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!
These cookies are just like the 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. Irresistible!
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!
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Serve these beauties for Valentines Day, Christmas, parties, cookie swaps, or gifts! They are just as pretty as the ones from Crumbl Cookies, but vegan!
Take them over the top by adding an incredible Vegan Cream Cheese Frosting! The recipe is down below, but here's a link to the frosting post if you want to save it for later.
Reasons To Love These Cookies!
- Easy to make
- Simple ingredients
- Dairy-free, no eggs
- No need to chill the dough
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Ingredients and Substitutions
- Egg Replacer - I highly recommend egg replacer such as Bob’s Red Mill to hold the dough together. It's a great egg substitute in baking. Flax meal or chia seeds can work as well, if needed.
- Plant Milk - Any type of plant-based milk will work such as oat, almond, soy, etc.
- Vegan Butter - Use your favorite salted vegan butter. If it's unsalted, add and extra ¼ teaspoon 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.
- Flour - All-purpose flour is used for the bulk of these cookies.
- Cocoa Powder - Unsweetened cocoa powder is best here. If yours is sweet, your cookies will just be a little sweeter. I don't recommend Dutch process cocoa as that can produce 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.
- Baking Soda - Helps them aerate and spread.
- Salt - This balances yet enhances the flavors nicely.
- Vegan Cream Cheese - Use your favorite for the frosting. I like Miyokos, Kite Hill, and Trader Joe’s.
- Powdered Sugar - Also used in the frosting, you can trust that organic powdered sugar is vegan.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Here are some quick visual steps. Find the full recipe with exact measurements on the recipe card below.
- Place the cream cheese and butter on the counter to soften.
- Preheat the oven and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Prepare the egg replacer and set it aside. In a medium bowl, combine the dry ingredients.
- Cream the butter and brown sugar together with a mixer or by hand. Then mix in the wet ingredients. This is a good time to see if you want to add more red color.
- Then, 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 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 on 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.
More Tasty Vegan Cookies
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Recipe
Vegan Red Velvet Cookies
Bonnie - Serene Trail
Ingredients
Red Velvet Cookies
- 1 tablespoon egg replacer
- 2 tablespoon plant milk
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ tablespoon cocoa powder, unsweetened
- ½ tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 10 tablespoon vegan butter salted, softened
- 1 cup light brown sugar, packed
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon red food color gel, or 1 tablespoon liquid red color
- 1 teaspoon white vinegar
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 4 tablespoon vegan butter, salted, softened
- 4 ounces vegan cream cheese, softened
- 1 ½ cups powdered sugar
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. Position an oven rack in the center and preheat it to 350°F.
- Prepare the egg replacer by mixing it with the plant milk until it's lump free.
- Combine the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl.
- 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 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 with a spoon until all of the dry bits are incorporated into the cookie dough.
- Roll the dough into 1.5 tablespoon balls. Place them 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 10 minutes on the pan and then transfer them to a cooling rack to cool completely.
- While the cookies are baking or cooling, 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 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 nutrition information is estimated and can vary depending on brands and measurements used.
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