I rarely try to make my holiday cookies in red and green colours, but every once in a while I submit to tradition. These cookies are actually a shade of burgundy (how I like my red velvet to be), but you can add extra red food colouring if you want them to be more vibrant.
INGREDIENTS
- 215 g all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/8 teaspoon baking soda
- 190 g granulated sugar
- 100 g light brown sugar
- 2 large eggs plus 2 large egg yolks, at room temperature
- 1 tablespoon canola oil
- 1 tablespoon Red Velvet Bakery Emulsion or red food colouring
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 60 g unsalted butter
- 85 g semisweet or bittersweet chocolate
- 25 g cocoa powder
- 60 g confectioners’ sugar
METHOD
- Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and preheat the oven to 180°C. Line three sheet pans with parchment paper.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and baking soda.
- In a large bowl, whisk together 150 g of the granulated sugar, the brown sugar, eggs, egg yolks, canola oil, Red Velvet Bakery Emulsion, vanilla, and salt.
- Place the butter and chocolate in a small, heavy-bottom saucepan over low heat and melt together, stirring frequently to prevent the chocolate from scorching.
- Continue cooking until the mixture is smooth. Off the heat, add the cocoa powder to the chocolate and whisk until completely combined, about 45 seconds (the mixture will be thick).
- Add the warm chocolate-butter mixture to the egg mixture and whisk together until combined. Add the flour mixture and use a rubber spatula to mix gently until combined. Cover the dough and chill the mixture for at least 6 hours and up to overnight.
- In a small bowl, combine the confectioners’ sugar and the remaining 3 tablespoons of granulated sugar. Scoop the dough into 1½ tablespoon portions (see note) and roll the dough in the sugar mixture.
- Place eight cookies on each sheet pan and bake one pan at a time, rotating halfway through baking. Bake until the edges are set and the cookies are puffed but still soft in the centre, 12 to 14 minutes.
- Move the sheet pans to a wire rack and let the cookies cool to room temperature. Cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
NOTE
The dough is very sticky, so using a cookie scoop works best here; I like to drop the dough balls into the powdered sugar and then gently roll them. Once they are covered, they are easy to pick up. If you don’t have a cookie scoop, you can refrigerate the dough for 15 minutes or so to help it scoop more easily.
