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If you are looking for a new family-favorite cookie to make, then we have the recipe for you! These red velvet cake mix crinkle cookies are incredibly soft yet chewy and are packed with classic red velvet chocolaty flavors. These are perfect for Valentine’s Day, birthday parties, or the whole holiday season!
Jump to:
- Why We Like This Recipe
- About The Ingredients
- How to Make
- Variations
- Expert Tips
- Frequently Asked Questions
- More Cookie Recipes
If you love the ease of these red velvet crinkle cookies from cake mix, then we guarantee that you'll love both these cookie recipes. Our lemon cake mix cookies and the cake mix chocolate cookies are quick, easy, and will be loved by the whole family! They are all perfect for cookie exchanges.
And if you want to make your own cake mix, check out our simple homemade cake mix and DIY chocolate cake mix recipes too.
Why We Like This Recipe
It is an incredibly easy recipe to make. If you have ever wondered how to make red velvet crinkle cookies without spending hours in the kitchen, the key is cake mix. This easy way will save you a ton of time and makes the recipe unimaginably easy!
It isn’t very labor-intensive. While these red velvet crinkle cookies cake mix recipe does take about an hour and a half, most of the time is spent waiting for the cookies to chill. And even then you can still cut out some time by chilling them in the freezer.
These are incredibly chewy cookies. These red velvet crinkle cookies are chewy, soft, and still have a slight crispiness to them.
These delicious cookies are rich and moist. We love red velvet in general, but the flavors of these red velvet cookies are out of this world!
They are perfect for special occasions and holiday parties. Just change the sprinkles you use to make it fit the theme. For example, we use red or pink sprinkles for valentine's day and use the sprinkles you see here for a christmas cookie decoration.
About The Ingredients
Oil: We like to use light olive oil for this easy red velvet crinkles recipe. But, you can use any vegetable oil that you’d like or even softened or melted butter.
A box of red velvet cake mix: For this recipe, we used Betty Crocker cake mix, however, you can also make these red velvet crinkle cookies using Duncan Hines. Which you use comes down to personal preference.
Adding more food coloring in red velvet recipes is entirely optional. You don't have to use it. We add it to give the crinkle cookies a more vibrant red color. If you want to add coloring, we recommend using gel food coloring. It gives a much more vibrant color without changing the texture of the cookies.
How to Make
These red velvet cake mix crinkle cookies are easy to make and have an incredibly chewy, soft, and slightly crunchy texture. You can even make the dough in advance and use it when you're ready!
- Preheat the oven. You can preheat your oven to 350°F (180°C). Line a baking sheet with non-stick baking or parchment paper.
- Make the cookie dough. Start by combining the eggs and oil in a large bowl. Whisk them well to make a uniform mixture. Then, add the food coloring and mix well.
- Using a spatula, gently combine cake mix with the egg mixture. The dough will be very sticky. You can do all these steps in a stand mixer if you want.
- Rest and shape the dough. Once you have a uniform dough, wrap it in plastic wrap and allow it to chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes, but preferably an hour.
- Use a small cookie scoop, small ice cream scoop or a teaspoon to scoop out red velvet cookie dough balls. Roll them into neat balls before rolling them into the powdered sugar. Place them onto the prepared baking sheet, leaving about 2-inches between each.
- Use a cup with a flat bottom and slightly press each ball – this is what makes these easy red velvet cookies their crinkled look.
- Bake the red velvet cake mix cookies. Bake the cookies in your preheated oven for about 7 minutes or until the edges of the cookies are set.
- Remove them from the oven and allow them to rest on the baking sheet for 5 minutes. Then, transfer them to a cooling rack to completely cool. Store the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
Variations
You can definitely add dark or white chocolate chips to this recipe. White or milk chocolate chips works the best, but you can also add dark chocolate chips.
You can also add a little vanilla extract in the dough mixture if you want. If you don’t want to make crinkle cookies, you can also try red velvet cookies stuffed with Nutella. They are extremely soft, chewy, and still have a luscious mouthfeel.
Expert Tips
- The box of cake mix that we used for these red velvet cookies from cake mix was a 15 ounce (425 gram) box. If you are using a slightly larger box of 16.5 ounces (468 grams), then use ⅓ cup oil. Alternatively, you can just measure out 15 ounces and follow the recipe as-is.
- The color of red velvet cake mixes isn’t very vibrant. This is why we’ve added more food coloring. You can easily adjust the amount by adding more or less than the recommended 2 teaspoons.
- We add the gel food coloring to the egg and oil mixture. But, if you are still not happy with the color after making the dough, you can gently knead it into your dough.
- You have to allow the dough to cool inside the fridge for at least 30 minutes. This helps firm the mixture, reduced the stickiness of the dough, and will help prevent the cookies from spreading in the pan too much. Alternatively, you can rest the dough in the freezer for 15 minutes if you are short on time.
- Try to work quickly once you are shaping the dough and dusting it in powdered sugar. Warm hands and the temperature of the room can soften the dough quite quickly. The soft dough can potentially spread in the oven. This results in flat and un-crinkly cookies.
- It is also very important that you do not overcrowd the cookies. If they do spread, even a tiny bit, they can run into each other and create a sheet cake instead! Give them at least 2 inches on each side.
- Only use a cup with a flat bottom. This will create nice uniform crinkles in the red velvet cookie. A flat-bottomed measuring cup also works well.
- Don’t press the cookies too hard. You want to gently press until you see cracks on the edges of the cookies.
