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These red velvet cookies start with an all-purpose baking mix (Bisquick), creating incredibly soft, fluffy cookies. White chocolate chips bring smooth flavor and a nice contrast in color. This red velvet cookie recipe uses just a few simple pantry ingredients to make. They’re the perfect cookies to enjoy on Valentine’s Day!

Valentine’s Day is just around the corner, so it’s the perfect time to create easy Valentine’s Day treats like these red velvet cookies! Unless, of course, you want to go big or go home; that requires creating an elaborate dessert like this Strawberry Valentine Cake.

What is red velvet?

Please don’t be fooled into believing that red velvet desserts are just chocolate desserts with the addition of red food coloring. They are so much more than that!

Red velvet is a specific type of dessert made with red food coloring, for visual appeal. But there are some unique ingredients that define the taste and texture of red velvet. More on that in a minute.

The first red velvet dessert was cake. Some stories say that the Adams Extract company attributes itself to creating the first red velvet cake, back in the 1920s. Another story is that the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York City is the birthplace of the first red velvet cake.

Why does red velvet cake taste different than chocolate cake?

Hidden beneath the brightly hued exterior of a red velvet dessert are a couple of simple pantry ingredients that make red velvet so unique. Those ingredients are a small amount of alkaline-based cocoa powder, and acidic ingredients; typically, buttermilk and vinegar.

While both dessert recipes include cocoa powder, an average chocolate dessert will not call for buttermilk and vinegar. It is those ingredients that give red velvet a rich, refined flavor.

How to Make Red Velvet Cookies

Most basic cookie recipes call for the use of some sort of flour, along with butter, eggs, sugar, salt, and a leavening agent; either baking soda or powder. To save time in the measuring of the dry ingredients, we are using Bisquick baking mix as a substitute. This works because Bisquick is an all-purpose baking mix, made with flour, salt, and baking soda. It’s a nice little shortcut to use, especially if you don’t have any baking soda on hand.

The acidic ingredient in this red velvet cookies recipe is cocoa powder. When acid combines with baking soda, it causes a chemical reaction; the creation of carbon dioxide. The bubbles of carbon dioxide cause the red velvet cookies to rise. That’s why these cookies are so incredibly fluffy and soft!

One final, important note: Do not over bake the cookies! After 8-10 minutes, the cookies will be ready to come out of the oven, even if they appear slightly moist on the top. They need to rest on the pan for a few minutes before they are transferred to a cooling rack. During that time, the red velvet cookies will continue to bake. This is a process called carryover cooking.

How to Freeze Red Velvet Cookies

When properly stored in an airtight container, the cookies will keep well for 4-5 days. If they are frozen, they will stay good for 2-3 months. Before freezing the cookies, make sure they are completely cool. Place them into a freezer safe container or zip-top plastic freezer bag and lay the container flat in the freezer.

More Red Velvet Recipes

If the red velvet cookies make your heart flutter and your stomach happy, you should definitely make these other red velvet treats, too!