Red Velvet Oreo Cookies
PREP TIME: 1HR | COOK TIME: 10-13 min | YIELD: 12-18
Scrumptious Moment - Galentine’s Day 2025
I hosted my very first Galentine's Day party this year at my apartment. I made two desserts for the party, and of course, one of them had to be red velvet. I took my two besties on a high-speed chase to the grocery store to snag that red food coloring, but in the end, these turned out even more delicious than expected.
RED VELVET OREO COOKIES
You can't have Galentine's Day without a red velvet dessert, so I went all in with these Red Velvet Oreo Cookies. The red velvet gives a soft, cocoa-rich base with that signature tang, while the Oreo chunks bring creamy sweetness with a little tangy kick. The cookie is chewy and soft, with just the right crispy edge, and the white chocolate adds a smooth, decadent touch that ties it all together — it’s truly love at first bite.
WHAT IS RED VELVET?
Red velvet, which is often in the form of a cake, is a popular dessert in the South, made with mostly a vanilla base, a subtle hint of cocoa powder, and vibrant red food coloring. The red velvet cake traces back to the Victorian era, where vinegar was used to tenderize the cake before the invention of cake flour. When this was mixed with cocoa powder, a unique red hue would result, which eventually led to the introduction of red food coloring or natural food coloring in beet juice to maintain the iconic color of the dessert.
INGREDIENT AND BAKING NOTES
Salted Butter: Unpopular opinion, but I always use salted butter in my cookie recipes—and honestly, in most of my baking. I find it creates a better balance with all the sugar than adding salt separately. Any salted butter will work, but I personally think Kerrygold is the superior choice for its rich, creamy flavor.
White Chocolate: Instead of those boring white chocolate chip morsels, elevate this dessert with a high-quality white chocolate bar like Ghirardelli or Lindt. These premium brands tend to be made with higher quality cocoa beans, melt more smoothly, and have a more complex flavor profile.
How to Make the Cookies:
Step 1: Melt your butter in the microwave or on the stove. For extra flavor, brown the butter by cooking it on medium heat, stirring occasionally. As the butter melts, it will start to bubble; continue stirring every 30 seconds. Once the bubbles start to shrink and the butter turns a golden brown with a nutty aroma, remove it from the heat and let it cool for about 5 minutes.
Step 2: In a large mixing bowl, whisk the cooled, browned butter with both sugars (white and brown) until fully combined and smooth. Add in the egg, egg yolk, vanilla extract, and red food coloring, mixing until the batter becomes a deep, rich red color and the egg is fully incorporated.
Step 3: In a separate small bowl, whisk together the flour and baking soda. Gradually add the dry ingredients into the wet mixture, 1/4 at a time, and stir with a spatula to avoid overmixing. This will create a smooth dough with just the right consistency.
Step 4: Roughly chop the white chocolate bar into slightly larger pieces than you’d use for chocolate chips, and chop the Oreos into similar-sized pieces (or smaller if you want a less chunky texture). Add both the white chocolate and Oreos to the dough and gently fold them in, ensuring they’re evenly distributed throughout. Reserve some Oreo pieces to sprinkle on top before baking. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and chill it in the fridge for 45 minutes to 1 hour (or store it in the freezer for up to 3 months for later use).
Step 5: While the dough chills, preheat the oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Once chilled, scoop out 1–2-inch dough balls (depending on your preferred cookie size) and place them 3 inches apart on the prepared baking sheet. The cookies will spread while baking, so give them space. Bake for 10 minutes, then remove the pan from the oven and gently slam it on the counter to create the signature wrinkled look on top. Return the pan to the oven for an additional 1–2 minutes, or until the cookies are golden brown around the edges, with a slightly gooey center.
Step 6: Once out of the oven, immediately sprinkle the cookies with flaky sea salt for that perfect salty-sweet balance. Let them cool on the baking sheet for about 10 minutes to firm up before transferring them to a wire rack or devouring them right away. Enjoy these sweet, salty, chewy delights!
RED VELVET OREO COOKIES
Ingredients
Instructions
- Melt your butter in the microwave or in a small pot over the stove. If you want an extra nutty flavor, you can brown your butter on stovetop on medium to medium low. Stir every 30 seconds - it will start out foamy and slowly the bubbles will get smaller, and the butter will emit a nutty flavor and start to turn light brown or caramel in color. Once it begins doing this, take off the heat as it will continue to brown on its own. Allow to cool for 5 minutes.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine your browned/melted butter and the two sugars using a whisk until well incorporated. Add the egg & egg yolk and vanilla extract and beat well to mix sure the egg has completely dispersed. add the food coloring and mix until the batter is a deep, rich red color.
- In a separate small bowl, combine the flour and baking soda. Then slowly begin to add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture, pouring about 1/4 at a time. I recommend switching over from the whisk to a spatula.
- Chop the bar of white chocolate into slightly bigger pieces than you would expect from a semi-sweet chocolate chip parcel. Roughly chop the Oreo cookies about the same size (smaller if you don't want a chunky cookie).
- Add in your chocolate and Oreo toppings and mix until both are dispersed throughout the cookie dough. Save some of the Oreo pieces to add to the top of the dough before they bake.
- Cover the mixing bowl with plastic wrap and allow to chill in fridge for 45 minutes to 1 hour. You can store these in the freezer for about 3 months for later use.
- While the cookies are chilling, preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Once the cookies have chilled, take a 1–2-inch cookie scoop or a large spoon (depending on how big of cookies you want), roll the dough into a ball, and place it on the cookie sheet, leaving about 3 inches from one another (standard cookie sheet will likely fit 6 cookies so you may need to repeat or use two sheets).
- Bake for 10 minutes, then take the pan out and gently slam it on the counter to create the wrinkly look on the top of the cookies. Then place back in the oven for 1-2 minutes or until they are golden brown on the sides and the center is only slightly gooey.
- As soon as you take then out of the oven, sprinkle the flaky sea salt. Allow to cool for 10 minutes before inhaling these. Enjoy!