- The baking times will vary slightly depending on the size of your cookies and the temperature (or hot spots) of your oven. However, do not bake them for more than 8 minutes. These are soft cookies and won't crisp up inside the oven. They will also continue cooking on the hot cookie sheet (for 5 minutes) once you have removed them from the oven. This will ensure that the eggs are fully cooked while not over baking the red velvet cake cookies.
- Transfer the cookies onto a wire rack after they sit on the cookie sheet for 5 minutes.
- Bake a batch of red velvet crinkle cookies at a time. Don't bake two cookie sheets at the same time.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does red velvet cake mix have dairy?
Most red velvet cake mixes are dairy-free. However, you will still see them sometimes labeled as "certified Kosher Dairy". This basically means that they weren't made with similar equipment that other dairy-containing products were made with.
But, always check the label of your box cake mix to make sure that it doesn’t even contain dried dairy products, like milk powder.
Does red velvet cake mix have chocolate in it?
Red velvet cake mix does contain cocoa powder and some type of acidic ingredient to balance it out and create a unique flavor. Red velvet cake contains cocoa powder, vinegar, and buttermilk to give it a unique chocolaty taste.
Is Betty Crocker's red velvet cake mix vegan?
While they don't necessarily market it as such, Betty Crocker's red velvet cake mix is at the very least vegetarian. From what we could see in the ingredients list, there aren't any obvious non-vegan ingredients. But, today, the definition of vegan is relative to everybody and goes far beyond whether or not it comes from animals
More Cookie Recipes
- Lemon Meltaway Cookies
- Chocolate Cake Mix Cookies
- Melting Moments
- Elmali Kurabiye
- Sesame Tahini Cookies
As always: If you make this recipe, let us know what you think by rating it and leaving a comment below. And post a pic on Instagram too—tag @give_recipe so we can see!
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Red Velvet Cake Mix Crinkle Cookies Recipe
5 Stars4 Stars3 Stars2 Stars1 Star
5 from 1 review
These cookies are chewy and rich. And super easy to make thanks to a box of red velvet cake mix.
- Author:
- Prep Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 7 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 22 minutes
- Yield: 30 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
Scale
- 2 eggs
- ¼ cup olive oil or vegetable oil
- 1 box red velvet cake mix (15 oz/425g)
- 2 teaspoons red food coloring gel
- ½ cup powdered sugar, for coating
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350C. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Put it aside.
- Mix eggs and oil well.
- Add in the food coloring.
- Using a spatula, combine the red velvet cake mix with the wet mixture. You will have a sticky dough. Chill or 1 hour (or at least 30 min. Or keep it in the freezer for 15 min.)
- Use a cookie scoop or a teaspoon and scoop red velvet cookie dough balls and roll them into balls.
- Then roll them in powdered sugar.
- Place them on the prepared baking sheet, leaving 2-inch space between each.
- Use a cup with a flat bottom and flatten the cookie dough balls gently. This will give the cookies that crinkle texture.
- Bake for 7 minutes or until the edges of cookies are set.
- Let them sit on the baking sheet for 5 minutes and then transfer on a cooling rack.
- Store these cookies in an airtight container on the counter for 5 days.
Notes
- The cake mix box we use is 15 oz/425 g. If your box is 16.5 oz/468 g, use ⅓ cup oil or just measure the cake mix and use 15 oz of it to make it fit this recipe.
- Food coloring is optional. Red velvet cake mixes are not very vibrant, so if you want your cookies to have a vibrant red color, use food coloring. You can decide the amount yourselves. Start with small amounts. We used 2 teaspoons of gel red food coloring in this recipe but you can use more or less. We mix it with eggs and oil, but if you are still not pleased with the color after combining the cake mix with the wet mixture, add more coloring in the dough. Make sure you combine it well with the dough.
- Don't skip chilling the dough. The dough is really sticky. So we recommend you don’t skip this step.
- Try to be quick when rolling the dough into balls and then into powdered sugar because your hands might warm the cookies and we don’t want this.
- Don’t overcrowd the baking sheet.
- When choosing the cup to flatten the cookies, try to find one with a flat bottom.
- When pressing down the cookies with a cup, don’t go crazy. Just flatten them gently until you see the cracks on the edges.
- Baking time might differ, but don’t bake them longer than 8 minutes. They will continue cooking when you let them sit on the baking sheet after removing them from the oven.
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 87
- Sugar: 8.2 g
- Sodium: 100 mg
- Fat: 3.3 g
- Carbohydrates: 13.5 g
- Protein: 1 g
- Cholesterol: 12.4 mg
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- Melting Moments Cookies (Cornstarch Cookies)
- Elmali Kurabiye (Turkish Apple Cookies)
- Lemon Crinkle Cake Mix Cookies
- Chocolate Orange Cookies
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Reader Interactions
Comments
Leyla says
They were AMAZING! Made these for a baby shower and they were a hit! Thank you!
Reply
Yusuf says
Hi Leyla,
Glad you enjoyed the recipe. Aren't these perfect for occasions?
Reply
vanessa says
hi, making these now, when does the milk go in?
Reply
Zerrin says
Hi Vanessa,
Thanks for the question!
Add it right after the egg. I've just corrected the recipe.Reply
Eden Passante says
The color of these is so beautiful and I'm sure they taste amazing! I love red velvet!
Reply
Zerrin says
Thank you Eden for these nice words! I love red velvet too and these cookies taste really yummy!
Reply