For the love of cookies

Stuffed Red Velvet Cookies

Stuffed Red Velvet Cookies

A chocolate cookie turned red, dotted with semisweet chocolate, stuffed with vanilla bean cheesecake filling, and rolled in red sugar for an irresistible crunch. These cookies are sure to please any red velvet fan with a light, creamy inside and a crisp outside.

I mean seriously? Does this picture need a description? This cookie is AMAZING.

Is any Valentine’s Day menu complete without a red velvet dessert of some kind?

Ok, maybe it’s not everyone’s flavor but it is my husband’s favorite. I have made red velvet in so many different forms over the ten years we have been together it would make your head spin. Ice cream, cookies, cake, cupcakes, pudding, cheesecake, trifle, brownies, cinnamon rolls, the list goes on! He rarely turns down a red velvet dessert and I make sure to whip up something special for him every Valentines Day.

More Lovely Cookie Recipes here:

As fun as it is to create new recipes, I always have these cookies on hand for February. They are easy to make, transport well, no need for melting chocolate, and don’t require icing anything (one thing I am not very good at is decorating and icing cake. I loathe it. Though I do enjoy eating cake). The red sanding sugar on the outside catches the light and makes the cookie appear to be sparkling bright like a precious gemstone without having to fuss with additional decorations. Plus, it happens to be his favorite red velvet treat. Win, win, win!

I began selling these cookies in my home bakery in 2019 and have created a large fan base because of them. My sales, reputation, and social media presence soared every time I debuted these cookies and for good reason, they are just as delicious as they look! The red color is stunning, and the flavor of the cookie mimics a red velvet cake with a cookie twist. Now I am able to share this wonderful recipe for you to add to your favorite cookies to bake.

This recipe has been scaled down for home bakers, it can easily be doubled and tripled for larger batches.

Why I Love This Recipe

Flavor-The original recipe for red velvet cake is essentially a German Chocolate cake with red food coloring. The use of vinegar in the cake reacts with the cocoa powder and the baking soda creating a light as a feather cake crumb with a subtle taste of chocolate. These cookies mimic the flavor of red velvet cake and use a combination of cocoa, baking soda, and apple cider vinegar to create a light and airy cookie with a fine crumb.

The apple cider vinegar also gives the cookie a bit more acidity which helps the flavor of the chocolate in the dough stand out. The flavor of the chocolate is enhanced by using chopped semisweet chocolate which melt into pools of chocolate with every bite. The vanilla bean cheesecake filling is lightly sweetened with a tangy finish and carries a strong flavor of vanilla bean. These flavors compliment the subtle chocolate flavor of the cookie dough. This cookie isn’t too sweet so the sugar coating on the outside helps balance the cookie dough and tangy cream cheese filling.

Texture-The texture of the red velvet cookie dough is light with a fine crumb. Using a combination of cake flour and apple cider vinegar in the cookie dough creates a fluffier cookie dough inside of the cookie. It’s still very much a cookie in texture, these are not cake cookies, but lighter than a regular drop cookie and not as doughy. The vanilla bean cheesecake filling is creamy and thick, closely resembling a whipped cheesecake which pairs nicely with the soft dough and the melted chopped chocolate inside. What really ties this cookie together is the sugar coating on the outside. Texturally, it adds a crunch to every bite making the cookie dough and filling feel softer and creamier with a satisfying crispness from the sugar. I love when a cookie has layering textures, makes them even more fun to eat!

Love- Cookies are a love language. Tell them you love them this Valentine’s Day with these stuffed cookies. I promise you; they will be blown away.

Easy-These small batch cookies are easy to put together. They do have more steps than a regular drop cookie, however, stuffing the cookies only adds around 5 minutes more to your total prep time. Really not that bad. In contrast to making a red velvet cake from scratch with cream cheese icing, this recipe is by far the easiest form of red velvet dessert you can make. You can also leave the cookies unstuffed then layer the vanilla bean cheesecake on top for a “frosted” type of cookie.

Small batch of stuffed cookies, perfect for Valentine’s Day.

Ingredients You Need

-Butter- unsalted room temperature butter.

-Granulated Sugar

-Brown Sugar

-Egg

-Vanilla Extract

-Salt-for flavor.

-Cocoa Powder- I used unsweetened cocoa powder.

-Flour

-Cake Flour- I suggest not substituting this. It creates a fine crumb in the cookie that is not easily replicated with all-purpose flour or cornstarch. If you do substitute with all purpose, the cookies will be denser.

