Red Velvet Swirl Cookies
Red Velvet Swirl Cookies
A playful mash-up of vanilla and red velvet dough with melty white chocolate chips
If you’ve ever stared at two cookie doughs and thought, “Why choose?” — these Red Velvet Swirl Cookies are your answer. They’re soft, chewy, buttery, and absolutely stunning with their marbled red velvet and vanilla swirls. I made these because I wanted something festive and fun, but also easy enough for a weeknight bake when the craving hits. And honestly? These cookies feel like chocolate chip cookies and red velvet cake had the cutest little baby.
The real magic comes from splitting the dough, giving half a cocoa-based red velvet makeover, and then rolling tiny dough pieces together to create the prettiest swirled cookie. It’s the kind of recipe that looks way more impressive than the effort it takes, my favorite category of dessert.
Why You’ll Love These Cookies
Gorgeous swirl pattern without any complicated steps
Soft and chewy texture with perfectly crisp edges
Two flavors in one: buttery vanilla + rich red velvet
White chocolate chips that melt into sweet, creamy pockets
Perfect for holidays, bake sales, birthdays, or gifting
Ingredients
Salted butter
Light brown sugar
Granulated sugar
Eggs
Vanilla extract
All-purpose flour
Baking soda
Baking powder
Cornstarch
Salt
Cocoa powder
Red food coloring
White chocolate chips
Helpful Baking Tips
Make the dough ahead if you need to save time. It can rest in the fridge for up to 24 hours. Just let it soften slightly before rolling so the two doughs blend together easily.
Food coloring is optional, but it gives the red velvet portion that signature vibrant look. Gel coloring creates the deepest shade without affecting texture.
Using unsalted butter? Just add a tiny extra pinch of salt to balance the sweetness.
If your cookies spread too much, the dough may have been too warm. Chilling the formed dough balls for 10–15 minutes before baking will help them stay thick and soft.
Freeze-friendly! Roll the swirl dough balls, freeze them on a tray, then store them in a freezer bag. You can bake them straight from the freezer, just add a minute or two to the baking time.
Swap out the white chocolate chips with anything you love: semi-sweet chocolate, milk chocolate, or even colorful M&Ms.
Bake just until the edges are lightly golden. The centers should still look slightly soft; they’ll finish setting as they cool.
Use a small cookie scoop for portioning the dough before dividing it into smaller pieces. This makes it easier to get evenly sized, beautiful swirls every time.
Storage
Store the cookies in an airtight container for 3–4 days. To refresh them, microwave a cookie for 5–7 seconds, it brings the white chocolate back to life.
These Red Velvet Swirl Cookies are the kind of recipe that makes you feel like a baking magician, with hardly any extra effort. They’re soft, sweet, and visually gorgeous without being fussy, and every bite gives you the perfect mix of vanilla, cocoa, and creamy white chocolate. I hope they bring as much joy to your kitchen as they did to mine!
Red Velvet Swirl Cookies
Ingredients
- ½ cup salted butter (1 stick) softened at room temperature
- ½ cup light brown sugar
- ⅓ cup sugar
- 2 eggs at room temperature
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour + 3 tbsp
- ¼ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp salt
- 3 tbsp cocoa powder
- Red food coloring
- 1 cup white chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
- Mix the butter and sugars in a stand mixer with the paddle attachment until light and fluffy (2 minutes).
- Scrape down the edges with a spatula and add the eggs and vanilla extract until just combined.
- Next, add the flour but save the extra 3 tablespoons for when we split the batter later. Add baking soda, baking powder, and salt then mix until no streaks remain (do not overmix).
- With your spatula, divide the dough in half, placing one half in a separate bowl. Add the 3 tbsp of flour to one batch and mix with your spatula and the 3 tbsp of cocoa powder to the other half and mix. Then add the red food coloring to the chocolate dough - you now have red velvet!
- Use your smallest cookie scoop to scoop the dough into a ball, then use a butter knife or your fingers to cut the dough ball in half into two even smaller dough balls. Do that for both doughs until you have a bunch of small dough balls.
- Next, take four dough balls alternating flavors like vanilla, red velvet, vanilla, and red velvet. Lightly smoosh them together and roll them into one larger dough ball. Continue with the remainder of the dough.
- Place dough balls roughly 2 inches apart on a cookie sheet and bake in the oven at 350 degrees for 12- 14 minutes or until the edges are a nice golden brown. Do not overbake! The cookies will continue to cook when you remove them from the oven.
- Allow to cook and enjoy!
- Stand mixer
- Cookie sheet
- Parchment paper
- Cookies scoops
- Wire rack
- Spatula
Notes
- These cookies can be combined or replaced with regular chocolate chips!
- These can easily be made without the food coloring for my chocolate swirl cookie.