Best Red Velvet Cookie Dough Recipe

Red velvet cookie dough is a delectable treat, especially for Valentine’s day season. But your “average” raw red velvet cookie dough isn’t safe for your health. So, what should you try instead? A safe red velvet cookie dough recipe, of course! In today’s post, we’ll be breaking down the ingredients needed to make a delicious red velvet cookie dough recipe to make as a substitute for regular cookie dough. Ready to learn more? Stick around.

Table of Contents

• What Is Red Velvet Cookie Dough Made of?
• How Many Calories Are in Red Velvet Cookie Dough?
• How Do You Make Red Velvet Cookie Dough?
  • How to Heat Treat Flour For Red Velvet Cookie Dough
• Red Velvet Cookie Dough Recipe
  • Red Velvet Cookie Dough Bites
    • Ingredients
    • Instructions
• Simple Substitutes For Red Velvet Cookie Dough
  • What NOT to Substitute With
• Red Velvet Cookie Dough Storage
• A Word of Warning on Raw Dough
• Red Velvet Cookie Dough: So Simple to Make!
• FAQs

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What Is Red Velvet Cookie Dough Made of?

Red velvet cookie dough is made up of only a few ingredients. It usually consists of the usual suspects: softened butter, sugar, salt, and flour. But it also has a bit of cocoa powder in it along with a splash or two of red food coloring.

Of course, different red velvet recipes will differ in terms of ingredients, as some call for vanilla, brown sugar versus regular, and other variations. When served baked, you can expect red velvet cookie dough to have a rich cream cheese frosting or to be served speckled with white chocolate or plain chocolate chips.

How Many Calories Are in Red Velvet Cookie Dough?

You can expect red velvet cookie dough to have anywhere from 100-300 calories (or more).

Though red velvet cookie dough is indeed delicious, it certainly isn’t a low calorie cookie dough option. Because this treat is made from softened butter, brown sugar, white chocolate chips (or plain), and a variety of other goodies, you can expect your cookie dough to be very high in calories.

This isn’t to say that you can’t enjoy your cookie dough as a treat every now and then. you certainly can! Just be sure to eat your red velvet cookie dough (or even plain red velvet cookies) in moderation if you’re watching your waistline.

How Do You Make Red Velvet Cookie Dough?

Making red velvet cookie dough bites isn’t hard. It simply requires mixing up a few ingredients together and chilling it until cold. That’s it! You can even serve the cookie dough up at room temperature if that’s your thing. I won’t tell!

One word of caution when making edible cookie dough. You should always be sure to heat treat your flour before consuming it. Remember that eating raw flour can lead to a bacterial infection and can negatively impact your health. Because of this, it is imperative that you “heat treat” your flour to ensure that it is safe for consumption.

How to Heat Treat Flour For Red Velvet Cookie Dough

To heat treat your flour, first place it in a microwave safe bowl. From there, nuke your flour for 30 seconds at a time for every ½ – 1 cup of flour. After 30 seconds have passed, remove it from the microwave and stir. Continue this method until your flour reaches 165°F.

To know for sure, test the temperature of the flour by using a food thermometer.

Red Velvet Cookie Dough Recipe

Enough with all the chatter, it’s time to get into the nitty-gritty concerning how to make red velvet cookie dough!

This recipe is quick, easy, and wonderfully delicious. The hardest part is waiting for it to chill before you eat it! I hope you enjoy it!

Red Velvet Cookie Dough Bites

Ingredients

• 1¼ cup all purpose flour
• ¾ cup butter softened
• ¾ cup brown sugar packed
• 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
• a dash of salt (1/16 tsp)
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• red gel food coloring (use until desired color is reached – normal food coloring doesn’t tend to achieve as deep of a color)
• 2½ tablespoons cocoa powder
• 3 tablespoons milk (or use a dairy-free milk alternative)
• ½ cup chocolate chips (a combination of milk chocolate and dark chocolate works well)

