These red velvet cake cookies are loaded with white chocolate and perfect for holiday gifts and cookie exchanges! These cake-mix cookies are so easy to make!
Red Velvet Cake Cookies
One of my Florida State besties (Hi Amanda!!!) sent me a little Christmas cookie lovin’ this year and introduced me to the wonderful world of red velvet cookies.
HOLY COOKIES BATMAN!
I didn’t know these were a thing but I’m oh so glad I now know just how awesome these bad boys are!
Her recipe seemed entirely too easy to be true, so I grabbed a box of cake mix and dragged my baking-challenged butt into the kitchen to whip up a batch. Here’s my version of the recipe!
Red Velvet Cake Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 box red velvet cake mix
- 1 cup all-purpose flour (use only 1/2 cup if you want them a little sweeter!)
- ½ cup unsweetened applesauce
- 1.5-2 cups white chocolate chips
- 1.5 sticks of butter, softened
- 1 large egg
Instructions
- Leave butter out to soften and preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Once softened, beat with a hand-mixer until fluffy.
- Next, slowly add flour and cake mix until incorporated.
- Add your egg and mix completely.
- Fold in white chocolate and roll dough into 1 inch balls.
- Place on a bare cookie sheet and bake for approx 10 minutes.
- Allow to cool for 2 minutes on the baking sheet and then transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling completely.
- Fluffing these up with applesauce has the potential to make cakey, whoopie pie-like cookies that would taste awesome sandwiched with some frosting in the middle. YUM!
Notes
Nutrition
So… how were they!?
True story: I didn’t expect these to be edible based on my train wreck baking skills. So when every time I turned around P had a cookie in his mouth, hand, and/or pocket… I took it as a sign that I indeed actually baked a cookie. A darn good cookie at that! Though it was a total shortcut cookie, I’m still counting this as a win! My goal is to eventually be baking savvy enough to make natural, from-scratch breads, cookies, and such for gifting and parties and so forth.
Though I don’t mind being the veggie girl at parties and pot-lucks. If there’s one thing everyone needs more of , it’s veggies!
Though Paul insists that he needs more cookies.
All. The. Cookies.
more great for gifting holiday treats:
- White Chocolate Cranberry Pistachio Biscotti
- Peppermint Bark Granola
- Chocolate Cranberry Phyllo Cups
- Snowflake Peppermint Bark
- NEW! Oreo Balls
- Chocolate Brownie Crinkle Cookes – LOVE THESE SO!
If you get a chance to try these red velvet cake cookies, let me know!
Leave some love in the comment form below or tag your photos with @peasandcrayons on Instagram so I can happy dance over your creation.
Questions & Reviews
I make these for any event I need to bring treats to. They are always a hit!
Thanks for this recipe – Definitely a success, my husband loves them
I just made these tonight and they are yummy if you love “muffin tops” (which we do!). I used the one cup of applesauce/one stick of butter combination and two eggs. I worked the wet ingredients together to make a typical cookie wet mixture and then added the dry ingredients (cake mix, 1/2 cup of flour, 1/4 cup of cocoa powder and 1 teaspoon baking powder). It was about the thickness of brownie batter, so I refrigerated. I sprayed my cookie sheets with Baker’s Joy (the spray with flour in it) because my first batch of cookies stuck. Cooked them approximately ten minutes at 375 degrees. What you get with this combination is essentially a “muffin top” that is like a little cake that’s soft and tender and fluffy. Not at all chewy, so don’t follow my lead if you don’t look forward to a Red Velvet Muffin Top. I’m going to drizzle melted white chocolate on mine, and add a few sprinkles of colored sugar. Super yummy but more cake like than cookie like. That said, they’re delicious.
NOTE: Bake only one sheet at a time. Since this is like cake, if you open the door to move a second sheet in, the temp will drop and so will your “cookies”. Be patient … it’s worth the wait.
Thanks for the tip darling! So you added cocoa powder and baking powder in addition to the recipe? Totally what must have made them extra cake-y and a little more apt to stick – which is fabulous to know since I have a few friends who make whoopie pies of this and would love them extra muffin-top-y [let’s pretend that’s a word! hehe] So glad you loved ’em! xoxo
Red Velvet is the only cake I like! Can’t wait to try them as cookies!
Thanks for the idea, I made these and included them in my blog post with a link to you!
Hi there! Wow those look really scrumptious! I love red velvet anything (even the real fabric). I have to watch my sweet and salt intake, so if I make this for Valentine’s, I have to try to only eat one. A very difficult task!