-Red Food Coloring-I am loving the Sugar Art Red Rose powdered food coloring. It adds striking color without adding moisture like the liquid food coloring does. I cannot recommend this product enough for the color payoff, as you can see, is breathtaking. You can also use gel food coloring as a substitute. I do not recommend using liquid food coloring. It adds too much liquid to the recipe and will result in a looser dough that will bake up more like small cakes.

-Apple Cider Vinegar-to add acidity to the cookie. It reacts with the baking soda to create a lighter and airy crumb in the cookie.

-Baking Soda

-Semisweet Chocolate-I used Guittard brand semisweet chocolate bar. I chopped it into one-inch chunks and added to the dough. You can use chocolate chips but they won’t be as melty as the chopped chocolate. If you prefer a less chocolatey cookie, you can omit the chocolate entirely.

-Red Sanding Sugar-this is a specialty item most avid bakers would have in their baking pantry. It adds a great pop of red color to the outside of the cookie. It can easily be substituted with granulated sugar. Not as much of a pop of color but it will still add a satisfying layer of crunch to the cookie.

-Cream Cheese-full fat. Don’t skimp on this. These cookies are about love NOT calories. Calories don’t count on Valentine’s Day.

-Powdered Sugar-for the filling.

-Vanilla Bean Paste- I used McCormick brand vanilla bean paste in a tube. I like this product and have used it in many bakes since I purchased it. I can also recommend Nielsen Massey vanilla bean paste, I loved using it in the past. If you do not have vanilla bean paste, you can substitute with a high-quality vanilla extract.

Vanilla Bean Cheesecake Filling

First things first, I make the cheesecake filling. This will help the assembly of the stuffed cookies flow so much easier after the cookie dough is made.

In a bowl I combine all the filling ingredients. I make sure to leave the cream cheese out on the counter to soften for around 20 minutes prior to mixing. This will help the filling come together into a smooth filling, reducing lumps in the filling.

It’s easier if I use a handheld mixer to combine the ingredients, but mixing by hand works too. You want to make sure everything is mixed evenly and the filling is smooth.

I cover the filling and set inside the fridge while I prepare the cookie dough.

Cookies are a love language.

Red Velvet Cookies

These cookies are incredibly easy to put together from start to finish. If you would rather opt out of stuffing the cookies, no worries! These can be scooped and baked then decorated with spoonfuls of the vanilla bean cheesecake filling on top. These cookies are best after they have time to rest in the fridge overnight. Resting will help decrease the spread and improve the chocolate flavor of the cookie dough.

In the bowl of a mixer, I add the butter and both types of sugar. I mix these on high until the mixture is pale and creamy, this took me about 5 minutes.

Next, I add the egg, apple cider vinegar, vanilla extract, and continue to mix on medium high until the mixture is creamy and no visible egg remains. The mixture will be pale and creamy in appearance.

The powdered food coloring is easy to mix into the wet ingredients and turns the mixture a vibrant red. I make sure to scrape down the sides to ensure the color is getting mixed in well with the mixer. This took me an additional minute or two of mixing.

I sift the dry ingredients over the wet ingredients then mix on low until a soft dough forms. The dough will be soft but manageable and slightly sticky.

I chop the semisweet chocolate into 1-inch pieces then add them to the dough. I make sure they are evenly incorporated into the dough before proceeding to the next step by using a spatula to mix by hand a few turns.

Assembly

To make the cookie stuffing process as easy as possible I set up my station with the following:

  • Vanilla bean cheesecake filling from the fridge with a tablespoon.
  • Red sanding sugar in a bowl.
  • 4-ounce cookie scoop.
  • Parchment or Silpat lined baking sheet.
  • Food grade gloves. The red dye in the cookies and red sanding sugar will dye your hands red if handling the cookie dough without gloves. You have been warned.

This will help make my life easier and allow me to fill the cookies quickly without having to stop. I am a cookie stuffing machine at this point. Nothing will stop me.

Next, I take a level 4-ounce cookie scoop of the red velvet cookie dough and with a back of a spoon or gloved hand, I make a deep indentation in the center of the dough. I create a rather large well, an inch and a half deep and probably the same distance wide. I want a larger well to be able to hold a good amount of vanilla bean cheesecake filling.

Using a tablespoon, I take a heaping spoonful of the filling and place it inside of the well. I then pinch the dough closed on top of the filling to seal it in.

Release the dough scoop into the bowl of red sanding sugar and roll the dough to cover in sugar. Note-this sugar also has a good amount of red dye in it, so it is advised to use gloves throughout this step as well.

