Red Velvet Sandwich Cookies
These delicious, no-chill red velvet sugar cookies bake up with chewy centers and crispy edges and are filled with cream cheese frosting. It's a delicious combination that will have you going back for seconds!
Servings: 17 cookie sandwiches
Calories: 237kcal
Equipment
- Electric hand mixer or stand mixer
- Large Piping Bag or Freezer Zip-Top Bag
- Wire Rack
- Paddle Attachment if using a stand mixer
- Large Round Piping Tip optional
Ingredients
Red Velvet Sugar Cookies
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened 113g
- 2/3 cup granulated sugar 133g
- 1/3 cup packed light brown sugar 66g
- 1 large egg, room temperature 56g
- 1 tsp vanilla extract 5g
- 1 tsp red gel food coloring (I love Americolor or Chef Master)
- 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour 230g
- 2 Tbsp unsweetened baking cocoa, sifted if lumpy 12g
- 1 tsp baking soda 6g
- 1/4 tsp fine salt 1g
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar for rolling - optional 50g
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 1/2 cup cream cheese, room temperature 113g
- 1 tsp vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste 5g
- 1/4 tsp fine salt 2g
- 2 cups powdered sugar 250g
Instructions
Red Velvet Sugar Cookies
- Preheat the oven to 350°F/175°C and line 2 large cookie sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats. Set aside.
- Cream together 1/2 cup (113g) unsalted, softened butter, 2/3 cup (133g) granulated sugar, and 1/3 cup (66g) light brown sugar in a large bowl with an electric hand mixer or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Mix on a medium-high speed with an electric mixer until the mixture becomes lighter in color (about 2 minutes). It's important that the butter is soft to the touch, otherwise you will have a hard time mixing the dry ingredients into the dough.
- Mix in 1 egg (56g), 1 tsp (5g) vanilla extract, and about 1 tsp of red gel food coloring on medium speed until combined. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed with a rubber spatula.
- Then mix 1 3/4 cups (230g) flour (NOTE: If you're using a cup measure and not a scale, you need to fluff the flour in the bag, spoon it into the measuring cup, then level it with a knife. This is how you properly measure flour when baking. Otherwise, you'll end up using a lot more than the recipe calls for), 2 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder (12g), 1 tsp baking soda (6g), and 1/4 tsp salt (1g) into the wet ingredients on a low speed until combined. It takes a bit of mixing to come together, so if it looks a little dry, keep mixing! The dough should be quite thick once it's ready to be scooped.
- Use a 1 Tbsp cookie scoop or a large spoon to scoop and roll about 34 cookie dough balls. If desired, roll each cookie dough ball in granulated sugar. Then place the cookies about 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets. Bake for about 9-10 minutes, or until the cookies seem set around the edges.
- I like to gently flatten the cookies with the bottom of a metal measuring cup or glass while they're still warm to give them chewy centers and make them easier to sandwich together, but this is optional. Let the cookies cool on the sheet for 10 minutes, then place them on a wire rack to finish cooling.
Cream Cheese Frosting
- While the cookies bake and cool, make the cream cheese frosting. Beat 1/2 cup of room-temperature cream cheese on medium speed for 30 seconds with a paddle attachment, until smooth.
- Mix in 1 tsp vanilla extract and 1/4 tsp salt on low speed. Then slowly add in 2 cups of powdered sugar.
- Beat on low until the ingredients are fully incorporated and the desired consistency is reached. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed.
- Scoop the frosting into a large piping bag fitted with a large round piping tip, or snip a 1 cm opening at the base of the bag. Set aside.
Assembling These Red Velvet Sandwich Cookies
- Pair up the cookies. They should all be relatively similar in size, but often some are slightly bigger than others.
- Then pipe a generous swirl of cream cheese frosting on the bottom of one of the cookies before topping it with another. Repeat with the remaining cookies, and enjoy!
Notes
The recipe makes 34 total cookies (17 cookie sandwiches) using a 1 Tbsp cookie scoop.
If you want to make more cookies, you can double the ingredients using either a hand mixer or a stand mixer. You can also halve this recipe and use 25g of beaten egg.
Tips for Making the Best Red Velvet Sugar Cookie Sandwiches
- Use a 1 Tbsp cookie scoop to make sure your cookies are uniformly sized.
- Space your cookies about 2 inches apart before baking them. They will spread as they bake.
- Don't overbake your cookies. The color of the dough makes it hard to tell when they start to brown, so keep an eye on the texture of the top of the cookie. Even if they seem a bit soft coming out of the oven, they will continue to bake and set on the tray once they're out of the oven.
- Gently flatten the baked cookies with the bottom of a metal measuring cup or glass while they're still warm. This makes the centers extra chewy and easier to sandwich.
Making These Cookies in Advance and Storing Them
This cookie dough can be made up to 2 days in advance. Store it in the fridge in an airtight container, then let it soften at room temperature until it's easy to scoop before baking. Baked and filled cookies can be stored in an airtight container or zip-top bag in the fridge for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 1 month.Nutrition
Serving: 1 | Calories: 237kcal | Carbohydrates: 40g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 31mg | Sodium: 202mg | Potassium: 44mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 29g | Vitamin A: 270IU | Calcium: 16mg | Iron: 1mg