These Vegan Red Velvet Crinkle Cookies have the classic flavor of red velvet cake in cookie form. With a deep red color, crackly sugar exterior, and a soft and chewy center- these crinkle cookies are just as delicious as they are beautiful!
We kind of have a thing for vegan cookie recipes here at SGTO. However, one recipe that has been missing is vegan crinkle cookies!
To make these dairy-free & eggless crinkle cookies even better, we're making them red velvet flavored. Just like my Vegan Red Velvet Cupcakes, they have hints of chocolate for the perfect red velvet dessert.
Ingredients:
Ingredient notes:
- Red food coloring: To give these dairy-free red velvet cookies their classic red color, we are using red food coloring.
- I used McCormick red food coloring and you only need 2 teaspoons of food coloring for a deep red color. However, every brand is different, so you may need more or less food coloring depending on the brand you use.
- Also make sure to avoid carmine in the ingredients to keep red food coloring vegan!
- Cocoa powder: I have used both Big Country cocoa powder & Ghiradelli cocoa powder to make these cookies. Just make sure to use an unsweetened cocoa powder for the best results.
How to make vegan red velvet cookies
Cream vegan butter & sugar
This is an important step to making 99% of my cookie recipes.
Add room temperature butter (which is soft to the touch, but not melted) to a bowl and cream it with the sugar until fluffy. This incorporates air into the batter and gives the cookies a wonderful texture.
Add wet ingredients
This includes the flax egg, vanilla, and red food coloring. The cookie dough will look really bright red at this point, but don't worry. Once we add in the cocoa powder, it will become a deep maroon color.
Add dry ingredients & mix
This includes all-purpose flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Make sure to add the flour first then pile the remaining ingredients on top.
Then, mix together until you have a thick red velvet cookie dough.
Chill dough for 30 minutes-1 hour
Fun fact, but I found that without chilling the dough, a lot of the powdered sugar was absorbed into the dough. That means the cookies were missing that distinctive crackly sugar coating.
For this reason, it's extra important to chill the dough so the sugar can soak up some moisture. It also makes these vegan crinkle cookies sweeter and way earlier to scoop and roll.
Scoop cookies & roll in sugar
This step first involves scooping out the cookies and rolling them into balls.
Then, roll them around in a bowl of granulated sugar first. This causes the top of the cookie to dry out which helps to maintain that crackly sugar cookie.
Next, roll the cookies in a bowl of powdered sugar TWICE. Yes, you read that right- TWICE. This also helps to ensure these vegan crinkle cookies are in fact- crinkled!
Bake the red velvet cookies
Add the red velvet cookie balls to a tray and bake at 350F for 11-12 minutes. Once they are baked, tap the tray on the counter to help define the crackly ridges.
Then, let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for about 5 minutes. The cookies will be pretty soft right out of the oven and need a little more time to cook on the sheet.
After that, move the red velvet cookies to a wire rack to continue cooling or enjoy warm!
FAQ & Tips:
Red Velvet tastes like a mild cocoa/chocolate cookie. We are also adding vanilla so it does have hints of vanilla in the dough.
Also, red velvet typically has a tangy taste when made as a cake because of the buttermilk. However, these cookies do not have that flavor since we don't use any buttermilk.
Definitely! Just make sure to use a GF 1:1 Baking flour. Please note, using flour alternatives like almond flour or coconut flour will not work in this recipe as they are not a 1:1 substitute.
Red Velvet cookies can be stored in a closed container at room temperature for 2-3 days, in the fridge for up to 1 week, or in the freezer for up to 1 month. They are great enjoyed warm or cold!
I can't wait for you to try these Vegan Red Velvet Cookies with crunchy crackly tops and fudgy chewy centers. They are truly the best cookie to make for Valentine's Day, Christmas, or really any celebration. Enjoy!
-TSG
More vegan cookie recipes you will love:
Vegan Red Velvet Crinkle Cookies
Ingredients
Red Velvet Cookie Dough
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 3 Tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup vegan butter
- ½ cup organic sugar
- 1 flax egg 1 Tablespoon (8 grams) ground flaxseed mixed with 3 tablespoon water
- 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or extract
- 2 teaspoons red food coloring more or less depending on brand
Crackle coating
- 2 Tablespoons organic sugar
- ¼ cup powdered sugar use more if needed for rolling twice
Instructions
- First, sift or whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a small mixing bowl. This helps to remove any clumps of cocoa powder. Set aside for later.
- Add the vegan butter and cane sugar to a separate mixing bowl. Then, cream together with an electric mixer until soft and fluffy (about 1-2 minutes).
- Next, add the flax egg, vanilla bean paste/extract, and red food coloring to the mixing bowl. Mix together for another 30 seconds.
- Add the sifted dry ingredients to the large mixing bowl of wet ingredients and mix into a thick red velvet cookie dough. Make sure to mix JUST until a smooth and thick cookie batter forms and no streaks of flour remain. Do not overmix or else you will form too much gluten and the cookies will not spread as much.
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, add to the fridge, and let chill for 30 minutes- 1 hour.
- After chilling, cover a baking sheet in parchment paper and preheat the oven to 350F. Remove the cookie dough from the fridge and use a 2 tablespoon cookie scoop to form your cookie dough balls (about 40 grams per cookie of dough).
- Roll each cookie dough into balls between your palms. Then, roll in a bowl of granulated sugar. Once coated, roll in a bowl of powdered sugar twice. Rolling the cookies in powdered sugar twice ensures they will have a crackly exterior.
- Place the red velvet cookie dough balls onto the baking sheet at least 2 inches apart since they will spread while baking. Then, add the tray to the oven and bake for 11-12 minutes.
- Remove the cookie tray from the oven and immediately tap the tray on the counter to help define the crackly exterior.
- Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for another 5 minutes. Then, move the cookies to a wire rack to finish cooling or enjoy warm!
Notes
- Red Velvet cookies can be stored in a closed container at room temperature for 2-3 days, in the fridge for up to 1 week, or in the freezer for up to 1 month. They are great enjoyed warm or cold!
- Chilling the cookie dough and rolling it in powdered sugar twice is CRUCIAL to get a crackly texture. Do not skip either of these steps!
- To make gluten-free substitute a GF 1:1 baking flour. Almond/Coconut flour will not work in this recipe.
Kae says
Can I substitute the red food coloring with beet root powder instead ?
Megan says
I'm honestly not sure how beet powder affects the texture of the cookies as it may make them too dense but if you try it let me know!
Willow says
Can I make the dough and freeze ahead? Want to make 6 of your cookie recipes for holiday cookie tins as gifts next week and I’m planning to make about 18 batches of cookies 😳🫣🥴 I was thinking if I could make all of the dough throughout the week and freeze it, I can bake them all the day before! Just wanna make sure they will still be just as delicious if I go that route!
You don’t have to post this, just hopeful for a response! Thanks ☺️
Megan says
Normally, I would say to make the cookie dough ahead of time, roll into balls, and freeze- however I am not sure that's the best strategy for crinkle cookies so they get the right outer appearance and texture! You can probably do that and then roll in granulated sugar and powdered sugar before baking, but I'd actually recommend making & baking them according to the instructions and then freezing the cooled cookies. You can add them right to the cookie box frozen as they really only need 30 minutes to defrost! Let me know what you end up doing 🙂
Avery says
So good and so easy! Mine were pretty soft after 12 mins but super tasty!
Megan says
So happy you liked them 🙂 If they're too soft you can let them continue on the hot baking sheet out of the oven a few minutes- they keep cooking then!