I am visiting your site from Between Naps on the Porch…you were the entry right before mine!Come and visit mine too if you get a chance!
Linda
Thanks Kim!!! Hope you’re having a fabulous weekend!!
Thank Lizzy!!!!! so so much!
Thank Lizzy!!!!! so so much!
Love them!!
I love your recipe! Beautiful Cookies!!!
haha I should probably have written in the post that they were actually sweet by my definition which… is totally biased based on the fact that I have a sweet thing maybe once a month (the teeniest bit of sweetness is like sugar overload for my werido taste buds!) Glad the chocolate chips gave you that delish sugar rush =)
Ok, I wasn’t sure about these cookies because none of the other cake mix cookies I have ever made called for extra flour. But I followed the recipe anyways and they are good and do look beautiful. The actual cookie part is not very sweet at all and has a bit too much of a flour taste, but I added so many chocolate chips that it didn’t matter. I think next time I may cut back the flour to half a cup.
These look great and really sound delicious!
Oh man these look good!! I like replacing some of the butter, it’s hard to imagine putting all of it into your system. Seriously sounds fantastic!
Jenn, these cookies look awesome! I love red velvet! Thanks for sharing this recipe on Melt in Your Mouth Monday! 🙂
Thanks Amy!!! They have been family-tested and Marine Corps tested as well — Hope you love em! <3
these look awesome, jenn! red velvet cake is a huuuge favorite in nashville, so i know these cookies would be a huge hit. i’ll have to give ’em a try!
These look amazing. I think they need to go in my must make some file!!
These look amazing girl!! Pinning it!!
These look amazing! I am def trying these. Yum!
oh my delish!!! Must make these cookies!
Last year for Valentine’s Day I made red velvet pancakes. This year, I think it may have to be red velvet cookies… looks soooo delish!
These cookies look delicious! Congrats on making the top 9 today!!
Congrats for making the Top 9! Red velvet is a new thing to me and i think these cookies are fantastic 🙂
Oh, I love these beauties!!! Congrats on the Top 9 today!
love that you swapped in apple sauce and they still turned out great. i want to try these! perfect for vday coming up soon 🙂
oh my gosh! those looks sooo good! and easy too!! will definitely have to make these!!
I seriously need to make these immediately. But seriously would eat them all myself. What a dilemma!
Wowsers. Congrats on top 9! These little beauties deserve it! xx
In my neck o’ tha woods….we call them “Cake-ies” They are the most versatile, easiest cookie to make! Keep your eyes peeled for box mix sales!!!
I agree with P, every party needs more cookies – these are definitely party worthy!
red velvet ANYTHING and I’m sold 🙂
Hahaha but this is why I love blogging … it helps me to open my mind to new and different ingredients!! 😉 Tell P that I’d be happy to send some meat and potatoes his way haha! 😛
As someone who is obsessed with red velvet anything! I would probably eat like…all of these cookies!
THESE ARE MY FAVORITE COOKIES EVERRRRR.
I love cake cookies, but red velvet doesn’t do it for me – maybe I expect too much flavor out of something red, haha. Love the white chocolate chips, thougH!
haha he’s getting some for dinner! promise =) only I made him drive 2 hours to buy free-range pasture raised local steak and organic potatoes. I’m a freak of nature, I know =)
Yayyyy! I’m so glad!!!! Anytime you need something new just shout out a few ingredients to me and i’ll whip a recipe up just for you! =)
I read your comment out loud to P and he laughed at the thought of my crazy substitutions. Then he thought a little bit harder and realized I’m not done experimenting =) bahaha!
I used to think the same thing… until I met one of paul’s friend’s wives…. ohmygosh that girl can turn red velvet cake into
pure decadence!!!! But she’s the pro — I’m just dabbling for practice =)
gloriously!!! thank you hunny bunny!!!!!!! and thanks for the fbook loving too — you’re the best!
love the ease of box cake cookies!!!
So confession time: never been a huge red velvet cake fan – never got it?? But I have NEVER met a cookie I didn’t like, so I’m pretty confident that I would LOVE these!
Yaaay!!! Good idea with the substitution, glad it worked nicely!
Thank you for not going all Paula Deen on us. These look wonderful!
Those look amazing! I too was introduced to red velvet cookies through a cookie gift basket over Christmas this year… SOOO yummy. I definitely will try making these!
