Red Velvet Cookie Sandwiches

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These Red Velvet Cookie Sandwiches are tender, delicious and filled with a tangy-sweet cream cheese frosting. They can be dressed up for several holidays – just swap out the sprinkles. Such a colorful treat that’s perfect for all ages!

These red velvet cookie sandwiches are so fun and delicious. I’ve been making them for years but recently updated the recipe to use my red velvet cookie recipe, which adds even more of that classic red velvet flavor and doesn’t need a pudding mix. These cookies sandwiches are better than ever and so moist and chewy. Add the cream cheese frosting and you have the perfect red velvet treat. I can’t wait for you to try them!

What I Love Most About These Cookie Sandwiches

• The cookies! These cookie sandwiches are made with my red velvet cookies, just without the chocolate chips. They have a touch of cocoa powder and a hint of tang, just like the flavors in a red velvet cake. They’re soft and chewy and perfect in these cookie sandwiches.
• The frosting! Cream cheese frosting and red velvet are truly a match made in heaven. The tangy frosting is the perfect complement to the sweet and chewy cookies. It’s very easy to make too.
• Fun & festive. One thing I love about red velvet is that the color makes any red velvet dessert feel extra festive, whether it’s for Valentine’s Day, Christmas or even July 4th. I like to customize the sprinkles used on these cookies based on the holiday. I’ll stick with plain red and green sprinkles for Christmas, little pink heart sprinkles are great for Valentine’s Day or red, white and blue for July 4th.

What You’ll Need

These red velvet sandwich cookies are made with pantry staples plus the usual red velvet ingredients like cocoa powder and vinegar. You can find the exact measurements of each ingredient in the recipe card below.

Red Velvet Cookies

• All-purpose flour – Be sure to measure it accurately. That extra tablespoon is important! Over- or under-measuring flour will affect the final texture of the cookies.
• Cocoa powder – Use natural unsweetened cocoa powder in these cookies, not Dutch-processed cocoa powder.
• Baking soda – Helps the cookies rise and create a chewy texture.
• Salt – Amplifies the other flavors in the cookies.
• Unsalted butter – I always use unsalted butter when baking, so that I can control the amount of salt added.
• Sugar – Both granulated sugar and light brown sugar are used to make these cookies.
• Egg – Be sure to use large eggs, not medium or extra large.
• Vanilla extract
• Vinegar – Vinegar is a common ingredient in red velvet desserts. Don’t worry, it won’t make the cookies taste like vinegar! It does, however, work with the baking soda to help the cookies rise and add to the tangy flavor.
• Red food coloring – You can also use red gel icing color. Add more or less based on how intense you want the red color.

Cream Cheese Frosting

• Cream cheese – Allow the cream cheese to sit on the counter and come to room temperature ahead of time, so that it’s easier to mix. Full-fat brick cream cheese works best for making frosting. Reduced fat, tub style cream cheese will be thinner/softer.
• Butter – The butter should also come to room temperature ahead of time. Unsalted butter is best for frosting.
• Powdered sugar – Sweetens and adds volume to the frosting, while also making it pipe-able.
• Vanilla extract
• Sprinkles – The sprinkles are optional but I think they add a fun, festive touch.

How To Make Red Velvet Cookie Sandwiches

These red velvet cookie sandwiches are so easy to make. The cookie recipe is very straight forward and the frosting comes together in just a few minutes. Just be sure to leave time for the cookies to cool! Scroll down to the recipe card for the printable version of the instructions.

Make the cookies

• Prep. Preheat the oven to 350F. Line baking sheets with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper.
• Make the dough. Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl. In another bowl, cream the butter and sugars until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Mix in the egg until well combined then add the vanilla extract, vinegar, and red food coloring. Add the dry ingredients and mix until well combined.

• Bake. Roll 1 1/2 tablespoon-sized balls of cookie dough. Place on the baking sheet 2 inches apart. Bake for 7-9 minutes.
• Cool. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheets for 4-5 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Make the Frosting & Assemble

• Make the frosting. Combine the cream cheese and butter in a mixing bowl until combined and spoon. Mix in half of the powdered sugar until smooth then add the vanilla extract. Mix in the remaining powdered sugar until combined and smooth.

• Assemble the cookies. Transfer the frosting to a piping bag (I used Ateco 844) and pipe the frosting onto one cookie then add a second cookie on top. Add sprinkles to the edges if desired. Repeat with the remaining cookies.

Tips for Success

• Use room temperature ingredients. The ingredients in both the red velvet cookies and cream cheese frosting should be at room temperature when starting the recipe. This helps ensure that everything mixes smoothly. It’s a lot harder to cream cold butter!
• Measure flour properly. I recommend using a food scale or the spoon and level method. Over measuring your flour will lead to dry cookies that don’t spread properly.
• Don’t over bake the cookies. The red velvet cookies should just look done when you pull them from the oven. It’s key to getting soft and chewy cookies! They’ll continue to firm up as they cool on the baking sheet.
• Let the cookies cool. I think the hardest part of this recipe is truly waiting for the cookies to cool before you add the frosting and assemble the cookie sandwiches. I always want to eat them right away! But they do need to cool or they’ll just melt the frosting.
• Thick frosting for piping. It’s always tempting to reduce the amount of powdered sugar used in frosting, but for it to maintain it’s shape in these cookies, the frosting does need to be thick enough. Stick with the amount listed for the best piping consistency and shape.

Proper Storage

• Refrigerator – Because of the cream cheese frosting, these red velvet cookie sandwiches do need to be stored in the fridge in an airtight container. However, they are best enjoyed at room temperature. I like to pull them from the fridge 20-30 minutes before serving so that the frosting softens a bit. These cookie sandwiches are best enjoyed within 3-4 days.
• Freezer – These cookies can be frozen. You can make the cookies and freeze before assembling, or freeze after assembling. Just keep in mind that the color from the sprinkles can bleed sometimes when they thaw. I recommend thawing them in the fridge before enjoying.

More Red Velvet Recipes

• Red Velvet Cheesecake Cake
• Red Velvet Cupcakes
• Red Velvet Cheesecake
• Best Red Velvet Cake Recipe
• Red Velvet Cookies
• Red Velvet Cheesecake Swirl Brownies

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