.
Recipe FAQs
Red velvet cake is actually a buttermilk cake with a bit of cocoa. Buttermilk gives the cake a bit of tang, while just enough cocoa powder is added to provide a mild chocolate flavor. Red velvet cake is not a chocolate cake. Traditionally, red velvet cake was made with ermine frosting, or cooked flour frosting, similar in texture to a meringue style buttercream. But these days you don’t see many (if any) red velvet cakes without fluffy cream cheese frosting.
Sure. Make the cookies as listed in the recipe card, omitting the cream cheese filling steps.
Amazon will give you the most red gel food color options. Craft stores like Michael’s and Hobby Lobby will carry red gel color, as well as some department stores like Walmart.
Did you make this recipe? Share it with us! Tag @littlevintagebaking on Instagram and leave a star rating below if you LOVED this recipe. For more baking and decorating ideas follow me on Pinterest.
More Cookie Recipes to Try
Recipe
Stuffed Red Velvet Cream Cheese Cookies
Equipment
- Electric Stand Mixer (or hand mixer)
Ingredients
Cream Cheese Filling
- 1 ¾ cup confectioners sugar
- ½ cup cream cheese, room temperature
- 1 tablespoon all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Red Velvet Cookies
- 2 ½ cups all purpose flour
- ¼ cup Dutch processed cocoa powder
- ¾ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ¾ teaspoon baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon red gel food color
- 1 ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- ¾ cup light brown sugar, packed
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- Additional granulated sugar for rolliing
Instructions
Cream Cheese Filling
- Line a small baking sheet with parchment paper.1 ¾ cup confectioners sugar, ½ cup cream cheese, room temperature, 1 tablespoon all purpose flour, 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, on medium speed, beat together the confectioners sugar, cream cheese, flour and vanilla extract until smooth and fluffy, about 3-5 minutes.
- Divide the cream cheese filling into 12 equal dollops on the prepared baking sheet. Freeze for 2 hours.
- Roll the chilled cream cheese dollops into a ball shape. Work quickly as the filling will get soft and difficult to work with. Freeze for at least an additional 2 hours.
Red Velvet Cookies
- Preheat the oven to 350F. Line two or three large baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, salt, baking powder, and baking soda.2 ½ cups all purpose flour, ¼ cup Dutch processed cocoa powder, ¾ teaspoon fine sea salt, ¾ teaspoon baking powder, ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- In a medium measuring cup, whisk together the eggs, red gel food color, and vanilla until well combined.2 large eggs, 1 tablespoon red gel food color, 1 ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, on medium speed, beat together the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until light and fluffy, about 3-5 minutes.1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature, ¾ cup light brown sugar, packed, ½ cup granulated sugar
- Turn the mixer to low and stream in the egg/food color mixture. Turn the speed to medium and beat for another 1-2 minutes until well combined. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl with a spatula and mix for another minute.
- Turn the mixer speed to low and add the flour mixture. Beat until just combined.
- With a ¼ cup/2oz cookie scoop, scoop out the dough. You should have 12 dough scoops.
- Roll the scoops into ball shapes. One at a time, flatten the dough balls to a disc shape, a little smaller than the palm of your hand.
- Place a frozen cream cheese ball into the center of each dough disc. Wrap the dough around the cream cheese ball. Roll back into a ball shape, and set back on the small baking sheet that was used to freeze the cream cheese filling.
- Roll the cookie dough balls in sugar to coat. Freeze for 15-20 minutes.Additional granulated sugar for rolliing
- Place the cookies on prepared baking sheets, at least 3" apart. 6 cookies on each sheet. If your oven is small, you can use three baking sheets, 4 cookies to each baking sheet.
- Bake for 13-15 minutes until the edges look just set and the centers are slightly puffed and no longer shiny.
- Cool the cookies on the baking sheets, allowing them to cool for at least 30 minutes before serving.
anna says
Very good recipe!! The cream cheese filling stayed in the cookies with no draping, and everything was fully cooked and delicious!