After the dough is covered in sugar, I place the sugared dough on the parchment lined baking tray and repeat with the remaining dough.

The stuffed dough will rest in the fridge overnight to develop flavor and chill the filling inside. This will help improve the chocolate flavor, create a moist and tender crumb, and prevent the filling from melting out when baking.

Bake the cookies at 375*F for 14-16 minutes. Cookies are done when they have dry edges, and the tops are slightly cracked.

Cool the cookies for 15-20 minutes on the baking sheet before transferring to a wire rack to continue to cool.

Serving these cookies warm or at room temperature is the best! Also, great with a scoop of ice cream on top.

I hope you make this for your Valentine, these are seriously romantic cookies!

Red Velvet fans, this cookie is for you.

If you try this recipe and love it as much as I do, please tag, follow, and like @sunshinetxcookies on Instagram and Facebook. New posts every Thursday so be sure to follow me for more delicious cookie recipes. Happy Baking!

Stuffed Red Velvet Cookies

Vibrant red chocolate cookies are stuffed with a vanilla bean cheesecake filling, chopped semisweet chocolate, and rolled in red sugar. These are the PERFECT cookie for Valentines Day.
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 16 minutes
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Servings 4

Ingredients
  

  • 1 stick butter unsalted, room temperature.
  • ¼ cup granulated sugar
  • ½ cup brown sugar
  • 1 egg
  • ½ tspn vanilla extract
  • ½ tspn apple cider vinegar
  • ½ tspn powdered red food coloring I used Sugar Art-Red Rose. My favorite!
  • cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • ½ tspn baking soda
  • ½ cup cake flour
  • ¾ cup all purpose flour
  • ½ tspn salt
  • 2 ounces semisweet chocolate bar I used Guittard chocolate
  • ½ cup red sanding sugar You can use granulated sugar as a substitute.

Vanilla Bean Cheesecake Filling

  • 4 ounces cream cheese full fat, room temperature.
  • 3 tbspn powdered sugar
  • 1 tspn vanilla bean paste I used McCormick vanilla bean paste.
  • tiny sprinkle of salt

Instructions
 

Vanilla Bean Cheesecake Filling

  • Combine all of the ingredients in a small bowl until thoroughly mixed and smooth.
  • Place in fridge while preparing the cookie dough.

Red Velvet Cookies

  • In a bowl combine butter and both types of sugar until light and fluffy. This will take around 5 minutes on medium high speed of your mixer.
  • Add vanilla extract, apple cider vinegar, and egg to the bowl. Continue to mix on medium high speed until all of the ingredients are mixed together. This will take one to two minutes. The mixture should look smooth and creamy.
  • Add the powdered food coloring and mix thoroughly. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed to distribute the color in the dough.
  • Sift the dry ingredients, flour, cake flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt over the top of the wet ingredients. With the mixer on low, slowly combine the dry ingredients to form a soft dough.
  • Add the chopped chocolate and mix to distribute evenly into the dough. Do not overmix.

Stuffed Cookie Assembly

  • Prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper or silpat. Remove vanilla bean cheesecake filling from fridge and prepare red sanding sugar in a bowl.
  • Using a 4 ounce scoop, scoop out a full portion of cookie dough.
  • Create a well in the center using the back of a spoon or your thumb.
  • Fill the crater with a heaping tablespoon of vanilla bean cheesecake filling.
  • Pinch the dough closed over the top of the filling to seal it in.
  • Release cookie dough into the bowl of sanding sugar and rotate to coat all sides with sugar.
  • Place cookie dough on baking sheet and repeat with remaining cookie dough.
  • Refrigerate overnight.
  • Bake cookies at 375*F for 16 minutes. The edges will be dry and the tops will be slightly cracked.
  • Allow to cool on the baking sheet for 15-20 minutes.
  • Enjoy!

Notes

If you love red velvet cake, you need to make these cookies. The soft fluffy interior dotted with melted chocolate and soft red velvet cookie dough has a creamy and tangy cheesecake filling and a crisp sugary outside for an amazing dessert.
This recipe can easily be doubled for larger crowds.
These cookies are best enjoyed day of. They can be stored in a tightly fitted container in the fridge for a week.
Keyword gourmet cookies, pumpkin stuffed cookies, Red Velvet, valentines day cookies

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Chrissy Grundy

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Howdy! I love creating delicious cookie recipes. I enjoy spending time with my kids and husband in Buda, Texas and I am a huge supporter of local Texas producers. I am so happy you are here! Let’s start baking!

Chrissy Grundy

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