Haha no worries love!!!!! The holidays are one hot mess every year 😉 Hope you had a good one! <3
Well, I feel better that someone sent you guys cookies for Christmas this year….I was feeling like a slacker not making any cookies tins for people this year, but I was sooooo busy! And I’m super proud of you for attempting baking again… 🙂
They looks great! Good to know about the applesauce-butter ratio when making substitutes.
So beautiful! I love the color!
These look delicious! I love cake mix cookies but have never tried red velvet cake mix!
Wow! Love the idea of red velvet cookies. The recipe is simple and the cookies look delicious. 🙂
Good job on the cookies! They look mighty tasty 🙂
Red velvet is my absolute favorite!! I’ll have to give these a try they look pretty fantastic!
Delicious! Isn’t it amazing how some of the easiest recipes end up being the best?!
Haha, when I see recipes like that I seriously can’t do it either! I cringe at the thought of more than 1 stick of butter or 1 cup of sugar in anything! It’s a guarantee I’m switching and swapping things up and out if that happens!
I’ll be honest, I don’t really get the whole red velvet craze (it doesn’t taste like anything special to me) but you make these look pretty damn good! 😉
Red velvet is something I haven’t attacked yet. But the combo with white chocolate chips in the form of a cookie (my fav!)? Who am I to say now?
I can’t bake cookies too often because I WILL eat the entire batch in a day. I keep seeing red velvet all over the place, but I’ve never tasted it. Enjoy your cookies!
Kudos to you for trying to make it healthier! They look like they turned out fabulous; I didn’t even know red velvet cookies were possible! 😀
I just made red velvet cookies last week for the Golden Globes! My recipe was slightly different–the mess was RIDICULOUS though! Red is so hard to clean off all your bowls, spoons, etc. I think I’m going to try your modifications next time 🙂
These are so pretty! Whenever Joe and I want a treat….he says, what do you want? And I say, red velvet.
Even if I don’t get it, I still say it…really. I want the cookies for my treat tonight. Thank you.
YUM!
Oh, Jenn. I’m so proud of you. You’ve been posting more and more foods that are right up my alley recently. At first, I thought you were going to say you subbed the butter for something like crushed soybeans or quinoa or something. 😉 But I can get behind applesauce as a substitute! 😛
These look great. I have had some great successes and great failures with switching out for healthier alternatives. I guess you don’t know till you try. When its a win its a really big WIN!
My friend passed it along to me after I about died over the cookies she sent me — so i’ll pass the thanks along to her! <3 She’s my cookie guru =)
I saw a similar recipe at Christmas time and was really wishing I’d pinned it because I want to use it to bring in to work on V-Day! Thanks darlin’ for re-posting it for me!!!
I love that you were able to alter the recipe and the outcome was so delicious! They turned out absolutely gorgeous. Perfect for Valentines Day. (:
Those look amazing!
so cute! Love the colour 🙂
Yum! I love Red Velvet and these look great, I can only imagine how great they are!
Ha ha Paul sounds like Tim. :-). I’m with you–totally okay being the veggie girl. These look fabulous, though.
these look awesome, I’ve never baked anything red velvet but I love the deep red colour it gives, so I may have to get baking. 🙂
These are beautiful cookies – the chunks of white chocolate chips are so cute and match that colouring so well! And the photography makes them all the better.
Absolutely gorgeous 😀
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
Latest: Nutella Baking Week
http://gobakeyourself.wordpress.com/
These cookies would be perfect for my kids Valentine’sParty. They look delicious:)
These look so soft and delicious! I especially love the white chocolate chips.
Thanks Hooker! I was told that the marines inhaled them in 5 minutes flat and the sugar-addict of the group managed to stuff five in his face. lol! I’ll take it!
Thanks Erin!!! <3
They look delicious and tempting! The pictures are amazing!:-))
Nom nom!! These look sooo tasty. I am a sucker for red velvet. I’ll have to make something like this recipe asap 🙂
Way to go with the applesauce! I actually like a cake-ier cookie, so I use the stuff liberally. Looking at these, I have no doubt people would be knocking down the door for a potluck cookie from you. Buzzed fo’ sho’. 🙂
Thanks snickerdoodle!!!! <3
Thanks Emily! I was super happy with the results — my next
baking endeavor will be all from scratch! *fingers crossed!*
right? We’re not Paula Deen!!!! That much butter would hurt my teeth… lol =)
Thank you for making my decision of what to get Brad for V-day easy! A box of homemade cookings…there’s nothing like it 🙂
I love that you couldn’t possibly put that much butter into the cookies. I am the SAME way! I will definitely be making the cake-ier cookies!