Forget about just plain sugar cookies – keep things both delicious AND festive by making these red velvet cut out cookies! They hold their stamped shapes beautifully in the oven while still staying soft enough for everyone to enjoy.

assorted red velvet cut out cookies that are shaped like snoopy and other peanuts characters this recipe
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Okay, so I was excited to develop this cookie dough, but wasn’t sure which cookie cutters to actually use for photography purposes, you know? And THEN I saw these Peanuts themed impression cutters from Williams Sonoma. So adorable and super fun!

No matter which cutters you use, these red velvet cut out cookies will look and taste amazing!

several unbaked red velvet cut out cookies shaped like snoopy and christmas trees.
several unbaked red velvet cut out cookies shaped like snoopy and christmas trees.

Red velvet flavor

Red velvet is a combination of both vanilla and cocoa with some red coloring added in, so this recipe includes all of that. I thought of using red velvet bakery emulsion first. But when I tested that, it gave the cookies a funny aftertaste. My bottle might have been expired, but the vanilla and cocoa combination was WAY better.

Because red velvet cakes are usually frosted with cream cheese, I also added a bit of cream cheese to the base of this dough. It gives the cookies a nice tang that goes with the other flavors and also helps to keep things soft after baking.

Sharp edges

If you are using impression cutters or anything that has an intricate design, you’ll be happy to know that these red velvet cut out cookies absolutely hold their shape in the oven. The Peanuts cutters had lots of thin little lines and designs that came out beautifully.

several red velvet cut out cookies shaped like snoopy and christmas trees.
several red velvet cut out cookies shaped like snoopy and christmas trees.

Adding a good amount of cornstarch to the dry ingredients keeps edges nice and sharp. Also, make sure the dough is properly chilled before baking. A 30 minute rest in the fridge while the oven preheats is perfect!

Decorating and storage

These cookies are perfectly suited for royal icing or buttercream, depending on the look you’re going for.

Store any leftovers at room temperature, sealed in a bag or container for up to a week.

assorted red velvet cut out cookies that are shaped like snoopy and other peanuts characters
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assorted red velvet cut out cookies that are shaped like snoopy and other peanuts characters

Red Velvet Cut Out Cookies

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  • Author: Megan
  • Prep Time: 5 minutes
  • Chilling Time: 30 minutes
  • Cook Time: 15 minutes
  • Total Time: 50 minutes
  • Yield: 32 cookies 1x
  • Category: Dessert, Cookies & Brownies
  • Method: Oven
  • Cuisine: American
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Description

Forget about just plain sugar cookies – keep things both delicious AND festive by making these red velvet cut out cookies!

Ingredients

Units Scale
  • 3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
  • 1/4 cup cornstarch
  • 1/4 cup cocoa powder
  • 3/4 tsp salt
  • 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 4 oz full fat cream cheese, room temperature
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 large egg yolk
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 TB red gel food coloring
  • icing and sprinkles, to decorate as desired

Instructions

  1. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside. Don’t preheat the oven yet.
  2. Sift the flour, cornstarch, cocoa and salt together into a mixing bowl and set aside.
  3. In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the butter, cream cheese and sugar. Use the paddle attachment to beat on low speed for a minute. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, increase the speed to medium and beat for another minute.
  4. Scrape down the bowl again and add the egg yolk, vanilla and gel food coloring. Beat on medium speed for about a minute and scrape down the bowl again.
  5. Add the flour mixture all at once and mix for 2 minutes on medium speed, until the dough clings to the paddle in a ball and mostly cleans the sides of the bowl. Add a little more flour (a tablespoon at a time) if the dough is still too sticky.
  6. Lightly flour the countertop and turn out the dough. Form into a ball and sprinkle with a little flour.
  7. Roll the dough ball out to 1/4 inch thickness, making sure that it’s nice and even all the way across the surface.
  8. Lightly dust the surface of the dough with flour before cutting out or stamping out your cookies. Re roll the scraps and continue cutting out cookies until you use up all the dough. This dough does not spread except for a tiny bit, so you can comfortably fit 12 cookies on each baking sheet.
  9. Let the cookies chill on the baking sheet in the fridge for 30 minutes. After you put them in the fridge, preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
  10. After 30 minutes, bake each tray for 15 minutes. Let them cool for about 10 minutes on the baking sheet before transferring them to a cooling rack.
  11. Wait until the cookies are completely cool before decorating. Leftovers can be stored at room temperature for up to a week.

Equipment

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 1 cookie
  • Calories: 145
  • Sugar: 6.5 g
  • Sodium: 67.3 mg
  • Fat: 7.3 g
  • Saturated Fat: 4.4 g
  • Trans Fat: 0 g
  • Carbohydrates: 18.3 g
  • Fiber: 0.6 g
  • Protein: 1.9 g
  • Cholesterol: 24.6 mg

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