Instructions

1. To begin, preheat the oven to 350°F. Grab some parchment paper, and line a baking sheet with it. On this baking sheet, place your flour. Spread it out into a thin layer.
2. Heat treat the flour in your preheated oven for about 7 minutes, making sure to stir the flour at the halfway point. Make sure it doesn’t burn. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely. 
3. Next, combine your brown sugar, granulated sugar, softened butter, and your sat in a bowl. Mix the ingredients together until it becomes creamy. The color should lighten slightly. This can usually be done easily by hand using a silicone spatula or similar tool.
4. Once the mixture is incorporated, add your red gel food coloring and vanilla extract. Mix this blend until it is blended well. If the color isn’t as desired, be sure to add a bit more gel food coloring.
5. From here, mix your heat-treated flour and cocoa powder together. Then, begin to sift your heat-treated flour and cocoa powder into your previously mixed ingredients. 
6. Using your silicone spatula (or similar tool), mix your cookie dough until the ingredients are fully combined. Add a bit of milk as you go until you reach the desired consistency. Lastly, add your chocolate chips to the mix.
7. Take a spoon or scooper to make bite-sized balls. Pop your cookie dough bites into the refrigerator and chill for at least 30 minutes (or serve at room temperature). 
8. Enjoy!

Simple Substitutes For Red Velvet Cookie Dough

Though I know that the above recipe is wonderfully tasty, I also know that you may have diet restrictions that may not allow you to enjoy the recipe as written.

If that’s your concern, never fear! There are a few substitutions that can be made within the recipe that may make this treat more suitable for your needs.

These include:

• Flour: Feel free to substitute a 1:1 gluten-free flour for the regular flour mentioned in this recipe. You may also choose to use oat flour here. If you do choose to use oat flour, you don’t need to sterilize it in the microwave. Instead, simply dump it in! Note: Never try substituting regular flour with almond flour or coconut flour at a 1:1 ratio. The results are never the same.
• Butter: Feel free to substitute the butter with a vegan butter of your choice.
• Sugar: Replace the brown and granulated sugar with a sugar alternative of the same type.
• Chocolate or white chocolate chips: For fewer calories and sugar, try using sugar-free varieties instead. You can also try a mix of milk and dark chocolate chips for more variety and flavor.
• Milk: Feel free to use a dairy-free alternative for your milk in this recipe. Just be careful to take into account the flavor of whatever milk you’re using. Some dairy-free milk types have stronger flavors than others (i.e., coconut milk). Feel free to choose whichever substitution works best for you!

What NOT to Substitute With

Despite there being a plethora of substitutes you can use in this recipe, there are some substitutes I absolutely don’t recommend. These ingredients include:

• Granulated sugar: I don’t recommend you swap brown sugar for granulated sugar. Though it may seem like a great idea, it actually affects the texture. For the best texture and flavor, be sure to use both brown and white sugar.
• Vegetable and Coconut Oil: Another seemingly fine swap, both vegetable and coconut oil may render your resulting cookie dough too oily. This is also another swap that could ultimately affect the overall texture of your red velvet cookie dough. To be safe, I recommend simply using butter.

Red Velvet Cookie Dough Storage

Store your freshly made red velvet remaining dough bites in an airtight container in your fridge for 5 days. Alternatively, you can freeze these babies for up to two months for whenever you get that craving!

A Word of Warning on Raw Dough

Most red velvet cookie dough recipes will be egg free assuming that the cookie dough is made to be edible. However, under normal circumstances, you wouldn’t want to eat raw red velvet cookie dough.

Why? Because red velvet cookie dough contains raw flour and raw eggs. Both of these can be a source of harmful bacteria that can affect your health.

Red Velvet Cookie Dough: So Simple to Make!

Red velvet cookie dough is easy to make, looks great, and tastes fantastic! To make this recipe, you only need food coloring, flour, butter, sugar, milk, and a few other ingredients. Just be sure to heat treat your flour before mixing it into your edible cookie dough. This cuts down on the chances of you accidentally consuming bacteria that could ultimately make you sick.

I hope this has helped! What’s your favorite type of edible cookie dough to make? Hope you’ll give this red velvet cookie dough recipe a try!

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