Soft and chewy Vegan Red Velvet Cookies topped with luscious cream cheese frosting are the perfect dessert! They are buttery, slightly chocolatey, tangy, and deliciously sweet. Easily bake these pretty treats for holidays or just because!
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These treats are just like the classic southern red velvet cake, but in cookie form!
Red velvet is quite a unique and irresistible flavor! Rich sweetness is joined by touches of cocoa, salt, butter, and tang flavors.
The deep red color is from a combination of the cocoa powder and vegan-friendly red food color.
They have the same flavors as the original cake, but they are not cake-like in texture. They are thick, dense, almost fudgy, and chewy. Yum!
Serve these beauties for Valentine’s Day, Christmas, parties, cookie exchanges, or gifts! They are just as pretty as the ones from Crumbl Cookies, but completely plant-based!
I like to take them over the top by adding an incredible Vegan Cream Cheese Frosting! The recipe is down below, but here’s the link to the frosting post if you want to save it for later.
For more tasty vegan cookies, be sure to check out my Strawberry Cookies, S’mores Cookies, Banana Bread Cookies, Protein Cookies, Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies, and Chai Cookies!
Reasons To Love These Cookies!
- They are so easy to bake
- No need to chill the dough
- Full of a rich chocolatey flavor
- Dairy-free and no eggs are needed
- Simple, easy-to-find ingredients are used
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Ingredients and Substitutions
- Egg Replacer – I like to use egg replacer to hold the dough together. It’s such a great egg substitute when baking. Flaxseed meal or chia seeds can work as well, if needed.
- Plant Milk – Use any type of plant-based milk, such as oat, almond, soy, etc.
- Vegan Butter – Use your favorite salted vegan butter. If it’s unsalted, add an extra ¼ tsp of salt to the recipe. I like Country Crock sticks best here.
- Sugar – Organic light brown sugar adds a deep sweetness as well as a chewy texture.
- Vanilla – Use pure vanilla extract to add a lovely, warm flavor.
- Red Food Color – There are several vegan-friendly red food colors you can use. I feel that gel is more vibrant, and I like the one made by Ann Clark. Beet root powder can be used as well, but it makes more of a purple-brown color.
- Vinegar – Just a touch of white vinegar adds some delicious tanginess to keep the flavor true to the original red velvet delight.
- Flour – All-purpose flour or a gluten-free 1-to-1 replacement both work here.
- Cocoa Powder – Use unsweetened cocoa powder, if possible. If yours is sweet, your cookies will just be a little sweeter. I don’t recommend Dutch process cocoa, as that can produce dark brown cookies.
- Cornstarch – I love to add cornstarch to my cookies for a thick, fluffy, and soft texture. You can leave it out if you don’t have this available.
- Baking Soda – Helps them aerate and spread.
- Salt – This balances yet enhances the flavors. (It’s super important to use here.)
- Vegan Cream Cheese – Use your favorite kind for the frosting. I like Kite Hill, and Trader Joe’s.
- Powdered Sugar – Also used in the frosting, you can trust that “organic” powdered sugar is vegan.
How To Make Vegan Red Velvet Cookies
Here are some quick visual steps. Find the full recipe with exact measurements on the recipe card below.
Take the cream cheese and butter out of the refrigerator so they can start to soften. Preheat the oven and line two baking sheets.
Prepare the egg replacer and set it aside. Combine the dry ingredients.
Cream the butter and brown sugar together with a mixer or by hand. Then mix in the wet ingredients. Gently stir in the dry ingredients.
Roll the dough into balls and place them 2 inches apart on the baking sheets.
Bake them until the edges look stiff, but the centers are still soft and puffy. Try not to over-bake them!
Tap the sheet onto the counter or press them down with a spoon if you don’t want puffy cookies. They will look slightly like crinkle cookies.
Make the frosting and place it in the refrigerator for now. Frost the cookies once they’ve cooled down completely.
I like to crush one cookie with my hand and sprinkle the crumbles onto the frosted cookies for a fun and festive look.
