Sink your teeth into vegan red velvet cookies, each one thin, chewy, and full of the beloved red velvet taste and hue. These cookies are a perfect blend of indulgence and simplicity, delicious on their own or enhanced with a light dusting of powdered sugar. For an added touch of sweetness, finish them off with a drizzle of vegan icing. Whether for a special event or a cozy night in, these vegan red velvet cookies are sure to be a hit with their rich flavor and striking appearance.
What do we typically think of when we hear the words “red velvet”? And no, I don’t mean an evening gown or theater curtains! Cake, right? Rich and chocolatey red velvet cake has been a popular desert since the early 1900’s. I wanted to capture the flavor and vibrant hue of red velvet cake but in cookie form. And I wasn’t trying for hand-held cookie cakes, but rather a nice thin solid cookie with a big chew!
Our best vegan desserts are veganized remakes of our family's traditional favorites. Chocolate mint brownies are a remake of a "grasshopper" brownie dessert we used to get from a local bakery when I was a kid. I recently veganized my sister's favorite sugar cookie recipe and came up with the best melt in your mouth vegan soft sugar cookies. And cherry cheesecake dump cake is a definite vegan do-over of one of our favorite recipes we made every summer! These vegan red velvet cookies are brand new in our household though. We only ever ate red velvet cake so creating these thin chewy cookies was really fun...and yummy!
Some cookies are made for holidays other are just make for cookie days. Vegan almond butter cookies and vegan banana oatmeal cookies are definitely any day cookies and cut-out sugar cookies are definitely holiday cookies. And vegan white chocolate macadamia nut cookies could go either way. But what about these red velvet cookies?
These cookies are perfect to make for your loved one on Valentine’s day, or to just have around the house on any day. They perfectly capture the classic red velvet flavor which is a little chocolate, a little rich, and a little tangy. I hope that you and yours enjoy them as much as we do!
Ingredients needed to make vegan red velvet cookies
- ground flax, plant milk, and white vinegar to make a combination flax egg/vegan buttermilk mixture
- all purpose flour – Please see the blog post below for how to accurately measure flour so that your cookies are light and moist – not dry and hard.
- unsweetened cocoa powder
- cornstarch, baking soda, baking powder, and salt
- vegan butter – Use the higher fat stick variety, not vegan tub butter
- granulated sugar and brown sugar – Use organic sugar if you are a sugar vegan.
- agave nectar – Just two tablespoons for added moisture and a little sweet flavor.
- vanilla extract
- Just 1/2 teaspoon gel red food coloring – vegans want to avoid red food coloring containing carmine. My favorite gel food colorings can be found on Amazon (affiliate link).
- You also need a mixer, one or two large sturdy cookie sheets, parchment paper, and a cookie scoop is super handy.
Instructions for chewy (not caky) vegan red velvet cookies
The exact ingredients with measurements can be found in the recipe card below along with more concise abbreviated instructions. Read on for more details, tips, and tricks so that you will feel confident making this recipe.
Step 1: Softening the butter
It’s important that your vegan butter isn’t too firm, as if it’s just been taken out of the fridge, nor should it be overly soft, warm, and squishy. The ideal consistency of softened vegan butter is cool when you touch it. A gentle press with your finger should leave a slight indentation without much effort. If your finger sinks in without any pushback, the butter is too soft. Conversely, if you’re struggling to make a dent, the butter still needs some time to soften.
If I have forgotten to take the butter out to soften then I cut it into small cubes or slices and place it in the mixing bowl. It shouldn’t take more than 5-10 minutes to soften.
Step 2: The flax egg/vegan buttermilk mixture
.We are killing two birds with one stone here giving this recipe a subtle tang with the vegan buttermilk and texture with the flax egg. Mix the flax egg/vegan buttermilk mixture by first mixing the vinegar with the plant milk. Stir in the white vinegar and in a couple of minutes you’ll see the plant milk begin to slightly congeal. Then mix in the ground flax and whisk together. Let it sit for about five minutes while you are assembling the other ingredients.
Step 3: Accurately measure the flour and add the dry ingredients
Measure out the flour by “lightening” or sifting. Add the measured flour along with the baking soda, cream of tartar, and salt to a medium-sized mixing bowl and mix together.
How to accurately measure flour without a scale
Weighing flour with a kitchen scale is considered the pinnacle of accuracy by professional bakers and is a common practice in many places outside the United States. However, many of us don’t employ a scale for measuring flour and run the risk of over-measuring by scooping directly from the bag, which compacts the flour. This often leads to baked goods that are dense and dry.
I learned the “fluff, spoon, and level” technique from my grandmother – who never would have dreamed of using a scale to measure flour! Begin by fluffing up or “lightening” the flour in its container to introduce air and make it lighter. Next, using a scoop or spoon, gently transfer the flour bit by bit into your measuring cup. Overfill the cup slightly above the rim. Now, take a straight-edged knife or another flat tool, and with a single slicing motion, level off the top by removing the surplus flour. This ensures you have the precise amount needed for your recipe.
Whisk the flour, cocoa powder, cornstarch, baking soda, baking powder, and salt together in a medium bowl. You’ll want to make sure that the dry ingredients are thoroughly mixed before adding them to the wet ingredients. Make sure there are not little balls of cocoa powder either. If you need to use a sifter sift them out then do it.
Step 4: the fat, sugars, and wet ingredients
Add the softened vegan butter to a large bowl along with the brown sugar and granulated sugars. Beat the vegan butter and sugars together until creamy. This will take about one minute.
Add in the flax egg/buttermilk mixture, agave nectar and vanilla extract and continue mixing until all is incorporated. Once mixed, add the food coloring and beat until combined. I used only one-half teaspoon of red food coloring. Not all food coloring is created equal and you might need to use more.
