White Chunk Red Velvet Cookies

If you’ve seen the movie Steel Magnolias, you should remember the armadillo groom’s cake. That was the moment when I fell in love with red velvet cake - I hadn’t even tasted it yet! But every opportunity since then I have chosen red velvet! The flavor of red velvet is chocolate but it’s mild - there can’t be too much cocoa or the red color wouldn’t show up. There are a lot of theories where red velvet came from, the 2 main ones are 1) that 19th century cocoa processing combined with the baking agents of the day reacted and turned the chocolate a reddish color and 2) during WW1 and WW2 for rationing, people would use beets when they didn’t have enough sugar which would give the cake its unique color. Maybe both are true? All I know is that red velvet is FUN and tasty.

Now on to the cookies! The cookie crumb itself is chewy and chocolatey and is complemented by the texture of the white chunks - SO GOOD. When I am wanting a chewy cookie, this is IT. The cookies flatten a bit after they cool but that is supposed to happen - the weight of this chewy textured cookie collapses after baking. Nothing complicated with this recipe and it is great for holidays or any day!

INGREDIENTS:

• 1/2 cup salted butter (1 stick), at room temperature

• 3/4 cup granulated sugar

• 1 large egg

• Red food coloring*

• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

• 1/4 cup cocoa powder

• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

• 2 tablespoons whole milk

• 3/4 cup of white chocolate chunks or white baking chips

INSTRUCTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F

In a mixing bowl, cream together (hand mixer or stand mixer) the butter and sugar until well combined and fluffy (about 3-4 minutes). 

Add the egg and mix for 1 more minute.

(Optional) Mix in red food coloring - add as much as you want until you reach the desired color.

Now mix in the vanilla extract.

In a separate bowl, sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt to combine. Slowly add to the butter mixture and mix on low speed until fully incorporated, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the milk and mix on low speed to combine, then scrape down the sides of the bowl.

Now add the white chocolate / white baking chips and stir until evenly dispersed.

On a baking sheet lined with parchment, place 3 tablespoon sized dough balls 2” apart.

Bake for about 12 minutes until the cookies are done. Let cool for 5 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack.

Enjoy!

*Now I’m going to take a moment to talk about red food coloring here - if you’re against using it, you can totally omit it from the recipe but your cookies will obviously not be red. If you’re thinking about using a beet dye alternative, a word of caution: the acidity of this recipe (cocoa and baking soda) will oxidize your beet dye and turn it brown. I’ve actually been researching some less acidic ingredient alternatives but I don’t have a recipe yet… stay tuned!