Recipe Variation Ideas
- Fold in ½ cup of vegan chocolate chips, vegan white chocolate, or walnuts.
- Roll the cookie dough balls in cane sugar before baking them.
- Melt vegan chocolate and drizzle it over the baked cookies.
- Add cookies to the top of frosted cookies for red velvet cookie sandwiches!
Storage
If the cookies are frosted, store them in the refrigerator for 4 days or the freezer for 3 months in an airtight container. If they are not frosted, store them in a sealed container at room temperature for 4 days.
Frequently Asked Questions
Many are not because they use beetles for the color and test on animals. There are, however, some brands to choose from, such as McCormick and Ann Clark’s. You can read more about red food dye in my Halloween Candy article.
Red velvet has a rich, deep sweetness with hints of butter, salt, and chocolate flavors. It pairs perfectly with cream cheese frosting, and many people like to sprinkle chopped walnuts on top.
I hope you loved this recipe! If you try it, please let me know what you think with a rating and comment below. Your feedback really supports my blog and is helpful to other readers! 🙂 You can stay updated on my latest recipes by following me on Pinterest and joining my Email List.
Vegan Red Velvet Cookies
Bonnie – Serene Trail
Ingredients
Red Velvet Cookies
- 1 tbsp egg replacer, or flaxseed meal or chia seeds
- 2 tbsp plant milk
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, (180g)
- 1 1/2 tbsp cocoa powder, unsweetened
- 1/2 tbsp cornstarch
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 10 tbsp vegan butter salted, softened
- 1 cup light brown sugar, packed, (210g)
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp red food color gel, or 1 tbsp liquid red color
- 1 tsp white vinegar
Optional Cream Cheese Frosting
- 4 tbsp vegan butter, salted, softened
- 4 ounces vegan cream cheese, softened, (115g)
- 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar, (175g)
Instructions
- Take the cream cheese and butter out of the refrigerator so that they can start to soften. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).
- Prepare the egg replacer by mixing it with the plant milk until it's lump-free. Set it aside for now.
- Combine the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. Set it aside.
- Cream the butter and brown sugar together in a large bowl until the mixture looks light and fluffy. Use a mixer or fork for this.
- Add the egg replacer, vanilla, red color, and white vinegar to the large bowl. Beat or stir them in until they're fully combined. Check the red color to see if you want to add more at this point.
- Add the flour mixture to the large bowl. Gently fold the ingredients together until all of the dry bits are incorporated into the cookie dough.
- Roll the dough into 1.5 tbsp balls. Place them about 2 inches apart. Bake them for 9-11 minutes until the edges look stiff, but the centers are still soft and puffy. Try not to over-bake them because they will continue to set once they're out of the oven.
- Tap the cookie sheet onto the counter to help the cookies flatten, or press them down a bit with a spoon if you want a flatter cookie. Let them cool for at least 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, make the frosting. Mix the butter and cream cheese together with a mixer. Then mix in the powdered sugar a little at a time. Place it in the refrigerator to chill while you wait for the cookies to cool down.
- Frost the cookies and enjoy! You can also decorate them with a few crushed cookie crumbs.
Video
Notes
- Be sure to measure your flour by spooning it into the measuring cup and then scraping off the top. Don’t scoop it out or press it down, as that would be too much flour.
- You can use a fork to cream the ingredients together, but I find that a mixer makes it so much easier!
- I prefer to use parchment paper for cookies because it lets them spread more than nonstick mats do.
- The vegan cream cheese frosting is optional. You can read more about it and even bookmark the recipe for later here: Vegan Cream Cheese Frosting
- The frosting holds its shape better when chilled. You can also add a teaspoon of cornstarch to it for a stiffer consistency.
- Store frosted cookies in the refrigerator.
Nutrition
The nutritional information provided is an estimate from third-party calculations.
These were rlly good. Personally, i just deleted the dye, replaced butter with oil, maybe added a little more flour (i roughly measured it), and air fried them and they tasted delish and looked very nice too 😛
Hi Brandon! Your cookies sound delicious!!