Step 5: Add the dry ingredients to the fat/sugar/wet ingredients
Add in half of the flour mixture and mix until mostly incorporated. Add the rest of the dry ingredients and mix until a soft dough is formed. The dough will be sticky and soft at this point.
Chill the dough and preheat the oven
Cover the dough tightly with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for at least an hour. Once the dough has been chilled it won’t be super rock hard – still very pliable, like cold play-dough.
Preheat the oven to 350°F and prepare (ideally) two large cookie sheets with parchment paper. If you have only one cookie sheet to use then cool it thoroughly between batches.
Get ready to bake!
Once your dough has chilled for an hour then remove if from the fridge and use a cookie scoop or large spoon to portion out the cookies. If you use a spoon then roll the cookies into balls. They will be about golfball sized.
Set cookie dough balls on the parchment-lined cookie sheet with space to spread. These red velvet cookies will spread. I use large cookie sheets and can get 12 cookies per cookie sheet.
Baking the cookies
Bake the cookies for 10-12 minutes until the cookies are slightly browned on the edges (which will be really hard to see) and are not jiggly when you move the baking sheet around. Don’t over-bake or they are going to be hard. I realize this is going to be tricky the first time you make these cookies until you get a feel for how long your oven will take. It couldn’t hurt to bake a test cookie the first time and see.
Remove the baked cookies from the oven and allow the cookies to cool on the cookie sheet for ten minutes before removing them to a cooling rack.
Adding a little sweet to the cookie tops
You can eat these cookies the way they are without a sweet topping. I personally prefer a little extra sweet with my sweet. You have a couple of options and I usually end up doing a few of each.
Dust the cookie tops with powdered sugar
Take a little powdered sugar and place it in a sifter or fine mesh sieve. Shift or shake the powdered sugar on top of the cookies while they are still warm.
Drizzle icing on the cookie tops
I like to drizzle a little icing on the tops of my cookies. This vegan Karo syrup icing is perfect for drizzling because it hardens just a little bit when it dries so you can stack the cookies once it has dried. Or thin some vegan cream cheese frosting or vegan buttercream frosting. They are both delicious. Or…just buy a can of accidentally vegan frosting (read the label), warm in the microwave, and drizzle away.
Storing the cookies
Enjoy these cookies within a day or two. If you have more restraint than I do (and they will stick around longer in your house than in mine) then make sure the cookies are kept in an airtight container. I use a zipper bag. You can also freeze these cookies beautifully.
The printable recipe card
Did you love this recipe?
Want to share the love? It would be great if you could leave five ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ stars and even a comment. Did you know that this will help Google to find this recipe when others are looking for something similar? Thanks, Cindy
Vegan Red Velvet Cookies, Thin and Chewy
Equipment
- mixer
- parchment paper for lining the pan and the cooking rack
Ingredients
Flax Egg/Sour Milk
- 4 teaspoons ground flax
- 4 Tablespoons plant milk
- 1 teaspoons white vinegar
Dry Ingredients
- 1¾ cups all purpose flour measured accurately, see blog post
- 2½ Tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 Tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Fat, Sugar, and Wet Ingredients
- ½ cup vegan butter softened
- ¾ cup brown sugar packed
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 2 Tablespoons agave nectar
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon gel red food coloring
Topping
- 2 Tablespoons powdered sugar
- Optional icing for the top see notes for suggestion
Instructions
- (You will not be preheating your oven until after the dough has chilled. When you do, you will preheat at 350℉). Set your vegan butter out to soften if it isn't already soft. It should be cool but soft – not warm and melty.
- Stir in the white vinegar into the plant milk. Let it sit for a minute or two Then stir in the flax egg. Set aside while you assembling the other ingredients.4 teaspoons ground flax, 4 Tablespoons plant milk, 1 teaspoons white vinegar
- Please see the blog post to learn how to accurately measure the flour. Whisk the flour, cocoa powder, cornstarch, baking soda, baking powder, and salt together in a medium bowl. Set aside.1¾ cups all purpose flour, 2½ Tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder, 1 Tablespoon cornstarch, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon baking powder, ¼ teaspoon salt
- Add the softened vegan butter to a large bowl along with the brown sugar and granulated sugars. Beat until creamy, about 1 minute. Add in the flax egg/buttermilk mixture, agave nectar, and vanilla extract and continue mixing until all is incorporated. Once mixed, add the food coloring and beat until combined.4 teaspoons ground flax, 4 Tablespoons plant milk, ½ cup vegan butter, ¾ cup brown sugar, ½ cup granulated sugar, 2 Tablespoons agave nectar, 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract, 1/2 teaspoon gel red food coloring, 1 teaspoons white vinegar
- Add in half of the flour mixture and mix until mostly incorporated. Add the rest of the dry ingredients and mix until a soft dough is formed. The dough will be sticky and soft at this point.
- Cover and chill the dough in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Set aside.
- I use a cookie scoop to portion out small dough balls. If you don't have a cookie scoop then portion out about one-and-a-half tablespoons at a time. Roll into balls with your hands and place the balls onto the parchment lined baking sheet. Leave room for spreading. I can get 12 cookies on my large cookie sheet. Refrigerate the remaining dough while the first batch is baking and repeat.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes until the cookies are slightly browned on the edges (which will be really hard to see) and are not jiggly when you move the baking sheet around.
- Cool cookies on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before transferring to a parchment-lined wire rack to cool completely.
- While the cookies are cooling, sprinkle some powdered sugar on top. Use a sieve/mesh to make it even and pretty. See blog post for photos.
