Red Velvet Shortbread Cookies

When I told you a few weeks ago that I love red velvet I wan’t kidding. I continued my red velvet baking streak and whipped up a batch of these delicious red velvet shortbread cookies. The recipe is pretty fool proof and they rolled out perfectly. The original recipe recommends dipping the cookies in melted white chocolate but I opted to roll the edges in white nonpareils. If you prefer dark chocolate, you can also dip one side of each cookie in melted dark chocolate.

These cookies were so simple and delicious, they would make a great valentines’s treat. If you use a heart shaped side-of-the-cup cookie cutter like I did, you could gift them with a cute mug, like this one from West Elm.

Red Velvet Shortbread Cookies
via Better Homes & Gardens

Ingredients:
– 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
– 1/3 cup sugar
– 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
– 1/4 teaspoon salt
– 1/2 cup butter, cut up into small pieces
– 1 tablespoon red food coloring (about half a 2 oz. bottle)
– White nonpareils or sprinkles
– Cookie cutter (here’s the one I used)

1. Preheat your oven to 325 degree. In the bowl of a food processor, combine the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, and salt until combined. Add the butter pieces and red food coloring and pulse the mixture until it’s the consistency of fine crumbs. Then keep mixing it until it forms a dough.

2. Knead the dough on a lightly floured counter top, and then use a rolling pin to roll it about 1/2″ – 1/4″ thick. My cookies were probably closer to 5/8″ but it doesn’t have to be perfect. Use your cookie cutter to cut the dough into heart shapes. When you use all the dough, knead the scraps into a ball and roll out the dough again. Do this until you use all the dough. Pour some of the white nonpareils into a shallow bowl. Gently press the edges of each cookie into the sprinkles.

3. Place the cut out dough on a parchment or silpat lined baking sheet. Bake for about 20 minutes or until the centers of the cookies are set. Remove from the oven and place on a cooling rack to cool completely.

Check out all my other red velvet recipes over here.

It’s never to early to start thinking about Valentine’s Day! Check out all my Valentine’s Day posts.