Another good cookie for the holidays: red velvet caramel crinkle cookies. These cookies are soft in the middle and chewy on the outside, with a surprise gooey center. Rolled in powdered sugar, these cookies are sweet and delicious and relatively easy to make. If you enjoy red velvet cake, this cocoa cookie will be right up your alley.
What is a crinkle cookie?
These cookies are thick and fudgy. They have a cracked, chewy top that sort of has a brownie-like texture. They are chocolatey and DELICIOUS.
What you need to make red velvet caramel crinkle cookies
These cookies require normal cookie making equipment:
- A stand mixer or electric mixer – we will need to whip up our batter, so either one will work. Here’s my KitchenAid mixer and here’s my favorite handheld mixer.
- Sheet pans – Here’s my favorite Goldtouch non stick sheet pans with a cooling rack, perfect for cookies.
- Parchment paper
- Spatula – you may need to scrape the sides of the bowl as you go!
- Bowls – small and large!
What food coloring to use
If you didn’t know, red velvet comes from red food coloring. Cocoa powder is a main ingredient in red velvet cakes and cookies, so there isn’t anything in there to make it red on its own. I used food coloring I found at Walgreens, so I needed to use a few teaspoons to turn them a red shade. If you use less, they might come out pink or sort of brown.
If you buy higher grade red food coloring, start with 1/2 a teaspoon of coloring and work up from there.
What caramels to stuff into your cookies
My favorite caramels to stuff in these cookies are the Dove Milk Chocolate caramel candies. If you can’t use those, buy a bag of caramel chips (like from Trader Joe’s) and shove a few of those into your cookies. You can also swap regular chocolate chunks in here too if you prefer.
Red velvet caramel crinkle cookie tips
- Use a an ice cream scoop to measure your dough balls – this helps me keep the cookies decently uniform.
- Don’t over bake the cookies. The cookies will feel mushy after 12 minutes but trust me, it’s long enough. Remove them from the oven and let them cool.
- Roll them generously in the sugar – One of my cookies got the “remnants” of the sugar if you know what I mean, and it did NOT look magical after baking. If you start to run out of the granulated sugar or powdered sugar, get some more! You will want the dough balls to look well dusted before baking.
And that’s pretty much it! Store these in an air tight container and leave them at room temperature. consumer within a week!
Other cookie recipes:
If you liked these red velvet caramel crinkle cookies, here are some others to try:
- Peppermint Chocolate Espresso Cookies
- Chocolate Ganache Sandwich Cookies
- Apple Butter Cookies with Maple Cream Frosting
- Hot Chocolate Cookies with Peppermint
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Red Velvet Caramel Crinkle Cookies
Equipment
- Cookie sheets
- cooling rack
- stand mixer
- small bowls
- spatula
- parchment paper
Ingredients
- ½ cup unsalted butter room temperature
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ¾ cup brown sugar
- 2 eggs
- 2 tsp red food coloring *lower grade
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- ⅓ cup cocoa powder
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- 14 soft caramel and chocolate candies like Dove caramels
- ¼ cup granulated sugar for rolling
- ¼ cup powdered sugar for rolling
Instructions
- In your stand mixer, beat the butter on medium speed until its whipped, about 30 seconds.½ cup unsalted butter
- Add the granulated sugar and the brown sugar and beat on medium speed until it's well combined with the butter.½ cup granulated sugar, ¾ cup brown sugar
- Add the eggs and beat on low speed until the butter mixture looks creamy. Add the red food coloring and mix on low until the color is homogenous. Add more coloring if the batter isn't dark enough.2 eggs, 2 tsp red food coloring
- In another bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cocoa powder.2 cups all purpose flour, 1 tsp baking powder, ½ tsp baking soda, ½ tsp salt, ⅓ cup cocoa powder
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet and beat on very low speed until the batter comes together. Scrape the sides with a spatula as needed.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Use an ice cream scoop or tablespoon to scoop tablespoon-sized balls of dough. Shove a caramel chocolate into the center of each cookie, and then roll them into even balls.14 soft caramel and chocolate candies
- Pour the granulated sugar and powdered sugar into two separate bowls. Roll each ball in the granulated sugar and then the powdered sugar. Place them on a baking sheet a few inches a few inches apart (only place about 6-7 cookies per sheet). Bake them in the oven for 12 minutes, until the sides have set and the tops have cracked. They will still feel very soft.¼ cup granulated sugar, ¼ cup powdered sugar
- After a few minutes, move them to a wire cooling rack if you wish. Enjoy!
Nathan
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